#even though they still are under-represented in the industry (but not the player base)

[grandwitchbird]

Veilguard is generally a well designed and well written game. I’m clear on what I think about DA as a whole, but it’s easily the best actual game in the franchise.

People are picking up, however, on a real critical flaw and mostly failing to locate the flaw while getting distracted by nonsense. It’s a flaw present in every DA game if you dig enough. Let’s talk about story bosses.

This is a tricky thing in arpgs. RGG and CDPR try to ensure that story bosses are densely interwoven into the world in a way that works thematically.

Adam Smasher would have been a problem in any universe; he’s just enabled and enshrined by this one. Hansen points us right back to the military industrial complex, the ghost of which we’ve spent the entire game wrestling with. Literally. All of that directs us right back to the systems in place in our cyberpunk world. It points us at our own motivations as V and interrogates our love of the power fantasy as a player.

In an RGG game, when you run down a corridor towards a boss, it’s a gauntlet. It’s there for fun and also to highlight the legendary clash that’s about to happen with reference to the Yakuza films the series started as an homage to. The boss may wait at the end or jump you, depending on their personality and goals. There will be mini bosses along the way because you’re generally fighting hierarchical organizations.

In Veilguard, our enemies wait at the end of a corridor. They’re powerful and don’t need to come to us. Ok good start, also a nod to ME. Occasionally you’re lucky and get story ‘minibosses’ that interrogate that very idea. The first warden is here to flesh out everyone’s motives and challenge us as the player. Sometimes you’re very lucky and the boss is Johanna Hezenkoss and she’s exclusively here to have clear motives that flesh out Emmrich’s arc and to cause problems because it’s fun. Most of the time, you get Aelia or whatserface Aelia 2.0 in Lucanis’s arc. Or the others I don’t remember after playing the game 5 times. Anaris? What did he even want? No I don’t mean power. What was under that? What was his motivation? Because I can explain the power-hunger in every Yakuza shithead or nationalist asshat I’ve fought in an RGG game. But Veilguard, like all of DA is avoiding real discussions of power and psychology and ~implications~.

I’m not a forgetful person. I’m meticulous and have the true blue autistic pattern recognition. I genuinely can’t say what made Aelia and Aelia 2.0 anything other than cosplay tyrants. Not without projecting onto the text or stretching it to breaking point by leaning hard on one specific short story.* Dragon guy and other antaam guy came out of literally nowhere. Mail order villains those two.

Even with our big bads, we get mere hints and gestures. Everyone is impressed with whatsisface doing a bad imitation of Bowie’s lines in Labyrinth. He’s a spirit of tyranny though. What does that mean. What makes the tyrants work in this world. And why are we cribbing from the Goblin King while carefully editing out the sucker punch?

We know the answer in the real world and can project that onto the game. But it’s not in the game. Not in a way the text doesn’t flinch from. And this is something people are picking up on. It’s also not been in any of the other games sorry to say. So this isn’t new. Veilguard just isn’t hiding behind obfuscating design choices and allusions to better stories. It’s still making those allusions (see gif above) but it’s a more honest text re: its limitations.

As with everything. The Mourn Watch and Grey Wardens stand heads and shoulders above the rest of the faction/companion-based conflicts. Their bosses have clear psychologies, motivations, and represent coherent and grounded goals (in hilariously disparate ways) Solas, likewise, has us/Rook as a mirror and his needs/wants and the conflict between those needs/wants are forefront and incredibly well developed. It’s not all bad. It’s actually quite good.

But when people flounder at surface details looking for the ‘problems’ with the writing. This is what’s getting missed. The problem is never ‘plot hole’ or ‘bad lore’. It’s something in the structure and conflict and motivation. And I’m afraid to say it’s old news with DA (Loghain is fine but the entire end of origins is an asspull. Don’t @ me). This game is much stronger than the others on that front. That would still be true if we had only Solas. We also got Johanna fingerguns Hezenkoss and the entire Grey Warden plot. I, for one, am counting that a win.

*the extended media is a critical weakness of the franchise. Referencing your own EU is not the same as entering a dialogue with an existing subgenre populated by works from diverse sources.

[freebooter4ever]

Hi I wonder

If/when you finish Geno’s sculpture will you be able to program it to move? Like animation?

I’m not familiar with 3d modeling

this is a very good question, actually! cause the easy answer is yes, absolutely. the more complicated answer is that the topology i've modeled is optimized for sculpture rather than animation, so to turn it into an animated character and get clean movement i would have to make some modifications around the sections that deform the most (shoulders, elbows, knees, etc). brief lunchtime course in topology under the cut :)

the topology or 'wireframe' of a character represents the polygons. and each polygon is defined by vertices which are the actual coordinates stored in the computer that tells it to render these objects!

on the left is the sculpt that im working on, and on the right is the 'smoothed' version where the computer calculates a curved spline between points instead of a flat polygon (with certain specific case like where i've told it to 'crease' edges which will keep the sharp polygon line).

My goal in this sculpt (like the skate and the helmet and the gear) was to keep polycount as low as possible to give myself the cleanest lines in a way similar to how i process drawings. This means i have large shapes with as few polygons as i can get away with, so there's certain areas that have very very few polygons entirely. The biggest example of this is the back and the shoulder/arm connection:

if i were topologizing this for animation the 'wireframe' lines would be concentrated where deformation happens. So when I raise the arm the shoulder would have enough geo to stay defined and smooth instead of stretching. right now if i bent his elbow it would cause this problem. luckily, im only planning to bend his elbow for a few poses in a final sculpt - so when i finish with the pose i will go back in and add whatever extra geo is necessary.

anyway the purpose of my sculpting with as little polygons as i can is to keep the silhouette as well as keeping it as clean as possible so that it'll look good in toon shaders. (you can see the 'active points' is under 4k' in the corner there)

the best example i have of this is the face which is absolutely not done so dont judge me but its finally at a point where it doesnt look too terrifying:

on the right is the quick sculpt i did just to get a feel for his face in 3D - this was done with clay sculpting and you can see even though i used the hard surface brush its made up of millions of little vertices so doesn't have that 'clean' look. the goal is to make the gray spaces between as flat as possible to make that toon 2D look in 3D. :)

my face topology is based off which lines i want to 'show' as my 'drawing' lines and wouldn't necessarily result in good animation. geno's lips are driving me crazy - i have so many photos and still they aren't good enough. there's that bow shape on his bottom lip that i'm trying to recreate in geo and its slow going. i take a break from whatever apps or shit im working on, tinker with his lip shape for a half hour, and then go back to working lol.

here's an example of a hard surface object which doesn't deform (because if a helmet squishes thats....thats probably a very bad sign for the player) and so can be as high res as i want it to be to get the level of detail i want:

why am i doing all this? i dunno im crazy. sometime in october a character artist from a big name studio told me my portfolio needed to reflect their 'style' more if i wanted to be hired there and my reaction was well fuck this im figuring out what my OWN style looks like in 3D. probably not the smartest career move. (ive spent 10 years in this industry and i have been a chameleon the entire time blending into everyone else's style. if im spending my own money on this i want it to be mine)

but, going back to the original question, my vision back in october was a beauty sculpt of geno in some action shot - on the ice with the puck or celly. and the sculpt would be crisp and clean and lit with sharp angular lights like how i draw (getting his cheekbone right is a must and makes me cry). and on a turntable. so thats the goal, no animation necessary, and its looking like i might get there in the next month. :)

the, uh, torso sculpt is cause i want to do an extra pose of him looking sexy in his locker stall with his armor gear and shit (pants ON though, you can see i have not sculpted past the waist :P). thats just for me lmao.

[livixbobbiex]

Popular BOTW theory debunked!

Hi, Zelda fandom. I’m really sorry this has to be my first post, but I want to clear up what seems to be a very popular fan theory as completely untrue. 

I only got into the game recently, but I’ve seen a lot of people talking about how in the Japanese version of the game, the quests are written from Link’s perspective and in the style of a diary.

Not only is there no actual proof for this (that I can tell), it’s actually quite misleading. No offence to the OP, but there’s a lot of slightly off things being shared. Particularly as I’ve seen big YouTuber theorists also make points based on this “fact”, I really wanted to, as a person who speaks Japanese, clear it up for you. 

Japanese Pronouns 

So the main issue here is that Japanese as a language functions differently from English (plus a lot of other European languages). If you’ve ever taken a Japanese class, you’ve probably started a sentence with “watashi wa~~~~”. The thing is, actual Japanese people rarely do this. 

Pronouns just aren’t necessary in Japanese often. You use context alone to figure out the subject. For example, “I went to the shop” would be more like “shop went” in Japanese. The “I” is clear enough. If the sentence wouldn’t be clear, a name is usually used, but failing even that a pronoun can finally happen. They’re more of a “reserved for necessary times” word function, not one that appears in almost every sentence. 

The issue with Breath of The Wild 

So taking a look at Link’s adventure logs in Japanese (both the main and side quests - I haven’t completed them all on this save file yet but I went through more than the original theory post did anyway), there’s no pronouns anywhere. No version of “I” that I can find, and no “you” either. I spent quite a long time reading them all, and I just don’t see it. 

I think some of the confusion might have arisen from the “tai” verb ending (which means ‘to want’). Yes, this is more associated with first person. It’s not a confirmation though. You can still use it when speaking to someone. 

The main ACTUAL difference with the English (aside from some lines being cut) is that the style is written way more formally than Japanese. That does not automatically mean first or second person. It’s just a very interesting style choice difference from the translation team - who made it more formal in other countries. It’s really funny, by the way. It talks about Link being a hot woman at one point - maybe I’ll translate some at some point. 

Remember how I just explained context? BOTW literally doesn’t have one. It could just as easily be taken as “you” or “I”. So, whilst I think that it’s fine to theorise, it’s quite irresponsible to push the canon narrative here. A lack of “you” doesn’t automatically equal an “I”. 

Diary? 

The only real incriminating thing is the menu being called something like “adventure notebook/memo/etc.”. That being said, I don’t think this should necessarily be taken literally. It’s not that dissimilar to the English anyway. The actual section headers are more like “main challenge”, “side challenge” which would be out of place in an actual diary. 

Nintendo straight up used the word for “diary” in other places, so I feel like if they really wanted this effect they would have committed more to it. 

Link’s Memories - the nail in the coffin

I know this isn’t the main part everyone seems to have been talking about, but it’s still on the same menu and presented in a similar way. If you go to Link’s memories, they’re pretty much all very explicitly in third person.

Apologies for the zoomed in picture, I was talking to a friend on instagram and I didn’t know I would make this post at the time. It’s pretty simple to fact check though. 

It literally says, clear as day, “Zelda and Link”. Some of the other memories specifically reference Link as “he”. This is all under the supposed “diary” menu, too, so unless you want to argue Link is experiencing some dissociation from his past self- 

What I actually think 

I admit I’m not a long term Zelda fan, however from what I understand Link is really meant to be the player, right? Is that not part of the REAL reason he has no spoken lines? It would be really strange to me for Nintendo to straight up directly spell out Link’s thoughts like that. It seems very intentionally up to interpretation. 

Japanese “I”, when it is used, is problematic because it’s gendered. I’m sure a lot of fans of Japanese culture are aware of “boku”, “ore”, “watashi”. If Link is supposed to be the player, they can’t really use a pronoun like that as it’ll alienate a portion of the audience. 

From what I can see, the origin of this is from quite a small twitter post, where a Japanese fan shares their thoughts on the idea. If the theory was something obvious that spoke for itself, why would they be making a “did you notice this” post? Again this furthers the “interpretation” idea. 

It would be really weird for translation teams to make this much of a change anyway. The formality thing was stylistic, but I doubt they could get away with this severe of a meaning change. I have a LOT of harsh things to say about how much they messed up like most of the cutscenes (for real it’s shocking), but this I don’t think would have been changed so much. From my knowledge of the industry, anyway. 

Summary TLDR 

I’m really sorry, but the original theory is pretty wrong. Well, let me put it this way. I think, if you want to ignore the memory context, you can headcanon that the adventure logs are from Link’s POV. No matter the case, I still think they are represented of his feelings in some way. The adventure log being Link’s POV is a theory only, not a FACT. 

The only way it can actually be proved is if one of the writing staff has actually stated the intent in an interview or something, and I have yet to find one.  

[passionate-reply]

This week on Great Albums, I finally explain the deal with that record you’ve seen in the background of these videos, with those dudes working in the office. These dudes used to be in the Human League! Oh, and they really hate fascism. Full transcript of the video after the break.

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today, I’ll be looking at the debut album of Heaven 17: 1981’s Penthouse & Pavement. While you may not be familiar with Heaven 17, chances are pretty good that if you know your Western pop, you’ve heard of the Human League! Before forming Heaven 17, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware were members of the Human League--and they were also the band’s creative core. But they had a very different artistic vision, and one that doesn’t exactly prefigure the success of hits like “Don’t You Want Me.”

Music: “Being Boiled”

Between its plodding electronics and inscrutable lyricism, “Being Boiled” is pretty far from a pop hit. When Marsh and Ware left the Human League, they were keen to continue pursuing this sort of underground, experimental, quasi-industrial direction. Initially, the two of them formed the British Electronic Foundation, or “B.E.F.” It was chiefly a production company that worked with other artists, though they also released some instrumental music under this name. With the recruitment of vocalist Glenn Gregory, who Marsh and Ware had initially intended to front the Human League in the first place, they were set to get right back into the groove of what they had been up to before.

