#are the ghosts technically a base version of their originals???? is what i’ve been wondering lol 🤔

[akkivee]

it is so funny to me that kuukou and hitoya default into the same pose lmao

[feanorianethicsdepartment]

time travel aus, amirite? since we’ve all decided to start talking about our ideas, i thought i’d throw my hat into the ring. i’ve actually had this idea for a while, i just wasn’t sure what to do with it because i barely have the patience for one-shots, let alone the continuous plotted longfic this would need

it’s not my idea, of course, i’m incapable of original thought. it’s based off this can-i-really-call-it-a-genre-if-it’s-two-fics-with-the-same-premise where some combination of maedhros, maglor, elros, and elrond land in the blessed realm before - even the unchaining, in my take, when the ambarussa are still children and the world is blissful. it’s more specifically my take on this fic, which takes elrond and elros from very early in their captivity and maedhros from just before the silmaril theft and maglor from several centuries into the second age. i just plugged my own characterisations into it, and, uh. the specific setup this not-genre uses is that maitimo and makalaurë *~mysteriously disappear,~* throwing their extended family into chaos, blah blah blah, and then a few decades later -

well. with my characterisations, we have a nightmare hellbeast who’s burned up everything he used to be in singular pursuit of an unreachable goal and has carved his very self into a weapon, a completely drained beaten-up husk barely cognisant of reality past the screaming in his mind who’s so utterly broken it’s debatable if he even counts as an elda, and two extremely young extremely traumatised children in a completely unfamiliar land- and skyscape whose only adult they can maybe-kind-of trust is currently bleeding from the eyes and shrieking wordless notes of utter despair

yeah, this au’s Fun. elrond and elros have maybe eight words of quenya between them, most of which are obscene, maedhros will act completely normal until he suddenly stabs himself in the arm because can’t this stupid hallucination end already, he has a character arc to tank, and maglor seems completely unaware he’s not still on the beach having the same cyclic arguments with the ghosts of the people he failed. the elves of valinor aren’t completely unprepared to deal with this, at least not the ones who remember cuiviénen, but it’s still a massive shock to see two of the children they came to the land of the gods to protect twisted and scarred like the worst victims of the dark. especially since noone can figure out why

so yeah. i have trouble finishing oneshot collections, so i doubt i’ll ever write this out in full, but i do have a lot of Scenes. fëanáro staring in utter horror at the oath, whispering ‘i made this.’ elros and elrond’s somewhat hole-filled explanation of their backstory devolving into a sindarin argument, and when the family asks tyelkormo what they’re talking about he freezes before saying ‘they’re arguing about whether maitimo killed their mother.’ the moment maglor finally managed to get through what happened after they got the silmarils to maedhros, who immediately switches from off-the-cuff self-harm to well-planned suicide attempts. the five-minute period the family hellspawn’s working theory was ‘they’re maitimo and makalaurë from an alternate universe where we’re evil’ (‘is there an evil version of me??? does he eat kids???????’ - tyelko) finwë going full bulldoze taniquetil in the background. fun times, might write some snippets in the future

but i like to think through the mechanics of this kind of time travel story too much, so i started wondering where maitimo and makalaurë, yanno, went. i quickly came to the conclusion that they probably swapped places with their evil future selves, giving me three time travel aus for the price of one! technically four but (a) i’m not sure if or with who the twins would swap and (b) if they did their alternate selves are probably having a really bad time and i don’t particularly want to think about it. the stories maitimo and makalaurë are in... they’re not necessarily any happier, but they are a lot more wtftastic

maitimo falls asleep under the light of the trees, on a relaxing retreat from the demands of court life and family-induced disasters. he wakes up in a world that’s almost completely dark, surrounded by plants he’s never seen before and wearing clothing designed for a much warmer climate, the scent of death in the air. now permanently separated from all his old problems, maitimo rapidly acquires several exciting new ones, including but not limited to:

everyone he ever loved being dead or worse

the lone possible exception, his last surviving little brother, being an almost unrecognisable blood-drenched kinslayer who hates everything in the universe especially himself

said blood-drenched kinslayer almost immediately imprinting on him like a grouchy murderous duckling

his future self having apparently wanted to kill even more people, why

getting dogpiled by like thirty dudes in full armour the instant they showed up at the army of the west’s camp to surrender

getting soul-scanned by eönw two minutes later. not fun

arafinwë pulling him into an enormous hug and then bursting into tears

the subsequent explanation as to just what happened to him and his brothers, which somehow got worse after he’d already thought they’d hit rock bottom like four separate times

proceeding to lose a staring contest with findaráto

the way everyone in camp looks at him like he’s an incredibly dangerous wild animal that might bite at any time

how if half of what arafinwë said is true he can’t even blame them, fuck, fuck

the twin half-elven(?????????????) princes he and his brother apparently kidnapped and held hostage for years, inflicting unimaginable cruelties as far as anyone knows

his first meeting with the kids happening when elrond broke into where they were holding maglor to scream at him in very loud very fast very angry sindarin for like half an hour

maglor just staring at him, eyes wide, ears pinned back, the whole time, and then trying to maul the first guard who mocked him for it

getting saddled with kinslayer containment duties in the aftermath of that whole incident

elrond punching him in the collarbone when he tried to apologise, shouting ‘you weren’t there, don’t you dare try to tell me what it was like’

elros’ visible half second of pure terror after the blow hit home

elros then using recognisable techniques from maitimo’s debate team circuit during a speech to the edain

like, clearly some shit did happen, but it’s obviously not what the local leadership’s afraid of

this sour-faced scar-covered warrior slipping out of the shadows in an unpopulated part of camp, kneeling before him, intoning ‘the swords of the host remain at your disposal my lord’ and then immediately vanishing

he didn’t recognise them until after they’d left but they were definitely one of his philosophy club friends, what even

just generally having woken up in a future a thousand times worse than his darkest nightmares

his natural instinct is to try and fix things, but how?? what’s even left to fix????

maglor sometimes goes into these unhinged desperate spiralling rambles directed at the older brother who exists in his head rather than the one in front of his eyes. whatever’s left of maitimo’s biggest little brother is clearly in so much pain

all the things he’s trying extremely hard not to think about because if he slows down enough to he’s pretty sure he’ll collapse

all the people he’s never met who hate him for pretty understandable reasons and whose social structure he now has to learn to have any hope of making it out of All This

the edain’s collective insistence on calling him pasthros

curufinwë isn’t even a hundred how does he have a kid

makalaurë, on the other hand, wakes up on a beach beneath a giant glowing orb. finding himself in a land so much barer than what he knows, among people whose souls don’t even work like his, his initial working theory is he’s been abducted by aliens

[incompletionism]

Hands On with... The Outbound Ghost

“Back after so many years?” booms a mysterious voice as we’re transported to an otherworldly realm, filled with glowing orbs that speed towards the titular spook of The Outbound Ghost, “I wonder how you’ve changed.”. Whoever they are, they could just as easily be talking about the Paper Mario series that inspired the game.

Originally an RPG spinoff of the core Mario games, the Paper Mario games soon became a strong series in their own right, characterised by witty dialogue and 2D sprites in a papery 3D world. As the series went on, the games began to move away from their stat-based RPG roots and closer and closer to puzzle/action/exploration hybrids.

This, plus the introduction of new and often intrusive gimmicks in each subsequent entry from Super Paper Mario’s flip mechanic on-wards, alienated a lot of the series’ original fans.

Fans of the first two (Paper Mario on the N64 and The Thousand Year Door on the Gamecube), have since taken matters in their own hands, most notably 2020’s Bug Fables, but with The Outbound Ghost’s Kickstarter coming to an end tomorrow, I thought it was time I took at this promising successor to TTYD’s throne.

The demo (Currently available on Steam!) begins with a car careening down a quiet country road at night. Suddenly, the screen cuts to black and we hear the shriek of tires before a ghost steps out of the flaming wreck.

A cute, blue-glowing 2D sprite that wouldn’t look out of place in a Paper Mario Ghost Mansion, the nameless ghost wears a simple, often neutral, expression and a little tuft of hair. This baby-faced apparition reminds me of Casper the Friendly Ghost just a tad, and the thick white borders around this and every other character sprite calls to mind the borders of stickers, which fits the paper theme well.

Although the first impression of it is consumed by fire, I have to say now that the world in this game is gorgeous. Each individual blade of grass wafts in the breeze and makes the world feel like our own, rather than a series of dioramas. Whether that’s going to be a bridge too far for fans of Paper Mario’s handcrafted world, I’m not sure, but it certainly means this would not run on the N64, and I have to confess that my laptop struggled at times, which makes me question how well it’ll run on the Switch.

That’s a shame, as The Outbound Ghost’s controls feel like they’re better suited for a console than a PC. Even though it uses the classic WASD/arrow keys and you have some kind of crystal that allows you to dash with the space bar, one glaring example of this was when equipping a shovel. Each of the four slots were at 45-degree angles, which was not the most intuitive thing to navigate with four directions, but would be a breeze with an analogue stick.

Also easier with more than four directions to move in are what I call the “faint and have an out-of-(non)body experience in a weird purple dimension where orbs and a mysterious voice just won’t leave you alone” sections. Two of these appear in the demo, and both of them award you with a Brave or Timid soul (represented by a yellow or blue puddle in your inventory) based on how many orbs you let hit you. This feels rather counterintuitive considering the bullet hell sections, which involve dodging projectiles heading your way as usual.

Fans of Danganronpa and Undertale will recognise the bullet hell mechanics well - you control an icon representing you (a mini silhouette of our spirit here) and do your best to dodge a series of obstacles coming your way. These take the place of turn-based combat in The Outbound Ghost and come between dialogue options that slowly fill the meter at the top of the screen.

The only example of this in the demo is a scene involving helping an Outbound resident through the stages of grief over her death. On each turn, you have the choice of three verbs along the lines of Insult, Console, and Explain to best respond to their current stage.

Common sense usually serves you well here - don’t insult an angry person to reason with them, for example - but the choices being coloured Red, Purple and Green does muddy the waters a little. None of the dialogue exchanged in this segment is actually seen, which does detach you from the impact of your choice, even if there’s only one right answer to progress.

I’ve been keeping things light on plot so far, but I’ll divulge a bit now. After you leave the aforementioned car wreck and head into the town of Outbound, you encounter the local (deceased) teen detective, Michael McFly, who suspects you of murdering the entire town some time ago.

You play as the accused ghost, who conveniently has forgotten everything about themself except their name, which is where you come in. As far as immersion goes, a lot of RPGs go the “amnesiac protagonist that you can name” route, but most offer a canon default name (think Chrono in Chrono Trigger) or easter eggs for certain names, neither of which I could find here. However, the ghost is referred to exclusively with they/them pronouns, so absolutely anyone can put themselves in the spectre’s proverbial shoes.

Outside of regular world traversal and picking up everything not nailed down, there are a couple of other mechanics revealed in the demo that I haven’t mentioned yet.

A couple of times, you’re faced with a locked door or gate and have to collect enough lockpicks to complete a slide puzzle, which involves getting cylinders of metal out of the way of a key so you can push it to the lock. Later puzzles involved tilting a 3D box (officially dubbed the girabox) to fit a square peg into its respective hole, so I imagine the full game will push puzzles even further.

Beyond that, star-shaped pads appear on the ground towards the end of the demo, allowing you to traverse the way back to the town with a spot of platforming. A Cards section can be found on the game’s menu, which will be part of the Spades n Souls minigame in the full game.

Over the course of 30 minutes, the demo introduced me to the majority of characters and possibly locations, but I have the feeling that a lot of the game will be spent fleshing out each of their backstories.

Utterly charming and a sight to behold, The Outbound Ghost is certain to make waves next year, but I do wonder which platform it’ll be at home on. Initially aiming for the Switch and PC, the lower technical capacity of the former and the unsuited control scheme of the latter do suggest that its stretch goals of PS and XBox will be the superior versions. But then, it is being ported to phones too, so hopefully I’ll be proven wrong when it releases.

The Kickstarter has a hair under a day of funding left to go, so jump in now if you want to support the project. Do you think this game will be the answer to the question “Where’s my Paper Mario?” or will the lack of traditional RPG elements alienate fans of the series?

[blackidyll]

It's been a long while since I've been on Tumblr, but here I am, trying to get back into my usual rhythm of life. Mainly: I'm alive, but I'm really, really tired.

The end of 2019/beginning of 2020 has been really insane. I fell sick for most of December - the whole cough/cold/sore throat trifecta that got so bad I finally ended up on antibiotics on New Year's Eve. I actually took two weeks of leave in December, but I was so sick and busy during this time that I basically got no rest whatsoever, and when I got back to work in January it was to drop straight into an absolute tsunami of work - one huge project ended the day before Chinese New Year, and immediately after CNY holidays I had another huge executive event to prepare for (I was working over weekends), and when that ended last week I got YET ANOTHER project dumped on me. Covid19 and the political situation in my home country is also taking its toll. I feel like the past two months has been an absolute blur - mostly of stress and negativity.

I'm so tired, you all.

Anyway, I'm trying hard now to pull back and strike a balance between work and having down proper time. I owe quite a few of you replies to messages and chats, and TBH there's like 60+ comments in my AO3 inbox that I haven't had a chance to respond to. I'm going to try hard over the next few weeks to get to all of them. I really appreciate every message and comment I get, because they constantly remind me there's still people and the entire world out there, when sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in my head with all my stresses and worries and the day-to-day grind.

I'm going to go throw a bunch of things in my queue to get this place kickstarted again, but in the meantime - have some fic recs. I've been reading a lot of fic to keep afloat the past three months; these are the WIPs I'm following at the moment. I'm completely out of creativity so my own fics will have to wait, but it always gives me a boost when I see some love for my WIPs, so if any of these appeal to you, give them a read and drop some love to those authors too.

The Bureau Files series by Catsafari [The Cat Returns, episodic/case style canon-based sequel; Baron/Haru]

i kill giants by diasterisms [Star Wars new trilogy; canon-based sequel to The Rise of Skywalker; Rey/Ben]

Ragnarǫkr, Part 3 of the Sharingan Rising series by weialala [Naruto; canon-divergence with supernatural elements; Sasuke-centric, technically Sasuke/Naruto but is more Sasuke's relations with everyone]

Peripeteia, Part 4 of the Carry Your Heart verse by mondaze [Shingeki no Kyojin; canon-based A/B/O verse, eventually diverges at the retake Shinganshina arc because Erwin lives (\o/); Erwin/Levi]

Just Another Day by Tierfal [Fullmetal Alchemist; post-manga series, Roy has severe PTSD; pre-relationship Roy/Ed]

try something new by gdgdbaby [Nezha (2019); post-movie oneshot where the two have grown up and gotten their bodies back; Nezha/Aobing]

WIPs that haven't been updated recently but since I'm on a roll, you all should read them:

Nukume Dori by Leareth [Tokyo Babylon, X/1999; canon-divergence, kind-of time travel with X!Subaru falling back into the TB!timeline with all his memories intact; Subaru/Seishirou, a lot of trio interactions with Hokuto] 

boy with a coin, Part 5 of the signal to noise series by twigcollins [The World Ends With You; post-game sequels exploring the consequences of Neku winning the long game and Joshua deciding to bring him back to life; Joshua/Neku]

(more info and my comments on each fic under the cut, because they get long)

The Bureau Files series by Catsafari [The Cat Returns, episodic/case style canon-based sequel; Baron/Haru]

I've been (re)watching Studio Ghibli movies on the weekends and I fell completely in love with The Cat Returns (I love Whisper of the Heart but I missed this movie somehow?). This wonderful sequel fic series focuses on an adult Haru that becomes a full-fledge member of the Cat Bureau and goes on plenty of adventures with the Bureau crew. It's also 500K words (!!!) of delicious slow slow slow SLOW burn between Baron and Haru. I just found out the author will be posting the next installation in the series this month, so you know. Perfect time to read the existing content and then follow the author's weekly updates for more of this amazing series.

i kill giants by diasterisms [Star Wars new trilogy; canon-based sequel to The Rise of Skywalker; Rey/Ben]

Yes, I'm a Reylo fan. I find the grey dynamics between Rey and a vaguely redeemed Ben Solo fascinating. I think it's because I was such a huge Luke and Mara Jade shipper from the Legends days. Anyway, I'd recommend pretty much all of diasterisms's Reylo fics (they nail the characterization + growth arcs incredibly) but this WIP in particular is a direct TROS sequel, which is great for all us fans who were very WTF about the way TROS ended. Also - lots of Force ghosts :D

Ragnarǫkr, Part 2 of the Sharingan Rising series by weialala [Naruto; canon-divergence with supernatural elements; Sasuke-centric, technically Sasuke/Naruto but is more Sasuke's relations with everyone]

I think my bookmark gushes enough about this series (and the previous installment) that I don't need to rehash it here. But anyway, this sequel is flipping amazing. The world building is so incredible omg. The wait between chapters is very long but so very worth it.

