#i feel like that ign interview was a similar issue to this

[azurechicken]

It is a good thing that the BG3 team is attentive and we get updates all the time, but where does it end? If they are going to continue changing stuff about the game per request, what will be there left of what they envisioned in the first place? Especially for character traits and dialogue, like making them kinder and more likeable, just because there were two more people asking for it and they happened to see it. I just don't want to see characters shift into generic ones just because of a need to respond to everyone's ideas

[iaintyourbro]

Source

IGN: Cloud in the remake seems like a much deeper character and his arc is more motivated and interesting here than in the original. How did the team decide where and how to add new dimensions and layers to these characters? Were there characters that were harder to re-write than others?

Kazushige Nojima, Scenario Writer, Final Fantasy VII Remake:

As the physical depiction of characters have gotten far more realistic, there was a need to make their inner depiction with a similar sense of realism. First and foremost, there were personalities that I had imagined these characters having back, when creating the original, so I wrote the scenario this time by recollecting those memories.

It wasn’t so much depicting a new side, but rather, just now bringing out a side to them that existed back then but wasn’t fully portrayed at the time.

Of course, I don’t remember everything, so there are parts that I newly created this time around as well. By adding new expressive elements such as voiceovers, action movements, and facial expressions, each with their own additional layers of passion and interpretation of the members who handled them, we were able to ultimately create these Remake characters.

I also heavily referenced the expanded Compilation titles, which portrayed these characters with more realistic CG (for the time) and with VO.

Aerith was a challenging character. I get the impression that she’s highly revered based on her story in the original, so I wanted to convey a more down-to-earth side of her in this game that I don’t feel was shown before.

It wasn’t so much depicting a new side, but rather, just now bringing out a side to [the characters] that existed back then but wasn’t fully portrayed at the time.

Alright, so I finally found this quote. I saw it referenced on Twitter and wanted to make sure I read it first. I do find it interesting that the characters seem to have been written in the way they were in Remake based on this:

First and foremost, there were personalities that I had imagined these characters having back, when creating the original, so I wrote the scenario this time by recollecting those memories.

Of course, I’m sure things were added and slightly tweaked, but I’d say overall, this was his initial intent. I personally think they did a fantastic job on the characters and expanding on them. In the full article they touch quite a bit on the Avalanche crew as well, which I think was a really fantastic enhancement from the OG.

Do I think they changed the characters in some cases? Yeah, but only because now you get a much better idea of how they’re feeling and what they may be thinking because you can hear them and see their faces changing. I’m going to believe Nojima if he’s saying he wrote these guys based on what his initial thoughts were (mostly). 

In areas where I think they changed, and he does say this was the hardest character to write, I’d say Aerith and her interactions with the cast. This may also fall in to “the other meaning of ‘Remake’” comment made in the Ultimania. If she’s meta Aerith, they’d have to slightly change her to fit that narrative, since she would be aware of things. Remake made me love Aerith, while in OG I didn’t like her that much.

I think the addition of a stronger friendship with Aerith and Tifa was a really good. It’s one of my favorite parts. Hell, all of the friendships that these guys make are fantastic. Cloud and Wedge. Cloud and Avalanche in general (but Wedge is my boy). Watching Cloud and Barret soften up towards each other. 

I think the relationship between Cloud and Tifa is interesting that they slammed it so early in the story, since in the OG it wasn’t really there much. I’m thinking he wanted to portray this more. It ultimately is what made me a Cloti fan. It also surprised the hell out of me.

I also heavily referenced the expanded Compilation titles, which portrayed these characters with more realistic CG (for the time) and with VO.

I really think this is interesting since it seems a lot of people did see references to CC and ACC in particular. There are DoC references, but I would say not as many as the CC and ACC references. I also don’t think DoC was as popular as CC and ACC, so it may just not be something people are pointing out as much. The Drum and Deepground references are what I can think of. 

In a sense, this interview should calm some fears of them diverting too much... I really do think you’re going to see closer to what the “original” vision was for some of these creators, that just couldn’t properly be portrayed 23 years ago.

This isn’t to say that OG is now obsolete. Quite the opposite. I think for it’s time, it’s a fantastic game, but there were issues with it in terms of pacing in some cases and plot holes. Remake seems to be clearing that up. OG gave all of the compilation pieces a great skeleton to work from and it’s become a very awesome universe. 

Whenever I talk to somebody that’s only played the Remake, I highly encourage them to play the OG because there will be a ton of things that suddenly click in Remake when they do. They will have many “ah-ha!” moments - such as the flashbacks Cloud has, why Tifa is confused when Cloud said “Has been five years.” and Aerith’s resolution. 