Music: “Fascist Groove Thang”

“Fascist Groove Thang” is the opening track of Penthouse & Pavement, and was one of its chief singles. While it’s much less ambiguous than “Being Boiled,” and much easier to dance to, it’s still got a lot of that subversive, underground charm--enough to get banned by the BBC, anyway. I know they always say that history rhymes, but it’s one of those songs from this era that really feels like it belongs more in our time than the one it came from. I like to think that its unforgettable chorus sounds more like a chant you might hear at a protest march, as opposed to something that belongs in a proper song. “Fascist Groove Thang” is actually based on an instrumental track by BEF, which was simply called “Groove Thang” before being reworked into this political anthem. Both versions are indeed pretty groovy, thanks in large part to the bass guitar work of session musician John Wilson. Compared to their work with the Human League, Penthouse & Pavement has an overall richer sonic palate, with more of those traditional instruments, as well as backing vocals. You’ll hear a lot of those on the album’s title track:

Music: “Penthouse & Pavement”

Penthouse & Pavement’s title track is the longest track on the album, clocking in at over six minutes. Between that, the lush instrumentation, and the honour of being the title track, it certainly feels like an anti-capitalist epic, dramatizing and dignifying the inner thoughts of a common wage-slave. The first side of the album, dubbed the “Pavement Side,” is where you’ll find both of these tracks, and it seems to deal chiefly with working-class struggles, as well as having a bigger emphasis on that bass-heavy groove, musically. Naturally, then, the flip is the “Penthouse Side,” it’s more melodic, and it seems to focus more on the lives of the rich and famous...though it isn’t quite that straightforward.

Music: “We’re Going To Live For a Very Long Time”

“We’re Going To Live For a Very Long Time” is perhaps the clearest expression of the idea of the upper classes living in their own protected bubble, shielded from plebeian woes. There’s a religious dimension to it, in that the narrator manages to live without worries because of their assuredness that Heaven awaits them when they die...but, as the title reminds us, they’re also confident that Earth will be good to them, as well. In case you were worried this message might not be ironic, the song actually stops abruptly in the middle of its final refrain, providing a sudden end for that narrator--as well as closing out the entire LP with a bang, since this is the final track! The idea of the wealthy actively taunting those beneath them is also central to the most rhythmic track of the Penthouse Side, “The Height of the Fighting.”

Music: “The Height of the Fighting”

In “The Height of the Fighting,” that march-like chanting takes center stage again, but it feels very different here. Rather than embodying a sort of grassroots resistance to the consolidation of power, “The Height of the Fighting” seems to be the voice of authority and power coming downwards, fitting the theme of the Penthouse Side. The song’s assertions, like “if you can’t take it, fake it” and “they sent you to it, do it” could be interpreted as pithy, meaningless sayings--perhaps throwaway lyrics, taking up space on a single aimed squarely at the dance floor. However, if you know the context of the Penthouse Side, it’s hard not to see them as representations of the worthless advice the rich often give the poor. Get a job. Get a side hustle. Work harder. Eat out less. And so on. Much like the implicit messages about class in popular culture, “The Height of the Fighting” might seem disposable, but the thrust of what it’s saying is actually deeply warped. Another complex, and perhaps conflicted, track on the Penthouse Side is “Let’s All Make a Bomb”:

Music: “Let’s All Make a Bomb”

Songs against nuclear war were commonplace in Cold War-era music, but “Let’s All Make a Bomb” isn’t quite a typical example. At first, its slow pace and despondent melody make us think we’re getting the usual fare. But the return of that swelling, chant-like refrain style, as well as a closer inspection of the lyrics, reveal otherwise. As the title might imply, “Let’s All Make a Bomb” asks us what kind of character is actually crazy enough to *want* nuclear war, and the character Heaven 17 have chosen is a hedonistic libertine, who sees the end of the world as one big party. The atomic bomb is not a thing to be feared, but “a brand new toy, to idolize.” As dark as that is, the fact that it’s also part of the Penthouse Side, and ostensibly a representation of what those who hold influence and power believe, adds a whole new level of horror to it.

While I love album art, and my interest in it is the main reason I started collecting vintage vinyl, I think [the cover of Penthouse & Pavement just might be my favourite of all time. Penthouse & Pavement’s cover portrays the three members of Heaven 17 as though they were businessmen, co-opting motives like glass-paneled skyscrapers and the deal-making handshake straight from the 1980s corporate visual lexicon. They've even got cities they're allegedly based out of, one of which is their native Sheffield, England. If you look closely, there are a few hints that they’re actually a music band and not a firm, such as the reel-to-reel tape player in the upper right-hand corner, and the fact that in the lower left-hand corner, Martyn Ware is writing music in front of a keyboard. At the bottom, we also find the logo of B.E.F., which brings this grand “joke” full circle. As the “British Electronic Foundation,” they had also billed themselves as a faceless organisation, adopting a name that sounds more at home on a utility bill than an album cover. Here, the trio have done it again, in a bit of ruthless satire towards the rising “yuppie” culture of the 80s. Incidentally, the cover art is a traditional painting, credited to one Ray Smith. It wasn't unusual to commission paintings for album art at the time, but it does tickle me knowing a human being physically painted Heaven 17 as office workers. If the original ever came up for auction, I'd probably shell out for it. It would look great in my office!

Anyway, it’s also worth mentioning how the title “Penthouse & Pavement” adds to that corporate theme. The X-and-Y format recalls the names of many real-life firms and companies, such as Ernst & Young. A “penthouse” is an apartment located very high up in a tall, urban building. Such apartments are usually expensive, and are hence occupied by well-off tenants. “Pavement,” in this context, probably refers to what Americans call the “sidewalk,” the paved pathways where the less fortunate among us might walk past those penthouses, without ever getting too close. Each side functions as an ideal symbol of the kind of people it represents, and the physical gap between them is a visceral representation of economic inequality. The title is also quite pleasingly alliterative!

While Penthouse & Pavement maintains a certain underground integrity, which is consistent with Marsh and Ware’s track record as part of the Human League, it’s still much more of a pop record than anything they had done before. Heaven 17 never went quite as pop as the Human League did without them, and they certainly never saw the same level of mainstream success, but they did pursue an increasingly pop direction with their next several releases. Their 1983 followup, The Luxury Gap, delivers less of that hard-hitting critique of capital, but did produce some of their best-known singles, namely, “Temptation” and “Let Me Go.”

Music: “Let Me Go”

My favourite track on Penthouse & Pavement is “Geisha Boys & Temple Girls.” I like this track’s overall mysterious, otherworldly vibe--it’s not terribly easy to pin down what it’s really about, or what sort of mood it’s meant to convey. The intro to this song sounds more like Karlheinz Stockhausen than something you would hear in pop, and I love how strident and abrasive it is. Given its place as the opening track of the Penthouse Side, and its opening line, “look ahead, on the screen,” I’m tempted to interpret it as a representation of a fictional romance in television or film. It’s dramatic, unpredictable, exotic, and also completely fake and divorced from how people behave in the real world. The idea that entertainments and diversions are part of what shelters the rich from the consequences of their actions is another one of those things that makes this album continue to feel relevant. That’s all I have for today--thanks for listening!

Music: “Geisha Boys & Temple Girls”

[endlessdoom]

Sacrament

14 maps by Clan [B0S] of the russian community.

2011

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Sacrament

MAP01: Reposa In Pace by Slavius

Sacrament is a particularly special map that stands out for its unorthodox factors to the traditional, and boy does it show it! MAP01 is an interesting environmental proposal with a tight, labyrinthine design that enjoys losing the player in a new world more than throwing him into combat. 3/5

MAP02: Doxylamine Moon by Lainos

Iconic in the history of the game and I can easily see why. This is a huge map that represents an incredibly detailed city with a deep and vast opportunity for exploration in every area. That, coupled with an excellent setting make this a map that is hard to forget. 4/5

MAP03: Dirtyllery by Wraith

Confusing at times but with more combat than previous maps and a fairly interesting design that combines a variety of rooms, offering an interesting progress system that, although it gets lost at times, is manageable. 3/5

MAP04: Phobia by Dr. Max

More direct than the previous ones and with a comprehensive layout that offers exploration and combat under an atmospheric, yet distinctive, presentation compared to the rest of the maps. 4/5

MAP05: Lavatraz by Wraith

A fortress in the middle of a lava lake surrounded by a large crowd of enemies. This is an intense map with enough combat to satisfy those who want a bit of a fight, while maintaining a good flow and offering excellent presentation for combat. 4/5

MAP06: Pandora's Box by Archi

Large and expansive, with huge open areas and an iconic start through a shadowy tunnel. Fantastic map, with good combat and many areas to explore as well as many fights to participate in. 4/5

MAP07: Arena by Dragon Hunter

The most divergent map of all maps. This is a combat arena that ends with a totally unexpected slaughter surprise. It is probably the most traditional map of the whole set, one that differs from the philosophy of the episode but still perfectly satisfying, fun, entertaining and well challenging. 4/5

MAP08: Zone X by Archi

We return to a realistic map that combines the urban effect with a bit of industrial architecture while offering progress through a palpable and realistic layout. With constant combat and a few surprises, it manages to make its mark. 4/5

MAP09: Vancouver by Archi

It has nothing to do with Vancouver, but more to do with Doom. This is a map that manages to perfectly combine the atmosphere of the episode with a good puzzle system and exploration without sacrificing combat at any time; offering interesting challenges, varied and progress that flows without pause under a good atmosphere of fun. 5/5

MAP10: Wood Prison by Azamael

Gigantic wooden (or brick?) fortress with a huge multitude of rooms and scenarios. Combat is intense and almost constant, but the layout leaves something to be desired at times, as well as a few missing textures. 3/5

MAP11: Seaport by Azamael

A fascinating concept that combines natural scenery with human architecture, giving it a distinctive touch that together with the MIDI and the progress system, create a very palpable atmosphere. 4/5

MAP12: Industrial Processing by Dragon Hunter

Quite large, dark and ambient. At times it reminds me of the tight maps of Doom 3, combining intense combat in tight corners that encourage tactical combat and be careful with our steps. The visuals are often hidden in the darkness, but it manages to convey a decent idea of abandoned tech-base. 3/5

MAP13: Controlled System by BeeWen

This is a map to end on a high note... gold. Huge and quite distinctive thanks to the excellent work of detail and ambience, adding a Silent Hill song, this map bleeds atmosphere and releases horrors. With a huge layout, unfortunately, it shoots itself in the foot by creating an almost incomprehensible path system that becomes incredibly complicated near the map, however, the challenging combat and wonderful visuals manage to give it its name. 4/5

MAP14: LOGOEND by Lainos

And finally, an unwinnable map that works like a credits map, but without the credits. Still, the monument and the skybox is great. Maybe music would have improved this. 3/5

Overall:

» Sacrament (2011) By Clan [B0S]

Deep in the snowy lands, far to the east and hidden in the veil of mystery and poem, lies an abandoned world, without faith, without time; a world where man does not exist and sin reigns, desolate lands, lost lands, home of the devil and battlefield for all those who dare to desecrate the... sacrament. Whoops! I missed the rails. That little paragraph may encapsulate a bit of the idea and excitement behind this 14 map WAD designed to totally blow your mind in the most unorthodox and fantastical way you can find within the confines of Doom. Sacrament is an episode created by the B0S clan that shows how the world of Doom still has much, much more to offer.

Sacrament's story is something that would make a writer's cheeks swell with the desire to make it a novel: The plot follows a "Clan [B0S] fighter" as he wakes up from a nightmare into an apocalypse already in-progress. It is then gradually revealed that "the worthy" have already ascended to heaven, while everyone else have turned into bloodthirsty demons who are left to infight. He journeys into a now-desolate world, searching for answers as to what had happen, and why only he retained his humanity. Extract from the Doomwiki. That alone sounds like something absolutely awesome that inmediatly gathers my attention, and as expected, the rest of the WAD also did. With 14 maps, you'd better be ready to embark on an adventure of your own that is worthwhile in every way and demonstrates with considerable quality how to create a world entirely within the confines of Doom in a creative, inventive and different way to what we are used to. As a result, a kind of environmental son that evokes distant sensations of desolation, added to an explicit combat that sometimes is silent and then surprises you with brutal violence.

Sacrament knows very well what it is trying to achieve and succeeds with flying colors, even if it is not to everyone's taste. The main aspect of this WAD and its distinctive point is nothing more and nothing less than the amazing presentation it has. When I talk about presentation, I mean the shared set of visuals, progressive narration and extra details like music or even the titlescreen. WAD makes extensive use of all these details to create an ironically perfect conglomeration. While presentation is often overlooked or of regular importance in the mainstream Doom landscape, it is an aspect that can still pleasantly elevate the value of a WAD. That's just what happens with Sacrament. @Lainos is the mastermind behind the conception of this work, and he manages to successfully convey the idea of desolation and abandonment that each map possesses. The cohesion is generally understandable, and even though the maps are not dependent on each other, each manages to create a shared atmosphere among the entire WAD, either through the use of realistic architecture combined with muted colors, or even sharing design similarities that evoke a shared history in different areas. Sacrament successfully manages to give that fantastic feeling; that of playing in an environmental adventure like no other.