Peripeteia, Part 4 of the Carry Your Heart verse by mondaze [Shingeki no Kyojin; canon-based A/B/O verse, eventually diverges at the retake Shinganshina arc because Erwin lives (\o/); Erwin/Levi]

I'm usually very, very particular about my A/B/O verses (the concept squicks me a little but some writers subvert the trope and those are amazing) and this is a really great take on the trope - Erwin and Levi bond first out of necessity and then have to rebuild/realize a romantic relationship out of it later; they're already such strong friends and incredible partners that the bond actually throws them out of whack initially lol. But the evolution of their relationship is so well written, and the sub-plot about Levi being targeted is also great. Anyway, in this particular sequel goes back to the canon-timeline; Erwin survives the Beast Titan charge, everyone finds out about Marley, and the Survey Corps goes on a mission to make contact with the outside world. I don't actually follow the manga but I know enough that this sequel is really intriguing me. Also, Erwin lives. Thank goodness Erwin lives.

Just Another Day by Tierfal [Fullmetal Alchemist; post-manga series, Roy has severe PTSD; pre-relationship Roy/Ed]

Everything Tierfal writes is golden, but this one. Oh man, this one. It gets dark, and sometimes that's bad if you're already stressed (your mood doesn't need more depressing things to drag it down) but sometimes... you also want to indulge in it, because when you see a character go through hard and traumatic times and make it out the other side, it gives you hope too, you know? Anyway, right now at chapter 2, it's all trauma and pain for Roy, so take caution while reading this fic, but......... Ed. Oh my goodness, Ed. He tries so hard. He doesn't give up. This fic reminds me a bit of But Not Buried This Time, where Ed is the one drowning in his guilt... I remember thinking while reading that fic, "goodness, everyone needs a Roy like this in their life." Well, for this fic? I just keep thinking, "goodness, everyone needs an Ed like this in their life."

try something new [Nezha (2019); post-movie oneshot where the two have grown up and gotten their bodies back; Nezha/Aobing]

not a WIP but what the hell. So this version of Nezha is hell of a lot different from the Nezha I remember of my childhood (in that....... Nezha 100% kills Aobing lol and I remember being very conflicted because I love dragons and Nezha kills a lot of them, but at the same time deity!Nezha is pretty badass?). So anyway, someone with creative control DEFINITELY has shipper glasses on when they made this movie, I cannot get over how adorable Nezha and Aobing are. I really enjoyed this movie, it was so over the top and funny. And they made Nezha and Aobing literal soulmates? This fic is cute and adorable because it's Nezha and Aobing traveling and helping the world after they grow up and regain their bodies, and it's just tons of adorable teenage(?) confusion where they're hovering on the edge of friendship and something more. THEY ARE SO ENDEARING I love them!!

Nukume Dori by Leareth [Tokyo Babylon, X/1999; canon-divergence, kind-of time travel with X!Subaru falling back into the TB!timeline with all his memories intact; Subaru/Seishirou, a lot of trio interactions with Hokuto]

Instead of dying on the Promised Day, 25-year-old Dragon of Heaven Subaru wakes up in his 16-year-old body during the Tokyo Babylon timeline. Having seen what the future holds, he decides to continue with his original Bet with Seishirou - this time fighting to win. In the latest installment, we go pass the TB timeline into the years before 1999 and the changes that the divergence makes is just absolutely fascinating, plus we start seeing more of the X/1999 cast, whom I love and adore.

boy with a coin, Part 5 of the signal to noise series by twigcollins [The World Ends With You; post-game sequels exploring the consequences of Neku winning the long game and Joshua deciding to bring him back to life; Joshua/Neku]

I love Joshua so so much but he digs his own bed willingly and he lies in it with all the broken pride he can muster. He's very much the master of forfeiting the game before he can lose, except this time it's Neku standing beside him, and Neku is very, very stubborn. Trust your bloody partner, Joshua (I say, with all the love in my heart for this Joshua and this poor beleaguered but incredibly stubborn Neku and the all the game mechanics and worldbuilding in this series). Also, the latest cliffhanger is killing me but I'm ready to see Joshua go absolutely feral on anyone who would dare touch his city and his partner.  

[rpgmgames]

September’s Featured Game: Ghost Hospital

DEVELOPER(S): Lev, Kip, Rose, Tredlocity, C, Bittersweet ENGINE: RPGMaker MV GENRE: Adventure, RPG WARNINGS: Anxiety, Body horror, Implied child harm SUMMARY: Ghost Hospital is a game about anxiety, depression, despair, mental rock bottoms, and, of course, ghosts. You play as Robin, a twelve-year-old girl who has an anxiety disorder and is very much alive in this hospital meant for beings that are not alive. Frankly, her anxiety was already bad enough before she landed in a hospital full of dead people, the still-shambling shells of ancient ghosts who try to take her down for a sweet taste of life, and the hospital directors hellbent on keeping her contained, and more importantly, away from the reason she's REALLY there. Thankfully, you have your new friends Jay and Sarcastic Ghost- Jay is a ghost about your age, and still a very new arrival to the hospital, and Sarcastic Ghost…well, he's an amorphous blob of a ghost, who talks a lot despite not having a mouth.

Download the demo here!

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! Lev: Hey, my name is Lev! I'm an artist and storyteller, and though I've wanted to make games for a long time, this is my first serious attempt! Most of my work is about my experiences in mental illness. Kip: I'm a freelance artist being allowed to write cheap jokes in ghost form. Rose: I'm a freelance writer and editor for the game! I also work on dialogue and story drafting. Tredlocity: My name is Tredlocity! I do some character designs and writing in the game! C: c / ghoul is a character designer, comic artist and Halloween enthusiast. They're currently apart of several indie game teams and are writing the webcomic, This Dark Forest of Ours. Bittersweet: I'm Kendall (AKA Bittersweet), and I'm the resident music person (one of two, technically, but the other left the project unfortunately.) This is my first (and thus far only) major soundtrack composition project, but thus far, it's been a satisfying one!

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially? *Lev: Ghost Hospital is a game about anxiety, and the game was born out of an idea to put someone in the shoes of someone with clinical anxiety and depression without going for the prototypical 'horror game' or 'walking simulator', giving more game-friendly, practical narrative and gameplay examples of how it effects people.

How long have you been working on your project? *Lev: The game started development in late 2016 as a thesis project for college. At its inital completion, it was more of a beta or proof of concept than a demo- in its current state, it's far closer to what we have envisioned for the final project.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Lev: Absolutely! The biggest influences are OFF, Yume Nikki, and Sweet Home, and a lot of Gameboy Color graphics and aesthetics- namely, Pokemon GSC and the GBC Zelda Games.

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *Lev: RPG Maker is a versatile engine, but still fairly restrictive, so getting all the effects I wanted to work was challenging. Mental illness and real life have been taking a toll on development time, too. Getting things to work took teaching myself some javascript, and after being in serious development for this long, I've found ways to motivate myself to keep working. Having other people checking in on you helps, too.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Lev: In its very first inital pitch, it was much closer to Yume Nikki, being more atmospheric and serious. At some point in character and world development, though, I couldn't bear to make it a stoic adventure, and with most of the stuff I already take inspiration from, it's hard for me to not put jokes into the media I make, anyway.

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don’t have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Lev: At the beginning, it was just me working on everything. The first people I brought on board were my concept artist, Kip, my writer, Rose, and my musician, Bittersweet. I can't do music on my own, and I knew from word go that I wanted this to be the kind of game with a strong story and a lot of unique NPCs.

What is the best part of developing the game? *Lev: Call me biased, but the most fun part is making the art for it. It's hard for me to motivate myself to keep working if I'm just using default placeholder sprites, I have to make new NPCs to keep myself interested. It's not the most convenient, but it's fun to do, and it actually really does help with my workflow.

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *Lev: Oh, absolutely. RPG Maker games have a bad reputation for being very cut-and-paste, and there's a lot of those out there. But it just takes a bit of effort to make yourself and your game stand out, and it can be done absolutely beautifully! The latest one I've played was Hylics, completely surreal and wonderful.

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Lev: Robin is a sort of proxy character for myself, so...I'm a bit biased on her. I love Jay a lot, too, he's kinda the friend I wish I had in elementary school when all this first showed up, haha. *Tredlocity: As someone who faces anxiety on a daily basis, I relate to Robin a lot. Though I would say my favorite character is Jay, since he can shoot plasma and has blue hair. *C: I'm partial to Coop [upcoming character], not just bc I designed them but bc I love big sister types. *Rose: I also relate to robin and jay! i try to control my anxiety while remaining positive and hopeful about situations. *Bittersweet: As an anxiety-riddled person, I relate immensely to Robin. However, my favorite character by far has to be Carna. (There's another character I'm particularly looking forward to when the full version of the game is released, though~)

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Lev: Honestly, there's a few things I wanted the game to be able to do at the start that I wasn't able to make happen. I spent a LOT of time trying to get it to work without having to go in and code it myself, and I wish I'd been able to take a step back, remind myself that this is my first serious project, and just stop worrying so much about what, in the end, would've been a minor detail, anyway.

Once you finish your project, do you plan to explore the game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Lev: Chances are I'm gonna leave it alone, but if I go back, I HAVE had a bit of a 'Ghost College' AU where they're exploring a haunted old library on their college campus instead of being trapped in a ghost hospital. It'd probably be cool as a point-and-click adventure, but it wouldn't exactly be a canon exploration of the postgame.

What do you look most forward to upon/after release? *Lev: I'm actually working on a few other projects, so being able to work on those more freely would be great, especially considering I'm really bad at keeping my own limits in mind, haha.

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *Lev: Mostly, I'm afraid that making a game about a subject like this, as a minority and with other people in my team that would be considered minorities, that releasing this game to the mainstream public would get me a lot of negative attention from people who think that people like us don't belong in the gaming sphere. It's pretty nerve-wracking, but after the positive reception of games like Undertale and SLARPG, it's getting easier to convince myself that I should be more afraid of people just generally not liking the game, haha.

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Lev: Have someone to work with! DEFINITELY have someone to work with. Even if it's just a friend to bounce ideas off of or someone to ask if you've been working on the game, having someone else involved helps a lot. And specifically for RPG Maker- if you can, replace your default font with a different one. It's a minor detail, but it goes a long way towards making your game feel more original. *C: Always have a backlog of different projects. I have about four or five ideas constantly on rotation so I don't burn myself out on just one. *Tredlocity: My advice for any creatives is to start small, and just get it out. Feedback is a great motivator, and the only way to get better at something is to keep doing it! *Rose: I think some good advice is to write a few drafts of whatever it is you're working on in order to see which version you'd like to continue! let your work have different scenarios and situations based on various elements you insert or take out of a story, game, or other piece. *Bittersweet: Don't pressure yourself to a dead-set deadline. I know, you want to get this project out eventually, and if you're on a roll with development then all the power to you, but if you're struggling, don't let it burn you out. That's just unhealthy.

Question from last month's featured dev @toxicshroomswamp: How do you feel about your main character(s)? What piece of life advice would you give them? *Lev: I love my main characters, I love them like my own children. I would probably tell Robin that she'll learn to handle everything, it won't be so scary forever. I'd tell Jay that stopping for a minute and thinking is way more important than it seems. I'd tell Sarcastic ghost to shut up.

We mods would like to thank Lev, Kip, Rose, Tredlocity, C, and Bittersweet for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!

Remember to check out Ghost Hospital if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum

[rosecorcoranwrites]

MacGuffins Matter

If you know what a MacGuffin is, you're probably thinking that they actually don't matter in the slightest and that I'm full of nonsense. If you don't know what a MacGuffin is, here's a definition from Merriam-Webster: an object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance. The most famous example is the Maltese Falcon, in the film of the same name. It sets the plot in motion, in that every character wants the statue for himself, but lacks intrinsic value in that "the Maltese Falcon" could be swapped out for the treasure of your choice: the Abyssinian Monkey, the Peruvian Chinchilla, the MacGuffian Beast.

Technically, a MacGuffin only lacks intrinsic value in the meta sense, as the characters themselves obviously want the object for some reason. The Harry Potter books, I think, are perfect examples of well-done MacGuffins (except the last book, but more on that later). The Philosopher's Stone in the first book is a powerful magic item that grants perpetual life, so it makes sense for it to be under lock and key, and for Voldemort to want it. In the meta-narrative, it's just an object that provides a mystery for Harry & Co. to investigate. Rowling does something similar with the horcruxes, which are vitally important to stopping Voldemort, ie, are a convenient way to provide a challenging search for our heroes in the final book.

And yet, many authors don't treat MacGuffins like they matter. Because I overanalyze every bit of media I consume, I've noticed two trends of late wherein MacGuffins are misused, and I'm here to tell you all why this is a problem.

The first trend is when the writers forget why the MacGuffin matters to the characters. This occurs when a plot revolving around a MacGuffin stops dead in its tracks, sometimes for chapters or episodes on end, for no discernible reason. Now, I can give some leeway to dawdling around in comedies, since their purpose is to provide laughs rather than tension. In Slayers Next, for example, the characters are looking for the Claire Bible, a MacGuffin of untold power, but spend 90% of the plot derping around getting into ridiculous situations. To be fair, most of these situations are, in fact, because they are looking for the Claire Bible but keep getting false leads. The only arc where they actually stay in one place for multiple episodes is when they learn that the father of one of the characters has been assassinated and have to investigate. Notice, something intrinsically important—solving the murder of an important character—briefly takes precedence over finding the non-intrinsically important plot device. This diversion works, first, because the diversion is deeply personal and, second, because finding the MacGuffin is not time sensitive, as far as the characters know.

On the other hand, you have Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where the characters camp in the woods for-seemingly-ever. This isn't a comedy, and what's more, lives are at stake. Every minute that Voldemort isn't killed is a chance for him and the Death Eaters to murder muggles and muggleborns. Yet, we the audience are treated to five million chapters (perhaps I exaggerate) of the characters sitting around wondering what to do next. What's even more frustrating is that the non-camping-in-the-woods parts of that book are so interesting: infiltrating the Ministry of Magic, escaping Malfoy Manor, breaking into Gringotts, returning to Hogwarts. I will be the first to say that a story needs downtime as well as action, but the chapters in the woods felt not like downtime, but wasted time: we learned that Ron has feelings of inadequacy, as well as a strong loyalty to his family, which we already knew; we learn that Harry is willing to brave freezing water to get important stuff, which we already knew; we learn, retroactively, that Snape's patronus is a doe because he loved Lily, which... Wait, why would he associate her with the female version of the animal her husband turns into? As usual, I digress...

Anyway, these chapters make the plot stop dead, making us wonder why the characters aren't doing more to find the horcruxes. They know some of the horcruxes are associated with the Hogwarts founders, so why not seek out a historian? They know they need some serious power to destroy them, so why not seek out a powerful wizard? Why not do something? You could easily argue that they were trying, but I'm not blaming the characters, I'm blaming the writer. She gave us these MacGuffins, but rather than use them to drive the plot, she lets the plot slowly, agonizingly crawl forward due to happenstance. The characters happen to overhear that the sword in Lestrange's vault was a fake, and then they happen to have the real one delivered right to them. Harry happens to be correct in his unsubstatiated theory that Helga Hufflepuff's cup might actually be in the vault, and then they happen to fly to Hogwarts where it just so happens that a ghost knows where the diadem is. Although they do take action once they know where a Horcrux is, they do nothing to actually try and find out where they are. Voldemort showing up at he end with Nagini in tow, by this point, is a convenience rather than a threat, because they don't have to bother finding him!