Nostalgia is a hard thing to deal with at times. We want things to stay the same, but don’t give them an opportunity to be improved upon. To me, so far, Remake has improved my OG experience and made me love it even more. It also got me interested in all of the Compilation, where previously I wasn’t as interested.

And this is coming from somebody who is scared of change and seriously has major issues with it. I didn’t even want to play Remake and avoided the trailers like the plague, but it’s now one of my favorite games of all time. 

These are my opinions on it.

This interview was posted on 7/12/2020.

[reydarcy]

The Hand Touch™ Masterpost

To take a hold of another’s hand is to break from living individually. It is to link yourself to another being, to momentarily entwine your life with another’s, to promise, for a moment, that you need not face the world alone. (via whitneyjustesen)

Since the Hand Touch™ is arguably the best scene in all SW movies The Last Jedi I wanted to compile all my thoughts and interpretations on it. I apologise in advance if I repeat something that’s already been said before (feel free to add any similar post in the caption). 

Let’s start by describing what let up to this moment, shall we:

The Hand Touch™ via ForceTime - What happened beforehand

The Force Bond

One of the main motifs of The Last Jedi is the connection that the force created between our two love birds Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and Rey. 

According to Wookiepedia a force bond is “a mental link between two Force-sensitive individuals, [that allows them] to see and hear each other from separate locations through the Force.”

In the novelization of The Last Jedi Rey describes their force bond as follows: 

The connection between them was so raw and powerful that it reminded her of touching a live wire in the wreckage of a starship. (p. 181)

Although Kylo Ren’s and Rey’s force bond isn’t the first force bond (Count Dooku and Yoda being another example) it is extraordinary how strong their bond is. Not only are they able to see and hear each other across the galaxy, but they can also cough get wet, when it rains where the other one is...

(Source: skysilencer)

... and physically touch each other. They touch hands, while being miles and miles away from each other - and Kylo Ren actually gets momentarily transported to Ach-To, where Rey is. We know this, because when they previously saw each other via force bond nobody but Rey was able to see Kylo Ren (e.g. Luke). But when they touch hands, Luke walks into Rey's hut and catches them in bed cough. 

Rey tentatively raised her hand towards his, expecting to see their hands go through each other and wondering if she would feel it in the Force somehow. But their fingers actually touched. She grasped his hand, jolted by contact, and saw that the same shock had gone through him. Luke Skywalker walked into the hut - to find Rey and Kylo with their hands clasped, staring into each other’s eyes. (p. 181)

(Source: Journal of the Star Wars)

He gets so angry, that he destroys the hut - which he wouldn't have done if he would have seen Rey merely reaching out to nobody. 

The Cave on Ach-To & The Cave of Evil

Prior to their conversation in the hut, Rey had gone to the cave on Ach-to to explore the darkness that had called out to her whilst she was channeling the force in her first jedi lesson with Luke. She experienced something similar to Luke’s vision in the Cave of Evil on Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back.  

(Source: ign) Young Luke had to enter said Cave as part of his jedi training with Yoda. The latter described the Cave of Evil as follows: "That place… is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go." (Wookiepedia) The jedi master not only challenged his padawan to face his fears, but also to face the dark side of the force. 

Just as with Rey’s cave scene, there’s more to it than meets the eye.  

A very insightful article on the official Star Wars website describes the cave as “[...]��a powerful symbol of what lies beneath the surface”. Philosophically speaking it’s also “[...] a metaphorical journey into the window of one’s inner self”. Both Luke and Rey explore what lies beneath the surface - they try to get a deeper understanding of both themselves and the force. 

According to the article the metaphor was used in classical mythology, such as Homer’s Odyssey, where the hero Odysseus “finds himself trapped with the beautiful goddess, Kalypso, as well as the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Odysseus faces both fantasy and fear, respectively, and has opportunities to learn from the experiences”. This translates well to our heroes Luke and Rey. 

Both seek answers (Who am I? Where do I belong?) and need to get in touch with their past - their parents, respectively (Luke's father Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader; Rey’s abandonment by her parents) in order to find them. 

The Force Awakens left many fans wondering about Rey’s heritage. They came into The Last Jedi, expecting to find answers - just like Rey herself. Rian Johnson wanted to see what lies beneath the surface, so he digged deeper - unlike many fans, who were so focused on Rey’s parents.

Rian’s hero Rey, explores her past and future self, and how they’re all connected to each other: 

(Source: Star Wars) 

At first, what they both see is what’s on the surface. 

(Source: Wookiepedia)

Luke has to face Darth Vader. His father (but at this point Luke doesn’t know that). 

(Source: katarainspace)

Rey is searching for her identity. And the mirror shows her the silhouette of her parents (her past) and then Ben Solo (her future).  

(Source: instantstar)

But in the end, Rey’s and Luke’s revelation is the same. It’s all about self-discovery. That’s what lies beneath the surface.