It is worth mentioning the incredible use of music and colors. Music used to be a factor that ranked as a rear position among the overall quality of WADs in the old days. A positive factor, but not essential. On the other hand, modern times have begun to highlight the essentials of music and how they can pleasantly increase the quality of a WAD. Proof of this is the recent Cacoward for OST. Well, Sacrament makes extensive use of music from different sources and all in an .OGG format, which means that we will hear high quality music in glorious sound true to the way the author intended. While the music is not of original production for the project, the selection of each tune was done with enough attention to create a comprehensive odyssey of ambient symphonies. MIDI breaks the mood at a certain point, yes, but the great job they have taken in choosing songs that match the color palette of the map and the ambiance is a good example of how this format is perfect for drowning us in a world. Add to that an excellent use of skybox, dark blue colors and lots of creepy textures reminiscent of rust and confinement, and surprise, Sacrament is a work of pure ambience.

But not everything that shines blue is sapphire, and here we must see the strange, unorthodox and polemic side of this WAD, the gameplay. Sacrament tells you directly in its structure that it is interested in the environment, leaving the gameplay to take a back seat (not entirely true, but you get the point), something that many would consider sacrilege, but thanks to good management decisions and excellent production, it works under the same aesthetics of this project. Most of the maps make a great focus on exploration and environment, especially the @Lainos maps, which bleed pure desolation and loneliness. The influence of Lainos is felt in most of the maps, especially with the intense use of music and skybox, on the other hand, not everything is generally pure exploration, it would be somewhat detrimental to steal the gameplay completely to this map, and if what we want is action, well there is, in one way or another there is. Intense maps that offer explosive combat like MAP07: Arena by @Dragon Hunter or the huge and challenging MAP13: Controlled System by @BeeWen, both maps that show incredible use of design and devastating gameplay at times. However, if Sacrament is a black sheep, then these maps are Sacrament's black sheep, so to speak.

Sacrament is not meant to be a run-and-gun, nor a kind of traditional WAD. It comes with all the right to break schemes and demonstrate something different and well produced, something that however strange and fascinating it may be, it manages to establish its place within the annals of the history of WADs. While its complex layouts and divergent gameplay may be somewhat detrimental to some players, that doesn't detract from the simple fact that Sacrament is a quality work that deserves to be tried just for the one virtue it possesses, that of allowing us to plunge into a world of Doom.

[chippyskylark]

LIGHTS DOWN LOW.

death content warning. alcohol content warning.

creatively, chip is on the cusp of something extraordinary. the pop sensation takes a tentative step into maturity though remains careful not to shed his squeaky clean image. the beauty of chip skylark’s third album lies in the complexity of the man and the stories behind it. while still under the direct control of his label, chip still manages to take a stand towards independence as he tries his hand at songwriting and production for the first time in his six year career. the sunny pop filled production is representative of the singer’s optimism as he battles the worst year of his life.

lights down low w. chippington skylark the third. the opening track of chip’s third album packs the punch of a new sound for those who have been a fan of the singer since he first burst onto the scene at fourteen. chip reflects on his six year relationship with fellow singing sensation britney santiago, penning a love song that he hopes begins to convey how strongly he feels for her. it’s one of the first songs he writes for the album and it comes shortly after a conversation his family has with the couple during one of their family dinners. his grandfather jokes about marriage, earning chastising from Chip’s grandmother and mother for embarrassing the young couple. and while he doesn’t say much when the topic is brought up, a lot of thinking leads him to the conclusion that he’d be ready for marriage if it was with britney.

love me less w. chippington skylark the 2nd & ricardo skylark. another song born from a playful conversation amongst family. chip finds himself on vacation, surrounded by the important men in his life. so young and having lived such a squeaky clean life, chip can do nothing more than sit back and listen on as his father and uncles trade stories of life before their wives. chip is, to put it lightly, horrified by the tales he hears of cheating and breaking hearts. he hardly expected to find out that his father had been such a player before marrying his mother, content to assume that the music his father sings was all just a stage persona. it prompts chip to ask if his father and uncle were ever concerned that their wives would find out and it would ruin their relationships, and so love me less was born. originally a salsa song and written in Spanish, Chip’s label suggests the sound doesn’t fit with the vision they have for the album. and because he can’t bear to let anyone down, chip reworks the track and translates it to English.

cruel w. chippington skylark the 3rd. chip struggles with the mounting pressure and stress of their jobs, finding the anxiety that plagues him doesn’t necessarily care if he’s a singing sensation. but, when his thoughts get too loud and the crowds get to be too much to handle chip can always count on Britney to be one of the good things in his life.

treasure w. chippington skylark the 3rd & ricardo skylark. chip’s built an entire career around singing songs that make girls feel confident and beautiful, so treasure is kind of following in the scheme of that. he writes and composes the song with his uncle, and it’s one of his favorite songs to date for the memory of getting to work with a band for a change.

blueberry eyes. a song that’s presented to him by the label. chip has no hand in writing it but unlike every other song in his career prior to this album, he does make a production decision on it. the label is set on the pop beat they present him and chip wants to focus more on an acoustic take on the track. they reach a compromise, the label allowing chip to close the song with a fluttering piano moment.

love me like you do. w. chippington skylark the 3rd. a collaboration between the couple was long overdue as far as their fan base was concerned. the duet is something treasured by their fans and yet it brings nothing but frustration to the singers in question. britney and chip’s relationship ends abruptly, and as far as chip is concerned without reason, weeks before his album releases. when love me like you do is hailed as a fan favorite their teams decide it’s time to capitalize on the movement and make it a single. chip and britney are now faced with the challenge of keeping their split a secret while they’re forced to do a press run for the song. pretending to not be heartbroken during radio interviews and fighting back sorrow from a love lost is practically impossible during televised performances at award shows, but they manage. they don’t have a choice.

where am i at? w. chippington skylark the 2nd & chippington skylark the 3rd. ricardo meant everything to the skylark family, and his sudden death shakes the family. chip is overseas when he gets the call about his beloved uncle’s accident. his management team denies his request to cancel his talk show appearance and performance, insisting he get through the night and then travel to see his uncle on his deathbed. chip doesn’t make it back in time to say goodbye, and the robbed opportunity for closure adds salt to the wound. his father feels the loss of his younger brother around him all the time, and chip finds that it’s hard to love what he does when one of the men who inspired him to do it is gone now.

moonshine. w. chippington skylark the 3rd. he’d never drank a day in his life before, turning down alcohol at every party he’s ever been to despite even the most fierce peer pressure. losing his uncle and watching the way it hits his family is enough to make chip turn to whisky. he goes through a three week phase where he’s drinking every night, clutching his uncle’s old flask close to his chest as he stares out at the night sky hoping something could cure the cold touch of grief.

there is a god. w chippington skylark the 2nd & chippington skylark the 3rd. revisiting the topic of marriage, chip reflects on his relationship with britney as she supports him through the hardest time in his life. emboldened and fresh with the knowledge that life is too short, chip makes a decision putting his happiness first for once. he’d talked about it with his family and they were happy that he was ready to take the next step in his relationship with britney. chip never did get to propose and now he can hardly stand to listen to this song.

working for the weekend. w. chippington skylark the 3rd. working in this industry has always been challenging for chip, the cold gaze of executives and the harsh criticism from strangers consistently chewing chip up and spitting him back out. but following the struggle he’s facing with his management team and the stacked schedule he’s always given, chip takes to his music to voice his frustrations. his fans should have seen the long hiatus coming as he alludes to his stress and exhaustion.

new life. w. chippington skylark the 3rd. chip closes his album on a high note, making a declaration that things will be different for him moving forward. the triumphant track showcases chip at his most confident as he channels all his anger and hurt into wanting a change. tired of being pushed around by his label chip declares that he will take full control of his next album. the song is written mostly in anger, and the choice to feature a latin inspired take on production is a direct shot at his label who had spent years trying to force him to assimilate to American culture so he can be more palatable to pop listeners. chip is never more sure of something in his life. joke’s on him though because the loss of his uncle combined with the end of his relationship in the midst of a world tour kills whatever determination he had in him.

[gamingblink399]

What ia the pest pc for gaming

Best 20 Gaming Blogs You Ought to Be Following

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[recentanimenews]

IN-DEPTH: Neon Godzilla Evangelion, The Horrors of Hideaki Anno

  "Something broken or deficient comes more naturally to me. Sometimes that thing is the mind. Sometimes it is the body."

                                                               -Hideaki Anno, creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion

  "Monsters are tragic beings; they are born too tall, too strong, too heavy, they are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy."

                                                                - Ishiro Honda, director of Godzilla

  Image via Amazon Prime Video

  Horror is born of trauma. The pop-culture monsters we fear and are fascinated by tend to reflect our very real anxieties. Frankenstein tells the story of scientific progress so explosive that it risks leaving humanity behind. It Follows creates a nightmare vision of looming intimacy and the potential for unknowable disease. Leatherface, hooting at the dinner table with his brothers in rural Texas, was the child of economic angst, the crimes of Ed Gein, and of President Nixon's threat of a "silent majority" forcing Americans to reconsider whether or not they really knew their neighbors. 

  And Godzilla? Well, Godzilla is a metaphor for a bomb. A bunch of bombs, actually. But more important than that, he represents loss — the loss of structure, of prosperity, of control. Godzilla is our own hubris returning to haunt us, the idea that in the end, we are helpless in the face of nature, disaster, and even our own mistakes. We, as a species, woke him up and now we have to deal with him, no matter how unprepared we are.

  Hideaki Anno understands this.

  In 1993, he began work on Neon Genesis Evangelion, a mecha series profound in not just its depiction of a science fiction world but in its treatment of depression and mental illness. It is a seminal work in the medium of anime, a "must-watch," and it would turn Anno into a legend, though his relationship to his magnum opus remains continuous and, at best, complicated. It is endlessly fascinating, often because Anno seems endlessly fascinated by it. 

  In 2017, he would win the Japanese Academy Film Prize for Director of the Year for Shin Godzilla, a film that also won Picture of the Year, scored five other awards, and landed 11 nominations in total. Shin Godzilla was the highest-grossing live-action Japanese film of 2016, scoring 8.25 billion yen and beating out big-name imports like Disney's Zootopia. In comparison, the previous Godzilla film, Final Wars, earned 1.26 billion. Shin Godzilla captured the public's attention in a way that most modern films in the franchise had not, returning the King of the Monsters to his terrifying (and culturally relevant roots).

  So how did he do it? How did Anno, a titan of the anime industry famous for his extremely singular creations, take a monster that had practically become a ubiquitous mascot of Japanese pop culture and successfully reboot him for the masses? How did Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion align in a way that now there are video games, attractions, and promotions that feature the two franchises cohabitating? The answer is a little more complex than, "Well, they're both pretty big, I guess."

  To figure that out, we have to go back to two dates: 1954 and 1993. Though nearly 40 years apart, both find Japan on the tail end of disaster.

  Part 1: 1954 and 1993

  On August 6th and August 9th 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. These would kill hundreds of thousands of people, serving as tragic codas to the massive air raids already inflicted on the island nation. Six days after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan would surrender to the Allied forces and World War II would officially end. But the fear would not. 

  Within a year, the South Pacific would become home to many United States-conducted nuclear tests, just a few thousand miles from Japan. And though centered around the Marshall Islands, the chance of an accident was fairly high. And on March 1, 1954, one such accident happened, with the Lucky Dragon #5 fishing boat getting caught in the fallout from a hydrogen bomb test. The crew would suffer from radiation-related illnesses, and radioman Kuboyama Aikichi would die due to an infection during treatment. For many around the world, it was a small vessel in the wrong place at the wrong time. For Japan, it was a reminder that even a decade after their decimation from countless bombs, atomic terror still loomed far too close to home.

  Godzilla emerged from this climate. Films about giant monsters had become popular, with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and a 1952 re-release of King Kong smashing their way through the box office, and producer Tomoyuki Tanaka wanted to combine aspects of these with something that would comment on anti-nuclear themes. Handed to former soldier and Toho Studios company man Ishiro Honda for direction and tokusatsu wizard Eiji Tsubaraya for special effects, Godzilla took form and would be released a mere eight months after the Lucky Dragon incident. 

  Image via Amazon Prime Video

  It was a success, coming in eighth in the box office for the year and it would lead to dozens of sequels that would see Godzilla go from atomic nightmare to lizard superhero (and then back and forth a few times). America, sensing profits, bought the rights, edited it heavily, inserted Rear Window star Raymond Burr as an American audience surrogate, and released it as Godzilla: King of the Monsters! It was also very profitable, and for the next 20 years, every Japanese Godzilla film got a dubbed American version following soon in its wake.

  Years went by. Japan would recover from World War II and the following Allied Occupation and become an economic powerhouse. But in the late '80s, troubling signs began to emerge. An asset price bubble, based on the current economy's success and optimism about the future, was growing. And despite the Bank of Japan's desperate attempts to buy themselves some time, the bubble burst and the stock market plummeted. In 1991, a lengthy, devastating recession now known as the "Lost Decade" started. And the resulting ennui was not just economic but cultural.

  The suicide rate rose sharply. Young people, formerly on the cusp of what seemed to be promising careers as "salarymen," found themselves listless and without direction. Disillusionment set in, both with the government and society itself, something still found in Japan today. And though people refusing to engage with the norms of modern culture and instead retreating from it is nothing new in any nation, the demographic that we now know as "Hikikomori" appeared. And among these youths desperate to find something better amid the rubble of a once-booming economy was animator Hideaki Anno.