A more recent example is in Tangled: The Series, season two. The characters have a MacGuffin: nigh-unbreakable black rocks that are spreading across the land and that have a magical connection to the flower that saved Rapunzel's mom during childbirth. The characters are questing to find out what, exactly, these black rocks are all about. Much like Slayers, the series is rather lighthearted and episodic, so it's okay for them to take random side adventures here and there, since they are traveling and thus encountering various people and creatures. What is not okay is for them to get shipwrecked and stranded on a island for three episodes! The writers chose to do this, chose to have the characters stay in one spot rather than journey toward their goal. Like the horcruxes in Harry Potter, the black rocks are somewhat time sensitive, as they've eaten up swaths of land that people need for farming and living and whatnot. There is also a certain side character who shall remain nameless (no spoilers; watch the series!) who very much needs them to figure out how to undo the damage the rocks have done, ASAP. Dropping the main characters on the island makes it seem as if the writers forgot that all those people affected by the rocks exist. Yes, technically the MacGuffin doesn't have intrinsic value—they could be purple rocks or black thorns or whatever—but whatever they are, they do have value to the characters in that there is a pressing mystery to be solved.

And that is why dawdling in a MacGuffin-based story is so frustrating. The MacGuffin spurs the plot; forgetting about the MacGuffin stalls the plot. Worse, it erases the value the characters put on the MacGuffin, which undercuts the realism of the story and, at times, can make the characters seem not fully invested in whatever their mission is. The only thing that should divert the characters from this mission is something even more urgent that, in the best case scenario, in some way will end up relating to or enhancing the plot.

Worse than stalling, however, is adding more MacGuffins before the first ones are dealt with. Again, we can look at Deathly Hallows. In each of the first six books of the series, a MacGuffin of one sort or another is introduced and then found by the end of the book. Book six, along with establishing and then revealing the identity of the Half-Blood Prince, also introduces the concept of horcruxes. Ah, thinks the audience, so these will be the five MacGuffins that Harry is looking for in the last book (as two of the seven have already been destroyed). But alas! In the final volume, we are introduced to three extra MacGuffins: the Deathly Hallows, in the form of Harry's invisibility cloak, the stone in Marvolo's ring, and the most MacGuffiny of all, the Elder Wand. Despite the fact that the horcruxes are a rather pressing matter, much story time is spent discussing the Deathly Hallows, their origin, Dumbledore's and Grindlewald's connection to them, the fact that the ring shows you wraiths that entice you to throw your life away, how Voldemort wants the Elder Wand but Harry's actually the master of it, and other things which completely divert from the actual plot of the book.

I'll come right out and say it: nothing about the Deathly Hallows actually adds to the story. In fact, I argue that they detracts from the message of the series as a whole. Is love the ultimate weapon against evil? Nope, you just need to become master of the Elder Wand! Is a focus on blood lineage a bunch of hokum? Not at all, because Harry and Voldemort are secretly related to the three brothers! But I digress once again.

The main reason Rowling should not have introduced these three MacGuffins was that she already had five, which get left by the wayside due to so much focus on the Hallows. Let me rephrase that: the reason she should not have introduced this new plot line was she already had a complicated plot line that gets diverted by this new addition. Chapters that could be used by our heroes to look for horcruxes are spent focusing on who is currently in charge of the Elder Wand. It's like the author is saying, "Yeah, I introduced a prophecy regarding Harry, and the idea that love is more powerful than magic, and that you have to slowly destroy Voldemort one piece at a time, but all that is boring. Here's a one-hit-one-kill-wonder weapon. Wouldn't you rather read about that?" Maybe I would, if that was what was introduced as the means of ending Voldemort. But it wasn't. Horcruxes were. Focus, Rowling, focus!

Lest you think I'm only picking on Harry Potter (I really do like the series, I promise!), lets take a look at another story with far too many MacGuffins: RWBY. The first several seasons of the show were pretty low-key fantasy school type plots, with magical fighting thrown in. We were introduced to our first set of MacGuffins in season three, in the form of the four maidens: Spring, Winter, Summer, and Fall. At the end of the season, the spirit of the Fall Maiden was transferred to a new host, leaving us to assume that in subsequent seasons we might be introduced to the other three maidens, who the good guys and the bad guys want for... reasons? It's a little vague, but still intriguing. We meet one of the other maidens in season five and it looks like we might be on our way to—Oh, just kidding; she leaves the show and our heroes and villains have a new MacGuffin that they want: four relics that are housed under the four schools. So they coincide with the maidens? No? O-okay, well, I guess in the next seasons, they'll be looking for the maidens and the relics, and—Nope! Gods! There are two Manichean gods who destroyed the world and will destroy it again if the relics are brought together and humanity is still fighting, so that's why the good guys are gathering them... during a war? What? Wait, where are the maidens? Where is the plot? What's happening? A lot of viewers jumped ship at this point, and although I'm going to stick with the show (I have a high nonsense threshold), I don't blame them. It's gone off the rails. We don't know what the characters want, other than the relics, but we don't really know why they want them, since, as long as the relics aren't brought together, everything is hunky dory. Truly, truly, I do not know what the writers were thinking introducing so many plot lines. The Maiden MacGuffins were driving the plot, but by introducing the Relic MacGuffins, it necessarily diverts the plot elsewhere.

One final clarification: I'm not saying that a story can't have multiple plot lines. I love stories where each character wants something different, and thus leads the narrative in different directions. What I'm against is letting any of those storylines die on the vine, which is what happens when MacGuffins are forgotten and characters either sit around not going after them or run off after new ones. This makes the audience assume that the MacGuffin isn't important to the characters, that it has no intrinsic or narrative value, and that it doesn't matter. What writers need to ask themselves is, if it's that unimportant to characters and doesn't drive the plot, why include it to begin with?

[twracehorse]

Cringing at my own videos

Training Videos Edition!

I got bored, needed motivation to start editing, went back to take a look at my older videos, and now I judge and cringe at them because that’s a given at this stage

Under the cut to keep your dash shorter :3

Determined Horse Training, the title I came up with to be a little unique. I obviously couldn’t use something akin to Northena’s “Training Is Fun...Right?” and I wanted to give it a proper title knowing this would be a series of videos. I thought, and thought, and came up with the title after thinking of Undertale and how you are filled with determination in the game. “I am filled with determination to train these horses!” is what I thought and so the title of the series became that!

I use // as a way to separate different topics I’m talking about

Brave Rebel- First off...the thumbnail. He was originally themed sort of after Nathan Drake from Uncharted, since I was into that series at the time. So the map was, you know, for the treasure hunting. But I didn’t want to stretch the map to fit and somehow decided that a brown background was a good idea?? // AH THE CLOTHES! THE NECK!! AHHH GATORADE OCEAN BLEHH. // Oh yeah I have a spelling error in the video “Let’s go defeat this traning day!”. // Been training with Sage from the start of the series. I wonder how many fails of their’s I’ve caught XD // Ah the rocks, the rocks that I caught Sage stumbling out of in a later training video. // Let’s not forget the double mouse thing going on that makes its appearance in many videos before I figured out to click off of the web pages (which had a music playlist going while training). // Omg there’s someone with the club name The Babies standing nearby when I turn in the final race. // Low-key still love this horse. He was my first true Soul Steed before we were designated to our starter. I don’t take him out much, the difference in horse animations from new to old is getting bigger and for dynamic photos, it just doesn’t look good ( @~@)

Cool Hero- The horse based off of Markiplier back when he had red hair. I also uploaded the video on his birthday! // The song choice....I mean it fits the theme, otherwise I’d pick a better song. // The mini references I’m still low-key proud of. // There’s quite the amount of gliding pons in this video and some horror texture pons. // I obviously had to max Markimoo at the observatory! // I also mimicked Mark’s outros where an image is boomeranging. It took a couple tries with my friend in the background, but it was worth it!

Violet Mystery- I hope when I introduced her as “The winner of the Jorvik Wild horse competition” I mean, she was the first coat to be picked. Back when it was only one horse coat is being made. They added the top two coats afterwards. // Oh yeah the character’s whole head would move to the side to keep eye contact with the camera. // It’s so weird to think that I caught a bit of footage of Swifty just before meeting her. Then again I remember NOT editing this training video until months later and uploaded it in September. Mind you that I got Cool Hero and Violet Mystery at the same time and Cool Hero’s video was out in June...oops. // Ironic that I have the pandoric cracks around when the horse is based off them. // People running up from the riding arena, ah the fog glitch that would happen when you left your horse in the riding area, ran all the way to the dino valley elevator, took it, and there was no fog in the valley! 

Megalove- Ah the first Undertale horse! I mean technically still the only Undertale themed horse I have, but I do have others planned. Haven’t gotten them yet and some plans changed. // The thumbnail....why did I make the stickers super tiny?? // Finally changed Elsa’s hairstyle to the ponytail I still wear to this day. We need updated ponytails with side bangs! I know we have the awesome braided ponytail in Mistfall, but there’s too much forehead! // Also the first training footage with the meet up....was 4 hours long. This was back when I recorded all stages of training and went through the footage in real time....I’m glad I changed strategy. // Can’t remember if crashing into a jump and the jump of the music timed at the same point was on purpose or if it was editing magic. // Oof cringing that I put comic sans as Sans “talking” in the video nnngghhhhh! // Ah my old club name Royal Ambassadors. I gave that club over to my side account Chiara Monsterhope for obvious reasons. // Annoying Dog in the credits, I still love that

Lucky Hero- I’m still proud that I came up with his nickname Vien short of Vienna where the famous riding school is. He, along with Brave Rebel, are my top horses. Please get an update eventually boys! // Finally Mac users had clear water! I was so happy over this you do not understand XD // Warriors by Imagine Dragons fits this horse, but quite a pain when I got Dark Warrior and didn’t want repeating songs. // Oh yeah early on, the Lipizzaners had a weird reflective tail glitch going on. // Vien was the first horse of mine that I got the day of release, bright and early in the morning! // I love how in the face of danger, an approaching bull dozer, I just stare at it. It wasn’t even a “oh no I should get out of the way” and instead was “huh that’s a thing”. // ALLY CHUM! I forgot that was a nickname to good friend!

Grey Ghost- OH BOY HERE WE GO!! Honestly my favorite training video. It was so much fun to edit with the music and the Halloween stickers hidden around the screen! Despite waking up at 5am to train for that aesthetic™. // Okay but that mushroom with the dark green sign did legit give me a spook. My body froze for a second and then I remembered that Slenderman doesn’t exist in Star Stable XD. // Ngl two of the stickers are hard to see cause of their surroundings. // GALLOPER THOMPSON MY MAN! Honestly I waited till midnight for him to be in Goldenleaf forest, just to see what would happen if you were racing and he caught you. By the gods of editing magic, the song was at a good point that fits perfectly with that scene. // For the scarecrow race I did actually take two different takes. I failed the first one and when I was editing I noticed that the two runs looked similar. So I put the first part of run 1 and cut before I failed and then put the remaining of the race with run 2. Looks almost seamless! 

Silent Promise- My favorite mare in my stable! She ends up being my AoT cosplay photo horse...until I get the actual themed horse XP. // Shadows were a little glitchy at first. // Why am I using Rud instead of Rude. Like I know why cause that’s how we got around the filter, but I didn’t need to put it like that in the video. It’s like back in my WolfQuest days where I learned to use Cuz as a short version of Cause and it bled into my text vocab. // The witch bombs...I wanted to make it dramatic, but in hindsight it’s just tasteless really. Also to note that the sound which was fine before uploading, got more rough once it was on YouTube

Small Potential- Real cringe theme here, Hetalia. It was fun while watching and all that, but since then I’ve seen some well done anime! Growth! // I love the nickname Finny. Not too sure if I want to keep this pony or not, sadly. // The Christmas remix song is because I had no other ideas XD

Brave Eagle- Oh this is another slight cringe theme. Even more cringe is the fact that I had to re-upload this training video since it got blocked all over the world! due to the Hamilton musical songs. So I....had to layer over the songs with other songs....it’s a whole mess and was a whole pain since I had to re-edit the sound effects. // I’m proud of the thumbnail though....that’s it

Winter Dust- Why did I make the “there’s a new app with these foals you can train” with the dramatic music? // I think because I had less levels to train, I tried filling that space with “cool looking shots”. // Ah, yes, my How To Get Over A Jump wikipedia step by step

Hollow Phantom- Had to bring a creepy vibe even though it was February. So he’s like a Halloween not Halloween horse. // Can you believe that I found the main song from a Haikyuu!! crack video? XD. // That zoom on the pony surrounded by magic shires was weird. We’re saying “SO TINY” but the clip was so short it was done and over without much sense. // Mmm that slight irritation that the music and clip didn’t match with the drop. // Tried to blend the music together with itself....it’s obvious. // Of course had to max the Galloper horse where I first met the phantom himself

North Guardian- I wanna talk about the thumbnail....that background...is literally just the horse’s hindquarters. I wanted something mossy since the horse is sort of based off of Pelagia from Shadow of the Colossus. I couldn’t find good enough backgrounds, so I used the horse itself. // Again that urge to want to make the clip and music match but ahhh

Lucky Lucky- Still wish I could name this horse Gold Luck or something. // I think one of the camera turns during a race was just to show off the rainbow nearby. // Ahh! back when we could say “demon” in the chat. // Hmm instead of letting the clip run, I could’ve just cut to Reed calling the askew fence “a disgrace”. // Text was onscreen for just too long. // Trying to do the riding arena jumps with a good camera angle. But at that point, the camera kept moving and wouldn’t hold still. I’m glad it’s better now. Maybe I’ll try it again with a future horse. // Huh, forgot to add sound effects when I hit something on the last race

Silent Surprise- Cause I had to let the people know that I bought the horse after watching the Belmont. // AH STILL THE NECK! // 2 minutes in and we haven’t even gotten to the actual training yet. // Another day, another SSO glitch, this time it’s shadow rocks. // Oop missed a sound effect

Hot Spot- THE MUSTACHE! // I forgot I put a filter over the video to give it an old timey look. I should do more like that if it’s in theme. // Of course I had to have The Wanted be playing with this song since it’s old west sounding. // What was the purpose of editing the scarecrow race like that? XD. // Random running clip. // Walking the whole bobcat race would be nice if I didn’t keep moving the camera

Pumpkin Candy- As much as I love my Halloween horses, this training video isn’t up to the standards that the first Halloween training video set up. It’s still got Halloween themed music, it’s still got stickers hidden in the video, but it doesn’t feel the same. // Having text be their default instead of making them the same agh. // The spooky filter I overlayed the clips with changes at times. Would be nice if it stayed consistent

Dragon Dawn- Hmm now that I have more songs to choose from (getting into another artist as much as I did with The Wanted), I would have another song playing to fit the horse better. Maybe Euphoria or Mikrokosmos. Oh well those will be for future horses eventually! // Didn’t drop with the music...disappointed

Thunder Spirit- The horse that trains through three months. You can easily tell by the Valentine race, the rainbows of March, and April Fools. // Man I really need to work on making the text not be so BIG. // The first rainbow race had lots of sound effects. After that one I was just like “yeah not doing that again”

Sun Chaser- Eh the slowed down music is not the best idea. But I think it was also an intro to a remix of the song. So it was only so long and I had a bit to say for the intro of the horse. // The second clip of the mysterious Icelandic cryptid you can’t see them once it zooms in....annoying. // Too much of a slow build up with another cryptid spotting. // Also using the same sound but slower after just using it...smooth (not). // You know the very last clip of the horse as he’s turning around on the beach? Yeah that’s the exact moment I did the intro for the horse XD

Dragon Warrior- The contrast between me and Sage’s bantering vs the sadder song (I found the song because of a Zeno AMV) well it’s kinda weird having laughs and then sad melody. // YouTube again ruins the quality of the mic as it sounds fuzzier than it was pre-uploaded. // Low-key recording voices was fun aside from having to make sure the clips matched the voices and clicking of the mouse. // I’m still annoyed I couldn’t find the perfect snoring sound effect when Sage’s Connemara is sleeping and starts gliding away

Smoke Mirror- A little too much of a pause between text in the intro. // I love how I’m wearing a Halloween shirt because no other shirt matched with the blue of the hat except for the dress it came with THAT I GOT RID OF! 

