#create a game like hamster

[danrifics]

good morning i have slept a total of 2 hours here’s my spoiler breakdown for terrible influence antwerp

they start by playing a text to speech voice who welcomes us and the straight boyfriends and the dads (they’re a bit obsessed with the dads i’ll be real) the voice tells us if we film she’s gonna sue are asses. text to speech lady she is an icon

dnp come out and they’re like yo this is cool it’s the first show, you guys are gonna see what we’ve been up to and then they’re like it’s the first show so we can use you guys to decide if we change anything

they they’re like there’s probably people in the audience who don’t really know us so they do a 15 years of dan and phil lore breakdown with dolls of themselves in little set of iconic dnp locations (made by pj and sophie btw) they put these sets in a table in front of a camera and it shows on the big screen, (for 1 section of this the screen doesn’t work for the first part lol) also phil makes the dolls kiss and they also make the dolls hump the breakfast bar cos of course they do

i can’t remember what happens next or maybe it jumps right into the next thing i mention

they play a game show called role model or no-model which is a madlibs style game where you have to decide if the version of dan and phil the audience creates is a role model or not these are compared to real dnp. we had homophobic furry lawyer dan and linguistics dr phil wo has a thing for hamsters. just an fyi for this dan is really good at hearing what the audience is saying and phil is not at all and im pretty sure he made his up cos he couldn’t understand what we wanted

okay so after this iirc they start talking about the youtube landscape and what they’re gonna do after tour and how to keep people entertained and they go on a little adventure through different genres of youtube like minecraft lets plays, vtubers and then they pretend to be mr beast and pretend to give away a bunch of stuff that they don’t have, they cure us of any mental health issues and they cure us from being gay <3

then they decide to have a boxing match cos obvs that’s what youtubers do, they ask us to cheer for whoever they want to win and it has cool intro to it! i’ll be honest this boxing match goes on for entirely too long like it spans the end of the first half and the start of the second but they have like choreographed fighting and OMFG it’s very gay and like suggestive and they do many times look like they’re gonna have sex 😂 like one of phils moves is to hit dan with his ass while dan is holding him from behind so… yeah. anyway dan thought he won ours and then phil knocked him out with a tv, as he should!! also before they end the first half they’re having an insult match where phils tells dan hes gonna burn his house down only for dan to say they live in the same house and i was dying it was so funny, phil also calls dan a dickhead and this is where he also calls him a cunt and that’s how the first half ends. oh also phil has a fake 6 pack on and that’s the $300 dollar silicone btw

okay second half after dan is dead they have a sincere moment and then they’re like you guys keep telling us you want load of long unedited content and they ask us to tell them a topic to monologue about and someone shouts feet and they rant about feet lmao phil excitedly tells everyone he has a better wiki feet rating than dan

then dan goes on a rant about being discriminated against as a millennial (can’t remember how we got there) and phil gets bored and starts watching subway surfers and i’ll be real honest as a gen z i instantly got distracted by subway surfers and didn’t listen to what dan was saying (that was the point tho) and phil keeps turning up the volume and dan gets mad and he storms off

we have a nice sincere moment with phil but idk what tf it was cos neither did phil 😂

then suddenly a voice, oh here she comes, she asks if we’re ready to confess our sins and out comes sister daniel, everyone fucking loses it, if you heard me screaming so loud no you didn’t.

anyway they read some confessions (phil is father philip) and they read out a few including one from @dnphobe !!! phil has a water gun that he didn’t have when he was meant to and couldn’t find and then found and he was spraying it at people to cleanse them of their sins which is what they meant by people being in the splash zone btw also phil sprayed it at dan it was kinda cute

okay so they say they need to go and get changed and they head off stage and there’s a gag where they leave the microphone on and they’re purposely making it sound sexual and it’s so funny and then dan comes out and phil doesn’t cos he’s struggling with his leather fucking trousers that was a completely unscripted part for sure

then they talk about the hiatus a bit and how dan left us and they keep calling us their family and brb while i cry my eyes out

then they pull out a fucking banger of a song, like i can’t even explain to you how good it is, it has a fully like kpop style dance to it that im gonna fucking learn lmao and dan was so good at it like im not even kidding that man was pulling moves!! phil was doing great too btw but he definitely wasn’t as confident in it as dan was but damn it’s the best song yet imo!!

also i forgot to write the conspiracy bit because i forgot where in the show it is but on one of them they were trying so hard to make us say the opposite one but we were literally forcing tour bus on them and yes they confirmed they shared a bed on that tour bus!! and they played it off like its okay for friends to do that (cos it is) but they way they said it was that thing again where they blur the line a little so we know what they actually mean but still pretend they mean something else

okay some little things i remember that i didn’t write above

- “i can’t imagine my life without you”

- “it’ll be 15 years in december” (if you know you know)

- the absolute silence after they confirmed the bed thing cos none of us were actually expecting it

- dan had to prompt phil a little to remind him what to say next but it was very cute

- they kept looking at each other in *that* way

- phil lied to us about when norman died cos he had norman merch coming out

- sleepless night with phil 3 is fake!!

- they showed *that* video of phil asleep on the tour bus

- there were multiple times where i thought they’re gonna kiss right now???

-phil called dan kinda sexy

- ALL IS FORGIVEN, ANYTHING FROM THE LAST WE MIGHT HAVE DONE IS FORGIVEN THEY LOVE US WE ARE A FAMILY THEY ARE LITERALLY OUR DADS

[sucodelaranja86]

Ahem..may I request teasing poor gf young-mi? I absolutely love her and there’s NOTHING for my poor girl

- you're so cute! : ★

featuring: young-mi kim x reader

summary: your girlfriend is very shy and timid, but what's the deal when their partner just happens to be a little teasing menace?

warnings: angst at the end.

A/N: AAAAAAAAAA A YOUNG-MI REQUEST FINALLY I LOVE HEERR 💕 also, she survives in this 😋 oh, and pretend the number of the room was not 6, but 7.

★ . ★ . ★ . ★

➤ When you two first met each other, Young-mi reminded you of a rabbit or a small hamster that flinched and ran away at the smallest movements or threats.

So when you two started dating, it wasn't a surprise you treated her like she was made out of glass.

For starters, based on the scene she called 246 a "charming prince", i think she would be really down bad for the 'classical gentleman' behavior, but wouldn't in 100 years get the courage to tell you. HOWEVER, she makes it so damn obvious you discovered it in the first week (and used it against her).

Opening doors for her, pulling out chairs, offering to to carry heavy things. If you want to see her turn the color of a tomato, do one of these things while she is distracted.

Now, inside the games the situation doesn't change that much. Let's say you both were dating before you two ended up in the game.

In the first game, when you find out that the 'crazy' guy was right, and the game was actually deadly, the first thing you do is put her behind you. Holding her tightly to avoid that the panicking people pushed her. Of course, when the game ended, you two were both shocked and relieved that you didn't get shot.

However, even in this situation, you didn't lose the opportunity to mess with her. Creating a light atmosphere in the middle of the panic.