(Source: Star Wars)

(Source: Star Wars)

Rian Johnson explained in an interview:

And so the idea was if the up top is the light, down underneath is the darkness. And she descends down into there and has to see, just like Luke did in the cave, her greatest fear. And her greatest fear is [that], in the search for identity, she has nobody but herself to rely on. (via hiddenremote)

The article goes on to explain that “due to the overbearing presence of the Dark side at Dagoba, Luke envisioned the worst version of himself. However, due to the balance at Ahch-To, although Rey faced her worst fear, she ended up relieving herself from the burden of searching for her parents.”

So whilst her loneliness at first appears to burden Rey furthermore, it actually frees her of her past. Just like Kylo said “You have to let the past die.”. Up until this point, she’s still stuck in the past. Although she left Jakku behind, she didn’t leave her past behind. She needs to learn to stop waiting for her parents to come back.

But this revelation is hard for Rey to accept. She’s afraid and lonely, and she wants to talk to the one person, who’ll understand her feelings. 

Curtain up for The Hand Touch Scene 

Kylo listened intently, his long face impassive, as she told him about being drawn into the cave and into the stone, and how the journey had let to nothing, no revelation, except how alone she was. (p. 181)

They are both really emotional and vulnerable. Rey opens up to Kylo, and he listens to her. He cares about what she has to say and knows that all that she needs is someone to be there for her - someone to talk to. 

She talks to him, because he knows the pull to the dark side and he understands what it’s like to actually explore it, instead of repress it (like Luke urges her to do). 

But there is something else that is important: They both know what loneliness feels like. 

This is perhaps the single most important aspect of their relationship. That’s what makes this scene so powerful. It establishes their deep understanding. Both of them have suffered abandonment. Before The Last Jedi it seemed to most people like those two had nothing in common - that they were polar opposites even. But this scene marks a turning point. Not only do they physically touch each other - they touch each other emotionally as well. 

“You’re not alone,” he insisted, and she believed him.

“Neither are you. It isn’t too late.” (p. 181)

... and that’s when Rey reaches out to him. She doesn’t want them to be alone anymore. 

The various meanings of The Hand Touch

Sex

Let’s start with the obvious: 

If you haven’t heard of Rian Johnson calling the Hand Touch Scene “the closest thing we’ll get to a sex scene in a Star Wars movie” you’re either new to the Reylo community or new to the internet in general, because it literally

broke the internet

(Source: punkbitchreylo, full video: sleemo)

The sexual imagery is something many people have commented on already - but for the director to remark on this topic - now that’s a whole different topic. Rian Reylo Johnson intended the scene to be intimate and erotic. 

With everything else one could argue that it’s all up to interpretation and that maybe we interpret a little too much into everything (although I believe that everything in a movie is indeed intentional and often has multiple layers to it) but this is very blunt. FOR EVERYONE IN THE BACK: There. is. sexual. chemistry. between. Ben. and Rey. 

Even Mark Hamill has come out and commented on Rian’s remark. Although this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Mark isn’t necessarily discrete in interviews ;) 

(Source: pixelrey)

What makes this interpretation even more interesting is the fact that Ben takes off his gloves for the Hand Touch aka. Sex - so they’re basically having unprotected sex (I see Skywalker babies on the horizon). 

Before I move on to the next topic, it’d like to recommend something to anyone who’d like to learn more about the sexual imagery in The Last Jedi: The lovely girls over at starwarsconnection made a great video essay about Sex in The Last Jedi & @skysilencer​ posted a great meta on the issue as well. 

Rey makes the first move

(Source: rougeone/useramy)

(Source)

She can take care of her own, she’s done so her whole life. She get’s annoyed when Finn treats her like a damsel in distress, by taking her hand and therefore undermining her independence. Ben on the other hand respects her as his equal. And he waits for her to make the first move. She’s an independent, strong-willed women and he respects that. But she also waits for him to accept her hand. She doesn’t force it. So when they touch, it’s consensual. When we transfer this to the sexual context - it means that their sex was consensual. 

Opening up to each other

When Rey reaches out to Ben in the hut - she’s opening herself up to him. Ben shows his trust as well. They’re out in the open - they show their feelings unapologetically. They don’t hold back. It’s like they’re standing naked in front of each other. 

(Source)

Rey shows a steady hand. She trusts him completely. This is surprising to me - she’s the one who’s always lashed out. But I feel like she wants to belong so bad - that she’s very trusting. 

(Source: reyloshionship)

Ben on the other hand is shaking. To me he’d always seemed more steady and on terms with everything that was happening between them. He’s so calm around her. 

I guess it takes a lot for him to open up to someone. He’s got major trust issues. But who could blame him - after all his parents passed him on to Luke, because they were afraid of their own son, and Luke (almost literally) stabbed him in the back.