Obsidian Mystery- I love the thumbnail for her training video. It’s so spooky and cool! Favorite thumbnail of the entire series right there. // Ironic that with the three Halloween horses I’ve had. The two with the upbeat music are the ones where Galloper was present that year. The one where Galloper was missing that October, the music was softer, generic Halloween music. Not intentional, but it works. Though the first Halloween training video still gets the trick-or-treats because it has nostalgic music. // Some text isn’t easily visible

Dark Warrior- The horse I wish I could name Secret Warrior cause that would make SO MUCH MORE SENSE than Dark Warrior, but here we are. // Since Warriors by Imagine Dragons was in a previous training video, I had to search for another song to fit the horse. I literally went through those anime character theme song videos to find one! That was a terrible jump cut of the song

Ember Flame- Coming Soon

[ruminativerabbi]

Awakenings

For some reason, I’ve always been drawn to Rip Van Winkle-style stories about people who fall asleep for one or many years and then wake up to find themselves in whole new worlds. First of all, there’s Rip himself—a fictional character who first made his appearance in Washington Irving’s collection of stories and essays, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., which came out exactly 200 years ago in 1819. The book has long since been forgotten by most, as unfortunately also has been its author: one of the true giants of American literature in his day, Irving has for some reason not joined the authors he himself encouraged in their careers—writers like Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, or Henry Wadsworth Longfellow—in the pantheon of American authors still read other than by people to whom their books have been assigned in American Literature classes. And he really was one of the greats! I believe that I’ve read all his stories, certainly most of them, and “Rip Van Winkle” is one of my favorites. His other still-famous story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” turned into a whole series of Hollywood movies—most memorably Tim Burton’s 1999 film, Sleepy Hollow—and television shows, is also a terrific piece of writing that deserves to be more widely read in its original format. But I digress: I wanted to write here about Rip van Winkle himself and not the author who dreamed him up.

The story is well known and easily retold. One day while wandering deep in the woods near Sleepy Hollow to escape his wife’s endless nagging, Rip runs into the ghosts of the sailors who in their day manned Henry Hudson’s ship, the Half Moon, and promptly joins them in a game of nine pins and in drinking a lot of liquor, whereupon he falls into a deep sleep. Then, when he awakens twenty years later, he discovers that his son is now a grown man, his wife has died, and that he missed the entire American Revolution while he slumbered away. He makes his peace with being a widower easily enough (the Van Winkles don’t seem to have had too happy a marriage), finds it more challenging to abandon his native allegiance to King George, and finally ends up settling in with his grown daughter as he tries to figure out the new world and his place in it.

There are lots of parallel stories to Irving’s tale. Third-century (C.E.) Greek philosopher Diogenes Laëterius, for example, wrote about a man named Epimenides who fell asleep for fifty-seven years and then had to negotiate an entirely new world when he awakened.  Jewish literature has its own version of both Rip van Winkle and Epimenides in Honi the Circle-Drawer, a wonder-working rabbi of the first century (or thereabouts) who fell asleep for seventy years and awakened to find a man tending to carob trees that Honi himself had witnessed the man’s grandfather planting just (it must have felt like) a day earlier. Other cultures have their own versions, but what makes them appealing—and also slightly terrifying— is the fantasy that this could possibly happen to us readers, that we too could possibly get into bed tonight, turn off the light, drift off into sleep…and then awaken not tomorrow morning but a century from now. Nor is it hard to explain why this is such an arresting theme to so many. We all like to think that the world is so sturdy, so substantial, so there, after all…and then an idea like this takes root and suggests that it’s all a chimera, all a fantasy, all an elaborate illusion played out against an equally illusory dreamscape, that what feels so real is only an elaborate set that the stage crew will take down the moment we breathe our last. And why shouldn’t the theater of life mimic the way things work in real theaters? The show closes, the crew strikes the set, the actors return their costumes, and everybody goes home. And, on Broadway, that is that!  

And now it turns out that it really is so that people fall asleep and awaken decades later. Some readers may have noticed a story in the paper a while back about one Munira Abdulla, a woman from a small town in the United Arab Emirates, who was in a terrible automobile accident in 1991 when she was only thirty-two years old. She fell into a coma, but was kept alive by her family in the hope that she might one day awaken. And she did just that, awakening, apparently on her own, after twenty-seven years. Technically speaking, Ms. Abdulla was in the state technically called “minimal consciousness,” which is less bad than being in a full coma (i.e., in which the patient shows no sign of being awake) or in what’s called a persistent vegetative state (in which the patient appears to be awake but shows no signs of awareness). It is, however, still extraordinarily rare for patients possessed of minimal consciousness simply to awaken.

It’s happened closer to home as well. Terry Wallis, for example, was nineteen when his pickup skidded off a bridge near his hometown in Arkansas, which accident left him in a persistent vegetative state. Doctors told his family that he had no chance of recovery. But then he somehow managed to move up a notch into the same state of minimal consciousness that Munira Abdulla was in. And there he remained for nineteen years, domiciled at a nursing home near his parents’ home. And then one day in 2006 his mother walked into his room, whereupon he looked up and said “Mom” out loud, the first word he had uttered in almost two decades.

Donald Herbert’s is a similar story. A Buffalo fire-fighter, Herbert was injured on the job in 1995 when debris in a burning building fell on him and left him in what doctors called a state of “faint consciousness” for a full decade. And then, in 2005, after a full decade of silence, he opened his eyes one day and asked for his wife.  

These are rare stories, obviously. Most comatose people—including people possessed of faint or minimal consciousness—do not suddenly wake up and start talking. Indeed, in every real sense, these people I’ve been writing about are the rare exceptions to an otherwise sad rule. But the fact that such people exist at all is very meaningful: even if the overwhelming majority of comatose patients do not spontaneously wake up, some apparently do. And in that thought inheres the huge problem for society of how to relate to the somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans who exist in states of partial, faint, or minimal consciousness. Most will never recover. But some few may.

Many readers will remember Penny Marshall’s terrific 1990 movie, Awakenings, starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, and based on Oliver Sacks’ 1973 book of the same title. (Less well known is that Harold Pinter wrote a short play, A Kind of Alaska, based on Sacks’ book as well, which is often performed as part of a trilogy of the playwright’s one-act plays.) The story of the book and the movie (and presumably the play as well, which I’d like to see one day) is simple enough: a doctor working in 1969 at a public hospital in the Bronx is charged with caring for a ward of catatonic patients who survived the world-wide epidemic of encephalitis (specifically the version called encephalitis lethargica) in the 1920’s. The doctor, very movingly and effectively portrayed by the late Robin Williams, somehow has the idea to try using L-Dopa, a drug used to treat Parkinson’s Disease, on these patients and gets astounding results; the movie is basically about one of those patients, portrayed by Robert De Niro, whose “awakening” is depicted in detail. It doesn’t work in the long run, though; each “awakened” patient, including the one played by De Niro, eventually returns to catatonia no matter how high a dose of L-Dopa any is given. The movie thus ends both hopefully and tragically: the former because these people on whom the world had long-since given up were given a final act in the course of which they sampled, Rip Van Winkle-style, the world a half-century after they fell asleep; and the latter because, in the end, the experiment failed and no one was cured in anything like a long-term or fully meaningful way.

Why do these stories exert such a strong effect on me? It’s not that easy for me to say, but if I had to hazard a guess, I think I’d say that the concept of dying to the world briefly and then coming back to life to see what happened while you were gone is what draws me in. (Fans of Mark Twain will recall Tom Sawyer’s wish to be “dead temporarily.” But even Tom and Huck only manage to be gone from the world long enough to attend their own funeral and enjoy the eulogies they hear praising them, not to vanish for decades and then come back to life.) I’m sure there would be surprises if I were to go to bed tonight and wake up in 2089. Some would be amusing—seeing what model iPhone they’ve gotten up to or what version of Windows, or if anyone even remembers either—and some would be amazing: if the President of the United States in 2089 is sixty years old, then he or she won’t have been born yet.  But mostly it would be chastening, and in the extreme, to see how all the various things that seem so immutable, so permanent, so rooted in reality in our world, have all vanished from the world, as will probably also have all of the houses in which we live today, the banks in which we store our cash, and even the shore lines that mark the boundary between the wine-dark sea and the dry land upon which we live in safety or think we do. Depending on a wide variety of factors, that thought is either depressing or exhilarating. But in either event, it makes it easier not to sweat the small stuff or allow our own anxieties to impact negatively on the pleasures life can offer to the living.

I will bring all these thoughts with me as I prepare for Israel in a few weeks’ time because the Rip Van Winkle and Terry Wallis stories are Jerusalem’s own as well. The vibrant center of Jewish life for more than a millennium when the Temple was destroyed in the first century, the city was suddenly emptied of its Jews by its Roman overlords who renamed it and forbade Jews from living there. And yet…some small remnant always remained in place while the city slept. And then, just when the Jewish Jerusalem’s faint consciousness seemed poised to flicker and die out entirely…just the opposite happened as Jews from all over the world built a new city on the outskirts of the old one and breathed consciousness and life itself into its ancient alleys and byways. As the patient came back to life, she didn’t only re-enter history either—she began to be a player in her own story, stepping off the stage to become her own play’s playwright and director. It felt like a miracle then and it feels like one to me today too.

When I’m in Jerusalem, I myself feel my consciousness expanding and becoming in equal parts rejuvenated, reconstituted, and revivified. I never run out of things to do, to write, to read, to experience. I can’t imagine being bored in Jerusalem, even on a hot day in mid-summer when I could just as easily be on the beach in Tel Aviv. I love the beach! But there is something about the air in Jerusalem, and the light, that is the spiritual version of L-Dopa that Robin Williams gives his patients in Penny Marshall’s movie. Except that it doesn’t wear off with time and, if anything, only gets stronger and more powerful as the weeks I spend in Jerusalem pass one by one until the time comes to come home and begin a new year in this place we have all settled.

[itwasanangryinch]

3...2...1... Happy New Year!!

For the first (?) time, I’m actually going to make and complete a New Years meme, because fuck it, I had a good year. I’m also going to put much shorter answers for last year since I had wanted to do this then, but then... didn’t.

Favourite new (to me) band: Against Me!     5 favourite songs:

The Ocean

White Crosses

True Trans Soul Rebel

I Was a Teenage Anarchist

Norse Truth

I’ve known about Against Me! since lead singer Laura Jane Grace since she came out as trans in 2012 with her Rolling Stone profile, but I hadn’t heard any of their songs until a couple of years ago. This year was the first year I really got into her music (both here and with The Devouring Mothers) after reading her biography Tranny while on vacation in Melbourne.

Runner up: Miss Guy and the Toilet Boys, seen for the first time at Wigstock 2.Ho

2017′s answer: Ataru Nakamura, the very, very talented trans performer who played Yitzhak to JCM’s Hedwig in Japan (and because of the staging, also played Hedwig for the non-singing part of the script.)

Favourite new (to me) city: Melbourne, Australia.

If you had asked me last year, my answer would have been Tokyo, Japan and this year’s is my favourite for much the same reasons: Melbourne is very easy to get around, very fun to walk around, and I got to see the wonderful John Cameron Mitchell perform there.

Melbourne is absolutely beautiful with so many shops to explore and a free (within the few square blocks I mostly kept to) public transport system.

Runner up: Sydney, Australia. Very similar to Melbourne and might have been the favourite if I had been able to stay there longer, but.... schedules.

2017′s answer: Toyko, Japan. For the reasons listed above. I could actually see myself moving to Tokyo at some point. Not right now, but possibly eventually.

Favourite concert: John Cameron Mitchell: The Origin of Love, Brisbane

This year I have seen this concert seven times in addition to one very abridged show in Portland, Oregon to go along with a double header of Hedwig and How to Talk to Girls at Parties.

On this particular date, the band gelled really well; John was in a great mood, great energy; the crowd was incredible..... Everything just... Worked. (Even tho this was the concert I had the least amount of interaction with John afterwards, lol.)

Definitely looking forward to seeing where John takes the performances for his upcoming stateside tour and at a later, yet to be announced, time in Japan.

Runner ups: (aside from the rest of the OoL tour), Rocky Horror with Mason Alexander Park, Taboo 15 (with Mason), Alice Cooper, and Wigstock 2.Ho where I finally got to see NPH performing as Hedwig.

2017′s answer: Hedwig and the Angry Inch: October 14th, evening. Tokyo, Japan.

In my estimation, this was the best of all of the Hedwig concerts. By this point, everyone had performed this in front of an audience twice before and the show from beginning to end gelled really well. Again, there was an incredible energy between the band and the two lead performers and the audiences for all of the Japan shows were great. From beginning to end, this one was the best.

From about the Tommy monologue til the end, the final Tokyo show (Oct. 15th) was the best because there was this crackling, alive, angry energy that had an almost dangerous feeling to Exquisite Corpse and was the only show (surprisingly!!) where I cried at the delivery of my favourite line “Then love the front of me.” On that show, with the exception of Exquisite Corpse, I cried from that line til John started the encore song, ‘The End of Love’ and I had only stopped there because I had completely forgotten he was doing an encore song.

Favourite movie: Black Panther

I’ve been waiting literal years for this movie to be made and there was not one thing to be disappointed in in its final rendering in my opinion. I realize that unlike a large portion of the audience, this movie was very much not reflective of my experiences and at no point would I claim to be represented by it as anything other than a nerd and a comic book fan.

Being a fan of the Black Panther for years has meant having tone deaf comic lines, sidelined animated stories, and much less content, merch, and even cartoon adaptation than some of his paler counterparts. So to see a film that was technically and narratively perfect being rendered so beautifully and taking the box office for many, many weeks was a wonderful way to start this year.

Runners up: Deadpool 2, Bad Samaratian, and does How to Talk to Girls at Parties even count for this year if I saw it last year in Japan??

2017′s answer: a strong tie between Transpotting 2 and HtTtGaP. T2 because it was so much better than I could have ever hoped it to be. It married themes and footage from the first film perfectly to the characters’ lives 20 years on. It gave me hope for an eventual Hedwig sequel in terms of quality because based on interviews, they share a similar tone in terms of ageing characters. Plus Danny Boyle’s cinematography was truly beautiful with the use of shadows, call-backs, foreshadowing.... A true equal to the most iconic of Scottish films.

HtTtGaP because well.... John Cameron Mitchell’s direction mixed with an alien invasion set against punk rock and the Queen’s jubilee? How could I not love it? To me, it’s a strong second to Hedwig in terms of quality and netted my absolute favourite review via the BBC (‘This is one of the worst films ever made’, trust me Beeb reviewer, if that were true, cinema would be a far more enjoyable art form.)

Favourite vacation: Australia

Long story short: I met my favourite actor five times. It’s very rare in this life that you can actually tell an artist who influenced your life in a very meaningful way just how much their art and they as a person mean to you. This year, after seeing JCM perform live eight times and on video, no lie, thousands of times, I had the chance to actually do this. And unlike how I was worried about for the past three years, I wasn’t actually nervous to talk to him at all. Part of that is that he is a very easy person to feel at ease with, very comforting presence.... And part of it was that during the first Australian show I went to where I’m dressed as the very first Squeezebox Hedwig, John lay on top of me as part of the final number. How could I be scared to talk to him after that introduction??