"Oh, princess Kim Young-mi! I shall give my life for you!"

"S-stop! This is se-serious!" she stuttered. An adorable sight, if you must admit.

In the second game, she called a tall woman who you both sympathized very much due to no one wanting to form a team with her. You, of course, didn't lose the chance to tease her for her courage.

"Someone is getting bold, finally?"

"It was nothing!" she stammered.

The team consisted of you, Young-mi, a man with his mother, and the lady who you reminded yourself to thank later for encouraging your girlfriend so much.

At lunch time, you were sitting with the same group you were matched for the previous game. Oh, and of course you were not eating normally.

"Open wide, sweetie!" you said as you pointed a spoonful of rice in front of her mouth. You were glued to her, with your thighs touching, your arm wrapped around her shoulder, you head laying on the top of hers. Who would you be without embarrassing her at every second of the game?

"This is embarrassing..." she stuttered again, trying to make herself look smaller and smaller at every passing second. Yonsik was making disgusted noises, Hyun-ju was quietly laughing to herself, and Jang only muttered something among the lines of "ah, couples these days..."

-

As the third game started, you haven't separated from Young-mi. As each round passed, you ran close to her to each room as fast as you both could. However, close to the end as the female voice announced the number '7' you and your group were struggling to find a room, until a familiar voice called,

"Here!"

It's Hyun-ju! Thank God!

As you ran beside her, you could notice you were both going to be the last ones to reach the room. And as the sight of the open door reached your vision, even if it wasn't one of your talents, you quickly did the math that the number of people would not be correct by one.

You didn't have much time to think as a young man quickly pushed you both to the ground, running away before you could even glance at his face.

As the time ran out, you realized that if one of you two didn't enter the room, Young-mi and everyone you had formed a close bound inside this game would quickly perish.

Using the last bit of strength you had left, you yanked the small girl by her hair (something you honestly felt a bit bad for) and threw her to the arms of 120. The boy with the number '333' on his jacket closing the door shortly after.

As the time ran out and the doors closed, you slowly began to walk to the door of the room she was in, peeking on the small space between the locked room and the outside.

"Young-mi. You sure are slow, aren't you?" you called her. Not in a sad or melancholic tone, but one that held love. You only wanted to see her one last time, not give her another reason to be saddened.

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO-!"

As she reached the door, she tried desperately to open it, her attempts all futile. You didn't dare to look back, only gazing at her softly.

Before you could say something one more time, your body felt numb as your vision began to fade.

Her adorable face being the last thing you see.

★ . ★ . ★ . ★

A/N: lowkey didn't like how this turned out 😞

[thechaoticdruid]

°•IF THE BG3 COMPANIONS BABYSAT YOUR KIDS!•°

Lae'zel

Congratulations your children are spending an afternoon at boot camp!

You can rest assured they will be treated fairly at least.

No favoritism going on here.

Anyone who misbehaves shall be sent to solidarity confinement and left there until....Idk

If they want a snack they WILL have to fight one another in a duel to the death.

Or at least until one of them falls down and cries.

To the winner go the cookies.

Or more accurately maybe some giant space hamster jerky.

Karlach

This is assuming her engine has been fixed, naturally.

The kids absolutely love Auntie K.

Legit can carry them all on her shoulders at once.

She gives the best hugs too and is always so nice and warm.

She is up to play any games with them! Especially ones where she pretends to be a monster and chases them around.

Very protective of the little ones.

Brings them new stuffies each time she visits.

You MUST remind her constantly to watch her language around the little ones!

Gale

Arrives via magic portal.

Brings Tara to help him.

Takes it very personally if one of the children don't like him.

Tries to impress them via magic and creates a magical illusion to entertain the kiddos.

Attempts to teach them everything he knows about the weave.

Takes it very hard if the children fall asleep during his lecture.

Must be consoled by Tara.

If any take an interest in the weave they immediately become his favorite.

You'll probably end up coming home to your home appliances floating or having some kind of enchantment on them.

Halsin

Yes he turns into a bear and lets them ride on his back.

Most time is spent outside enjoying nature and all of its beauty.

Will carry the littlest one on his shoulders at all times.

Always brings healthy snacks, mostly fruit like apple slices.

Proceeds to take them to a nearby pond to feed the ducks.

Widdles them little animal figures to play with.

No TV or video games. The thought of technology taking over their lives makes him sick.

We play outside or we don't play at all.

Doesn't mind them grabbing at his ears, if they can even reach them that is!

He has to remind one of them multiple times that he unfortunately cannot turn into a dragon.

Sad sad truth.

Shadowheart

Makes cute little flower crowns with them.

Helps the little ones feel better if any of them are afraid of the dark.

Is very good at comforting them.

Possibly might be one of the older one's first goth girl crush.

Badmouths Lae'zel in front of them shamelessly.

Always puts on a tim Burton movie or something for them to watch.

Definitely the reason for any of their emo phases.

They think she's really cool though.

Wyll

Always the first to volunteer to babysit.

Man has the patience of a saint and can handle even the most unruly of children.

Always talks them up and is very careful to never put them down.

Tells them all kinds of exciting stories of his time as the Blade.

Makes sure to adjust them to be suitable for the kiddos.

Leaves out the scary parts.

If any of them are mean to one another and can't get along he's the type to make them each say something nice about the other as a punishment.

Let's them play with toy swords and teaches them a thing or two about using them.

Never raises his voice at them. Is super calm and collected.

Loves them all to pieces!

Also may or may not take them out to get ice cream if they're good.

Astarion

Assuming this is Spawnstarion we're talking about because the vampire Ascendant would just laugh in your face if you asked him then slam the door on you.

Our sweet little spawn will also likely laugh and think you're joking at first.

"You seriously want a vampire to watch over your children?"

Assuming you pay him and be sure to give him big sweet puppy dog eyes he may consider it.

This man is a very not my child not my problem kind of guy.

Gets annoyed with all the children asking tedious vampire questions and responds with very sarcastic answers.

Does not approve of them wanting to touch his ears.

Agrees to let them see his fangs in hopes to scare them (the mischievous little shit).

The children instead think they're cool, which confuses him. He really isn't sure how to feel about it.

Threatens to eat them if they get on his nerves.

Spends most of the time on the sofa, boredly reading a magazine or watching television.

Miraculously takes a shine to one of the younger girls who call him pretty and compliments his clothes and hair.

This is also given the girl is a little mischief gremlin who pulls pranks on her older siblings.

He lets her paint his nails purple or red while she gossips about her mother/father's new partner or her siblings.

Unapologetically shows her favoritism and lets her sit on his lap and watch TV with him.

Will not bat an eye if the other children run a muck and destroy shit.

Legit just keeps watching TV. Probably some drama filled 'reality' show.

He actually finds the chaos caused by the children quite amusing.

One of the children somehow ends up on the roof.

Once the parents are home and it's time to leave. The youngest girl gives him a hug.

His eyes get all big and round and almost threaten to tear up.