  A co-founder of the anime production company Gainax, Anno was no stranger to depression, having grappled with it his entire life. Dealing with his own mental illness and haunted by the failure of important past projects, Anno made a deal that would allow for increased creative control, and in 1993, began work on Neon Genesis Evangelion. Combining aspects of the popular mech genre with a plot and themes that explored the psyche of a world and characters on the brink of ruin, NGE would become extremely popular, despite a less than smooth production.

  The series would concern Shinji Ikari, a fourteen-year-old boy who suffers from depression and anxiety in a broken and terrifying world. Forced to pilot an EVA unit by his mysterious and domineering father, Shinji's story and his relationships with others are equal parts tragic and desperate, and the series provides little solace for its players. Anno would become more interested in psychology as the production of the series went on, and the last handful of episodes reflect this heavily. 

  Image via Netflix

  After the original ending inspired derision and rage from fans, Anno and Gainax would follow it up with two sequel projects (Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion), and NGE's place in the pantheon of "classic" anime was set. Paste Magazine recently named it the third-best anime series of all time. IGN has it placed at #8 and the British Film Insititute included End of Evangelion on their list of 50 key anime films. The exciting, thoughtful, and heart-breaking story of Shinji Ikari, Asuka, Minato, and the rest has gone down in history as one of the best stories ever told.

  So what would combine the two and bring Godzilla's massive presence under the influence of Anno's masterful hand? As is a miserable trend here, that particular film would also be spawned from catastrophe.

  Part 2: 2011

  "There was no storm to sail out of: The earth was spasming beneath our feet, and we were pretty much vulnerable as long as we were touching it," said Carin Nakanishi in an interview with The Guardian. The spasm she was referring to? The 2011 Tohoku earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in the history of Japan. Its after-effects would include a tsunami and the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The death toll was in the tens of thousands. The property destruction seemed limitless. The environmental impact was shocking. Naoto Kan, the Japanese Prime Minister at the time, called it the worst crisis for Japan since World War II.

  It took years to figure out the full extent of the damage. Four years after, in 2015, 229,000 people still remained displaced from their ruined homes. The radiation in the water was so severe that fisheries were forced to avoid it. The cultivation of local agriculture was driven to a halt, with farmland being abandoned for most of the decade. And though the direct effects of it varied depending on how far away you lived, one symptom remained consistent: The inability to trust those who'd been sworn in to help.

  "No useful information was being offered by the government or the media," Nakanishi said. Many voiced a fear that the government had not done its decontamination job properly or would not continue to help them if they returned to their former homes near Fukushima. Some felt the people making decisions were far too distant to truly understand what was going on. Many thought that the government had underestimated the danger. In a survey taken after the Fukushima meltdown, "only 16 percent of respondents ... expressed trust in government institutions." In most of these stories, citizens stepped in to help, feeling as if they had no other choice. Eventually, his approval ratings dropped to only 10 percent and Naoto Kan stepped down from his role as Prime Minister. 

  And what of Godzilla and Anno at the time? Well, the former lay dormant, having been given a 10-year hiatus from the big screen by Toho after the release of 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars. And though he'd show up in a short sequence in Toho's 2007 film Always Zoku Sanchome no Yuhi, they kept good on their promise. But Godzilla fans did not have to worry about a drought of Godzilla news. American film production company Legendary Pictures was busy formulating their own take on him, having acquired the rights a year before.

  Meanwhile, Anno's post Evangelion life consisted of ... a lot more Evangelion. Though he'd direct some live-action films, his most newsworthy project was a series of Rebuild of Evangelion titles, anime films built with different aims (and created with a different mindset) than the original series. Departing Gainax in 2007, these would be created under his newly founded studio, Studio Khara.

  Image via Netflix

  And while it's obvious from the contents of Evangelion that Anno is interested in giant monsters and giant beings in general (Evangelion is pretty chockful of them), this fascination would only become more open. In 2013, he'd curate a tokusatsu exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, one that showcased miniatures from Mothra to Ultraman to Godzilla himself. About the exhibit, Anno would write:

  "As children we grew up watching tokusatsu and anime programs. We were immediately riveted to the sci-fi images and worlds they portrayed. They put us in awe, and made us feel such suspense and excitement. (...) I think our hearts were deeply moved by the grown-ups' earnest efforts working at the sets that dwelled deep behind the images. (...) The emotions and sensations from those cherished moments have lead us to become who we are today."

  For the presentation, he'd also produce a short film called A Giant Warrior Descends on Tokyo, with the monster based on a creature from Hayao Miyazaki's — his old boss and an inspiration to Anno, along with the man that Anno would accompany on a trip to the Iwata prefecture to show support for communities wrecked by the Tohoku earthquake — Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind manga. It was directed by Shinji Higuchi, an old collaborator of Anno's at Gainax who had served as Special Effects Director for Shusuke Kaneko's stellar Gamera trilogy in the '90s.

  And though Higuchi would shortly go on to direct two Attack on Titan live-action films, their partnership would continue. Because in 2015, Toho announced they would team up to co-direct Godzilla 2016.

  Part 3: 2016

  Hideaki Anno has often thought of the apocalypse.

  In an interview with Yahoo! News in 2014, he'd tell the interviewer he "sincerely thought that the world would end in the 20th Century," and that his fear of a nuclear arms race and the Cold War had heavily influenced Evangelion. However, his creative process isn't just permeated by man-made threats. "Japan is a country where a lot of typhoons and earthquakes strike ... It's a country where merciless destruction happens naturally. It gives you a strong sense that God exists out there."

  This focus on earthly intervention by a divine presence is definitely a theme in Evangelion, but it also applies to Godzilla, a borderline invincible behemoth that was created to remind man of its mistakes. It's this kind of provoking thoughtfulness (among other things) that might have alerted Toho Studios of Higuchi and Anno's potential proficiency in re-igniting the slumbering Godzilla franchise. "[W]e looked into Japanese creators who were the most knowledgeable and had the most passion for Godzilla ...Their drive to take on such new challenges was exactly what we all had been inspired by," Toho would say of the pair.

  Image via Amazon Prime Video

  It was a few years in the making, though. After the creation of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, Anno fell into depression, causing him to turn down Toho's 2013 offer of the Godzilla project. But thanks to the support of Toho and Higuchi, Anno decided to eventually take them up on it. However, he did not want to repeat how he felt past filmmakers had been "careless" with Godzilla, stating that Godzilla "exists in a world of science fiction, not only of dreams and hopes, but he's a caricature of reality, a satire, a mirror image." Higuchi was also passionate about the project, saying, "I give unending thanks to Fate for this opportunity; so next year, I'll give you the greatest, worst nightmare."

  Rounding out the NGE reunion with Shin Godzilla would be Mahiro Maeda, a character designer who would provide the look of Godzilla, and Evangelion composer Shiro Sagisu. Sagisu's music often includes motifs from Evangelion and the work of Akira Ifukube — who scored many classic Godzilla films — and is a great match for the monster. It's powerful stuff. 

    Anno's main concern was rivaling the first Godzilla, a film that remains effective to this day. So, in order to "come close even a little," he "would have to do the same thing." Thus, after over 60 years of monster adventures, Shin Godzilla became Godzilla's first real Japanese reboot, following a long line of films that were either direct sequels or had ignored the sequels to become direct sequels to the original. It would carry many of the same beats — monster arrives, people struggle to figure out how to stop it, they eventually do. The end. But unlike many Godzilla films, in which bureaucratic operations took a backseat to the scientists that would eventually figure out how to stop (or help) the Big G, they were front and center here.

  And the depiction was often less than kind.

  Instead of confident and sacrificial, the politicians found in Shin Godzilla are ludicrous in their archaic behavior, seemingly more concerned with what boardroom they're in than the unstoppable progress of the beast destroying their city. Most of their actions are played for comic relief, a tonal clash with the stark backdrop of the 400-foot-tall disaster walking just outside their offices. Multiple references are made to the Tohoku earthquake, the tsunami, and the Fukushima meltdown — including the waves that follow Godzilla as he comes ashore and the worry over the radiation Godzilla leaks into the land he travels across. One plot point even includes Japan grappling with the potential use of an atomic bomb on Godzilla from the United States, showing that over seventy years after the end of WWII, nuclear annihilation remains a terrifying prospect. 

  In the end, only a team organized by a young upstart that's mostly free from the processes of his slower, befuddled elders can save the day. That said, "save" isn't really the right word. Echoing Anno's statement that Japan is "a country where merciless destruction happens naturally," Godzilla is only frozen in place, standing still in the middle of the city, a monstrous question left to be solved. Whether it's Godzilla or a disaster like Godzilla, it is a problem that you must deal with, prepare for, and rebuild after. It will always be there.

  That said, the film isn't just a parody of quivering government employees out of their depth in the face of a cataclysm (distrust in the goodwill of authority figures is a theme also omnipresent in Evangelion). It's also a really, really rad monster movie. Godzilla is a scarred, seemingly wounded creature, his skin ruptured and his limbs distorted. He is not action-figure ready, even as he evolves into forms more befitting of total annihilation. As the Japanese military increasingly throws weaponry at him, he transforms to defend himself, emitting purple atomic beams from his mouth, his back, and finally his tail. Higuchi and Anno's direction is often awe-inspiring, whether the camera is tilted up to capture Godzilla from a street-level view, or panning around a building to face him head-on. Godzilla feels huge. 

  Image via Amazon Prime Video

  Its this combination of ideas and execution that would cause Shin Godzilla to sweep the Japanese Academy Awards in 2017, and, excuse my pun, absolutely crush it at the box office. But an incredible movie wouldn't be the end of it. In fact, while Shin Godzilla was a successful Anno creation, it hadn't yet gone to battle with Anno's other most successful creation.

  Not yet anyway.

  Part 4: 2018

  A few months before Shin Godzilla's release, Toho announced a "maximum collaboration" between Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion, a team-up that first manifested itself in art and crossover merchandise. Art with the logo for NERV (the anti-Angel organization from Evangelion), with the fig leaf replaced by Godzilla's trademark spines showed up on a subsite for the Shin Godzilla film.

  Meanwhile, video game developers Granzella and publisher Bandai Namco worked on City Shrouded In Shadow, a game where you played as a human trying to survive attacks from various giant beings, including some from the Godzilla universe and some from Evangelion. And though this wasn't specifically tied to Shin Godzilla — Godzilla looks much more like his design in the '90s series of movies, a monster style that was the go-to branding look for years after — it did make the idea of the two franchises co-existing in similar spaces a little less alien.

  The big one came in 2018 when Universal Studios Japan declared that the following summer, it would be home to a meeting of the two titans in "Godzilla vs Evangelion: The Real 4-D." This ride/theater experience would give audiences a firsthand look at a clash between the EVA units and Godzilla. However, just as the horror of the original Godzilla had been diluted through various sequels that saw him becoming Japan's protective older brother, and just as the crushing melancholy of Evangelion feels a little less sad when you see Rei posing on the side of a pachinko machine, this ride would also be a reframing experience.

  Godzilla is a threat, at first, as the Evangelion units zip around, blast him, and try to drop-kick him. But then, out of space, Godzilla's old three-headed foe King Ghidorah emerges. The golden space dragon provides a common enemy for the group and they work together to eliminate it. Godzilla, seemingly forgetting why he showed up to the ride in the first place, trudges back into the sea. He is now a hero, his spot as Earth's Public Enemy #1 seemingly neutered. 

  To this day, news of theme park attractions that bear the Shin Godzilla design consistently pop up, including one ride where you can zip line into Godzilla's steaming open mouth! But Toho doesn't seem open to a live-action sequel that many see as the obvious next step (though they would produce a trilogy of anime films that take place in a different monster timeline). Instead, they opted for beginning a kind of Godzilla shared universe, like the extremely popular Marvel Cinematic Universe. And Anno and Higuchi have moved on to their next revitalizing effort: a reboot of Ultraman. 

  Wes Craven, the director of A Nightmare on Elm Street once said, "You don't enter the theater and pay your money to be afraid. You enter the theater and pay your money to have the fears that are already in you when you go into a theater dealt with and put into a narrative ... Stories and narratives are one of the most powerful things in humanity. They're devices for dealing with the chaotic danger of existence." The creators at Toho certainly gave people that with Godzilla, just as Anno did with Neon Genesis Evangelion.

  Image via Amazon Prime Video

  But horror films are also entertainment, and soon these monsters are sequel-ized and commodified, losing their edge to the point that new minds are brought in to reboot them and help them move forward. It's a process we've repeated since people began telling stories to one another thousands and thousands of years ago. They help us confront the worst aspects of ourselves and of our worlds. It's what makes them vital. We need them. Like the next evolution of monsters sprouting from Godzilla's tail in the final frame of Shin Godzilla, the horror genre reaches out, grasping for fears that we have and fears that will one day come.  

  For more Crunchyroll Deep Dives, check out Licensing of the Monsters: How Pokemon Ignited An Anime Arms Race and The Life And Death Of Dragonball Evolution.

    Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[silly-willy]

Quality over Quantity: recognition for our skills not only the time we put in.

Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay is a mockumentary film written and directed by Antoinette Jadaone, known for being the main role of ghosts the film follows the life of an under-appreciated bit player (Lilia Cuntapay) and her struggles as she tries to gain recognition from a lot of people despite working in the industry for 30 years. The mockumentary film has won 10 awards with the most notable of them being “The Best Actress Awards” for the lead role. In an interview with the director, Antoinette Jadaone she commented that she first wanted to write a comedy film about an ensemble of big named actors fighting for their names to be placed on top of the movie poster, how these actors wanted their name to be on top of the movie title and how sometimes they do not want to be placed with the actors they do not cohere with. She also wanted to Lilia Cuntapay to be part of the film who would play the role of an extra, since she is an actor known to be the representative of many nameless actors in the Philippines. Although since she thought that it would have been an expensive production considering having to pay the big named actors and actresses to be part of her film. She then decided to scratch the idea and go with a much simpler approach at focusing on one actor and one story as it is much cheaper to produce which she turned into a full-length film and was submitted to Film Grants in the Philippines which was luckily accepted. 

The film in general was very creative in terms of making its audiences and viewers believe that the whole parts of the documentary were actually the real-life story of Lilia Cuntapay. It had a satirical approach to the struggles of most artists in the film industry. It did not just appeal as a tribute to many artists, but those who try to find recognition from others based on their passion and craft. The film was very simple, it had no actual color grading and if it did, it would most probably be fixing some lighting compositions or contrasts to the film. But looking at the whole scale of the full-length film, it was mostly shot and screened raw to give a much more realistic approach to the story. Watching the film, made me appreciate the simplicity of filmmaking. You do not need to have an expensive camera or some big named actors in your film, maybe not even that much staff in your production, you just needed to have the passion and determination to be able to produce your film with the same aspects coming from your casts and crew. The film also accommodates any non-Filipino audiences with the inclusion of subtitles to guide them throughout the film. Audio-wise you can hear the voices of the actors and actresses in the film, the static noises do not overshadow the voices of the actors in the film which makes the dialogues audible. From the interview, the director said that about ninety percent of the film was scripted and about ten percent of it was ad-libbed by Lilia and her co-actors. I think that she delivered her lines pretty well, her acting was very realistic and it made me feel for her character as she was struggling for recognition. Personally I could relate to her situation as a beginner in the field of Multimedia Arts and still a student in college trying to get a diploma, there are times when I feel out of place as compared to them my skills are inferior to them, and would only be seen by others as mediocre. The film ends with somewhat a bittersweet ending, even though she got the recognition that she wanted, the sweet nectar of her hard labor. It did not feel right or rather complete to her as she was only recognized not for her talent, but for the many years, she had been working on the industry. For me, it is not the type of recognition anyone would really hope for.  

After finishing the film, from what I could understand the aim of the story not only goes as a tribute for the struggling artists who dream and pursue the silver screen, but also to those who are working hard to be able to be successful in life. The film depicts the cruelty of how the film industry with how only those with the advantages make it into the silver screen, this could also be relatable on how our world could be unfair and working hard does not really mean that you could taste the benefits from it. Those who are still starting into the corporate world in any field have much fewer advantages compared to those who have already made a name for themselves in the industry for a long time, but looking deeper into it I think that we the ones who are still starting also have much better chances and have the advantage of giving something fresh on the table. We have a much newer knowledge compared to the experienced ones and since we are a developing world that keeps on growing, our audiences crave for something none repetitive to their tastes. I end this analysis with only one thing in mind, we are humans with only a limited amount of time in this world. Like Lilia, maybe we should or must take every opportunity we can get, there might be chances unlike her unfortunately that we could actually be recognized not only for the times we put into our work, but also for the effort we put into it and our skills. 

[twoflipstwotwists]

For foreign-born swimmers, jockeys, tennis players, gymnasts and ice dancers who want to work or live in the U.S., the toughest competition these days may be persuading the Trump administration they are extraordinary.

Athletes are among the thousands of prospective immigrants claiming exceptional achievement who have been caught up in the administration’s bid to more tightly control access to the U.S., according to lawyers specializing in sports immigration, new data from the Trump administration and a Wall Street Journal review of denied appeals.

They show that it has become significantly harder in the past three years to get green cards for the would-be coaches, training partners and teammates of Americans through the longstanding “extraordinary ability” route. They include a Japanese champion gymnast backed by leaders in the U.S. men’s program and a Canada-born ice dancer competing for the U.S. with an American partner.

The Trump administration has said that restoring integrity to the immigration process is what President Trump campaigned on, and that American taxpayers deserve to see visa petitions get the highest scrutiny.

The approval rate for individual immigrant petitions for permanent residence based on “extraordinary ability,” a category used by professional athletes, scientists, professors and industry executives, fell from 82.1% in the 2016 government fiscal year, the last full year of the Obama administration, to 69.4% for the 2018 fiscal year. It stood at 56.3% for the 2019 fiscal year, new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data show.

If the government begins asking a petitioner additional questions, the chances of approval go down further.

For petitions in which the government requested additional evidence, which it is doing more often, the approval rate fell from 47.8% in fiscal 2016 to 37.3% for fiscal 2018 and 34.4% for fiscal 2019.

Applicants for “O” or “P” visas—another type of document that allows specifically athletes and entertainers to live and work in the U.S. for a few years—have had to jump through more hoops to successfully obtain them, too. For those visa categories, the share of petitions in which an applicant was asked to provide additional evidence went up approximately 20% from the end of the 2016 fiscal year to the 2019 fiscal year.

The hard-line approach has also hit other groups, including high-skilled tech workers and intracompany transferees. For athletes, though, the hurdles in getting to the U.S. also include explaining their sports to immigration adjudicators to show how they meet the set criteria for determining who is extraordinary.

“I feel like we’re living in the Twilight Zone,” said Ksenia Maiorova, a Florida immigration lawyer who works with track and field athletes, of recent decisions she had seen. “ESPN is not major media, European championships in swimming are not a major international competition. They’re questioning everything; It’s just become absurd.”

USCIS spokesman Matthew Bourke said requests for evidence were “an additional opportunity afforded to petitioners to submit requisite evidence to avoid being denied.”

“It is incumbent upon the petitioner—not the government—to show that the prospective beneficiary meets the requirements for eligibility under the law,” which for permanent residence include an “extremely high” threshold, Mr. Bourke said.

Advocates of immigration restrictions cheered the stricter stance. “This alignment of the meaning of ‘extraordinary’ with reality is long overdue,” said Mark Krikorian, head of the Center for Immigration Studies, a restrictionist group. “The watering down of ‘extraordinary’ is just the grown-up version of the ‘everybody gets a trophy’ approach to children’s sports.”

The Journal reviewed a file of dozens of denied appeals, with the subjects’ identities blacked out, for cases involving sports in the past two years. Standards appeared to vary from office to office or adjudicator to adjudicator, and some adjudicators were particularly skeptical of individual athletes in sports that sometimes have a team component in competition.

A gymnast’s appeal for a green card was rejected because he hadn’t shown how making the Japanese national team was a significant achievement that proved he was among the best in the country, according to one appeal decision. He was also initially told that he hadn’t shown he had won a major international award, even though he had been part of the team that won a world championship silver medal.

Japan is one of the most dominant nations in men’s gymnastics. The gymnast, who is identifiable through his achievements as Koji Uematsu, is currently coaching on a short-term visa at a Bay Area club. Mr. Uematsu declined to comment.

Brett McClure, the high-performance director for the U.S. men’s gymnastics team, said he may want to have Mr. Uematsu working for him once he knows he can build a life in the U.S. “We’re still trying to get him his green card,” Mr. McClure said. “He was a phenomenal athlete himself and is very good at what he does.”

The U.S. men finished fourth in the 2019 world championships, behind Japan and without a real shot at the podium. Japan hasn’t failed to medal since 2001.

A jockey was rejected to enter the U.S. for a series of competitions because the racing business seeking his visa hadn’t shown he was part of a coherent team with other identified members such as the hot walkers and farriers, another denial said.

A swimmer with top 10 finishes at the European championships was rejected because he hadn’t shown they constituted an award for excellence. He also included NCAA wins for his university team in his application, including in relays, but hadn’t proved that his contributions surpassed the rest of his teammates’, a third denial said.

At least one athlete has sued the administration to further their cause. Canada-born Christina Carreira and her American partner, Anthony Ponomarenko, U.S. junior ice dance champions and world junior silver medalists in 2018, want a green card for Ms. Carreira so the couple can represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games.

Ms. Carreira was rejected, her lawsuit said, after USCIS determined that her medals didn’t constitute internationally recognized prizes because they could only be won by participants of those competitions. She dropped the lawsuit earlier this year; her family declined to comment on her next steps.

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Black Panther (2018)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, nine times.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Six (40% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Nine.

Positive Content Rating:

Three (though it’s worth reminding that this rating is based on the positivity of the content in relation to the female characters, not in general - there’s some real top-shelf content in here, otherwise. Still a very happy three for the ladies anyway, for that matter).

General Film Quality:

High-end. The commitment to nuanced storytelling is impeccable, grappling with all angles of a complex hypothetical far better than could have been anticipated. This is a movie which never loses sight of its own importance, while also never getting too bogged down in it to be entertaining. Earns every ounce of the hype.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Nakia gives her condolences to the Queen Mother. The Queen chastises Shuri. Nakia compliments Okoye’s wig. Nakia negotiates entrance to the club with Sophia. Nakia and Okoye conflict over loyalties. Nakia passes with the Queen Mother after Killmonger takes over, twice. Shuri and Nakia go into battle. They pass together later.

Female characters:

Okoye.

Nakia.

The Queen Mother (technically not a name, but I’m allowing it as a title).

Shuri.

Sophia.

Ayo.

Male characters:

Erik ‘Killmoger’ Stevens/N’Jadaka.

N’Jobu.

Zuri.

T’Chaka.

T’Challa.

Ulysses Klaue.

M’Baku.

W’Kabi.

Everett Ross.

OTHER NOTES:

I’m not sure if T’Challa ruining Nakia’s anti-HUMAN TRAFFICKING mission because he wants her around for emotional support is a very endearing intro for his character in this film...I mean, sure, they rescue the people in the convoy, but presumably there was more to the mission (otherwise Nakia wouldn’t complain that it was ruined), and T’Challa prioritises his feelings over both Nakia’s work, and the lives of all the people it effects. Coulda avoided the negative implications there with just a little fine-tuning in the dialogue.

“Nah, I’m just feelin’ it.” Michael B Jordan has such a great energy about him; he’s very, very convincing, in a role which could have broken the film if it were poorly cast.

But you know what? I fucking LOVE M’Baku, he’s my personal fave for the movie. That presence. This is an excruciatingly well-cast film (among other virtues).

I’m Hella into that Lion King vibe when communing with the spirit realm, too.

Erik shoots his unnamed girlfriend for nothing more than the drama of it, and that is not one of this film’s virtues.

Shuri calling Ross ‘coloniser’ is just...so good. There’s a lot about this film that is a reclamation, in big and obvious in-text ways, but there are also these kinds of little impactful choices which contextualise Wakanda’s relationship to the world and its history, and that kind of detailing is the difference between posturing, and playing for real.

The music in this movie? Also great. Traditional African and modern African-American, representing the interweave of themes and ideologies in-story? Fucking gold. They did not skimp on details in putting this movie together with intelligent design, and I am Hella into it.

M’Baku just fucking BARKING at Ross when he dares speak before him is the highlight of the whole film. It’s perfect. 

A friend of mine has suggested that there must be a missing scene or two in this movie, wherein the Queen Mother convinces M’Baku to go into battle after all, since as-is he just kinda...changes his mind off-screen and she serves no narrative purpose at all. It’s unfortunate such a linking scene is missing, as it would have significantly enhanced both characters and helped to emotionally underpin the final act of the film, which is comparatively weak. 

But anyway, M’Baku is my best dude in this movie. I love a huge man in a grass skirt.

The whole idea that W’Kabi and Okoye have a relationship at all is kinda nonexistent; we wouldn’t know about it at all if she hadn’t called him ‘my love’ that one time. Coulda beefed that up better, i.e. at all.

“Bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew that death was better than bondage.” Michael B Jordan delivered every aspect of this character with such raw power and sincerity, y’all. He hits it straight home.

It goes without saying that there was a lot of pressure for this film to be good: a big-budget superhero action movie, part of the most lucrative cinema franchise in the world right now, taking on an afro-futuristic setting with an almost exclusively black cast? The potential for Black Panther to come off as little more than lip service paid to representation, ‘too PC’, lacking the guts to acknowledge the breadth of the racism that inevitably informs it, perhaps even falling dangerously toward racist cliches of its own...there is no other film of its kind, and as such, Black Panther could not escape being judged as more than an individual story on its own, as a representation of an entire continent’s worth of people and culture and what they could bring to an industry which has made an aggressive point of shutting them out in the past. The pressure was well and truly on to provide not only financial success put also critical acclaim, and boy oh boy, did they rise to the occasion or what?

The centrepiece of Black Panther’s success is Michael B Jordan as Erik Killmonger, striking a precise balance between the heat of well-deserved fury, and the chilling calculation of his revenge. Killmonger’s rhetoric is compelling, and it is the meeting point of the film’s threads, of Wakandan tradition, of the country’s privilege in the midst of colonial oppression and the dire morality of its secrecy, of the call of the wider world and the determining of one’s place within it. It’s vitally important that Killmonger makes sense, right up until he doesn’t - a good villain should always feel like someone you could almost follow, if only they weren’t taking things that one step too far - narratively, this is in an important pitch, but it’s also vital for the context of the viewing audience, the acknowledgement and the validation of that rage at injustice (without which, the film would come off as pandering to white guilt), but without the promotion of violent eye-for-an-eye solutions. Killmonger’s anger is never condemned, only the actions he perpetrates in the name of that anger; the viewer is forced to acknowledge the reality that made Killmonger what he is, but without being encouraged to forgive; only to understand.