Not alone anymore

(Source: pixelrey)

As I’ve said before loneliness is an important aspect of their relationship - and it’s really important in this scene as well. After Rey’s experience in the cave, she’s very lonely. Ben get’s that. He’s lonely as well. So that’s one reason why they approach each other - to finally not be alone anymore.  

The gloves

Kylo’s mask is his armour - his protection. By putting it on he distanced himself from his past, from his family and he created his new dark persona Kylo Ren. 

(Source: pixelrey)

In The Force Awakens he wore his armour almost the entire time - he was Kylo Ren. The only time when he took of his mask was to talk to Rey. He opened up to her. 

In The Last Jedi this facade begins to crumple. He sheds his skin. At first he destroys his mask and then he takes off his gloves to touch her. The gloves are part of his armour. By wearing gloves he doesn’t touch anyone directly. But he wants to be able to feel Rey’s hand. He undresses himself (figuratively speaking). He peels off, layer after layer - because he wants to connect to Rey on a deeper level, she touches him to his core. 

(Source: driveresque) 

Compare this to the throne room scene where he reaches out to her, with his gloves still on.

Some people separate Kylo Ren and Ben Solo. So I can imagine they perceive those two scenes somewhat like this: 

(Source: spacemakeouts)

I however, disagree with this separation of character. He’s both personas. Everyone has a light and a dark side in them. Loving someone means accepting both the good and the bad qualities about the other one. That’s what both Rey and Ben have to come to terms with in Episode 9. 

And I know that darthrenvan (and everyone who liked/reblogged the post) is with me on this one. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care what you believe and how you interpret everything - to each their own. I just wanted to express my interpretation. 

Foreshadowing & Redemption

Rey reaches out to help Ben Solo. She wants to redeem him, bring him home - to the light. Rey still thinks Black and White. He’s on the dark side and needs to be brought back to the Light. 

The force flows through them, wants them to be near each other, brings them closer to one another - which is expressed through the Force Theme, that can be heard in the scene. The force stands for destiny. 

He reaches out, because he doesn’t want them to be alone anymore (”You’re not alone” - meaning he wants them be together, he wants her to join him). As we’ll later see - he’s moved on from the Black and White to a sort of Grey Area. That’s where he sees them both - neither on the Light, nor on the Dark side. 

But they’re approaching it from different stand points. That’s the reason why they’ll interpret the visions they both get whilst touching each other differently, and that’s ultimately the reason why their conversation after the throne room fight plays out the way it does. 

However, it also foreshadows a possible redemption after this misunderstanding causes their opposing standpoints to clash. The way I see it the Hand Touch Scene foreshadows how Rey’s the one who’ll initiate Ben’s Redemption in Episode IX, but it’s Ben who has to decide to redeem himself, by (figuratively) taking her hand. That’s also why she leaves him at the end of The Last Jedi. She understands that it’s up to him. That she did all she could, but that ultimately it’s up to him to save himself. 

If you’ve made it this far: Thank you so much for reading my post. Please feel free to leave a reply - i’d love to hear your thoughts. 

Further Reading: There’s an amazing text post by reyloisthelastjedi that explores the various meanings of the hand touch scene. It talks about different aspects than the ones I’ve expressed, so it’s a great addition to my post.  

P.S. I’m still pissed that they didn’t choose this take for the movie:

(Source: skyloren)

[plunder-heaven-and-devour-god]

This fan base never ceases to amaze me. Apparently, no one moved pass their SuperWhoLock mentality.

I loved the film, but I’m still adjusting, that is all I will say about the Last Jedi. 

Having a good or bad reaction to the content does not bar me from critiquing any production experience of a major film franchise. I can admire a film franchise I dont like for its creativity and cast and crew, and I can critique one I do like for where it goes wrong. 

But I have written this as a reaction the internet’s hatred toward’s Rian Johnson, not the film, not his choices, not Lucasfilm’s or Disney’s choices. That is an entirely different subject. This is about the hatred that sprung from the ground like oil out of nowhere. This dirty oil did not exists before December 15th. 

Where to start?

People are pulling up out of context interviews and tweets to make it seem that Rian Johnson was hated by the cast and no one wanted to work with him. I’ve seen every accusation under the sun. If you ask Tumblr, Reddit, IGN, etc, he’s everything from racist to Cthulhu. 

This type of reaction from the internet is predictive and cyclical. 

There was, and still is, a camp of disatisfied star wars fans born in 2015 dedicated to defaming J.J Abrams and The Force Awakens. This was in the wake of the criticism that The Force Awakens was too similar to A New Hope. Coincidence? If you said no, you’re right. 

But back to Rian. 