Astarion is not asked to babysit again.

Sorry some of them are so short, I mostly write for Astarion so I'm not very confident at doing the other characters.

Hope you like it though!

[dandyville]

Welcome to...

Hi there! I am making a custom neighborhood for The Sims 1! It's far from finished, but I'll release new versions in chunks.

Note: This project is made purely out of fun. The next update may come in three weeks or three years or not at all. Still, let me know if you run into any problems and don't hesitate to give me feedback! I would love to hear your opinions!

The current version features 20 lots (15 residential, 5 community) and 10 households!

Households

Click on the names to learn more!

The Beatnik Family, The Butch Family, The Glam Family, The Hex Household, The Loste Family, The Pierrot Household, The Quill Family, The Ravage Family, The Sputnik Household, The Tiller Family

Lots

Vacant Residential Lots

The Burned Bum Beach House, The Cape Retreat, The Crimson Ranch, The Lagoon Cabin, The Lonely Lodge, The Verdant Dwelling

Community Lots

Aquamarine Quarter, Dandyville Carnival, Dandyville Farmer's Market, Jukebox Junction, Four Paws Quarter

Requirements

I created this neighborhood with The Sims Complete Collection, but you might be okay if you simply have all expansions installed.

(Optional) Hungry Hungry Hamster Game -- Official Maxis object! I basically used it just to fill another space on the carnival lot. I also recommend getting the other official objects from that site, but your game might already have most of them. (Mine did, at least. If you notice missing objects in Dandyville, it's likely one of these!)

(Optional) Livin' Large Extreme Character Pack -- A set of skins that were given out as a preorder bonus for The Sims: Livin' Large! I only used some of these for the occasional townie and I suspect if you don't have these the game will just use a random skin.

(Optional) No Buskers Sign -- The ONLY piece of unofficial custom content I used! I use this on community lots where the old town busker feels unfitting and where he might trap your Sim by standing in the way of the only exit. Currently only used on the Aquamarine Quarter lot.

Downloads

Sim File Share

Simblr.cc

itch.io

Install Instructions

Go to your The Sims folder (default location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\The Sims). You may need admin rights for the next steps!

Inside you will see a folder called "UserData8". Rename that folder to something like "UserData8backup".

Open Dandyville.zip and copy "UserData8" from the .zip-file into your The Sims folder.

Open the game and switch to Neighborhood 8. You did it!

[xzyolotl]

Can you loredump about some of your OCs? [Maybe Roeland + Markos?]

Okay, I can write a bit about my characters. I am bad at writing things down so this is a good excuse to do so.

Markos and Roeland are characters from my Plasticity project. The worldbuilding of Plasticity isn’t very developed, as I don’t really have any fancy plans for it beyond character designs and silly pictures. But there are some details I can share:

The world of Plasticity is a post-apocalyptic Earth where creatures made of microplastics have taken the place of humans.

The project originally started with lowpoly [ crystalline alien characters, ] but I wanted to create a population of creatures for them to mess with for silly alien shenanigans, and with the nature of 3D imagery, I wanted them to look quite a bit different as well.

The inhabitants of Plasticity think cars are a kind of ancient creature, like dinosaurs. They think what we call fossils are just “weird rocks.”

I originally referred to the plastic inhabitants of Plasticity as “Plastic Monsters”, though in their world they refer to themselves as Polymers, which is the name of a small material with synthetic varieties that make up plastics. I am not so smart with words and just wanted a simple name for them.

The visuals of Plasticity are inspired by 1980s CGI and P.F. Magic’s Petz series of games, specifically Oddballz.

The original design for [ Abby ] appeared in my mind while listening to the Donkey Kong 64 soundtrack.

Now, some notes for the characters you asked about (Markos & Roeland):

MARKOS – Polymer (Hamster-type) – Age 28 – He / Him pronouns

Likes to watch wrestling on the TV.

Thinks beetles are neat. His apartment is overrun with a kind of highly intelligent beetles, though he seems to be completely unaware of how smart they are, they are just little silly guys to him.

Met Abby at age 4 (Abby was 6). Abby ate a bug in front of Markos, after that he felt he needed to teach Abby how to be kind to bugs. They both grew up alongside each other since then. Markos sees Abby like a sibling, as part of his family.

Works a boring office job. He isn’t quite sure what the business he works for even does but isn’t interested in asking questions.

Has some internal baggage that has resulted in a reliance on alcohol. Though he wasn’t aware of how much alcohol he consumes until shortly after he started dating Roeland, who expressed concern about the excessive amount alcohol both of them were drinking.

ROELAND – Polymer (Hamster & Square Mixed-type) – Age 31 – He / Him & They / Them pronouns

Lost their right arm due to weak magnetism in the joints caused by genetic condition. They have a specialized diet and medications to help prevent this from happening to their other limbs.

Is generally quiet, but if a friend brings up the right topic he will not shut up.

Has a fear of [ house goblins. ]

Works at a games store at a mall. Hates it but has many interesting stories to share with friends.

Is saving up money for a prosthetic arm to replace the missing one.

Enjoys fiber crafts, they have an excessive yarn collection. They like to make little sweaters and hats for Markos’ beetle friends.

That is all I have the time to write down for now, I do have little webpages for my projects over [ at my website, ] though the pages for them aren’t very filled out at the moment. I have been focusing on my [ Teratoma project. ]

[hillbillyoracle]

How to Create Downtime Menus

As a lot of my posts are, this one was inspired by a conversation with my partner. She seemed to think some of my ideas were helpful so I thought I'd write them up and share them here.

I use a combination of these ideas to do two things - redirect myself when I get stuck doomscrolling/freezing/obsessing and redirect myself when I'm stuck on the "must be good, must be productive" hamster wheel and can't seem to stop doing chores until I'm fucking exhausted or have pushed/hurt myself. Knowing you need to stop is one thing - knowing what to do instead is another.

Not all of these will work for every person at every time. Pick one or two that seem interesting and give them a whirl.

Habit of the Month

This is a small habit I can do in about 5-10 minutes a day. These are sometimes habits that I want to audition for my lineup or just want to focus on as a way of rebooting a given area of my life. Physical habits have been things like stretching, a walk, putting on moisturizer, drinking water, making tea, etc. Emotional habits have been things like stream of consciousness journaling, bullet journaling, recording myself venting, etc. Spiritual habits have been things like meditating, altar work, reading sutras, tarot readings, etc.

If I'm stuck in a loop and I haven't done that task yet, it serves as an easy win that feels moderately meaningful to accomplish. This is easier to do than longer or less interesting tasks.

Side Quests

These are little challenges I'd like to accomplish that are 100% fun and completely optional. They are specific and can me completed within a given time frame - usually a month. They usually aren't the most meaningful to keep them more fun and so I'm not letting myself down if I don't opt to complete it.