I am hardly the first to observe that it is Nakia, not T’Challa, who represents the foil to Killmonger’s ideology, recognising and stirring to action at the injustice’s wrought upon the African people, but seeing in Wakanda the potential to offer unprecedented assistance rather than the opportunity for the oppressed to become the oppressor. The film is populated with character counter-balances, and it validates each perspective (while also illuminating shortcomings) to enhance the overall narrative, rather than equivocating too strenuously to make any point; Nakia values people like Okoye values her country, and while Nakia is right that blind patriotism fails the country if it allows tyranny, the strength of Okoye’s conviction is exactly what inspires the loyalty of those who follow her in the protection of Wakandan values; while Shuri ‘scoffs at tradition’ and leans entirely on the unending machine of technological progress, M’Baku and his people are safeguarding traditional practices and keeping ancient knowledge alive, which saves T’Challa when there’s no tech around - by the same token, without the protective blanket of technological progress, the Jabari would not be free to live as they do. There is good sense in the perspective which every character brings, and all of them are required in symbiosis to achieve a full picture of cultural identity. 

In that broad conversation of identity and place in the world, if there’s one weak link, it’s the Black Panther himself, T’Challa. Not that he’s a weak character or that Chadwick Boseman is a weak actor - it’s just that he’s being thoroughly outplayed by all around him. It’s a good thing in regards to how well-cast the movie is and how it fleshes out its supporting players (in spite of the missing pieces pointed out in the notes above); in an overall-lesser film, the lead being the least compelling character - and especially with such a powerfully-constructed antagonist opposite him - could be a crippling flaw, but as-is Black Panther is pulling out enough stops to get away with having an under-sold Black Panther at its head. That, really, is a testament to the power of the story, and the work being done by everyone involved to tell the tale with tact, with dynamism, with all the colour and flavour the white-washed film industry has been denying all this time. We could talk about its flaws, sure, but there doesn’t seem to be much point - none of them are fatal, none are even particularly egregious, and the achievements of the movie far outweigh any quality blips along the way. Black Panther is a measured, sensitive triumph, and there’s a part of me that - in the best of ways - almost forgets that I’m watching a Marvel movie, a cash-grab - sure, they want to make money out of it, but this feels above all like a passion project. Passion like this, so fully-realised, I am not inclined to fault.

[ultragamerz]

PlayStation Games Nominated for The Game Awards 2019

New Post has been published on https://www.ultragamerz.com/playstation-games-nominated-for-the-game-awards-2019/

PlayStation Games Nominated for The Game Awards 2019

PlayStation Games Nominated for The Game Awards 2019

2019 was another big year for PlayStation at The Game Awards. Sony’s first-party titles were well-represented among the nominees, with 3 PlayStation exclusives nominated for a total of 12 awards. This year, the winner of every non-mobile video game category is on PlayStation, solidifying Sony’s comfortable position as King of this generation. What were the PlayStation games up for an award at The Game Awards 2019? Who won big and who walked away without a statue of an armless lady? Read on to find out!

Death Stranding

Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment

If there’s any one game that PlayStation was betting on to make a splash at TGA 2019, it would be Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding. Marketed as an open-world supernatural action-adventure title, Death Stranding confused many gamers with its strange, borderline-obsessive focus on the physical mechanics of walking. Boasting a star-studded lineup starring the likes of Mads Mikkelsen and Norman Reedus – even Guillermo del Toro makes a cameo in the game – this bizarre post-apocalyptic package-carrying simulator took home awards for Best Game Direction and Best Score/Music.

Nominated for

Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score/Music, Best Audio Design, Best Performance (Mads Mikkelsen), Best Performance (Norman Reedus), Best Action/Adventure Game, Player’s Voice

Won for

Best Game Direction, Best Score/Music, Best Performance (Mads Mikkelsen)

  Concrete Genie

Pixelopus/Sony Interactive Entertainment

Concrete Genie a vibrant, heartwarming tale about the creative young Ash, a fledgling painter and victim to constant bullying. One day, his treasured sketchbook is stolen by his tormenters, its pages torn out and thrown to the wind. Ash begins his quest to recover the lost pages of his sketchbook that lay scattered throughout his city of Denska, a mission that leads to him using his creative abilities to breath color and life into the gray, industrial town he lives in. This indie work combines platforming with innovative paintbrush mechanics, creating a unique and memorable experience that really showcases the creative energy of the developers signed under the Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide initiative.

Nominated for

Games for Impact

  Blood & Truth

SIE London Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment

Blood & Truth is an unbelievably cool first-person shooter experience designed exclusively for the PlayStation VR. This high-stakes corridor shooter is an immersive virtual reality experience of a quality unparalleled in the landscape of largely amateur VR offerings. Propelled by a cast of well-acted characters, this intense spy drama isn’t just one of PSVR’s best titles, it’s one of the best VR titles period.

Nominated for

Best VR/AR Game

  Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

FromSoftware/Activision

FromSoftware has built a reputation for developing action-adventure games that are hard-as-nails but greatly reward the patient and skilled gamer. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice follows in this tradition, offering a challenging swashbuckling experience in the vein of Dark Souls but with a greater emphasis on speed and verticality. It follows the tale of shinobi known as Wolf, sworn guardian indentured to the young lord of a powerful clan. When his master is stolen away in the dead of night, Wolf sets out on a journey to rescue his liege and get revenge on the people responsible. Its battles are quick yet cerebral, pitting you in deadly combat against all manner of beast and monster inspired by Japanese mythology in a number of breathtaking locales and stages. It’s a standout title in a year full of amazing releases with gorgeous visuals, magnificent character and stage design, and a beautiful soundtrack, and so it comes as no surprise that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice won TGA 2019’s Game of the Year and Best Action/Adventure Game.

Nominated for

Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Audio Design, Best Action/Adventure Game

Won

Game of the Year, Best Action/Adventure Game

  Control

Remedy Entertainment/505 Games

Playing Control is like stepping into the shoes of the protagonist in a Syfy supernatural horror series, but with better writing and likeable characters. It’s set in a frightening paranormal realm contained within the Oldest House, a towering, faceless Brutalist structure in New York City. The mysteries contained with the Oldest House are so enticing that curiosity keeps you marching ever forward. The excellent writing, wonderful cast of superb actors, and some of the most amazing world-design we’ve ever seen make this a horror game to remember.

Nominated for

Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Audio Design, Best Performance (Courtney Hope), Best Performance (Matthew Porretta), Best Action/Adventure Game

Won

Best Art Direction

  Resident Evil 2

Capcom

This game single-handedly redefined what a remake is and what it can be. Rebuilt from the ground up, Resident Evil 2 is a modern re-envisioning of the PlayStation classic, taking the same premise and characters and adopting them into a modern game engine. The remake also eschews tank controls, fixed cameras, and pre-rendered backgrounds in favor of a more action-based third-person experience, making this 2019 hit a completely different beast from its mid-90s inspiration. It’s also an incredibly thrilling and fun horror shooter that earned universal praise from both critics and players. The only thing keeping it from reaching absolute perfection is the fact that the original’s iconic voiceover sadly didn’t make the cut in this new version.

Nominated for

Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Audio Design, Best Action/Adventure Game

The Outer Worlds

Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division

With The Outer Worlds, Obsidian has shown once again why they’ve been a leader in story-driven RPGs for decades. It’s a Fallout game that’s better than actual Fallout built atop stellar world-building and a level of care for character development and story writing that’s unparalleled in the industry. It takes an approach to games development completely contrary to the Bethesda method. Instead of creating massive open worlds filled with repetitive side quests, serviceable-though-generic characters, and relying on world design to carry it through, the Outer Worlds is a shorter but significantly more packed adventure. Here’s hoping we see more games like it.

Nominated for

Game of the Year, Best Narrative, Best Performance (Ashly Burch), Best Role Playing Game

  Outer Wilds

Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive

Outer Wilds (not be mistaken with The Outer Worlds) is a co-operative first-person adventure like no other we’ve played. It’s based around a time loop; every 22 minutes the galaxy explodes, throwing you back in time to exactly 22 minutes before critical mass. What you do to fill those 22 minutes is up to you. Perhaps you’ll explore the caves and locales around you, maybe you’ll spend it reading text logs or listening to tapes left behind by a mysterious alien species. The adventurous among you might even try to find a way to stop the galaxy from exploding. You have very little power to change things, a concept foundational to cosmic horror, but Outer Wilds isn’t Lovecraftian Groundhogs Day. It’s a beautiful and often hilarious exploration into what time means when you’ve got none of it – and all of it – left.

Nominated for

Best Game Direction, Best Independent Game, Fresh Indie Game

Fortnite

Epic Games

What can be said about Fortnite that hasn’t been said before? It’s still immensely popular months after its wave of “trendiness” has passed, and it continues to see updates, patches, and seasonal expansions that keep it fresh for long-time players. Epic Games’ cash cow is designed to have a long tail and we wouldn’t be surprised to see it at the TGAs for many more years to come.

Nominated for

Best Ongoing Game, Best Community Support, Best Esports Game

Won

Best Ongoing Game

  Apex Legends

Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts

Apex Legends released seemingly out of nowhere, immediately capturing a massive audience thanks to its compelling combination of Battle Royale and class-based, character-driven squad shooters and, of course, its immeasurable streamability. For a few months near its release, Apex Legends dominated Twitch, with professional streamers both old and new riding the crest of its wave of popularity for weeks on end. It might not be nearly as popular as it was at release, but Apex Legends continues to be supported by its developers, with new characters, maps, and game modes introduced all the time.

Nominated for

Best Ongoing Game, Best Action Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Community Support

Won

Best Multiplayer Game

Destiny 2

Bungie

It’s difficult to imagine Bungie, the studio behind Destiny and Halo, as an indie studio, but this year they broke off their relationship with Activision and decided to go solo with Destiny 2’s development. This year we also saw Destiny 2 go the free-to-play route, with players able to play through the content of previous seasons without spending any cash. Having spent uncountable hours blasting Vex in the Vex Offensive, we can attest to the addictive and fun qualities of Destiny 2.

Nominated for

Best Ongoing Game, Best Community Support

Final Fantasy XIV

Square Enix

Final Fantasy XIV is a shining example of what a game can become if its developers are willing to reflect on their mistakes and take a second chance on a failed product. Without going too deep into its history, put simply the Final Fantasy XIV we have today isn’t the same game that we got at launch – it’s much, much better. It’s been a long six years since the game released, but it’s still going strong with a large and stable playerbase and constant, world-changing expansions that keep the game from getting stale.

Nominated for

Best Ongoing Game, Best Role Playing Game, Best Community Support

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

Ubisoft

Rainbow Six Siege made it past rocky beginnings and has cemented its position as a multiplayer powerhouse that sits comfortably in Steam’s most popular games every month for the past several years. It’s a tactical class-based 5v5 shooter that’s endlessly fun and requires tight teamwork on top of immaculate shooting to win the day. It’s also one of the most watchable esports around, so fans of games with a healthy balance of action and strategy should give it a go. It’s good to see Siege getting the attention and praise it deserves after its poor launch.

Nominated for

Best Ongoing Game, Best Community Support

Disco Elysium

ZA/UM

Disco Elysium is an excellent RPG that tells the tale of a balding cop afflicted by a drink-induced amnesia. Like Planescape: Torment, interactions revolve around the game’s robust dialog system, with every choice you make branching off into a thousand different alternate paths. It’s the first game we played since Planescape where your decisions really had an impact on the world, not only with regards to how the plot develops, but also on how characters treat you and how your character treats others. Any self-proclaiming fan of RPGs should play Disco Elysium and see why it won this year’s Best Role Playing Game award at TGA 2019.

Nominated for

Best Narrative, Best Independent Game, Best Role Playing Game, Fresh Indie Game

Won

Best Narrative, Best Independent Game, Best Role Playing Game, Fresh Indie Game

A Plague Tale: Innocence

Asobo Studio/Focus Home Interactive

A Plague Tale: Innocence is a gritty and dark game about two siblings, a sister and her younger brother, as they flee from a mysterious gang of bloodthirsty murderers who want to see them dead. It’s a dramatic thriller that thrives in its ability to create tension from thin air. It’s a stealth game that’s built around a complex system of interactions, allowing for creative solutions to the problems you face. Through it all, you’re responsible for the safety of the younger brother, Hugo; some of the most frightening and stressful moments in the game are when a noise or person distracts you and you lose track of him. It’s arresting and creates a constant sense of danger that’s stressful but absolutely memorable.

Sayonara Wild Hearts

Simogo/Annapurna Interactive

Sayonara Wild Hearts is an arcade game of a kind we haven’t seen since the age of coin-op game machines and Saturday morning gaming sessions in our pajamas. It’s set in a dream-like, neon universe thrown into chaos by the breaking of a woman’s heart. There’s dancing, swordfighting, motorcycle racing, skateboarding – every 90s kid’s sandbox fantasy put together. It’s also insanely stylish with a visual and audio flair that sticks with you long after you’ve finished playing.