Runners up: going to see Taboo 15 in New York with my best friend and touring the David Bowie Is exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum (March), going to see Wigstock with Risa. Technically, I ditched work to be able to go, but.... 10/10, I would do it again. I saw a lot of amazing performers for the first time, had a chance to chat with Mason again, and saw the tour de force that is Neil Patrick Harris as Hedwig and Lena Hall as Yitzhak.

Hopefully next year, the Hedwig section will be able to be longer. (Or maybe Yitz will perform by himself. Or multiple Hedwigs. Or just the entire Hedwig script delivered at the end of a seven hour drag festival pre-show.)

2017′s answer: Hedwig in Japan. Not only did I get to meet my friend @miyacantdecide for the first time in person, I was able to see the wonder that is JCM as Hedwig live. Even when he’s not delivering the script, his presence as Hedwig is truly something else. And having seen him perform as himself (but in a version of her makeup) this year, I can honestly say that She has a completely different stage presence to Him and how incredible of an actor to be able to deliver such radically different interpretations of the same material and songs??

Outside of Hedwig, I can honestly say that I came back from Japan a changed person. Better in so many ways than I was a year previous. Almost completely made whole again after past traumas (and completed a year later on a different trip.)

2017′s runner up: seeing RENT 20 live. I had a blast hanging out with my mother most of the days and the RENT 20 cast? Holy shit. What talents. Cried from ‘I’ll Cover You (Reprise)’ til the end of ‘Finale B’. Just goes to show: it doesn’t matter if the show’s set in December and it’s hot As Fuck outside if you have a talented cast bundled up in sweaters for 75% of the script.

Favourite album: Golden by Kylie

Not only does pop’s most talented princess talk about her recent breakup with Joshua Sause (sp?), there’s themes of her ageing as this year our princess turned 50. While I agree with reviewers that this isn’t her best musically or vocally, I find myself replaying this one over and over on my stereo and headphones more than almost any other album this year. Favourite song: a toss up between Shelby ‘68 and Low Blow.

2017′s answer: Pollinator by Blondie. It had been two years since the release of 2014′s Ghost of Download, but unlike Ghost’s offerings that went largely unnoticed by me at the time, every single from Pollinator got me more and more hyped not only because of the excellent music evident on songs such as Fun, Long Time, and Doom or Destiny, but collaborations with artists such as Raja (on the video for Fun) and Joan Jett (the aforementioned Doom or Destiny), the honey-thick entrancing song Fragments, and the wonderful Love Line.

This year has been weirder, queerer, and more wonderful than any year yet on record. I’ve been to a number of technically-but-not-really drag shows, revisited some of my favourite artists in concert, met two of my favourite Hedwigs, and saw four total Heds perform.... I’ve read and learned more about the queer experience that not only deepened my understanding of my larger community, but of my own experiences and how they fit within the community. I’ve become more confident being out to coworkers and customers at my job....

I had the pleasure of meeting two of my close friends @hedwig-in-a-jukebox and @fdelopera in person (with plans to meet up again early-2019) as well as making some new friends.

Here’s to an even better 2019! Onwards and upwards.

[tgcnews]

Scott R Smith Inducted Into TGC Hall of Fame

Scott R Smith has been inducted into The Game Crafter Hall of Fame because his game, Dungeon Drop, won the Game Parts Only Challenge. Congratulations! Their designer interview is below.

Tell us about yourself and how long you've been designing games.

Like many other designers, technically I’ve been designing games since I was a kid. I designed a “mercenary shop” to hire pet monsters for Hero Quest and a Monopoly extension (yes, an extension) that included a hospital for accidents that occurred when two pieces landed on the same space. One summer, my cousins, brother and I completed a fully original space combat game in which each player controlled a fleet of fighters that leveled up with home-baked clay tokens. It was epic. At some point I “grew up” and started turning my energy into creative writing (which I still do), but over the last five years I rediscovered my love of game design. I began teaching a board game design class at my high school, formed a weekly game night with friends, and started churning out my own rough prototypes. This year, I decided to commit more seriously after admiring the work that was happening at The Game Crafter.

Please tell us about Dungeon Drop

Technically, it’s a dungeon crawl, but it takes a uniquely spatial approach to the genre. Players start by selecting characters and dumping a randomized bunch of colored cubes to the tabletop representing a variety of loot and monsters. The game hinges on the “pillar” cubes that players connect to form possible rooms in the dungeon. The idea is simple: find an awesome room and collect what’s inside. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good puzzle.

Where did the idea for this game come from?

For this one, there’s no question the idea came from the contest. I’m a story/theme driven person (I actually have my MA in English), and if I was going to make a game with no printed components, I wanted to be able to infuse the pieces with as much theme as possible. Once I began to imagine a physical dungeon taking shape on the tabletop, I was able to dive into the design.

What makes this game special/unique?

Dungeon Drop’s hook is its visual puzzle. Once players grasp the few rules, they’re able to pour over the possible patterns the pillar cubes present. The best moments come when a player discovers a way to grab a specific slice of loot their opponents missed.

Did you create a design journal for your game? If so, did you publish it somewhere we can link to?

I don’t have a design journal online, though it’s something I’d love to do at some point. I do all my brainstorming on a large graph paper notebook (below is a fragment of some early notes on Dungeon Drop). So much of the design of a game needs to be done on the computer, but I really do enjoy the ease and fluidity of sketching first. Any time I reach a roadblock with a design, I go back to my notebook. It’s home base.

Did you already have the idea for Dungeon Drop in your head before the Game Pieces Only Contest was announced?

When I read the description for the Game Pieces Only Challenge, my reaction was Oh, too bad. Have to wait for the next one. No art? No theme? Just pieces on a table? Not for me. Full abstraction isn’t something I’m usually drawn to, but then again maybe that’s why it was a good contest for me and a good lesson about stretching myself beyond my comfort zone.

What made you decide to enter your game into the contest?

Dungeon Drop was born for the contest. There was no way I was going to miss the deadline!

Would you have been motivated to work on the game as much as you did without the contest?

I can’t thank TGC enough for provided the platform both to self-publish and to create this genuine community of game creators (two incredibly important motivational resources). My first test run was the recent 18 card Hook Box Challenge. I dove into that contest late and learned a lot from the attempt—but one of the big take-aways was discovering the 18 card Facebook group (thanks to Odd Hackwelder for establishing and administrating). That’s something I never would have thought to look for without the contest—I love the micro-communities you come across in the board game world.

Has winning inspired you to enter more contests or design more games?

Of course! Contests are dicey things—the chances of winning are always slim with so many talented people entering and such a wide variety of creative designs. In this one, I really admired the playful energy of Brian LaPorte’s “Ghost,” the unique theming of Aron Emerson’s “Macaw” and the elegance of Gerlach Games’ “Antahpa,” just to name a few. However, the opportunity for real feedback and support from the outside world is worth the risk.

Could you describe any influence The Game Crafter has had on your success as a game designer?

Jumping into the 18 card challenge first helped hit the “design small” concept home for me. Thinking in a compact, limited way first, asking myself just how few elements I need to transmit my core gameplay experience, is enormously helpful. I’d also add that I’m seeing just how important the art of rule design can be. I try to remember that my game is only as good as the version my players understand from the rulebook—the goal is to create a set of rules that is both clear and as fun to read as possible.

What’s next for you?

The only thing more exciting than winning the contest is thinking about what’s next. I’m happy to say that I just signed a contract with Jason Miceli and Darrin Horbal about a future for Dungeon Drop v2.0 with Phase Shift Games. We’re already throwing around some great ideas for new twists on the concept, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with them. In the meantime, I’m playtesting a possible entry in the Solo Game Design Challenge.

Any last words of encouragement or advice to all of the designers reading this?

The deeper I get into game design, the more clearly I see the balance between designing for “me” (meaning designing the kinds of games I would want to play myself) and designing for an audience. Get caught too far in “design for me” mode, and I get lost with an unapproachable product. Get caught too far in designing for an audience, and I lose my creative drive to produce something new. Managing this balance is key and it helps if you have a trustworthy playtesting group that does not involve your own family. My wife is wonderful, creative, critical thinker, but there are real limits to my expectations for her to give me feedback (no game is worth a marriage!). My small game night group at home and larger playtest group in Boston (Game Maker’s Guild) are invaluable resources. Like many designers, I’m an introvert, but finding other people to share the experience with is, after all, what board gaming is all about.

[hope-for-olicity]

Fabulous Olicity Fanfic Friday - December 29th, 2017

Happy Friday! So this is my attempt to both thank awesome fanfic writers for their amazing work and offer my recommendations to anyone who is interested. Here are the fantastic fanfic stories I read this week! They are posted in the order I read them. OSS2017 are the Olicity Secret Santa entries I’ve read so far. Thanks so much to @green-arrows-of-karamel, @tdgal1 and @smkkbert for organizing another successful year! Happy New Year to all! 

Light a Fire by @smoaking-greenarrow - Set between seasons 5 and 6, so not exactly holiday-esque. It’s a bit angsty, actually. I’m sorry, I feel like you were looking for cute, anon. This just happened. Felicity tells Oliver about her experience when the island exploded, but there’s a fire and a cold Felicity and snugglin! Hope you enjoy!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/13095513

Technical Assistance multi-chapter by @thatmasquedgirl - Felicity Smoak swore she'd provide technical assistance to all who need it.   She's just not prepared for her newest client. A story that shows another way Felicity and Oliver could have met.  Each chapter contains a bonus scene at the end.  Olicity undertones, with a definite slow burn.  Originally started as a one-shot of the same name. Complete. http://archiveofourown.org/works/1359190/chapters/2838451

Making Merry - An Olicity Holiday Story by multi-chapter by @quiveringbunny - Oliver Queen finds himself roped into helping his sister during the holidays. http://archiveofourown.org/works/12995670/chapters/29715414

The Christmas Con multi-chapter by @spaztronautwriter - In order to convince his parents and his ex that he’s changed, Oliver Queen hires a stranger to be his girlfriend for the holidays. Felicity Smoak is as far from his type as possible, with her dark hair and attitude problem, but a bottle of hair dye and a new wardrobe—not to mention the money he’s promised—can do wonders, and if he plays his cards right this whole thing might actually work. http://archiveofourown.org/works/13116201/chapters/30006585

12 Days of Christmas by melicitysmoak - This Arrow/Olicity one-shot is set after the heart-breaking ending of the Mid-Season 4 Finale episode “Dark Waters.” It’s my version of what happens in the twelve days following Christmas day when Felicity survives the ambush and lies sleeping in a coma in the hospital. Oliver doesn't run off chasing after ghosts to find Damien Darkh and make him pay.  (That story arc bothered me a lot back then.)  Instead, he stays close to Felicity, hoping each day that she would wake up. The story revolves around a simple yet sincere exchange of “love” gifts for the holidays between them. He speaks, and she shows him that she’s listening. http://archiveofourown.org/works/13106157

Cold December Night multi-chapter by @sparkleannie -  OSS2017 AU, College AU, Fluff, friends to lovers, pink snuggies are a thing, whipped cream is involved, pet names, teeth rotting fluff  https://olicitysecretsanta.tumblr.com/post/168873077231/cold-december-night

William's First Hanukkah by @imusuallyobsessed - OSS 2017 https://olicitysecretsanta.tumblr.com/post/168878967160/williams-first-hanukkah

My Lovely Olicity - A Poem by @jaspertown - OSS2017 SO BEAUTIFUL! https://olicitysecretsanta.tumblr.com/post/168877340494/happy-holidays-a-gift-for-lgtwinkie99-by

Having Fun by @wetsuiton - OSS2017 Oliver is "mad" at Felicity but they still find ways to have fun - MY PRESENT!!! It's cute, adorable, fluffy and FUNNY!! https://olicitysecretsanta.tumblr.com/post/168882668425/olicity-secret-santa

That's Christmas To Me by @smkkbert -  OSS2017 Six significant Christmas moments for single dad Oliver Queen and his neighbor-turning-more Felicity Smoak - Five times Oliver’s Christmas was a little messed up and the one time it was really perfect. http://archiveofourown.org/works/13125204

Love and Little Cupcakes multi-chapter by @xtina-lynn  - Felicity loved sweets so much that she paid no attention to her love life. Until Thea Queen came into her store wanting fabulous cupcakes for her sixteenth birthday. http://archiveofourown.org/works/12400539/chapters/28216053

Chase's Twelve Days of Christmas multi-chapter by @befitandchase - Daily Christmas prompts - SO LOVELY! http://archiveofourown.org/works/12984744

25 Olicity's of December by @foreverfelicityqueen - A series of 25 olicity family oriented prompts for each day up to Christmas. http://archiveofourown.org/works/12886866/chapters/29439447

"I tried, but I just can't stay away from you anymore." by @dust2dust34 - Oliver and Felicity reunite http://dust2dust34.tumblr.com/post/168911898874/93

"I bet I can make you scream my name" by @dust2dust34 - Oliver and Felicity meet at a party after they have divorced http://dust2dust34.tumblr.com/post/168906702859/94

"Can I Kiss You?" by @dust2dust34 - Oliver and Felicity kiss http://dust2dust34.tumblr.com/post/168910110444/52

“Who crawls through someone’s window at 4am to go for ice cream?!” by @dust2dust34 - Felicity meets someone she doesn't expect http://dust2dust34.tumblr.com/post/168905003694/53-who-crawls-through-someones-window-at-4am-to

Safe multi-chapter by @geneshaven - Oliver and Felicity feel safe in their new life until they are not Part 3 https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/168894259609/safe Part 4 https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/168980978009/safe Part 5 https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/169057881419/safe

Pieces of Always multi-chapter by @so-caffeinated and @dust2dust34 - Life continues after Forever is Composed of Nows. Ongoing non-linear collection of family moments for the Queens. http://archiveofourown.org/works/8220479/chapters/18840356

The Darkest Hour by @felicityollies - prompt: Felicity gives birth/their first night with their daughter or son. http://felicityollies.tumblr.com/post/168931392012/prompt-felicity-gives-birththeir-first-night

Olicity Fanfic Countdown to Christmas multi-chapter by @mogirl97 - One-shots from my Olicity Fanfic Countdown to Christmas on Tumblr  http://archiveofourown.org/works/12885225/chapters/29435352

Thursday multi-chapter by @someonesaidcake - There is something about the girl next door that Oliver Queen is only now noticing... Felicity is moving to college just down the road from where Oliver is a senior.  He suddenly becomes very protective of the girl next door.  Thursday night dinners might not ever be the same again. This story gets better and better! http://archiveofourown.org/works/10688658/chapters/23670255

Christmas in Star City multi-chapter by lizzie21 - Felicity Smoak is a movie star who's come to Star City to shoot her new movie. Only problem, Mayor Oliver Queen isn't keen on the movie ruining his Christmas. The two of them get closer, but will Felicity's life get in the way of happily ever after? This is based off Hallmark's Christmas in Homestead and adapted for the Arrowverse. http://archiveofourown.org/works/13064211/chapters/29883018

Deck the Halls by anythingbutplatonic - Felicity has a plan for her perfect first Christmas morning as a married woman, but things go slightly awry. http://archiveofourown.org/works/12924543

On The Run by @sadfangirl05 - OSS2017 Felicity Smoak needs to disappear quickly as she’s been hunted by rogue agents of ARGUS. Agent Oliver Queen is assigned to protect her.  https://olicitysecretsanta.tumblr.com/post/168877886285/olicity-secret-santa-submission-2017-on-the-run

Easy As Cake by @felicityollies - OSS2017 Felicity’s least favorite things in the world are vague customers and customers who ask for cakes for impromptu weddings. It happens to be her luck that Oliver Queen is both and he’s calling her bakery.  https://olicitysecretsanta.tumblr.com/post/168870832884/easy-as-cake

Interrupted by unknown - OSS2017 Oliver and Felicity reunite https://olicitysecretsanta.tumblr.com/post/168871974261/interrupted

Better With You by @lgtwinkie99 - OSS2017 Felicity's friend John Diggle brings her to his friend Oliver Queen when she expresses an interest in buying a motorcycle. https://olicitysecretsanta.tumblr.com/post/168875735454/better-with-you

Time for a Story multi-chapter by @smkkbert - This fic shows Olicity and their life as a (married) couple with family. Although Olicity (and their kids) are the protagonists, other characters of Arrow and Flash make appearances. YOU NEED THIS STORY IN YOUR LIFE. http://archiveofourown.org/works/3912157/chapters/8757172

I Could Live By The Light In Your Eyes by @iwannabewithyou-unsafe - OSS2017 Felicity meets an old boyfriend while shopping with her family https://olicitysecretsanta.tumblr.com/post/168871407661/i-could-live-by-the-light-in-your-eyes

A Holiday For Two by @olicitysmoaky - OSS2017 https://olicitysecretsanta.tumblr.com/post/168874156367/a-holiday-for-two-a-secret-santa-fic-for

“I will knock you on your ass if you even think about it.” by @dust2dust34 - AU Oliver and Felicity have a disagreement http://dust2dust34.tumblr.com/post/169044173189/72-i-will-knock-you-on-your-ass-if-you-even

Never Forgotten by @diggo26 - Felicity is upset when Oliver completely forgets their dinner plans http://diggo26.tumblr.com/post/116479926899/can-you-do-domething-where-theyre-in-the-middle-of

// @almondblossomme // @emmaamelia95 // @mel-loves-all // @oliverfel4 // @green-arrows-of-karamel // @coal000 // @miriam1779 // @memcjo// @captainolicitysbedroom // @tdgal1 // @spaztronautwriter // @lalawo1// @quiveringbunny // @wrongshipper // @thebookjumper // @vaelisamaza // @myhauntedblacksoul // @lovelycssefan // @laurabelle2930 //

[the-far-bright-center]

Re: ‘Star Wars’ as the complete saga

Or, what the term means (and does not mean) to me 

As is no doubt obvious by now, I do not accept Disney’s post-RotJ version of events as a legitimate continuation of Lucas’ saga. While I’ve already gone over my reasons in great depth in previous posts here, here, and here, I thought I would offer my current views on the subject, including my definition and understanding of ‘Star Wars’ as a complete ‘created myth’. 