I want to state here and now that I don’t have a rosy tinted view of the production, I’m not saying everyone warmed quickly to the plot points of The Last Jedi. I want to state that no one, strangely, had a problem with the director. That’s it.

I hope that I can bring up some points that are on record to remind people, that maybe, if not surely, that this criticism is transparent and stupid. 

There was a slow evolution for the actors, like many of the avid star wars fan, to adjust to the change in gear for the franchise. I find it especially amazing that Mark Hamill went out of his way to publicly state his wariness and the disagreements on the script which the late Carrie Fisher collaborated on with Rian Johnson. Hamill came back and said he was wrong and now he is utterly in tune with Rian’s vision. If there were any hard feelings left they wouldn’t have mentioned it on the press tour. This isn’t remotely reminiscent of Chris Hemsworth staring into camera during the 2015 Ultron Press Tour and saying: I had no clue what was going on. 

If Hamill and Johnson hadn’t reconciled you can bet that their original disagreement wouldn’t have made itself known on the Star Wars 40th Anniversary Celebration Stage. If audiences want to counter and say that it was Disney’s plan all along to bolster the image of the Last Jedi, go ahead, it’s a damn good strategy. People disagree in creative circles, and to have one publicly state their agreement is a good thing. 

Carrie Fisher didn’t seem to be the only collaborator. Rian Johnson and John Boyega inform interviewers on separate occasions about how happy they were to work on progressing Finn’s character together. John Boyega took a huge lead in strengthening the character and making him stronger, he even cites rian’s auteurship as the reason for the maneuver room in the franchise. 

Gwendoline Christie also cites Rian’s collaboratory attitude when forging ahead with Phasma’s story. Oddly enough so does Oscar Isaac.

Daisy Ridley speaks about her wariness for the direction of the franchise as well. But she also speaks on how open the director was to input and how much he tried to make everyone feel comfortable. I say this because I saw someone pull up a tweet of Daisy’s reaction to J.J coming back to work on IX. The article states she apparently was delighted and cried with joy at the TFA director’s return. The blog post framed it as a relief and reprieve from Rian’s supposed reign of terror. This sounds very silly because J.J Abrams wasn’t AWOL during pre-production, production and post: He’s the producer. Not even executive producer. Producer. He is also present for writing/directing the third installment in the trilogy. The most important detail left out was that this was a reaction to Colin Trevormorrow who was slated to direct the third installment. I believe he left on creative differences with the Walt Disney corporation and lucasfilm. His vision for the film was not in tune with the direction of the movie. This was also a secondary source article, there was a clear bias in the words spoken by the article. 

Speaking of bias, the internet loves screenshots, so much so that they become subsitutes to whole videos and dialogues. An out of context picture is misleading, for better of worse.

The cast joke about the poker faces during interviews because their NDA comes with a side order of Mickey Mouse Snipers. But yet, bloggers on the internet take screencaps of the interviews mid questions and post them with captions like: They’re hiding their hatred for the director and/or the movie. In reality, they’re in the middle of listening to a question or trying to not react to a spoiler. If any of you have seen anything of the press tour, most of it is the cast trying to keep a straight face and avoid spoilers. And trust me, I watched the entirety of the press tour, I know which moments were screenshotted. 

If this sounds familiar it’s because the internet is predictable. This is beginning to sound a lot like how people tried to frame Adam Driver like some sort of 9/11 bigoted ex-soldier with no respect for his cast mates after TFA. There was divisive crowd who initiated a backlash against him simply because they didnt like the character. Remember half the reason he isn’t in most of the press junkets and press conferences? Half of it is his self proclaimed discomfort at the whole idea of the spotlight. But it isn’t absurd to think the other half is unfounded backlash he receives for his character.

I saw people also quoted one of Adam’s interviews and his feeling on 9/11 and left it at that. The blogger made it seem like he was what all liberals fear. They forgot to mention his exit from the Marines, the creation of his foundation for returning War Vets and reintegration and encouragement through the arts as a way to explore trauma. When I did my gendered violence class we found a Ted Talk with him talking about the toxic masculinity of the US military complex. It’s a great speech and its deeply profound. If you really care about feminist issues and the nature of the military backbone in the United States there is some great reading I can recommend but this is a good start.

I don’t want anyone to mistake my fondness for any of the characters for any biased defense. They are people too, they aren’t perfect, but they aren’t evil incarnate. I’m not opposed to dumping a content creator like a hot potato for violation of ethical rights and questionable conflicts in production. 

This is all to say that Tumblr finds ways to do what all bad journalists do: commence head hunts through clipped interviews, out of context quotes,images, and pseudo liberal pitchfork waving. 

I’m half expecting half the disgruntled fans to be Alicia Silverstone in the Scooby Doo movies. So much of the hatred on the internet feels like Freddie’s dialgue cut together to say: I THINK COOLSVILLE SUCKS.