Nominated for

Best Art Direction, Best Score, Best Mobile Game

  Devil May Cry 5

Capcom

Devil May Cry 5 still has all the over-the-top action and ridiculous cutscenes characteristic of the series, and the combat is just as frenetic and electrifying as it’s ever been. The new playable character, V, is a brave departure for the series, a non-combatant who summons animal familiars to do his bidding. There are massive changes with how Nero handles in combat, Dante has a cool new wizard hat, and V is character unlike any we’ve ever seen in the series, but Devil May Cry 5 is a declaration by Capcom – the King is Back! it’s good to see Devil May Cry back in the hands of Capcom after the disappointment that was DmC. More please.

Nominated for

Best Score/Music, Best Action Game

Won

Best Action Game

Kingdom Hearts III

Square Enix

A month before Kingdom Hearts III’s release, we decided to catch up with the game’s tale and get up to speed with the adventures of Sora, Donald, and Goofy to prepare for number 3. It’s a rabbit hole of plot twists, weird naming conventions, lots of puns revolving around hearts and darkness, and multiple characters with the same name. When you start Kingdom Hearts III, you’ll probably have little idea what’s happening. Once you’ve finished, not much will have changed, but you’ll know that you love the characters and you love its Final Fantasy-meets-Disney concept, even if you don’t understand what the heck is going on.

Nominated for

Best Role Playing Game, Best Score/Music

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Infinity Ward/Activision

The original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has a special place in the hearts of gamers who were around to play it. Beautiful set pieces? Check. Drop-dead gorgeous visuals? Check. An interesting story? Absolutely check. That first Modern Warfare was a special, special game. 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboots the franchise, bringing back the series’ most-loved characters and throwing them into an all-new conflict with different stakes. It might never be the game-changer that Cod4 was, but the new Modern Warfare is a damn good game and one of our favorite shooters of the year.

Nominated for

Best Audio Design, Best Action Game, Best Multiplayer Game

Won

Best Audio Design

Borderlands 3

Gearbox/2K Games

Borderlands 3, much like Metro Exodus, has been unfairly judges by the decision by its producers to make it a temporary Epic Game exclusive. A lot of hubbub has been stirred about what timed exclusives mean for PC gaming. So much, in fact, that we all had to remind ourselves that Borderlands 3 is a great game. It’s the pinnacle of loot shooters by the team that helped define the term, offering everything the first two games gave us but blown up and multiplied by 1000.

Nominated for

Best Action/Adventure Game, Best Multiplayer Game

That was all the PlayStation games that were nominated for an award at The Game Awards 2019. What did you think of the nominees? Which games do you think deserved to walk home with a trophy? What game should’ve been on this list? And don’t forget to get these games on PlayStation. Get your PSN Gift Cards today to start your gaming experience with these award winning gems!

[quietdaysco]

Primrose Path - Devlog #006

Hey, it’s us again—two indie devs with fresh dirt on our visual novel progress. Ready? 

Behind the Scenes

Playtesting Feedback

Last month we closed the pre-alpha Ink build of Primrose Path’s common route outline. It met its purpose of proving the basic concepts of our game were viable and that it interested players in our target demographic. In fact, playtesters gave us overwhelmingly positive feedback in our post-test form about the characters and story. Here are a few quotes from their responses:

“The number of elements of the MC's [main character’s] life added in to the story in increments helped me not only relate to the MC but also stay interested.”

“There's a good variety of calmer moments and more outlandish/exciting/otherwise more high tension moment [sic], no issues for me.”

“[T]he clients are a rainbow of people with a few that [sic] very much stand out [to me]”

“By the end, I was definitely considering who I was going to chose as my client and was sad the pre-alpha ended even though I knew it was going to.”

“I 100% would dance [in a mini-game similar to] DDR [Dance Dance Revolution]”

As you can see, the beginnings of Primrose Path went over well and players definitely had a lot of interesting things to say about our mischievous clients! We can’t spoil them here, but you may be able to see for yourself when alpha testing comes to our server in the future! 

Now, for all the good we received, it’s not to say the pre-alpha went without its criticisms:

“This might be silly, but I wish there were an option that weren't a dress for her outfit to the party.”

It’s not silly at all, playtester! It had us thinking about the different ways our protagonist, Lynn Austen, could express herself. This concern lead to one outfit redesign and introduced a number of new ones!

“The beginning was a little slow, but I love Priya, so all of her scenes brought my attention back instantly.”

We love co-worker and bestie, Priya, too, but she can’t be an exception for pacing. We’ve since reevaluated and tweaked Part 1: Work Day. Plenty of visual changes and cutting scenes entirely were discussed in order to tighten up the overall pacing.

“Harper seems harsh but has pressure on her to make her harsh, but then you see her and shes [sic] just straight up scary.”

While all playtesters understood Harper’s role as Lynn’s no-slack boss, a few found her consequentially unapproachable. We have a lot in store for her in later routes, but acknowledge she was sparse during the common route. We’ve since taken this concern and made her more available in new scenes, adjusted her tone in some of the older ones, and had other characters—who have a very different relationship with her than Lynn does—reflect more openly on her. We think this humanizes Harper much more.

“Unfortunately [Bellarmino] feels like a snobbier, more irritating Matt. [...] I personally don't find him very likable but I'm looking forward to being proven wrong.”

In our feedback form, we asked about character impressions. We also polled if players didn’t have to play all routes at least once, which clients they’d pick. While character impression responses expressed a willingness to give our model and fashion designer, Bellarmino LaFauci, a chance, he was our least popular choice in the poll. We figured it may have been that his personality wasn’t differentiated enough against the company with whom Lynn encounters him, so we’ve made adjustments to contrast him more against his judgmental cabal.

So as we went through and addressed feedback, we had some ideas of our own to implement, which leads us to...

Updated Revised Outline

Double the wordcount! Yep, we’re just shy of 32,000 words for the revised common route outline. How could this be? Look: don’t mistake Primrose Path for a linear narrative. Your choices affect the world from day one.

Beyond changes from playtester feedback, other new content includes:

New Characters! We work to make sure our side characters leave an impression. We’ve added a few more with the means to salvage or devastate Lynn’s career. Until you yourself can meet them, look out for future Lore snippets on our Twitter!

New Events! Lynn has more opportunities than before, and under different states of mind, to navigate and impact the world around her. Depending on what Lynn did, where, and when can completely change an encounter within that same space and time. 

New Key Items! There are a couple of items Lynn can collect if she meets the right people and takes certain actions. These items can reveal some important information in client routes later on—and some hints for others, too!

New Areas! A few more places have been added to the common route, including whole new scenes. What could possibly lie behind these doors?

So how’s that sound? If you said “Damn, that’s hella rad,” well you just took the words right out of our mouths. But we’re not done yet; we take feedback seriously. When we can’t decide on what our audience may want, we leave no room for speculation. There’s really only one way to settle that.

VN Protagonist Sprite Survey 

We run a survey! We wanted to know how visual novel fans preferred to see a customizable MC represented as a sprite, if at all. It’s tough for us because as much as we want to make Lynn as visually present as her sense of self, we also acknowledge that “immersion” for many players also means different levels of “intrusion” from MC’s sprite—down to none at all, for folks wanting to self-insert despite taking on another character’s existing backstory. While we think we’ve come to a happy medium that serves our purposes and would appeal to a good number of players, we’ll be sharing with you all in a separate post our findings.

Two things are for certain: 

Visual novel players are an incredibly dedicated base, having turned out over 100 responses to our form! Thank you so much for helping us see your side on the matter! 

The communities we frequent overwhelmingly take issue with one specific manner of MC representation—one that seems to plague the industry. If you’re not an avid consumer of visual novels, this begrudged answer may surprise you!

But hey, we haven’t closed it yet: you can contribute your opinion too until August 5th, 11:59 PM EDT. Stay tuned for our detailed write-up on the results, next time. We’ve got another survey in the works too (sounds like we’ve got a few hard decisions, huh?) so keep tabs on our Twitter when we release that form.

Greyson’s Twitter 

Greyson’s been taking a break from Twitter for a minute. Working Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday overheated him, and in that vulnerable time, he caught a virus! So now he’s on sick leave and we’ve promised him an easier schedule of one day a week when he gets better. His posting schedule will be announced soon. You can still send him some love on his Twitter account. He’ll be sure to respond when he’s feeling up to it. He’s always there for you. Will you return the favor?

Main Game Progress

Common Route:

Rough Outline: 100%  ✔

Revised Outline: 100%  ✔

Draft Script: --%

The Artist: Matthias Barousse

Rough Outline: 100%  ✔

Revised Outline: --%

Progress on the main game has primarily been on the common route outline. Some interesting things to note are that last time we reported our revision to be at 90%. After implementing feedback, our clean outline doubled in word count and we’ve reviewed it entirely since then. So now we’re thoroughly at 100%! 

The breakdown of that is:

We finished up the common route’s Part 3: The Interviews, in which Lynn meets all her clients whom she may or may not have stumbled upon at a legendary bash. 

We elaborated on Part 2: The Party encounters and added more variations which subsequently trickle over into alternate interactions in The Interviews. 

We added an interactive, portent dream sequence the night of The Interviews, right when Lynn hits the bed after evaluating all potential clients at work. 

... and a few other additions. Also among other things, we’ve actually started work on the draft script already, but we’ve not had time to properly calculate the percentage. It’ll be updated accordingly in our next log.

What’s Next For Us

We’re going to finish up our script draft and start focusing our efforts into creating a playable, visual alpha build of Primrose Path. Yes, we want to play our game as much as you do and that’s motivation enough!

We’re focusing on monthly devlogs for our Tumblr, but we have to ask:

Are there other kinds of content and updates you folks would like to see here? We want to know! Shoot us a message in our Ask the Devs inbox here on Tumblr, or hit us up on Twitter, Discord, and Lemma Soft!

Thanks for reading! Keep up and remember to enjoy your Quiet Days. ♥

Socials

- Micro-updates on Twitter!

  ♦ Factoids with Greyson!

- Live art development on Twitch!

- Art logging on Instagram!

- Ask us anything here!

- Continue the discussion on Discord!

- Master thread on Lemma Soft!

[roanriley-blog1]

Customer Experience Administration - The Telecom Industry Ahead

Abstract The telecom providers have always followed a rise trajectory previously decade through rise in customer base along with adding considerable numbers with their annual revenue. They have got kept the speed with the competitors and still have unquestionably game with amazing success in the past. In the present times, these are facing with an enormous challenge of adaptation for the matured, highly penetrated markets along with global recessionary effect. Therefore, a shift in paradigm to evolve their business models to the present scenario is highly required along with the demand for the hour may be the customer experience management to achieve a higher retention ratio. Challenge in modern telecom industry - Customer retention In the modern day telecom industry containing attained high penetration level, obtaining a customer is getting even costlier. Industry analysis claims that only 25% of the acquired customers stay with the business after an year's serious amounts of on an average only 20 -30% in the entire customer base is revenue earning/profitable customers. This dugs a deep hole in the balance sheet with the telecom agencies. Due to the churning effect of the customers, you will find there's huge imbalance made in gross additions from the customers and net addition. Forward path: Way to customer retention - Customer experience management Therefore, the key challenge to the telecom operators around the world is managing customer churn. It affects profitability from the company if a customer churns ahead of the company can earn back a purchase it incurred in getting the client. Therefore, it's very necessary to indentify the profitable customers and retain them. Retaining the profitable customers includes 2 steps: 1. Identifying the revenue earning customers through the entire customer base 2. Managing the customer experience and customer value for your revenue earning customers Identifying the Revenue earning customers The telecom companies need to define their business logic for identification from the revenue earning customers, for example: the customers with usage over ARPU are high valued customers, or perhaps in the event of pre-paid, customers recharging over INR 250 each month (In Indian scenario) are believed as revenue earning. With regards to the business rules the whole customer base has to be segmented into revenue earning customers and non-revenue earning customers. Managing customer ARPU Average revenue per customer. Managing customer data in scale of 40 - 50 millions is a challenge. They can do this by making use of various business analysis tools (eg: SAS, SPSS, Teradata, etc.). Customer experience management As soon as the identification from the valued/revenue earning customers, managing those identified band of industry is of utmost importance. Centering on customers instead of products During the last years, the telecom companies have targeting introduction of recent products. They've originated new products/services after which sought to discover or produce a industry for them. But increased competition among the existing providers reducing barrier to entry for new players has resulted in the increase in predatory activities inside the telecom industry. Moreover, the cost of acquiring new clients has increased considerably. Hence, nowadays in this times, there is a gradual transfer of focus from introduction of latest products for acquiring customers to customers' experience management is observed. Currently, the Telco's have to focus on retaining the existing valued customers and targeting more wallet share of each customer by creating more value and improved customer experience.