For anyone who might not already be aware, I was utterly devastated by TFA. After I saw it in cinemas, I honestly thought that Star Wars was lost to me forever. The only way I can describe it is that it felt like someone had actually reached back into the past, physically wrenched my childhood and youthful happiness out of my heart, and replaced it with a black hole of despair. It took me almost a year to try to erase that film (and it’s entire ‘premise’) from my mind. But after spending a great deal of time writing and thinking about how I personally define Star Wars (both in as a term and in the sense of its story structure), and what it means to me and why, I have been able to live happily ever after in my preferred version of the SW universe that ends after RotJ...as it always has, and always should, really. :')

That being said, in the current fandom experience (not to mention in popular culture and marketing media) it is almost impossible to fully avoid mentions ofthe Sequels. There are times I almost wish I could muster up even a small scrap of enthusiasm about those films, even just a tiny bit. But I can’t. I have tried, believe me. My life would be so much easier if I could. But every time I have to see or even think of the main 'characters' in it, or anything about it really (it happens, because it's everywhere), the feelings I experience range from total apathy, to bored annoyance, to extreme unease and a sense of looming dread....sometimes even to the point of making me feel sick to my stomach.

It's hard to explain. It's like there is this huge disconnect in my mind between what Disney *says* is ‘real’ (and what many fans and general audiences so readily accept), and what my heart knows to be true... and this aspect of 'SW' simply does not feel real to me. I don't *believe* in these characters or scenarios, at all. It’s like someone has wrapped something counterfeit in the outer trappings of something real, and is trying to pass it off as the real thing. The other day, someone mentioned the sequel films to me in passing, and it took every ounce of my willpower not to immediately blurt out: "You mean the FAKE sequels?" ;p  I just can't take it seriously as a genuine part of Star Wars—neither as a legitimate continuation of the Skywalker saga, nor even as a valid entry into the SW universe—and never will.

And honestly, at this point, it wouldn’t even matter if the subsequent sequel films were 'better', in an objective sense, than TFA—the damage is done. How can you retcon something that is itself nothing but negative retcon? There's no fixing it. Nothing that might or might not 'happen' in the other films could ever make what was supposed to have happened between RotJ and TFA any different. And since THAT is where my biggest issue lies, there's just no way of getting around it. And therefore, I simply cannot like or even remotely warm to characters who are supposed to exist in the context of a situation the very basis of which I completely disagree with and do not believe would ever have happened, under any circumstance.

But I’ve already discussed the details of why TFA just doesn’t work for me as a continuation of the Star Wars saga. Over and over. So why, then, am I still going on about it? Well, after talking with many different people (some who enjoy the sequels, some who do not), each with their own approach to Star Wars, it became clear to me that there was, perhaps, an important distinction that needed to be made. 

What it boils down to, I have come to realize, is the definition of ‘Star Wars’ as a term, and the perception of what that title means. I bring this up not because I think my definition is the only possible definition—I accept that, in this day in age, there are as many different definitions of the term as there are Star Wars fans. And so, for some, ‘Star Wars’ might now simply be whatever Disney says it is. For others, it might be the Original Trilogy only, and nothing more. For many long-time fans, it is Lucas’ saga *and* their preferred elements of the Expanded Universe, all combined. Everyone is of course free to define it as they will. But I feel it is important to specify what I, personally, am referring to when I write about ‘Star Wars’ and ‘what it means’.

As we know, Disney have now provided their own definition—they have done so by their delineation of what makes up the ‘New Canon’. But despite the constant stream of content they continue to churn out and try to shove down our throats, we are not bound by that definition. We are not. Why suddenly, is their definition of canon the only valid one? Just because they are they ‘keepers’ of the new ‘official’ content? How is that even fair, or just? I refuse to bow to that, especially when certain entries they now mark as ‘canon’ do not even make sense to me. For instance, as much as I might enjoy such material, I will personally NEVER view a comic or a tie-in novel as being on the same level of ‘canon’ as Lucas’ saga. Nope, sorry. It just ain’t happening, folks.

Disney’s definition may be ‘official’, but it is still, ultimately, arbitrary.

And it is still, ultimately, up to everyone as an individual fan to define what ‘Star Wars’ means to them. 

I’ve spent the better part of the last few years thinking about this, and it’s clear to me that my own definition and understanding of what Star Wars is (aka, the title of a very specific story, as opposed to the name of a brand or franchise), is simply not in line with Disney’s definition. For me, 'Star Wars' is the Skywalker saga… aka, the story of Anakin Skywalker. His rise, fall, and redemption. That's it. That's Star Wars. Everything else is not *technically* ‘Star Wars’, but rather stories set in the Star Wars universe. This is an important distinction. And one that explains why Rogue One worked so well for me, and why I can handle an animated series like Rebels—neither of these things is claiming to be Star Wars, as in the actual saga, itself. 

(Lest anyone assume that I am claiming that Anakin is the only important or main character in the entire saga, of course I am not—I am simply pointing out that, as the Chosen One, he is also the central figure of the saga, which is, in its overall structure, the story of his life.)

And if anyone thinks I’m just set in my ways and stubbornly against any new additions to the Galaxy Far, Far Away, I can assure you that this is far from the case. In fact, I *welcome* new stories set in the SW universe. I welcome new characters. Anyone who has followed this blog can attest to my admiration for the wonderful world-building and expansion of the SW universe in The Clone Wars series, and my endless slew of feels for non-saga characters such as Ahsoka Tano from TCW, and the Ghost crew/Spacefamily from Rebels. There is plenty of room for them, both in my heart, and in within the scope of the greater SW universe. I simply do not agree that the main saga—Lucas’ saga, the Skywalker saga—can, or even should be ‘continued’ in any ‘official’ way beyond Return of the Jedi.

(As an aside....wouldn’t it have been *great* to have a NEW saga, about an entirely new set of characters, with their own mythic journeys, and their own ‘family drama’? This would have been much more freeing (and compelling, imo) than trying to stretch and twist and retcon away most of the Prequels and Original Trilogy, and then shoehorning the existing saga-characters into a concept that is unoriginal, repetitive, out-of-character, and needlessly destructive to all that came before.)

And yet of course, the Sequels are claiming to be a continuation of the original saga. But in my opinion, that is simply an impossible claim to make, and is likely why the whole scenario those films are based on feels so contrived and ‘false’ to my heart and mind. Because the Skywalker saga IS complete, and has been complete for over a decade now. It is done. Finished. Two trilogies that mirror and compliment each other in the most beautifully poetic and satisfying way, and which, when viewed together, form a complete and coherent myth. A whole entity—no matter how much Disney might try to convince us otherwise. Because despite what many seem to think these days, the Original Trilogy was not left unfinished or in need of some kind of ‘completion’ or continuation. The Original Trilogy was completed, not by any ‘sequel’, but by the Prequel Trilogy, which was carefully and meticulously constructed by Lucas to perform that very function—to make the saga whole.

This brings me to another very important point: not only does my personal view of the Skywalker saga (as being, at heart, the story of its central figure, Anakin) vastly differ from Disney’s current definition, but my understanding of what KIND of story it is, and will always be, is completely at odds with what that corporation is attempting to turn it into. It’s obvious to me that Disney would like nothing more than to convince audiences that ‘Star Wars’ is merely an endless cycle of repetitive ‘family drama’—essentially, a soap opera set in space. (Because, let’s be honest here... a story that just goes on and on indefinitely is also an extremely lucrative one.) And yet, as I’ve noted above, not only is Anakin’s tale complete as it is, but it also belongs simultaneously to two very specific and complimentary storytelling genres: it is at once a Tragedy (in the Greek sense, considered by many to be the highest form of Drama, and exemplified by the Prequels), as well as a Fairytale (with its characteristic transcendent Romanticism, as embodied by the Original Trilogy). Together, these blend into one complete and ultimately mythic story—a tale of, first, disaster, followed by (to borrow a term from J.R.R. Tolkien) eucatastrophe, aka the so-called ‘happy ending’ which is, in essence, a poignantly satisfying resolution that by nature denies and defies the nihilistic concept of ‘universal final defeat’. The tragedy is thus transformed into a ‘divine comedy of redemption’, through which we experience first the emotional devastation of the Prequels, and then, ultimately, the deep and abiding catharsis of the climax and resolution of the Original Trilogy. 

As it stands, Lucas’s six-film saga is a universal tale, a story at once modern and timeless. A ‘created-myth’ that, through its dual nature as a tragic, cautionary tale of how Fear leads to a fall from grace, immense loss, and imprisoned suffering and an inspirational story of how unconditional Love leads to redemption, restoration, and release from bondage, has the power to resonate with all of humanity....past, present, and future.  

In light of the above, the importance of Return of the Jedi as the official ‘ending’ of this particular story cannot be overstated. Its uplifting conclusion and ‘redemptive restoration of meaning’ is crucial to the mythic status of the saga, and necessitates that any and all further stories about the Skywalkers remain in the realms of our imagination. By 'imagination’ I mean anything from fanfiction, to an ‘expanded universe’, to other forms of ‘unofficial’ supplementary material. It is crucial that we feel free to dream about all (or none) of our preferred possibilities for the post-RotJ period. And equally crucial, in my opinion, that no one single version of these infinite possibilities is enforced upon us. The happy ending is happy only insofar as we have the freedom to believe in it indefinitely, if we so choose. 

All of this is not to say that there isn’t room for sagas about *other*, characters, in later, earlier, or concurrent time periods, told in a similar style (on-screen or otherwise). The Galaxy Far, Far Away is immense and expansive, and contains within it the potential for a myriad ‘created-myths’ and legends—none of which must necessarily infringe upon the original story in order to be interesting and compelling. (’Complimentary’ side stories such as Rogue One and the animated Rebels series have already proven this to be the case.) But I feel strongly that, to attempt to continue the ‘official’ Skywalker saga ad nauseum beyond its natural and long-established conclusion, will always be a forced, artificial, and ultimately futile effort, due to the nature of the original story’s subject matter and its purposefully-crafted structure as a complete magnum opus.  

And thus, in my own understanding and personal definition, the mythic space-fairytale that is ‘Star Wars’ ends with—and is entirely resolved by—the death and redemption of Anakin Skywalker in the final scenes of Return of the Jedi. The Skywalker saga is Anakin’s story, and, to quote Matthew Stover, “it is already over. Nothing can be done to change it.”

[attract-mode-collective]

"It runs on nothing but dreams and jazz music. Love too..."

The best time of the year is finally upon us! Yup, talking about Halloween, which I celebrate by packing every single available moment with scary movies. Also, scary video games. Alas, because I’m not much of a PC person (yet), I haven’t had a chance to play FAITH…

Yet I am a total fanboy of the PS2, hence why I’ve expressed my fondness for Haunting Ground quite a few times already…

I’m also quite familiar with Simple 2000 Series Vol. 113: The Tairyou Jigoku...

BTW, though last two are courtesy of obscurevideogames, which has been posting gifs from various obscure video games indeed, which also happen to be horror related all month long. Like Twilight Syndrome: Saikai/Reunion, a title I’ve yet to experience, despite being a total fanboy of the PSone as well...

Late to the party I know, but I only just became acquainted with Mason Lindroth and basically want him to do the graphics for all the games...

Something that’s somewhat along the same lines, kinda/sorta, is Middens (via koldspaghetti)...

Remember Gacha Man, one of SPLENDID LAND’s hand crafted robot masters? Guess what; the collection is finally complete…

My fave would have to be (and not just because he reminds of Soundwave) SLN-014 Cassette Man: “by playing different music tapes, his abilities change. he mostly listens to the same few songs over and over though”...

I also dig the redesign of Mega Man himself…

If Splatoon was on the GBA, this is what it would look like, according to suzi-hhh...

It’s somewhat old news, and to be honest, I’m not exactly blown away by them, but for those who missed it and might be interested, behold a Super Famicom Mini-tie in shirt from the King of Games...

The love for the Super Fami is very strong in Japan, and miki800 recently posted a roundup of various goods. With the most interesting being what appears to be a book…

… Which as it turns out is just a blank notebook. But hey, that means you finally have something to write high scores into, given that all the instruction manuals are digital! Never mind the save function on the Super Fami Mini/SNES Classic.

miki800 also recently visited an insanely super awesome looking store. My fave bits would have to be the bootleg AM2 hat…

The Super Girl Boy shirt…

The handmade Space Invader…

And this off brand Lego set (I wonder what that particular Soundwave toy is all about)...

Speaking of threads, I have a new fave Tumblr that’s simply calls itself Video Game Jackets. Here we have Naoto Ohshima‏’s Sonic Jacket...

Then there’s this Darius jacket…

… which is available at Taito’s just opened barcade, MEGARAGE.

And speaking of large fish, arcadephile has a pic of Stephen Spielberg and an arcade game that’s not officially based on Jaws though its source of inspiration is unmistakable...

Mysterious0bob has this noteworthy observation when it comes to Cuphead...

“So everyone knows about the Gunstar Heroes references in Cuphead but I can’t help but feel this boss is a reference to The Adventures of Batman & Robin on the Sega Mega Drive. Its at very least a huge coincidence.



It's not too clear in these screenshots but they have the exact same method of attacking as well (minus the summoning of ghost mice).“

... BTW, I chose a different, higher quality image for Batman & Robin (hope Mysterious0bob doesn’t mind).

Please enjoy this very nice Nier sketch, by Mira Ong Chua…

Along with some Nier… school fashion? By @cyocyo_tasaka, via aku-no-homu…

And here’s a nice Metal Gear Solid fan art, by Justin Currie, via gamefreaksnz…

An illustration by Danny Hellman for New York Press from back in the day (it, along with Screw, basically kept local cartoonists afloat during the late 80s to early 2000s), depicting the infamous first release from Ice T’s hardcore band Body Count (which was also the first CD I ever purchased)...

I guess this is a loosely translated Metroid 4koma... or is it poorly (via tabletorgy-art)?