All for what? For the same reason they don’t like the new movie. They’ll skim the surface for buzz words, absorb misunderstood information, and ignore internal meaning, and cast aside the answers to their questions which are explicitly stated. 

Until I see any facts that actually exist outside the draconian and dogmatic bubble of Tumblr’s bowels I think its safe to say that Rian and the cast are A-Okay with one another. I’m not avoiding being convinced, I just hope people can see HOW SILLY IT ALL SOUNDS.

It seems like we haven’t really progressed from the SuperWhoLock Days? Huh, Tumblr? It just seems to hide behind seemingly more lofty righteous reasons. 

[spicynbachili2]

Pokemon Let’s Go Is ‘Probably’ the Last Pokemon Game Junichi Masuda Will Direct

Share.

Musada has labored on each major Pokemon sport to this point.

By Nick Santangelo

Junichi Masuda has labored on each mainline Pokemon sport to this point, however Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu and Eevee! will probably be the final Pokemon RPG he directs.

Masuda dropped the information in an interview for Pokemon’s official web site. Within the interview, Masuda spoke about how he loved engaged on a Pokemon sport for the Nintendo Change and brainstorming find out how to join that sport with Pokemon Go. He additionally defined why he is doubtless stepping away from directing the sequence.

“I used to be the one who labored on the bottom sport idea doc for Pokemon Go, and even in that authentic idea, I had the thought of introducing new Pokemon via the cellular sport,” mentioned Masuda. “I wished to understand that purpose by creating video games that might join with Pokemon Go and really feel considerably just like it with out feeling like we had been copying it. Given my involvement in Pokemon Go’s growth, I felt that I used to be most likely one of the best particular person to direct these video games.

“It was additionally fascinating to work with Nintendo Change. There’s a whole lot of know-how packed into the that we had been all attempting to find at Recreation Freak. For instance, creating the Poke Ball Plus and dealing with Bluetooth to facilitate the reference to Pokemon Go had been each very fascinating issues that I had an opportunity to work on because the director this time.

“However on the similar time, it is necessary to have the youthful era at Recreation Freak take over the event of Pokemon as a sequence. I do imagine this can most likely be, by way of the primary Pokemon RPGs, the final time that I work because the director.”

Masuda first started engaged on the sequence by serving because the composer for the inaugural video games, 1998’s Pokemon Purple and Blue, earlier than shifting into theassistant director position with 2000’s Pokemon Gold and Silver and director position on Ruby and Sapphire. He final directed Pokemon X and Y.

IGN interviewed Masuda about Pokemon Let’s Go earlier this month, by which he mentioned he wished right this moment’s children to “expertise one thing just like what children 20 years in the past additionally performed.”

Nintendo will launch Pokemon Let’s Go for Change on Nov. 16. Let’s Go works with out Change’s movement controls and encompasses a legendary new species of Pokemon.

Nick Santangelo is a contract author primarily based in Philadelphia. He loves video video games and sports activities, however not sports activities video video games. Observe him on Twitter.

from SpicyNBAChili.com https://www.spicynbachili.com/pokemon-lets-go-is-probably-the-last-pokemon-game-junichi-masuda-will-direct/

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Whisper Network, Bradbury, James Bond, Isle of Dread

H. P. Lovecraft (DMR Books): The first thing to keep in mind is that this cache represents one of the great epistolary friendships in the history of letters. The two never met in person, but the Mutual Admiration Society CAS and HPL formed between them was forged of eldritch steel. Both considered the other the Greatest Living Weird Fiction Author. It is obvious in every letter they wrote and confirmed by comments they sent to other correspondents.

  Comic Books (Bleeding Fool): Two weeks ago, we published the second part in our ongoing series of articles investigating the secret “Whisper Network” – a secret group of (mostly) women that’s been allegedly colluding to torment comic book pros and publicly harass creators they disagree with. Within that exposé, a major story was uncovered that should have rocked the comic book industry when it first happened, but was buried or “memory holed” by comic industry press at the time, with sites like Bleeding Fool erasing it after publishing it and Comics Beat, IGN, Newsarama and all others ignoring it entirely.

Cinema (Bounding Into Comics): In a new video interview J.J. Abrams declared that his film production company Bad Robot will make hiring based on looks a top priority. Speaking with Time Magazine about the film industry Abrams discussed what he wants the industry to look like in the future. He then made it clear that Bad Robot will be focused on people’s outward appearance when it comes to hiring.

Robert E. Howard (John C. Wright): As previously announced, Jeffro Johnson, author of Appendix N, Zaklog the Great, Nate the Greater, and your truly gather electronically to talk about Robert E. Howard’s verse….