For instance: In UK, O2 has aligned its functional silos to obtain its existing customer's perspective for making product decisions and designing promotional offerings. They've got dedicated to retention by placing equal weight for renewals and acquisitions. By this the company has reduced its churn figure to 1 / 2 of its existing number. Nintendo has produced a web based community for capturing customer insights and offers incentives in exchange of customer information. From this Nintendo has gained valuable insights into market needs and preferences. Customer led customization model There's an underlying assumption that the agencies will dictate the way forward for telecommunication services and products. Though the growing bargaining strength of the shoppers, there exists a shift in paradigm along with the companies have to customize their model based on individual customer preferences. The business will follow the lead in the customers in designing and promoting services intended to meet specific needs from the customers. Under this circumstance, the service providers need to know the unique needs of the individual customers, then attempt to develop services which satisfy those multifaceted needs. With this model, the mass marketing will give method to the customized market research and also the survival with the companies is determined by their ability to meet customer's demand with an ongoing basis. To put it differently, customers will dictate the terms of service they want to receive. Developing multiple channels The providers should develop multiple channels for sales and support to boost the buyer experience. Helping the footprint by adding on retail outlets is one of the options that your telecom service providers have practiced since ages. Traditional channels like telemarketer firms also had been in focus. Together with the surge in competition and economic slowdown, the operators are trying to find economical approaches to serve their clients and the service quality intact. Eventually the agencies would like to move most its sales and services online over the web to accomplish better economics. Besides attaining an affordable solution by moving to web channels, the operators can empower the customers can use to complete various activities in a much cheaper price as opposed to retail channels. On the internet channels, an individual is capable of doing a host of activities like: - Bill viewing and internet-based payment - Online register of an complaint for support - Altering price plan and subscriptions - Viewing the merchandise catalogue and get products/services online Beyond the previously referred to activities, the operators can provide promotional services and cross-sell other products over the internet. The operators may have added revenue by ticker management on their own websites and advertisements. To deliver absolutely free themes an even and connected experience, the operators need to integrate each of the existing channels. Each time a customer walks-in into a shop, the customer service representative will be able to retrieve his/her past interactions over all the channels to offer him/her in the most effective way. The operator needs to analyze/monitor how the customers utilize these channels. With respect to the available data of customers' use of these channels, the operators can get the preferences of the individual customers and mold their offering accordingly. With that the operators can build up customer experience by empowering these phones perform activities and thus enhancing the service value for them. To get more information about tich diem webpage: check.

[trusthuge]

Fire emblem echoes 2022

Fire emblem echoes 2022 full#

Fire emblem echoes 2022 series#

On the way forward, though, there’s a permadeath feature. Its gameplay delivers turn-based battles and grid-based maps. Marth, prince of the Altea Kingdom, travels to defeat sorcerer Gharnef and reclaim his throne. The title introduces the fictional Archanea continent. It’s currently available for Nintendo Switch. It was a 1990 title for the Nintendo Famicom.

Fire emblem echoes 2022 series#

The first game in the series debuted only in Japan. Every Fire Emblem Game in Order by Release Date Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light – 1990 So far, we’ve seen 13 main games, 3 spin-offs, and 3 remakes. This is a recurrent royal weapon or shield representing the war and power of dragons. However, newer titles add a Classic Mode and a Casual Mode the latter revives fallen warriors for upcoming battles. You can’t replace your party members if they die in combat. Then, it’s the enemy’s turn, where the AI moves their pawns to attack you.Īnother notable aspect is permadeath. The turn ends when you move all of your units. Additionally, you can use items, offensive skills, and utility / defensive skills. Then, if the enemy is in range, you can attack. You can move your units during your turn, but one at a time and a single time per turn. In essence, the series revolves around a party on a grid-based map. The gameplay is similar across all its games, although each entry adds a new element to the formula. This is on top of character progression systems and choice mechanics. By tactical, it means players require some strategy to beat the enemies. The series takes the credit for being the first tactical role-playing series in history. The Fire Emblem Series Fire Emblem is a turn-based RPG series. Even so, some individual entries have received fan and critical praise. The franchise has faced near cancellation various times. Still, its commercial performance has been average, at best. So, Fire Emblem reached international audiences after 2002. The trend continued, with Fire Emblem characters crossing over to Super Smash and other Nintendo titles. Then, the popularity of 2002’s Blazing Blade and other turn-based RPG games convinced Nintendo of a Western release. However, these games became notorious when their titular characters, Marth and Roy, became playable characters in 2001’s Super Smash Bros. Waiting for confirmations or denials, we can think of the game already announced, or Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes: here is the gameplay trailer with release date from Nintendo Direct.The first five games of Fire Emblem never premiered outside of Japan. However, the insider also reasons on the fact that in the past Nintendo has shown itself ready to publish two Fire Emblem games in quick succession (in 2017, Fire Emblem Warriors and Fire Emblem Echoes), so nothing is impossible.įor the moment this is obviously just an unconfirmed rumor, so take this information with a grain of salt. Nintendo could therefore decide to move the new title at the beginning of 2023.

Fire emblem echoes 2022 full#

That said, Rodgers admits that the 2022 is already a year full of releases, with video games like Xenoblade 3 and Bayonetta 3 on the way, without forgetting that Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes. Intelligent Systems has had over three years to develop this new Fire Emblem and they have also received the help of a support team.”Ī scene from Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Rodgersvia, said: “I have said in the past that this game is almost complete. The release could in fact take place as early as October 2022. Emily Rodgers, a well-known industry insider who has previously shared correct Nintendo-related leaks, said a new game of Fire Emblem not yet announced, it is under development at Intelligent Systems and the work is almost complete.

[kindabraveandlittlestupid]

Try not to get caught up with the labels: Feminist, Equalist, or Humanist. The tag matters less than the larger goal society should set out to achieve. Equality for all and sometimes Equity to make small tips to the scale where needed. I am not afraid of embracing the concept of being a Male Feminist because my world is saturated by politics and I understand the players. I know the villains who wish to pit Feminist against Equalist or Humanist are doing so not because they believe any of the labels but because they benefit from the distraction between like-minded individuals who seek the same goals. Most men are not in the social position to be “The Patriarchy” but those men of wealth and power through industry, politics, or religion are the Patriarchy. An so long as they can make Men believe Women are a threat to them, that Black Lives Matter is a danger to White Americans or that Immigrants are taking the wealth of the country, these powerful men do very well so long as we keep fighting with the person next to us instead of realizing the real villains are often above us.

This is one reason why I like the idea of the Rise of Matriarchs in American Society. We can rattle these men’s cages and make them aware their power is suspect to change by a greater majority of society. This is not to say women cannot be corrupted by wealth and power as well but societies that have a more representative/diverse governments tend to be LESS corrupt and that is a step towards progress everyone benefits (except the extremely wealthy men who clutch power). 

This post (despite the starter above) is not a political breakdown post though I plan to write on these subjects more in the future. Instead, it's more of clarification of my views and where I stand on various topics related to feminism. I realize there are topics that I might not touch base on and if you want me to add one you can shoot me a note. I also might hold opinions that do not take an absolutist view towards a topic and in today's politics that can be dangerous on the left and right because anyone who isn't falling in line 100% can be labeled a traitor to the cause or party.

Access to Birth Control and Planned Parenthood

I am always bewildered how nonsensical conservatives are in regards to these topics. The very best means of avoiding abortions is education, family planning, and birth control which prevent young women from having to make a difficult choice. Despite this, they believe in abstinence and try to remove birth control basically pushing more young women into the realm of motherhood because of a few minutes of passion that will ultimately decide the next 18+ years of their lives!

I believe Planned Parenthood should be available and welcome in each community to ensure that young women and men are protected, educated, and equipped with the proper means of avoiding unwanted pregnancies. I also believe condoms, IUDs, Birth Control Pills and Plan B’s should be available on the cheap and discreet to further protection. Lastly, Birth Control should be covered by insurance, even business insurance regardless of the employers personal/religious views. In other words, I am pretty damn liberal on this.

Abortion Rights (Link)

There are fewer choices a woman might face more difficult then deciding if she should or should not get an Abortion. I wrote in detail about this topic before so I will give you the short version. I believe NO ONE likes the idea of a abortion but those of us who understand the issue also know that forcing any woman regardless of age, race or social position to give birth also not ok. We in society should make this choice informative and safe. We do that by having comprehensive sexual education and birth control to be the ‘front line’ of avoiding this difficult choice. If she decides to take the next step or explore her options it shouldn't be done by bullshit church clinics attempting to use shame, guilt or false information to change her views but institutions that provide her all the options and information she could need to make the choice that's best for her. Everything should be her choice without influence from the community, the church, her parents or even the male involved. Aftercare programs should also be there to help her no matter what choice she chooses.

I think we should aim for the 20 weeks (Recent science article suggests this is possible when the babies consciousness kicks in. Open to changing if the article ends up being false) and under as the optimal time to make the choice. However, I am open to learning more on this topic and discussing if the “when” should be pushed further back. Lastly, if it comes down the choice between saving the mother or unborn fetus, I believe the mother's life is more important unless she deems otherwise. There are few political topics where I think men should shut up and let women decide... this is one of them.

Paid Family Leave

This isn't just a woman's issue but also a men's issue as well. I would actually argue this is a progressive issue as both the father and mother both deserve to take part in raising a child in those early stages. We need to consider this as a long-standing social program to allow career-oriented adults (both male and female) to continue their careers but also to support their family. We also need to ensure employers don't attempt to punish these women (and men) by skipping over them for promotions or refusing raises because they decided to have a child. 

There is no argument from me that women deserve a longer leave of absence being the one who gave birth and breastfeeds the baby. I think both parents could benefit from this sort of social net and it's important we build it in such a way that it also covers two mothers or two fathers and even adoption.

Girls Education

With a better education for girls in the United States (and for the matter the world) has proven to improve economies, lower crime and even slow overpopulation because academic opportunity provides new options instead of simply being a wife/mother (nothing wrong with those if you choose that as part of your lifestyle). This is still a major issue as there are still countries that place girls education as secondary to boys education. Even if they are far away it is still our responsibility to ensure girls rights to an education is provided for them. Its pretty clear I believe in this topic wholeheartedly, however if you know me then you know there is more often then not a but around the corner. 

The only caveat I can think to note is Female only education programs. An example of this is Girls Who Code that teaches programming to young girls. I love this program and I think its great they are trying to narrow the tech industry gap by pushing for more female coders. However, as someone who worked in a non-profit industry for a few years and created co-ed athletic leagues, there is value in having boys work with girls. These young women won't be working with only females forever, eventually, they will have to work with male coders and gender segregation robs them of that early experience. On a second point (and the real thing the operators of this program are missing out on) it is the fact if they have males in their class/program they can catch/alter/adjust the problematic behavior of male students to make them the new gold standard of how a male coder should act with their female coworkers. I suppose this is all just perception but I always believed its better to have both genders work together so they might view each other as equals rather embrace a gender segregation to achieve some corporate goal of having a bigger female workforce without address the issue of toxic male work environments.

MeToo Movement

I admit I am of mixed feelings about the MeToo Movement. I hesitate to support ANY movement that relies heavily on the court of public opinion. I worry about the history we all have and how sharp this social edge is at cutting down men (and women) who stand accused of any transgression. At the same time, I understand this is the reaction when sexual assault (verbal or physical) is simply swept under the rug for decades. 

It scares me a little making me wonder if I ever pushed something too far. I think of jobs were I work with men and we goof off telling stories but having female coworkers nearby. They participated in the tales but I feel a dreadful concern that one or more of them simply played along trying not to make a fuss. Perhaps I made someone feel uncomfortable online at some point in the past. 

Lord knows I was a victim myself to a young stalker who drove past my work taking pics and texting the line “LOL. I know where you work”. I was only able to make her stop harassment when she texted things like she was gonna lie to the police and send me to jail and I replied back with the screenshots of the whole conversation making her think how they (the police) might react when I share the text logs (clearly she didn't think her grand plan thru). I also endured a few indecent encounters with drunk women (usually on Saint Patricks Day) when I wear my kilt to the bar and they lift the edge to get a peek. I politely laughed it off and brush their hand away trying to ignore the fact they were we attempting to see if I was wearing the kilt authentically. 

When you’re the victim of something like this you know it in your core that people were mistreating you. I know I never groped a woman, physically assaulted anyone or flashed myself but have I made improper jokes and I hope I never made anyone feel uncomfortable.

In the end, the MeTooMovement is a good thing. It needs to evolve into the next stage taking on a political form where it becomes not just a hashtag and social media post but evolve into real-world policy and social change that adjusts how men treat women in society (and the occasional female on male transgression). We can all do a little better and MeToo has the momentum to perhaps create a lasting social change by creating consent and decency program that could be taught both in schools and also in adult careers. 

Women in Politics (Link)

I touched base with this topic before and I am pretty comfortable in my position. We don’t need more women in politics, we need more Smart Women in politics (and for that matter, we could do with some smarter men as well). Women make roughly between 20 to 30% of the leadership positions in government. Champions like Lee, Clinton, Warren, and Collins make up some of the smartest women in politics and bring a character with them that makes not only Washington better but the whole country better.

The reason why I make the distinction between “More Smart Women in Politics” and just “More Women in Politics” because of women like DeVos, Palin, Bachmann, and Sanders exist. Really just stupid stupid people who don’t know nor care about the long-term effect of their policies and their divisive rhetoric. We could do better than the likes of them and I hope this 2018 election brings a wave of strong/smart women who will balance out this government to something more representing of the country... 50/50. 

NOTE: Preferably a BLUE wave of strong women.

Conclusion

I handpicked these topics because they relate to women's issues. By no means are these topics the only thing women care about but they connect deeply with feminism. As I said above if there is something you care for me to add to the list and hear my personal views/beliefs then shoot me a note. If we do not agree 100% on a topic I ask you to reflect on what I write before writing a hot worded post. If you have an opposing or slightly different view on a subject and think I could benefit from hearing a feminine take on a topic, by all means, share your post (and links to information). I am always evolving in my opinions and alternative views with thoughtful insight commonly shift my views. As always thanks for reading.

Regards Michael California