You know how horrible the Secret of Mana remake looks? Whomever should just get the person who did this re-imagining of Chrono Trigger...

Also thanks to arcade-crusade, I now really want a clear DS...

Am not entirely sure what I’m seeing here; a Game Gear running MSX games (via sixteen-bit)?

doctorbutler wonders who did this Street Fighter x Beavis & Butthead mash-up and I too would like to know!

Though the identity of the artist responsible for arguably be the most famous SF2 illustration is well known: Kinu Nishimura. And here’s the WIP version, via videogamesdensetsu...

Sticking with VGD for a sec; say hello to the women of Renai Kōza Real Age...

I also respect any game that has the guts to not bother putting the title on its cover…

From 2D to 3D, here we have the evolution of the Virtua Fighters...

Again, this will be old news to some, but for everyone else, it was recently discovered what Yoshi originally looked like in Super Mario World…

There's apparently a dedicated tool that's just for watching the pre-rendered backgrounds in Silpheed?

And sticking with shmups, ship designs for the rather obscure (and super ambitious) Philosoma…

Any opportunity to post Vic Viper fan art is one I am all too happy to utilize... 

Also via the Tumblr that lives up to its namesake is some laserdisc based title starring a ship that I am absolutely in love with...

Here’s the back, btw…

And here’s a rather mysterious flyer…

Equally cryptic is this… I honestly don’t know (via strawberrytabasco)....

[UPDATE: 10/15/17] The mystery has been solved, courtesy of mendelpalace...

“Yo! Just wanted to tell you that the "Blipverts" image from that post you made is related to Max Headroom, a cyberpunk TV show from the 80s. The first episode was called Blipverts, and dealt a TV station making high speed commercials condensed into a few seconds, which have a side effect of making some people's heads explode.”

Heading towards the left is what appears to be a Japanese high school student being followed by what appears to be a ghost in what appears to be a Game Boy Color game (via corporalsteiner)...

[UPDATE: 10/16/17] Actually, according to lunaticobscurity...

“that's no ghost, it's lum from the early 80s anime urusei yatsura!“.

And heading towards the right is quite obviously the dude from Altered Beast, corrupted (via corruptionasart)...

Time for another animated gif featuring a giant spider, but also time for another animated gif from Sin & Punishment (via n64thstreet)…

It’s also time, especially since it's been a while, for some video games x cats (via tokkeki)...

Time to wrap things up with a scary story, since again, tis the Halloween season. And the following is a truly horrific tale, one that will send chills down the spines of anyone… who is into preserving old arcade cabinets…

Though the spirits of the past remain with us nevertheless… in the form of cheesy store displays (via arcadezen)...

Don’t forget: Attract Mode is now on Medium! There you can subscribe to keep up to date, as well as enjoy some “best of” content you might have missed the first time around, plus be spared of the technical issues that’s starting to overtake Tumblr.

[angeltriestoblog]

Sophomore year recap, vol. 1

Funny how I only ever go on this blog to give sporadic life updates, which are honestly just lengthier versions of what goes on my Instagram dump. But, I'd hate to let this practice die—plus, I love to write, so it continues for another year. I recently wrapped up my first semester of sophomore year—yet another testament to how fast time flies by—and it's safe to presume that it was the most rewarding chapter of my stay in Ateneo, thus far. I admit I did spend most of my freshman year in my comfort zone (while still managing to make my fair share of rookie mistakes, go me!). Although I don't completely blame myself for not being able to adjust from the get-go, I do admit that my life would have been much easier if I didn't take so long to warm up to the idea of embracing change and taking risks. Upon realizing this, there was a certain pressure that came with it to make up for lost time and try to do as much I could before my body eventually gives out.

For starters, I became more active in the three organizations I am a member of, all of which demanded so much of my energy, and pushed my brain power and time management skills to the test, but were very fulfilling to be in nonetheless. (A little note from Editing Angel: This is where this post starts to look a little bit like a LinkedIn profile.)

I signed up to be a part of the Sanggunian, the student government of the University, under the Commission on Mental Health, since I am an advocate for challenging the stigma that surrounds this issue, as well as providing the proper support to those who need it. I was eventually put under Secretariat, where I was in charge of the databases and documents, taking minutes of the meeting, and updating attendance and post trackers. Although it wasn't the department I had originally planned on getting into, I did enjoy learning about the more technical side of the team and took pride in the fact that I was able to put some of the lessons I learned in ITM over intersession to good use. And by that I mean conditional formatting, but whatever ok!

But, at some point the forces of the universe decided to pull some strings and bring me to my first choice: Humans of Ateneo (HOA), a page that aims to share stories of those within the Ateneo community with the hopes of inspiring others. To this day, I work there as a literary editor, who is basically in charge of transcribing recordings of interviews and turning them into the text posts our audience sees on their Facebook timelines. I love what I do right now, because not only do I feel endlessly inspired by each story of resilience I encounter, but also fulfilled since I am partly responsible for getting that story out there for the rest of the world to see. But, I guess it wouldn't be entirely wrong to say that my favorite story so far has to be Mayor Vico Sotto's, especially because HOA Core (minus Marice, and plus Yanna) and I travelled all the way to Pasig City Hall to hear it from him in the flesh. I can confirm that he is definitely more good-looking in person, that he establishes eye contact when he speaks, and that he is one of the most insightful and substantial human beings I've ever met.

Since being a part of the team, I have also had access to opportunities both within the sub-commission and Sanggu, as a whole. I've been given leadership positions that allowed me to step up to the plate, one of which was directing a video we launched in celebration of World Mental Health Day. My co-project head Bel and I had to conceptualize it from scratch based solely on a spoken word poem given to us, and plan and plot its shooting over the course of one week—definitely a feat given our conflicts in schedule, and the unpredictable weather. Next year, I'll be pretty hands-on when it comes to manning the Peer Support Group of our commission, as I have been assigned as a member of the core team, so that's definitely something to watch out for.

I've attended active listening workshops to help me be better in tending to the needs of others: by either providing them with a newfound support system, or sharing sound advice. I was a part of the sub-core team behind Humans of Ateneo: IRL, where prestigious alumni were invited to speak on their journeys, much like three HOA posts come to life. I also ended up emceeing a freshman drug talk all by myself, because I was only informed at the very last minute that my co-host had other commitments to attend to. I remember practically shaking from the nerves and squealing right in front of the speakers that day, but I managed to pull through with more confidence and less awkward finger guns than I thought possible.

I think this is the org where I took the most initiative and was therefore the busiest, but I didn't mind at all because I was surrounded by such wonderful people. I met most of my team over intersession during a workshop that I wasn't even wholeheartedly willing to attend (because it coincided with what was my last chance to catch Ben&Ben live on their Limasawa Street tour), and thus wasn't expecting much out of. But, we meshed so well together almost instantly as we opened up to one another about experiences and secrets we only would have shared to our closest friends. The acceptance and belongingness was palpable from that point on, and it continues to manifest in how strong our bond is right now.

Aside from that, I got in The GUIDON, the University's student publication, as a Features writer. This is going to sound like such a humble brag, but I honestly didn't expect to be accepted. I'm well aware of how rigorous the week-long application process is, I got the news from friends who failed to make the cut and even saw it for myself during the general assembly they held specifically for applicants. I remember checking my e-mail and being greeted by a list of requirements I needed to accomplish for both of the staffs I applied for: mock articles, interviews, live tweets that all needed to show my unique writing style and authentic take on issues both in and outside the four walls of the campus, that were so overwhelming in scope that I had to call up a friend just to yell in her ear for 10 straight minutes. For the next few days after, tears were shed, friends were ghosted, drafts were created then scrapped, fished out of the Recently Deleted folder, and revised in an endless and vicious cycle—I don't think I had ever written as eloquently, gone as long without checking my phone, or listened to only one playlist on loop for literal days prior to those moments, and yet I was still very unsure of my chances because I knew I was up against some tough competition: veteran staffers of high school publications, and liberal arts majors who looked like they had more personality in their thumbs than I did in my entire body. I remember beating myself up for backing out of my second choice (hi Vantage), which would significantly decrease my chances of getting in. It's just that I knew I was incapable of submitting anything that wasn't half-assed at that point, and I couldn't bear to show them anything that I myself could not give an Angel Seal of Approval.

Thankfully, all of my hard work paid off eventually. Only two days after I had submitted the folder containing my requirements to the respective editor, I was working on a paper in a cafe (the table adjacent to the door of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Robinsons Galleria, to be very exact) when I received the acceptance letter in my inbox. I burst into tears, crumpled to the floor, and replied with the most articulate response I could muster: “SKLDFJSDLKFJSDLKFJSDLFJSLFSDKJ THANK YOU SO MUCH I am literally crying in the middle of this coffee shop.... thank you.... so much....”

As of this writing, I've published two articles under Features: one about the ghosting phenomenon that remains prevalent in romantic relationships, and another about the experiences of Ateneans with autism spectrum disorder. My job honestly feels like both work and a vacation at the same time, because it allows me to talk about a diverse set of topics with interesting people who are experts in the field, while doing what I feel like I'm best at. But, since a part of me will always consider Vantage my TOTGA, I took on some extra work for them and wrote a film review on "G!", a movie that came out as part of the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino earlier this year, which has proven itself to be the worst I've seen in my entire life for reasons I cannot even begin to explain. I didn't necessarily have high expectations of it upon seeing the trailer, but I hyped myself up for it nevertheless. I even bought tickets for me and my friend Christine online because I was afraid that they would be sold out, and we dashed out of our MSYS classroom as soon as our professor said goodbye to book a Grab and hurry to SM North EDSA to make it to our screening... only to barge in the theater and see that we were the only two people in the cinema. I mean, there was one couple in the far corner, but they didn't look very present. In addition to that, I did a food review on a JSEC stall called Chopsticks. I honestly think that food is the most challenging topic to write about, because it's hard to convey how something tastes. When someone asks me to describe the viand I'm eating, I often end up just giving them a spoonful so they can see for themselves. But, I hopped on it anyway, because how could I even say no to sampling an entire menu of Chinese food for free? Several plates of dimsum and chicken later, I gave them a well-deserved five star rating and consider myself as a frequent diner. The experience was made extra fun since I was able to chat with the owner of the business, and my photographer who turned out to be someone I followed on Instagram way back in 2015 and admired for how clean and curated her feed was! (Hi, Kim and Alexis hehe)

As if all of the things mentioned above weren't already enough, I also covered a talk on the future of scientists in the Philippines (which I also have an article on—this goes to show just how diverse the scope of my work can get), attended workshops on feature writing and the relation of journalism and mental health, participated in a rally against professors involved in sexual harassment cases in the Ateneo (pretty badass behavior, if you ask me!), and became a facilitator for a high school publication in this event called Point One. I guess I have The GUIDON to thank for my lack of writer's block: they've managed to keep my brain running on hyperdrive, and my creative juices flowing more than they ever have before.

Last but not the least, of course I chose to stay in my home organization, ACTM. Although I didn’t run for any position or apply to be a part of the Leaders Core (yet), I did my best to make myself visible and show my support in any of the events we participated in or projects that we spearheaded. I signed up as a part of the logistics subcore for the annual Prepcourse, where I helped out with set design and ran some errands for officers in the different booths they manned throughout that day. I honestly have a soft spot for the project, since I remember that the first time I felt genuinely happy during freshman year was during my own Prepcourse (Orsem didn't really do it for me, sorry friends) so even though I missed the chance to be a facilitator, I still wanted to be a part of the event in some way. I also hung out with blockmates and friends all throughout Tambay Week, supported our candidates for Mr. and Ms. SOM, as well as our dance team for RIB eliminations, and dressed up as Kim Possible for the annual Halloween party we held—I was even able to go with Ron Stoppable, thanks to my friend Iverson, who dressed up as him as a surprise.

Although the obvious highlight of my stay in ACTM so far has to be attending LEAP, a three-day leadership training seminar in Iba, Zambales. I remember this particular moment where I was wandering around the beachfront, lowkey frolicking in the water, while my groupmates were playing capture the flag. (In my defense, I was never the physically adept type of person, and knew I'd be helping my team out more if I stayed out of the playing area and cheered on them from the sidelines. But, anyway, I digress.) I could see the golden flecks of sunlight glistening on the waves, and the froth from the seawater hitting my toes, and when I looked back beyond the shore, I saw my friends having fun, running back and forth across the sand. As cliche as it sounds, I couldn't help but mutter to myself, "Wow."

Because at that time last year, I clearly remember being slumped on my couch, scrolling through one LEAP-related IG story after another, feeling this sense of FOMO that I didn't know how to deal with. On one hand, I hated that I wasn't part of something that looked equal parts fun and value-adding, but at the same time, I knew that if I were there, I'd be sticking out like a sore thumb and suffering all the more because I was at the point where social interaction had become physically painful for me. Maybe that's why this LEAP was extra special to me: besides all of the great people I met and the insights I picked up along the way, it served as a reminder of how far I've come, and how much farther I have to go during the rest of my stay in college.

(That honestly would have been the perfect way to end this post, but I have so much more I have to cover. How anti-climactic.)

Aside from my newfound love for organization life, I gained a lot of new friends and strengthened the ties I have with old ones. Back then, I was very selective of those I talked to and let in my circle: I let first impressions get the best of me, or allowed shyness to take center stage every time there was a chance to meet new people. Now, I'm close to both blockmates and batchmates: I go to their birthday celebrations, support events that they're a part of, hang out in their condo units to binge on fastfood, or sometimes just sit on the Matteo Steps with them in the middle of doing requirements to vent for 10 minutes before begrudgingly returning to our tables.

I miraculously also had time to sneak in some pretty fun stuff in my schedule despite my workload. Although I wasn’t able to prioritize making content for this blog, I got my writing on the national paper! It was in the first semester of my freshman year when I heard about Inquirer Youngblood from my English professor. Apparently, they accept essays about any topic under the sun from anyone aged 29 and below. Since I felt there would be no harm in trying, I crafted this little piece that aimed to show a different side of being an only child, as opposed to the “spoiled and entitled” stereotype that is usually stuck on us. I didn’t get my hopes up so as to not be disappointed, so when a couple of days had passed and my article wasn’t showing up on print, I gave up and moved on. Good thing my friend Bea sent me a photo of the September 8 issue of the newspaper (coincidentally the same day I got accepted into The GUIDON!), or else I wouldn’t have seen that I got published. I admit that even though writing is all I’ve ever really known since I was young, I’m not a hundred percent confident in my skill, nor do I always see the purpose behind what I do. But, it’s instances like that, that remind me of why I keep at it.

Another capital-G Great thing that happened was getting tickets to the UAAP men’s basketball championship game! As someone who made Ateneo her dream school at age five because of how much she loved the Blue Eagles, witnessing them end the season with a sweep and a championship was everything to me. And getting to do so with my closest friends in my block just made the experience even better than it was. Also, seeing Renzo Subido play in person—all my friends can attest to the fact that I was facing a huge moral dilemma mid-game, because every time he made a basket, I would end up cheering for him. (With a face like that, how could I not though)

I even found my way back in the gig scene after a long hiatus, with no less than Ang Bandang Shirley, Over October, and Munimuni welcoming me back with open arms. I had got tickets on a whim with my friend from my days as a full-on K-Pop stan, Reanna, even though it was the weekend before a big Accounting exam, if I remember correctly. But, I have no regrets: I have a feeling that very few moments in life can make me feel the way I did when Umaapaw (one of my favorite songs in the world) was being played right in front of me. Surprisingly, I didn't cry when that happened—same for Wait and Sa Hindi Pag-alala, but then again maybe I was too dazed to process what was going on.

I saw Ben&Ben just a week ago, which served as the perfect way to cap off this stressful semester. The last time I saw them was way back in October 2018: conflicts in schedule due to prior commitments, or location issues kept getting in the way that it's like they had to take matters into their own hands and head on over to Ateneo just so I could see them again. Although they didn't perform my favorite song, I can't exactly say that I was disappointed because nothing really beats the feeling of seeing them and singing along to tracks that have served as the soundtrack of my life, and are practically etched on my heart. (I am actually tearing up just writing this paragraph god am I emo! I miss them already, wow! Just wanna hear Araw-Araw live, what do I do about this!)