They've been things like:

The Minor Expert Challenge - read three books in one subject

The Kanopy Critic Challenge - use up all of my Kanopy credits that month

The Regal Freegal Challenge - download all the albums/songs I can on Freegal that month

The Monthly Playlist Challenge - create a playlist of the month where each song represents something about each day of that month; like a playlist diary

The Reverse Tarot Draw Challenge - pick/list a tarot card you best think represents each day of a given month or other time period; like a tarot card diary

The 100 Words Challenge - learn 100 words in a foreign language

As you can see, I prefer things that are pretty low energy friendly so I can work on them on days I'm super tired. Just little chronic illness things.

Alphabet Lists

I use these for my cleaning routines actually but I also have been trying them with my downtime. The way it works is you list out the alphabet and choose one self care or hobby task you'd like to do for each. They don't have to start with the same letter, it just serves as an easy way to limit how many you pick and keep track of what you've done. It's satisfying to cross off the whole list.

Tasks I put on these are things like

A - paint my nails

B - crochet a charity hat

C - write 5 letters for Letters Against Isolation

D - send a letter to a friend

E - play a solo rpg

F - play a solo board game

G - complete a puzzle

etc

They're fun tasks I'm not currently doing as often as I'd like but chill enough that it doesn't matter when precisely I do them more often. I try to pick tasks that are roughly 30 minutes to an hour long though some definitely take longer. I like to complete these roughly monthly but I try to complete a whole list before I start it again. Anything I just did not feel like doing and kept skipping gets scratched out and I rewrite a new list with new item to replace those. And I start again.

Whenever I'm like ugh I don't know what to do with myself, I try to pick at least one thing on the list and give it a try for 5 minutes. If I don't like it after that I can just put it away and pick something else.

10x10

10x10 lists are a different take on a similar idea. It's a list of 10 things you'd like to do at least 10 times in a given time period. Mine tend to be on the seasonal or annual timescale but maybe you're intense and prefer a monthly one. If I don't complete them in a given time period, I just continue with it until I'm done. Better to complete it on an altered timeline than not at all.

For me these tend to be slightly bigger tasks that take a little more planning or energy. I'm not totally sure why I use them this way since you could definitely use them for smaller tasks but that's just the space they occupy for me.

So examples of what would be on my list would be things like:

Grab a hot chocolate from the coffee shop (x10)

Complete a PokemonGo event (x10)

Have a spa night and watch a movie (x10)

Do something extra nice for my partner (x10)

Try a new game (x10)

Find a geocache (x10)

etc

Filing up a little 10x10 grid is pretty satisfying. Much more so than anxietying myself into my bed for the equivalent amount of time.

Seasonal Bucket Lists

I really enjoy making these though I really struggle with the current season (Spring) given my allergies. There's this idea my partner has told me about in DBT where you try to recall positive moments to help "build a life worth living". I think seasonal bucket lists are really good at helping with this for me. I look back on the seasons I made these lists way more fondly than the ones I didn't.

They generally center on seasonal activities I don't want to miss out on. So for summer that's stuff like going for a night swim/skinny dip, getting 5-10 good cloud photos, playing a yard game (like cornhole), seeing a street concert, etc. I also try to take pictures of those (if they don't already involve them) so I can reflect on them later and enjoy the residual happiness.

Conclusion

The point of these isn't to overwhelm you with options. It's just to have enough ideas prepped that you can find something no matter your energy level or time you're working with.

Remember - rest and enjoying yourself is necessary for human health. Folks how get good rest and experience flow states more regularly tend to heal better. People who spend time on what they enjoy are often more enjoyable to be around.

It's never a waste of time to make yourself happy.

[totallyradicalmucky]

I think the end of project nexus is so funny because Hank is all like “I don’t need you losers haha now I will kill you..like I always wanted too..”

…and ofc Sanford and Deimos body him instantly (albeit hesitantly) 😭🙏

like..idfk what Hank expected. They’ve BEEN living and working together (assumedly)?? + there’s no fucking way Hank’s ditzy ass could survive on his own without them. I love bro but half the game was just him being stupid as balls.

Therefore I’ve compiled a list, because I’m evil:

Most of this is off the top of my head.

2bdamned

- Hank isn’t able to revive on his own (frequently at least, and unknown in the Project Nexus universe)

- Hank is most likely not able to fix his own prosthetic jaw if it breaks

- Hank is most likely not able to create any new prosthetics (properly) if the time comes

- It is unknown if Hank is able to operate on himself for more complex wounds

- Hank without any moral compass #1

- Hank without a guy reminding him where to go or literally anything. Hank with no mission or anything is 😭 bros going to be lost af!!

Sanford

- Hank without any backup/support (The hook 😛)

- Hank without anyone to drag him back down to reality (doesn’t always work though because Hank’s stubborn as shit)

- Hank with no moral compass #2

- Hank with no emotional support

- Hank with no person to talk for him (Overtly Aggressive and unable to handle situations well, Sanford can lol)

- Hank hasn’t been shown to be able to cook. (This one’s a headcanon tho.. that man cannot cook imo - but Sanford probably could lol)

Deimos

- Hank is unable to hack anything without just smashing it, giving his location away

- Hank with no hesitance (Deimos is kinda a pussy sometimes compared to Hank)

- Hank without any moral compass #3

- Hank without any comedic relief/punching bag/idfk annoying brother

- Hank without any enrichment? Idk (Deimos will fucking talk even if Hank doesn’t talk back. Bro the typa guy to fall asleep in the car snoring mouth open leaning on Hank and will not wake up even if Hank smashed his skull against the window.)

Hank needs those bookies or he gets 0 enrichment/nutrients and he will wither away like a sad hamster

[tazmilygray]

Kirby OC creation game

First letter of your URL is your character's species!

A - Puffball (like Kirby)

B - Penguin (like Dedede)

C - Whatever the mages and haltmanns are

D - Jambeliever

E - Key Dee

F - Scarfy

G - Waddle Doo

H - Burning Leo

I - Chilly

J - NESP

K - Noddy

L - Poppy Bros Jr

M - Paint Witch

N - Hamster

O - Human

P - Ripple Star Fairy

Q - Spider

R - Whatever Magolor is

S - Squeaker

T - Fecto

U - Awoofy

V - Octopus (like Chuchu)

W - Waddle Dee

X - Keke

Y - Whatever Tiff and Tuff are

Z - People of the Sky (flower fairies from KTD)

Favorite Season = Their Fighting Style!

Spring - Ranged Weapon

Summer - Melee Weapon

Fall - Healing/Support

Winter - Mage

Fave Color = What magic they specialize in, if any

Red - Fire

Orange - Rock/Ground/Earth

Yellow - Electric

Green - Nature

Blue - Water

Purple - Poison

Pink - ESP/Psychic

Black - Ghostly

White - Ice

Fave Flavor = A big part of their personality, a main trait

Sweet - Headstrong

Sour - Kindhearted

Salty - Short-tempered

Spicy - Selfish

What you like best will determine your character's Matter type

Clouds - Heart Matter

Rain - Soul Matter

Stars - Dream Matter

The Moon - Dark Matter

I hope this wasn't too much, I'd love to see what you create so, if you decide to use this, if you don't add on to a reblog, tag me if you upload what you make!