Ray Bradbury (Pulpfest): Ray Douglas Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois. From an early age, he was a voracious reader and consumer of popular culture — movies, pulp magazines, radio programming, newspaper comic strips, circuses, magic, and more. He was enamored with the Buck Rogers newspaper strip, the stories of L. Frank Baum, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and more. By age twelve, he wanted to write.

James Bond (25 Years Later): Raise your martini glasses! We are only a few months away from (hopefully) another fantastic James Bond adventure (er, at least, we think so. It’s already been delayed once by a global pandemic that is starting to feel like something a diabolical Bond villain would think up). No Time To Die, the 25th official James Bond release, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation), stars Daniel Craig for the fifth, and likely final, time as superspy James Bond ending what has been a sterling era for the rugged 52-year-old.

Fiction (Benespen): This is another expedition into the past of popular literature. Abraham Merritt, whose byline is nearly always A. Merritt, was a popular author who wasn’t even best known in his own time for his fiction. Rather, he was a celebrity journalist, making enough money to travel widely and pursue arcane hobbies.  The Moon Pool [Amazon link] is the work I usually see cited as typical of Merritt’s work, and it is listed in Gary Gygax’s “Appendix N” as an influence on Dungeons and Dragons. Let’s dive into the Moon Pool and see what happens!

Science Fiction (Starship Cat): This novel is pretty much a direct follow-in to Citadel, and continues to be mostly Dana’s story, with occasional appearances by Butch and some cameos by Vernon Tyler. Dana’s story is pretty much an enactment of the proverbial Chinese curse “May you come to the attention of those in high places.” Her heroism at the end of the last book has made the Powers That Be decide that she’s leadership material — and send her to the new station, to command a squadron from the various Latin American countries.

H. P. Lovecraft (Tentaculii): I’ve encountered an interesting item which perhaps throws a small sidelight on the use of the telephone in Lovecraft’s “The Statement of Randolph Carter” (1919). You’ll recall that a telephone is taken on the descent… The telephone might sound like an unlikely thing to take down below. But wired long-distance field telephones were a known ‘thing’ at that time, not least because of their use in the war.

Conventions (Dragoncon): Part two of our three-part interview series where past Dragon Award recipients talk about their award-winning novels and their Dragon Awards experience. In part one of our three-part Dragon Awards interview series, our award-winning authors talked about their background, what motivates them to write, and about their novels that captured Dragon Awards audiences everywhere.

Cinema (0themastercylinder): William Smith. He was born in 1933 in rural Columbia, Missouri on a cattle ranch. That background served him very well during the many Westerns he was to appear in later. The first big surprise I got in examining his background was how early his film career started. He appeared as a child actor in 1942’s “The Ghost of Frankenstein” as the boy who befriends the Monster portrayed by Lon Chaney Jr.

D&D (Paint Monk): wo years ago, I picked up Goodman Games’ Original Adventures Reincarnated #1, where I re-lived the fun of TSR’s original D&D modules “In Search of the Unknown” and “The Keep on the Borderlands”. This month, I finally picked up OAR #2 – The Isle of Dread, and I’d like to share just how much I enjoyed this book and the work the fine folks over at Goodman put into making it a success.

Fiction (Dark Herald): Been a while since we’ve seen a new Dresden Files book and we will be getting two this year. So at least 2020 isn’t a total write off. Butcher’s last addition to this series was in 2014. He had been rather productive up until this time. Usually producing one or two books a year. I’m not sure why there was a prolonged interrupt, possibly it was his divorce.

Beer (Trinkelbonker): Got these as a delayed birthday gift the other day, six cans of Ace Of Aces American Lager with a rather nice (and collectable, if you ask me) motif. The aircraft you see is an American Lockheed P-38 Lightning and the pilot that flew it was Richard Ira Bong, the first child of nine of Carl Bång, an immigrant from Sweden and Dora Bryce, who was an American by Scots-English descent. Richard, nicknamed Dick by his friends, shot down over 40 Japanese aircraft in the Pacific Theater during WWII and became one of the most decorated pilots of the war.

Game Review (Black Gate): This is the second article in my “explanation” of Conan 2d20. Last time I focused on 2d20’s core mechanic and on this game’s design philosophy insofar as it is an emulation of the “physics” and flavor of Robert E. Howard’s Conan fiction. This one will detail more aspects of gameplay, particularly player character components and action scenes. Last article, I maintained that Conan 2d20 characters begin as powerful in mechanical ability (unless the alternative Shadows of the Past character generation is used).

Cinema (Irish Times): because these things only happen in the greatest superhero movie ever made: Flash Gordon. The 1980 camp classic, which has been restored in 4K to mark its 40th anniversary, has a history of happy accidents following its hero’s first appearance in a comic strip in 1934. Buck Rogers, another intergalactic hero, had already spawned novelisations and toys when King Features Syndicate – a subsidiary of the Hearst newspaper empire – approached Edgar Rice Burroughs with a plan to adapt John Carter into a comic strip.