I also managed to finish all 10 seasons of Friends despite my irregular viewing patterns—I started it during our trip to the States before the school year began, and constantly teetered between watching one or two episodes as a reward for finishing a reading due the next day and binging one season during rare weekends that do not require working on deliverables but honestly could have been used to get ahead in lessons. This is a pretty big deal, considering that I have the attention span of a sleep-deprived cockroach and haven't finished a single White People Show since... well, Austin & Ally back in 2017 (which I actually marathoned on Dailymotion, but that's a story for another day). But, I guess there's just something special about this group of pals going through the motions of their everyday lives in the eccentric, sometimes borderline stupid ways that only they can, because I admit: the emotional investment was and is very, very real! I personally identify myself as a Chandler-Rachel hybrid now (thank you, Iverson), try to see which character the people I meet are like most out of fun, and argue to no end with anyone who ever claims that Ross and Rachel (1) were on a break, and (2) are endgame.

Most importantly, I was able to do all of this and still clinch a spot on the Dean's List. I started this semester on an optimistic note: I found all of my subjects interesting, and the professors who taught them, engaging. I'd even make notes on the readings the day before they were to be discussed in class, complete with pops of color here and there courtesy of my fineliner pens and Stabilo highlighters. But, once I reached the halfway point, my motivation started waning. Papers and quizzes, oral exams and video projects were thrown in my direction at breakneck speed: I often found myself cramming output for the sake of having something to submit, and not even having the time to look at readings due for discussion the following day. It came to a point where I thought of shifting out, because I felt I wasn't doing well enough in my majors to justify my stay. Sounds pretty stupid when I look back at it, I guess I simply mistook extreme stress and fatigue with falling out of love with the only program that I ever wanted to get in when I was applying for Ateneo. Thank God I didn't give up though, or else I wouldn't be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor right now. I honestly wasn't expecting stellar grades, considering the number of extracurricular commitments I took on, but now that they're there, I'm not complaining at all! Shoutout to my favorite professors of the semester: Mam Vaswani, who taught me that there is always room for improvement even in my own area of expertise; Sir Atienza, who made lectures feel like casual kwentuhans (or sometimes even chillnumans); and Sir Rebato, who broke the world record for longest patience in the world.

I guess it's safe to say that I am the happiest and most content I have been in a while, and although I am afraid of jinxing it, I feel like it's only gonna go upward from here. I am beyond excited to see where the new year and semester take me, because I know I'll do my part in making sure it's even better and brighter than this one. If you read up to this point, you deserve a pat on the back! Maybe you only scrolled to this point to see if there were any pictures with your face on them, but who cares! It adds to my website traffic, so thank you, happy holidays, and I wish you nothing but love and light always!

[virginieboesus]

7 Of My Favourite Game Series Of All Time

There are so many great series out there when it comes to gaming, especially when looking at retro games. Many of the big name, AAA series are incredibly famous, which is great for the video game industry as it brings more attention to the industry. However, it also means that there are a large number of video game series that go undiscovered by the majority of gamers.

That’s why I wanted to list out my top 7 favourite video game series. Now, I will say that I am using the official definition of a series, which simply states that the series must be a set or sequence of related media. Therefore, the minimum number of games that a series needs in order to qualify for this list is 2. With that in mind, let’s get started!

7. Silent Hill

The first on the list is also one of the two most famous on the list as well. Back in the early days of Survival Horror, there was a war between two game franchises that really dominated the genre. On one side, you had Resident Evil. On the other, you had Silent Hill. For me, the clear winner for the PS1 and PS2 generations had to be Silent Hill. The original four games were exquisite examples of psychological horror, scaring you more with hidden meaning and enemies that you can’t see.

From there, the main series went downhill a bit but redeemed itself (in my opinion) with Downpour and the amazing Shattered Memories. All 6 of these games have created lasting memories for me, and I still enjoy going back and playing them to this day.

6. Dot Hack

Next up, we technically have two series in one; Project dot//Hack and dot//Hack GU. I’m including them both because GU is technically a direct sequel to Project dot//Hack, despite also being considered its own series. The games are based upon an anime revolving around a virtual reality MMORPG, which also features as the prequel to the video games as well. The amount of world-building throughout the original anime, both series of games, plus the side-story anime that came with each entry in Project// dot Hack was incredible. You got a real sense of both the “in-game” and “real” worlds.

On top of that, the combat was enjoyable, mixing menu driven fighting with MMO style action RPG combat. The storylines for all of the entries were great, piecing together a huge overarching plot at the same time! Oh, and the developers went out of their way to make the game feel like an MMO; you can trade with “other players”, sometimes your characters will be “offline” and not available to party with, and you can log out of the MMO part to check forums and read email! It’s crazy how much depth the games offer.

5. Galerians

So, this entry is the reason why I’m using the rule that 2 games count as a series. Galerians as a series features the eponymous Galerians for PS1, and Galerians: Ash for PS2. There is also an anime version of the first game called Galerians: Rion, and a manga prequel that I’ve never been able to get my hands on. I’ve mentioned many times before how much I love Galerians on the PS1 (you can read about that here), but I really enjoyed both games and the anime version.

Without repeating myself too much, the Galerians series takes the typical Survival Horror setup and turns it on its head. Rather than being a police officer or security guard facing off against scientific experiments, you are the scientific experiment and have to survive against the police and military. This, along with some very entertaining (and gory) gameplay, all come together to create a wonderful example of early Survival Horror.

4. Fatal Frame

Sticking with Survival Horror for the next entry, we come to my favourite solely horror series of all time; Fatal Frame. Whilst there have been so many horror games and series throughout the years, Fatal Frame is the only one to truly freak me out. In fact, Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly took me years to finish because I would just get so creeped out, and I’m ashamed to admit that at all. Taking full inspiration from Japanese mythology regarding the afterlife and ghosts, each game features some of the most spine-tingling gameplay I’ve ever experienced.

For example, in Fatal Frame 2, the ghosts can actually move through all parts of the game world, without the need for doors or other boundaries. So whilst you may run away from a ghost in one room of a house, they might suddenly appear almost anywhere else in the game! This creates a constant sense of dread, which is incredibly well done. If you are a fan of horror games and haven’t tried Fatal Frame yet, you are doing yourself a disservice!

3. Final Fantasy

Come on, you must have known that Final Fantasy was going to be on this list. I mean, as a J-RPG fan, even if you prefer other games to Final Fantasy, you have to admire the sheer power that the series (or rather, franchise) has on the gaming industry. Sure, it hasn’t been able to hit the same heights that it once reached in recent years, but I still adore the series as a whole. I mean, I own the large majority of the games.

Final Fantasy got me into J-RPGs, which very quickly became one of my two favourite genres (the other being horror, as you could probably tell from this list), so I also have to respect that aspect of the franchise. But honestly, I just find myself getting lost in the games and their stories. Characters are usually relatable, and the storylines are incredibly memorable. But really, I don’t think I need to explain why Final Fantasy made this list, do I?

2. Megami Tensei

So, what J-RPG series would I rank higher than Final Fantasy? Well, as this is a personal list, there are two. The first of these is Megami Tensei; one of the most convoluted yet incredible J-RPG series I’ve ever played. Each game is it’s own story, at least in the mainline Megami Tensei games. However, you also have a bunch of “spin off” games that have since created their own series within the Megami Tensei meta-series.

For example, the most well known of these spin-offs would have to be a little game series with 5 entries called Persona. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? Another would be Digital Devil Saga with 2 games, then there are the Devil Summoner games with 4 entries, the 9 Shin Megami Tensei (plus another one coming soon-ish), 2 Devil Survivor games and a bunch of single spin-offs as well. Megami Tensei is an enormous, behemoth of a series overall, and I thoroughly adore it. The art style, gameplay innovations and very dark storylines mesh perfectly with what I want from a video game series.

1. Shadow Hearts

The last game series on this list, and my favourite game series of all time has to be Shadow Hearts! I mean, to be fair, if you have been reading this blog for a while now (or follow me on Twitter), you’ll know that Koudelka is my all time favourite game. Well, that’s also the first game in the Shadow Hearts series. So that, alone, is reason enough for Shadow Hearts to top this list. But despite that, the Shadow Hearts games themselves are beyond outstanding. They are incredibly dark in their subject matter (the first town you visit in Shadow Hearts 1 is full of cannibals and demons trying to eat you), overflying with comedy that happens at just the right time, and introduced the world to the Judgement Ring battle system.

These games, as a whole, have never left my gaming heart, and I doubt they ever will be. The series was cut short after Shadow Hearts: From The New World (the 3rd Shadow Hearts titled game and 4th in the series, including Koudelka) didn’t sell well, which is a real shame. These games are all fantastic, and I cannot sing their praises enough. Sure, From The New World wasn’t as good as the others, but it was still thoroughly enjoyable. If you’ve never played one of these games, I highly recommend them!

And That’s All Folks

So those were my top 7 video game series of all time. Yes, I am fully aware they fit into two categories; J-RPG and Survival Horror… But after all, those are my two favourite genres when it comes to gaming, so that was always going to happen.

What is your favourite video game series? Let me know in the comments below!

from More Design Curation https://www.16bitdad.com/7-of-my-favourite-game-series-of-all-time/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=7-of-my-favourite-game-series-of-all-time source https://smartstartblogging.tumblr.com/post/180259145405

[smartstartblogging]

7 Of My Favourite Game Series Of All Time

There are so many great series out there when it comes to gaming, especially when looking at retro games. Many of the big name, AAA series are incredibly famous, which is great for the video game industry as it brings more attention to the industry. However, it also means that there are a large number of video game series that go undiscovered by the majority of gamers.

That’s why I wanted to list out my top 7 favourite video game series. Now, I will say that I am using the official definition of a series, which simply states that the series must be a set or sequence of related media. Therefore, the minimum number of games that a series needs in order to qualify for this list is 2. With that in mind, let’s get started!

7. Silent Hill

The first on the list is also one of the two most famous on the list as well. Back in the early days of Survival Horror, there was a war between two game franchises that really dominated the genre. On one side, you had Resident Evil. On the other, you had Silent Hill. For me, the clear winner for the PS1 and PS2 generations had to be Silent Hill. The original four games were exquisite examples of psychological horror, scaring you more with hidden meaning and enemies that you can’t see.

From there, the main series went downhill a bit but redeemed itself (in my opinion) with Downpour and the amazing Shattered Memories. All 6 of these games have created lasting memories for me, and I still enjoy going back and playing them to this day.

6. Dot Hack

Next up, we technically have two series in one; Project dot//Hack and dot//Hack GU. I’m including them both because GU is technically a direct sequel to Project dot//Hack, despite also being considered its own series. The games are based upon an anime revolving around a virtual reality MMORPG, which also features as the prequel to the video games as well. The amount of world-building throughout the original anime, both series of games, plus the side-story anime that came with each entry in Project// dot Hack was incredible. You got a real sense of both the “in-game” and “real” worlds.

On top of that, the combat was enjoyable, mixing menu driven fighting with MMO style action RPG combat. The storylines for all of the entries were great, piecing together a huge overarching plot at the same time! Oh, and the developers went out of their way to make the game feel like an MMO; you can trade with “other players”, sometimes your characters will be “offline” and not available to party with, and you can log out of the MMO part to check forums and read email! It’s crazy how much depth the games offer.

5. Galerians

So, this entry is the reason why I’m using the rule that 2 games count as a series. Galerians as a series features the eponymous Galerians for PS1, and Galerians: Ash for PS2. There is also an anime version of the first game called Galerians: Rion, and a manga prequel that I’ve never been able to get my hands on. I’ve mentioned many times before how much I love Galerians on the PS1 (you can read about that here), but I really enjoyed both games and the anime version.

Without repeating myself too much, the Galerians series takes the typical Survival Horror setup and turns it on its head. Rather than being a police officer or security guard facing off against scientific experiments, you are the scientific experiment and have to survive against the police and military. This, along with some very entertaining (and gory) gameplay, all come together to create a wonderful example of early Survival Horror.

4. Fatal Frame

Sticking with Survival Horror for the next entry, we come to my favourite solely horror series of all time; Fatal Frame. Whilst there have been so many horror games and series throughout the years, Fatal Frame is the only one to truly freak me out. In fact, Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly took me years to finish because I would just get so creeped out, and I’m ashamed to admit that at all. Taking full inspiration from Japanese mythology regarding the afterlife and ghosts, each game features some of the most spine-tingling gameplay I’ve ever experienced.

For example, in Fatal Frame 2, the ghosts can actually move through all parts of the game world, without the need for doors or other boundaries. So whilst you may run away from a ghost in one room of a house, they might suddenly appear almost anywhere else in the game! This creates a constant sense of dread, which is incredibly well done. If you are a fan of horror games and haven’t tried Fatal Frame yet, you are doing yourself a disservice!

3. Final Fantasy

Come on, you must have known that Final Fantasy was going to be on this list. I mean, as a J-RPG fan, even if you prefer other games to Final Fantasy, you have to admire the sheer power that the series (or rather, franchise) has on the gaming industry. Sure, it hasn’t been able to hit the same heights that it once reached in recent years, but I still adore the series as a whole. I mean, I own the large majority of the games.

Final Fantasy got me into J-RPGs, which very quickly became one of my two favourite genres (the other being horror, as you could probably tell from this list), so I also have to respect that aspect of the franchise. But honestly, I just find myself getting lost in the games and their stories. Characters are usually relatable, and the storylines are incredibly memorable. But really, I don’t think I need to explain why Final Fantasy made this list, do I?

2. Megami Tensei

So, what J-RPG series would I rank higher than Final Fantasy? Well, as this is a personal list, there are two. The first of these is Megami Tensei; one of the most convoluted yet incredible J-RPG series I’ve ever played. Each game is it’s own story, at least in the mainline Megami Tensei games. However, you also have a bunch of “spin off” games that have since created their own series within the Megami Tensei meta-series.

For example, the most well known of these spin-offs would have to be a little game series with 5 entries called Persona. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? Another would be Digital Devil Saga with 2 games, then there are the Devil Summoner games with 4 entries, the 9 Shin Megami Tensei (plus another one coming soon-ish), 2 Devil Survivor games and a bunch of single spin-offs as well. Megami Tensei is an enormous, behemoth of a series overall, and I thoroughly adore it. The art style, gameplay innovations and very dark storylines mesh perfectly with what I want from a video game series.

1. Shadow Hearts

The last game series on this list, and my favourite game series of all time has to be Shadow Hearts! I mean, to be fair, if you have been reading this blog for a while now (or follow me on Twitter), you’ll know that Koudelka is my all time favourite game. Well, that’s also the first game in the Shadow Hearts series. So that, alone, is reason enough for Shadow Hearts to top this list. But despite that, the Shadow Hearts games themselves are beyond outstanding. They are incredibly dark in their subject matter (the first town you visit in Shadow Hearts 1 is full of cannibals and demons trying to eat you), overflying with comedy that happens at just the right time, and introduced the world to the Judgement Ring battle system.

These games, as a whole, have never left my gaming heart, and I doubt they ever will be. The series was cut short after Shadow Hearts: From The New World (the 3rd Shadow Hearts titled game and 4th in the series, including Koudelka) didn’t sell well, which is a real shame. These games are all fantastic, and I cannot sing their praises enough. Sure, From The New World wasn’t as good as the others, but it was still thoroughly enjoyable. If you’ve never played one of these games, I highly recommend them!

And That’s All Folks

So those were my top 7 video game series of all time. Yes, I am fully aware they fit into two categories; J-RPG and Survival Horror… But after all, those are my two favourite genres when it comes to gaming, so that was always going to happen.

What is your favourite video game series? Let me know in the comments below!

from More Design Curation https://www.16bitdad.com/7-of-my-favourite-game-series-of-all-time/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=7-of-my-favourite-game-series-of-all-time