[obenkriegerss]

HEY YOU!!!!!!! ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A JHUTCH SERVER?! 🫵

well this is the place for you!!! join me and others at hutchers!!! where we talk about jhutch and other fandoms alike

theres engaging activities like qotd, where you answer a different question every day and chat to others about your answers!

we host game nights, movie nights, events and so much more!!

we offer personalised channels where you can talk about anything you want, your own channel!

and lastly so much FUN!! COME JOIN!! LINK BELOW!!

FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW IF YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO VERIFY!

1. when you join the server, you should get a notification from #rules , click on this and read them, look for THE PASSWORD which is hidden in the rules!

2. once you’ve read the rules, click the verification reaction role at the bottom, this should grant you access to roles, member intros and more.

3. go to member intros and introduce yourself! you can use the template or create your own :)) PUT THE PASSWORD IN YOUR INTRO FOR VERIFICATION!

4. once your intro is made, as quick as possible, a mod or the owner will grant you a role called ‘password granted’, this should give you access to the final verification channel

5. on the final verification channel, boop the hamster and you’re done!

HAVE FUN!!

[directdogman]

my power went out in the middle of me coding in the hobo interaction in my game and i feel like the little shit shart did it on purpose

like 4 HOURS WASTED THAT AINT NO ACCIDENT THAT FELLA DID IT ON PURPOSE I KNOW IT. THEIR GOD IRL CONFIRMED !!???!?

God: "Wow, your power went out? That's craaazy. While you were using it? Man, that's not really all that considerate, is it? Maybe the grid hiccuped. That happens sometimes. It sucks, but it's true. Nothing is dependable ALL of the time, after all. Y'know there's an acceptable amount of bug pieces that can turn up in candy? If they're able to legally sell you a candy bar with a centipede inside it, I guess it's to be expected that sometimes, power just kinda goes out. I mean, ya'd think they'd figure out a way to pump out stuff to chow down on without spiders in it before they'd figure out how to make electricity that never shuts off (even IF a spider falls into the reactor), right? Electricity is complicated, after all, way more than spiders and centipedes. Y'ever seen a spider create music? It's been known to happen, but it's rare is what I'm sayin'.

Y'know, actually, I think it's funny: If ya place a mass of spiders on a hamster wheel, they basically won't produce any amount of electricity worth talkin' about. They just kinda dart around aimlessly. Can't really coordinate spiders. Too many legs. More legs means more chaos. That's a rule. Ever stare at a crab? 'Scuttle, scuttle, pinch', that's a crab's motto. Lobsters aren't much better, but they have their own deal going on the side, which I won't go into now. All that being said, GOOD LUCK keeping insects from sprinting into reactors and frying the power grid for a moment, though! I mean, it's no wonder they keep appearing inside candy. They're skeevy lil fuckers, y'know. Like I said, lots of legs. An excessive number, even. 4 pairs. That's eight legs. Don't even get me STARTED on centipedes! No creature that isn't up to SOME kind of malarkey would need that many legs. Me, I've just got the two and boy, do I get a lot of use out of 'em. I mean, I stand around a lot, of course. Granted, I could sit or lie down, but then people'd assume I'm lazy... which maybe I am, but a lil bit of effort's gotta count for something, eh? Wait, what were we talkin' about again? Oh right, how to keep spiders out of reactors. Honestly, I think we'll figure it out some day, but as marvelous as the wonders of modern science are, I just don't think we're there quite yet. Maybe some day. All I know is, it won't be ME to figure the mystery out, that's for damned sure. Anyway, ya got any change?"

[marlynnofmany]

Racetracking

“The good news,” announced the gravelly voice of Mimi the tentacle alien, “Is that this model defaults to zero-g when it breaks.” He led the way down the corridor with tentacle slaps instead of footsteps, which managed to sound exasperated.

I had the brief thought that he was louder than Mur and Wio when he walked, possibly because he spent so much time in the engine room where everything was noisy. But I put that thought aside. I had a pretty good idea what the bad news was.

“The bad news,” Mimi grumbled, “Is that the carrying cage that these high-paying customers insisted on is so broken that I can’t fix it. Even with the right tools.”

“So we have animals in zero-g,” I said.

Mimi waved a tentacle in a way that I privately found hilarious. “We just took off! Just! It’s like they’re trying to frame us for damages!”

I looked at him in alarm. “Are we sure they’re not?”

He made a dismissive motion, still walking. “That’s what the cameras in the storage holds are for. There’s proof that no one dropped it or whatever. And I think Captain Sunlight is already talking to them about it, which is a conversation I do not envy her.”

I winced. “Yeah. Which animals? It’s just one of the carriers, right?”

“The little ones. I dunno what they’re called. They were alive when I left, but they looked pretty upset.”

That didn’t narrow it down. As the ship’s resident animal expert, I’d had a look at each of the half-dozen life support chambers that passed for carriers among the rich folks. Each of them held a different type of little furry whatsit in wild colors. Each was sealed with its own supply of air and gravity — or at least it was supposed to be.

I couldn’t hear any distressed noises yet, but when Mimi poked the button for the door, it slid open to a chorus of muffled squeaks.

The six chambers were lined up in a row, on display in the center of the room, with nothing close enough to so much as touch them. Five held animals calmly nosing around the bottom.

One held a whirling tornado of blue fur.

I dashed over to peer through the glass, hands dancing uncertainly. I shouldn’t touch it, shouldn’t open it. But—!

…But.

I looked closer. “They’re running.” I dropped my hands and stared.

Mimi plopped down next to me. “Is that bad?”

“No, it’s just — Look at them! They’re doing this on purpose!” I started to smile as I realized why the squeaks sounded familiar. “They’ve made their own hamster wheel.”

“A what now?” Mimi wanted to know.

I gestured vaguely. “It’s an exercise thing for animals like this where I’m from. A wheel that they run inside of, and it keeps spinning. These guys—” I pointed at the chamber. “—Have created their own.”

“Uh-HUH.” Mimi tilted his head to watch the antics, which were slowing down as they noticed us. “That is a strange reaction to zero-gravity.”

“I’ve heard of mice that did that, actually,” I said as a memory surfaced. “It took them a while to make a game of it. I wonder if this isn’t the first time the carrier’s gravity has gone screwy.”

Mimi held a curl of tentacle thoughtfully to his face. “That is an interesting data point. The captain will want to know.” He lowered it. “And if you’re sure these things aren’t about to die of organ explosion or whatever, then we should go tell her.”

The blue furry things — which did honestly look a lot like mice — had settled down to some more even-tempered bumping around in there. None were limping as far as I could tell, and none had been knocked unconscious or worse.

“I think they’re okay,” I said, looking closely. “The food dispenser is closed, thankfully, so there aren’t any pellets or globs of water floating about. They just got a bit of excitement.”

Mimi levered himself off the floor. “They’re not the only ones,” he grumbled. “Annoying little meatsticks must be in cahoots with the rich jerks, trying to make our lives harder. Why would they even do that?”

I gave the chamber one last look, then stood and followed him toward the door. “I dunno, it looks like fun. Probably a lot of animals would enjoy that if they knew it was an option.”

Mimi stared at me with one large eye. “Animals from your planet.”

“Well, yeah. Probably others too.”

He made a wet-sounding snort of skepticism and led the way into the hall.

I followed, smiling. “Come on, it looks like fun. I was just thinking it would be neat to try in a zero-g room, though flat walls wouldn’t be as good as curved ones.”

“Your planet’s full of weirdos. You know that, right?”

“Oh, it’s been said before.”

~~~

Thanks to this post for inspiration! It was too good an idea to pass up.

Anyways, this is the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. But you probably already knew that.

[dub88dab44]

I finally caught up with season 10 and I have some thoughts. This might be an unpopular opinion, but.....

I really like this season! I originally stopped playing after the first volume cause I created a sweetheart of a character, and that just wasn't working. So for the first time since season 1 I decided to wait until I could binge the season (I got impatient, oops) and let me tell you

S10 works so much better when you're playing it as one big story, rather than having the same issues week after week. But as a whole, here are some more specific thoughts:

(under the cut cause this got looong)

First of all, design. I like MC's design. We've come a long way since whatever that s5/s6 MC mess was. I understand that Fusebox, in order to make this game work, has to prioritize. And keeping essentially the same MC sprite over multiple seasons for the sake of the other characters' designs seems reasonable to me

Speaking of: For the most part the other characters' designs look great! They actually look like real people to me the obvious exceptions being Sophia (why... just why?) and kinda Franki (idk, she looks odd to me) and sorry Hayden (why does he have a hamster mouth)

Moving on to plot: I actually like that we don't couple up with someone straightaway! This plot point is a big one where being aware of it ahead of time helped a lot. I was growing tired of every LI immediately being all in with MC. In past seasons, as soon as you couple up, every LI just turned into the same lovesick mush. Let us work for people's affections!

This also allows for actual character building. I feel like I actually know Ethan, Milo, Hayden, and all the others. Characters having their own consistent personality? Unheard of since s4! I refuse to acknowledge s5 You have to make the coding work somehow and I feel like this is a smart way of doing it and stopping the personalities from melting into each other without doing a forced couple à la Miles/Jasper from s1. If a season wants to draw me in, distinct personalities is one of the most important factors to me.

Jesse!!! That's all.

No but seriously. Jesse is (so far) what Nicky/Seb from s3 was supposed to be. I have been craving a character like Jesse!! A male best friend whom you can genuinely come to for what would otherwise be girl talks. With the option of a friends-to-lovers route but also the option to just hype each other up!

Jesse thinking MC was the cheater during the dirty laundry challenge bc Sophia was spreading lies? Yes please! This is the type of drama that is genuinely important to me. No character, even your faves, are without flaws. This was a genuine fuck up on Jesse's part but I think it's so good for character and relationship building. More drama like this please!

Speaking of characters I love: Lisbeth. First of all, her character design? A+, give whoever did that a raise! Her character? The whole witchy, wanting to live in a overgrown castle, plays in a band and smashed her guitar vibe? A++! Calling her partner a good boy, giving dom-mummy vibes, but also nervous around her crush? Please let me marry her!

Okay hear me out.... I like Sophia as a character. Shitty person! Good character. Because I feel like she makes sense? I've seen many people basically call her cartoonishly evil but I don't think that's true. I think she is just self-absorbed. She genuinely doesn't think about how her actions might affect other people. Not in a fuck-you type of way, it just genuinely doesn't occur to her that when she is happy other people won't be happy for her, or that they might be hurt by the chaos trail she leaves behind. I find that compelling as an antagonistic character, especially since you can choose how sassy or understanding MC is of Sophia's narcissism.

If I were to ever make one of those TikTok hear-me-out cakes, I would put Tristan on it. What can I say, I like a good ratboy! Visually he reminds me of an early Damiano David from Måneskin, and I think that man just fundamentally changed something in my brain chemistry

What I like about the dates is that they are more than I generic "I like you, and I see myself with you and only you, you changed my entire outlook on life, now kiss me". Cause after a while that just gets boring. I feel like we actually get to learn about the LIs on the dates (partially due to them being given actual distinct dialogue!). Please, yes, actually tell me something about yourself! And that boat/snorkeling date? That shit was good!

The challenges have also been really fun so far. I particularly loved the dirty laundry challenge and the fairground (can never go wrong with a blindfolded kissing challenge, and combining that with the tea from the rest of the challenge was a cool thing to do)

Speaking of, the drama is delicious! Genuinely reminds me of s2 (maybe too high of a compliment, but whatever). I feel like we get to be a part of the drama, like how Jesse confide in MC about his feelings and doubts about his couple. I also love the Ethan/Hayden rivalry. And getting to split up a couple? I thought that was a cool new twist although I agree it probably should have come later in the season. I love that as MC, you kind of get to decide how seriously you want to take everyone coming to you with their issues

This is a minor thing, but it makes such a difference to me: Whenever a Thing has happened (date, tea got spilled, announcement, etc.) it's often the boys (lead by Jesse, my heart) who say "let's go for a debrief" FIRST. In past seasons I have been a little frustrated by the constant girls chats, cause like... I might not trust the girls?? Why are you making me do this?? *cough* Amelia *cough* But seeing the boys leave to chat males it so that (a) well, they're busy, might as well go chat to the girls instead of it feeling do forced, and (b) implies an actual bond between the boys - which makes the characters and the world feel more real. Male characters having relationships with each other? Outside of rivalries? What a concept!

I think the gems are well spent. Season 10 still has a bit of an issue with interesting drama only being introduced to you if you spend gems. But that also means that spending gems actually gets you something worth your money. Be it drama, intimate scenes with your LI or an extended scene where you get to clap back - I much prefer this over the alternative aka gem scenes being essentially meaningless (so essentially s5-s7)

I partially created this list because I've grown exhausted with the negativity in this fandom. Sure, there is also a lot to criticise. But despite all I still love litg. We've had unplayable seasons (s5) we've had mid seasons (s6 & s7), but recently we've also had some really good, replayable material (s8 & s9) that rivals the early stuff. And I think that deserves acknowledgement. So I'm gonna be cautiously hopeful for the rest of s10 and the future of litg.

[4channerguy]

tug of war / ranpo edogawa

hello...guys.... oh my god i acutally didn't expect my last fic to gain traction? thank you? anyways this is a repost from my ao3 fic that i am very proud of. its very cute i like it a lot tumblr is fun :^) xoxo (。・∀・)ノ

warnings ✎ : none. just ranpo stealing your blankets i guess. gn reader, pronouns aren't mentioned. ➜ ┊ pairings: ranpo x reader

wc: 592 (short, i know)

it was cold again.

you groggily woke up to nothing on your body, shivering with prickled skin. you look at the alarm clock. it was only 4:06 am. you turn to your side, and much to your avail, ranpo, again, had hogged all of the blankets. wrapped around him, with only the exception of a tuft of hair peeking out. he reminded you of a hamster that had burrowed inside of it’s own bedding. though cute, you were rightfully pissed off. sighing loudly, you nudge ranpo.

“hey…hey!” you shout-whispered. he grunted in response.

“you took all the blankets again,” you whisper. “it’s cold, you need to share.” he grunted again and proceeded to unroll himself half-assedly before going back to sleep.

only a quarter of the blanket was given to you. you accepted the gesture anyway, trying to make do with it, before falling back asleep.

you woke up an hour later.

your body was now dangerously closer to the edge of the bed with nothing on you. again. you seriously had enough of this. determined to get your blanket back, you firmly but gently tugged the blanket that was still cocooned around ranpo. he grumbled in his half-asleep state and resisted. you only kept trying, and finally, out of pure hard work, you were able to gain a better halve of the blanket. feeling weirdly triumphant about your achievement (while ranpo was blissfully unaware) you put it over you carefully and buried yourself in it in delight. you look over at ranpo who had his cheek squished against the pillow, creating a pool of drool on it. you brush his bangs up and kiss him on his forehead. he smiled in his sleep and you suppressed the urge to start aggressively kissing him all over his face. you sighed as your head hit the pillow.

morning hit and you and ranpo collectively trudged towards the kitchen where you made coffee and he made toaster waffles.

“we should get two blankets.” you randomly mention. he raises an eyebrow while rubbing an eye. “what for?” he replies while flicking an eye booger out of his eye. you stare at him.

“you seriously don’t remember last night.”

“uh….nope.”

you turn around as your coffee’s done. “we played a game of tug of war last night.”

“oh really?” he says absentmindedly while trying to pull two of the waffles from the toaster with his bare hands. “shit, ouch.”

you reach towards his hurt hand and kiss it while he pouts. “yeah we did. and it wasn’t fun.” you retort back, sulking. he kisses your hand back and smirks showing his canines. “apologies that i’m such a blanket thief. it’s a…what’s the word…involuntary. yeah, involuntary reflex i can’t control.”

you roll your eyes. “well, your reflex makes me not sleep well. i’d rather not walk into work brain-dead because i fought so many battles with you when i’m trying to sleep. thanks.”

he munches on his now rescued waffle while handing your share to you. you accept.

he nudges you. “i can be your blanket you know? we can, like, share body heat and-”

“please, in your dreams. you know that’ll just cocoon yourself anyways. we tried that before.”

he shrugs. “just giving suggestions. don’t worry about your cute butt anyway, we’ll go to a convenience store and get a blanket. if you promise to get me shrimp chips on the way.”

you sip your coffee and smile. “i promise.”

⋆｡𖦹 °✩ 11.24.23, do not repost or translate my content :^)

[royal-bubble-tea]

Seventeen - Hoshi - Imagine

Hoshi x gn! Reader (Smut) 🔥

Just imagine you are having sex with him but he already came so you wrap your legs around his middle and turn him around to ride him instead. He is overstimulated, begging you to stop but also to keep going. With his head thrown back, jet black hair creating a halo around him on the pillow beneath. Him just being your own sex god. When you meet his eyes he is absolutely mesmarized by you taking your own pleasure.

You continue riding him. Both of you praisng the other for doing well, how amazing they feel and how stunning they look. Sex with Hoshi is basically the two of you praising each other through the whole thing. As you ride him you can feel him getting hard again inside you, but you just keep going. He reaches out and puts one hand on your heat slowly starting to stroke it. Now it is you who is at a loss for words, head thrown back in pleasure and moaning his name out loud. He continues his ministrations but his hands are shaking from having just come, the overstimulation that followed and the overall ecstasy that he is feeling. The imagine he paints in front of you with his cheeks a bright red, panting heavily between biting his lips to at least try and stifle some of his loud moans. You push down on him one final time and you come. He can see the way you are fighting for your breath after having come so hard, as well as feeling your release on his fingers that he promptly puts into his mouth to suck on them. The taste of you on his tongue paired with the visual of you drenched in sweat on top of him is what pushes him over the edge a second time. You can feel him pulse inside of you. Hoshi folds in on himself to overwhelmed by his second orgasm of the night, which he reached in such a short amount of time thanks to you. You wrap your arms around him and hold him close to your chest. He circles his arms around your waist, squeezing it occasionally. You let him ride out the waves of pleasure cursing through his body, feeling him twitch from time to time, as you run your hand through his hair, down his nape and back to make the same way up again.

Ahhhh, I am just down so bad for Hoshi. I absolutely love his duality from being sooo sexy on stage to fighting Mingyu in Mafia Games and looking like an adorable hamster. ☺️😍

Horanghae❤️

[felassan]

Article: 'If Anthem is the "anti-BioWare game", then James Ohlen is correcting the balance'

Text [quote]:

"The hugely influential design director talks Baldur’s Gate, his next RPG, and the abandonment of the BioWare model.

“Baldur’s Gate II set the model, and I obviously loved that model,” says James Ohlen. “But there were a ton of people at BioWare who didn’t like it.” During leadership meetings over the course of the Canadian designer’s 22 years at the RPG studio, he’d sometimes feel totally outnumbered when talking about the importance of story. “Game developers don’t get into the industry to create stories, they get into the industry to create games,” he says. “And so there’s this conflict between game developers and story - my entire career it's been a constant fight.”

Ohlen picked his side early. He was telling BioWare stories even before he joined the company. The meeting of Minsc and Boo, one of the most enduring partnerships in PC gaming, came about in a tabletop Dungeons & Dragons game he ran as a teenager. Then a comic book store manager, he took advantage of his premises to guide no fewer than three concurrent D&D groups through their campaigns. “I didn’t really have much of a life outside of Dungeons & Dragons,” he says.

BioWare programmer Cam Tofer played Minsc in one of those campaigns, “as a guy who’s basically been knocked on the head too many times in fights”. A merchant NPC of Ohlen’s invention sold him Boo, the miniature giant space hamster, in an apparent scam. Tofer ran with it, declaring that Boo would be Minsc’s animal companion, and holding one-sided conversations with the confidant that lived in his pocket. “In my campaign he was just a hamster,” Ohlen says. “I always thought of him as just a hamster.”

Back then, in the early 90s, there were no game design degrees, but Ohlen had dedicated himself to the next best thing. DMing proved to be an intensive training course in giving players agency and immersing them in another world - and his local reputation as a story wrangler landed him a job working on Baldur’s Gate. It’s a similar origin story to that of David Gaider, another D&D head who was plucked from the hotel industry to tell tales about vampires and druid groves.

“Have you ever read Malcolm Gladwell on the 10,000 hour rule? I think by the time I got hired by BioWare, I had done 20,000 hours of dungeon mastering,” Ohlen says. “It was ridiculous. I owe a lot to D&D. My friendships, my career, my mental stability.”

BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka encouraged Ohlen to dig into the huge binders that contained the details of all the player characters and NPCs in his campaigns, and to let them spill out into the world of Baldur’s Gate. “I hadn’t intended to do that,” Ohlen says. “It seemed narcissistic. But he was right. Once I started using them, I started getting things done real fast. All the characters had personalities that I already knew.”

Those tabletop campaigns turned out to be accidental writers’ rooms - producing distinct personalities that reflected the voices of their individual players. From the binders came some of Baldur’s Gate’s most beloved companions, like Minsc and the egotistical conjurer Edwin, as well as its villains - leading all the way up to the sequel’s Hannibal Lector-esque antagonist, Jon Irenicus.

That said, inspiration for Baldur’s Gate II’s much deeper companion stories came from an unlikely source. During a freezing winter smoke break in Edmonton, an Interplay producer named Dermot Clarke mentioned that Baldur’s Gate’s characters weren’t nearly as developed as those in Final Fantasy VII.

“I’m very competitive,” Ohlen says. “I went and played Final Fantasy VII and was like, ‘Oh my good god, these characters make ours look like a bunch of cardboard cutouts. This is terrible.’” The disparity convinced BioWare to up their game, leading to the complex journeys of companions like Jaheira - the grieving wife and activist, whose sense of duty has been shaken by so much loss. Despite Ohlen’s distaste for the way SquareSoft’s RPGs played, he continued to be influenced by their character work - all the way up to Knights Of The Old Republic, which was partly inspired by the twist-laden Chrono Cross. That and Star Wars, of course.

“I actually totally, entirely ripped off The Empire Strikes Back in such blatant fashion,” Ohlen says. “You basically go to face the dark lord by yourself, and then you get into a lightsaber fight with him, and he kicks your ass. And then, after kicking your ass, he does the big twist. Then you don’t die because you’re rescued by your friends on the Millennium Falcon - I mean, the Ebon Hawk. It’s beat by beat the same thing.”

Of course, KOTOR’s plot twist didn’t feel familiar to players because it impacted not Luke Skywalker but them personally. For those who don’t know - and spoiler warning, if so - it revealed that your character was in fact a former Sith Lord, their memory wiped by the Jedi Council. In an RPG genre rooted by knowing your avatar down to their last stat, having your identity ripped out from under you felt genuinely radical. BioWare had succeeded in making its biggest setpiece not a battle, but a revelation. And in the process, it proved that BioWare storytelling was packed with the kind of explosive potential a publisher could bank on.

After the sale of the company to EA in 2007, Ohlen was put in charge of creative development on a Star Wars MMO, The Old Republic. It was BioWare’s next great hope, and an enormous undertaking - involving the founding of a brand new studio in Austin, Texas. At launch, it featured eight story campaigns which unfolded across 19 planets. In 2011, executive producer Rich Vogel told Fast Company that The Old Republic hosted “the most content in a video game ever”. Looking back, Ohlen views that as a fundamental problem.

“If open-world is the enemy of storytelling, multiplayer is the arch-villain,” Ohlen says. “If I was to go back in time to give my 2006 self some advice it would be, ‘Don’t try to make the game so long that you can fill up 200 hours. Instead, keep it shorter.’” With less ground to cover, the Austin team could have committed more resources to its Flashpoints - story-heavy missions which forefronted the difficult decision-making and tight encounter design that had elevated previous BioWare games. “Everyone wanted Knights of the Old Republic Online, and it felt more like World Of Warcraft with Star Wars spray-painted on it and some BioWare juice thrown in,” Ohlen says. “Even though the Metacritic was pretty good, it wasn’t new enough to really take off.”

At this point, a Knights Of The Old Republic 3 directed by Ohlen would be “not great”, he says. “Because I’m all Star Wars’d out. I have nothing else to say about Star Wars. But if a whole new studio does KOTOR 3 that loved KOTOR, that could be an amazing game. So hopefully Disney makes that happen. But probably not, because executives around there are all probably going, ‘It’s too hardcore.’” Ohlen still remembers the efforts he made to convince EA boss John Riccitiello that fantasy was a genre that could sell. “I had this whole PowerPoint presentation,” he says. “We have Lord Of The Rings! We have World Of Warcraft! We have Diablo!”

The year after The Old Republic’s launch, with the arch-villain of multiplayer still undefeated, development of Anthem began - and BioWare fought that increasingly costly battle for the better part of a decade. Those at the studio tired of the Baldur’s Gate model had the backing of EA, since a live service looter-shooter in the mode of Destiny could unlock years of long-term revenue beyond the reach of a single-player RPG. Or so the theory went. “It was always chasing the gigantic successes instead of leaning into what BioWare was good at,” Ohlen says. “It wasn’t just EA leaning on BioWare - there were lots of people in BioWare who wanted to do something different.”

Ohlen understood why others at the company would want to get away from a formula that empowered old hands like him and Gaider, and embrace one that empowered them instead. And he knew first-hand that freedom to experiment was what had set BioWare on the path to success decades before. Yet this new direction felt like an abandonment of the studio’s strengths. “Anthem was the ultimate expression of that,” Ohlen says. “It got away from everything. It’s kind of like the anti-BioWare game.”

Ohlen left in 2018, intending to retire from videogames altogether. “The big games have a formula and they don’t adjust it too much,” he says. “It’s very production driven, and I was like, ‘I’m not gonna get to make a game that I want to make at EA.’” He returned to the tabletop, putting together a new Baldur’s Gate adventure book featuring Minsc and the gang. But then Wizards Of The Coast called and flew him up to Seattle to discuss starting a new studio. Ohlen didn’t need or necessarily want a videogame development team under his wing - and that proved to be a perfect negotiating position.

“My demands were, ‘I only do this if I get to start my own studio in Austin, I get to choose who I hire, I get to choose exactly the kind of IP I want to make, no one’s gonna tell me anything about how to make the game.” At this point, Ohlen adopts a megalomaniacal tone, as if he were Baldur’s Gate baddy Sarevok, ascending to the throne of the dead god Bhaal. “I want control over absolutely everything! I want all the power!”

To his surprise, Wizards said yes, and Ohlen has been happily presiding over Archetype Entertainment ever since, building a new sci-fi RPG world without interference. “If you’ve seen the games I like to build, it’s that style of game,” he says. “But then it leans into the people and technology that I have available.” Ohlen won’t elaborate on what’s in his toybox, for fear of spilling secrets - but it’s worth noting that Mass Effect legend Drew Karpyshyn joined Archetype in 2020 as lead writer. “The feel in the studio reminds me of my early days at BioWare,” wrote Karpyshyn on his blog at the time. “I can feel the magic in the air.”

Magic and Wizards and science fiction - it’s the kind of atmosphere in which you could believe a hamster isn’t just a hamster, but something altogether sillier and more exciting. An act of collective imagination is happening, the binders are filled to bursting, and all we have to do is wait."

[source]