Small Press (Tentaculii): New on Archive.org…Howard Collector #5, Summer 1964.  Howard Collector #6, Spring 1965. With the poem “Who is Grandpa Theobold?”, from a letter. This would count as another early use of ‘Lovecraft as character’, albeit not in fiction. I wonder what the likely year on this poem is?

Cinema & T.V. (Dark Worlds Quarterly): Heroic fantasy films and television changed after 1982. The release of Dino DeLaurentis’ Conan the Barbarian sent Fantasy films in a new direction. Movies had to have a mix of violence, sex and flash that previous movies seemed to lack. Whether you like or hate these films is a matter of opinion. There were bright spots of Fantasy filmmaking among the direct-to-video duds like the Brian Froud-Jim Henson films, Legend by Ridley Scott, and Ron Howard’s The Lord of the Rings known as Willow.

Book Review (Benespen): War Demons [Silver Empire affiliate link] is the veteran’s take on supernatural horror. Sometimes we casually refer to the men who come back from war suffering from PTSD and survivor’s guilt as demon-haunted; but for Michael Alexander it is anything but a metaphor. We now come to the third book covering similar territory I have read recently. I don’t often end up reading lots of similar books together in succession, so I can compare and contrast these.

Science Fiction (Future War Stories): Packed in seemingly every military science fiction work are futuristic firearms and some, like the Colonial Marines M41A1 Pulse Rifle has become an icon of sci-fi weaponry…then there are others that never get their day in the limelight. One of those military sci-fi weapons is the United States standard issue endo/exo assault rifle of the 2060’s: the M590. Featured in the legendary 1990’s FOX one-season TV show Space: Above and Beyond.

Science Fiction (Rough Edges): Robert E. Vardeman has been writing top-notch science fiction for about forty years now, and that’s almost how long I’ve known him. His latest novel, THE DUST OF STARS, is the first book in a new series called ENGINEERING INFINITY, and it’s everything I love about science fiction. First, it has big ideas. And I mean E.E. “Doc” Smith big: An ancient, long-disappeared alien race scattered planet-sized machines throughout the galaxy.

Pulp Fiction (DMR Books): Merritt outlived the CAS-HPL correspondence of 1922-1937, though not by much. In the CAS-HPL letters, one sees Klarkash-Ton belatedly discovering Merritt–and HPL belatedly discovering The Metal Monster. Throughout the course of the correspondence, Merritt was the most successful exemplar of the weird fiction that CAS and HPL were themselves creating. While they did not always agree with the directions he took in his fiction, there was no denying that Merritt dominated the market for pulp fantasy.

Tolkien (Sacnoth’s Scriptorium): So, for years I’ve been convinced that the old story about the Tolkien Estate having gone after TSR for their use of hobbits, ents, balrogs et al in early printings of D&D was wrong and that it was actually Saul Zaentz’s group, Tolkien Enterprises (the movie merchandising people) who’d issued that cease-and-desist back in 1976. But while I’ve able to build up a probable case I’ve been lacking direct proof. Now Gygax has provided it.

Sensor Sweep: Whisper Network, Bradbury, James Bond, Isle of Dread published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

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#OverloadMonday: Cardi B, The Weeknd + More Deliver New Music

Here's some overload for your Monday blues. Check out what went down this past week, March 26th to April 1st.

Singles

After dropping a surprise track with XXXTentacion and a tribute joint for Biggie, Joey Bada$$ just keeps the new music coming. Now he’s released a remix of YBN Nahmir’s “Bounce Out With That.” Listen above, and check out Joey Bada$$ on IDK’s “Lil Arrogant” with Russ.

I’ll just add another highlight because… well, I just can.

Apple | TIDAL | Spotify

After she announced the release date of her debut album, scroll down, Cardi B has dropped single. “Be Careful,” serves as her third single off her album and shows a different side of Cardi. If you liked Queen Cardi singing on Ozuna’s “La Modelo,” then here you go. She balances rapping and singing over a soft beat in “Be Careful.” Listen above and stay plugged for more updates.

For weekly releases, Chris Rivers and GodBodyWati are keeping their Wednesday series afloat.

A$AP Rocky has now linked up with BlocBoy JB in his newest single, “Bad Company.”

After a week of straight new releases, A Boogie dropped his first single of his upcoming sophomore album. Check out “Nonchalant” featuring Alkaline, as well as his other new releases.

Ne-Yo drops another single from his upcoming Good Man. This past week he released “Push Back,” which features Bebe Rexha and Stefflon Don.

Future season is fast approaching as he delivers his newest joint “Absolutely Going Crazy.”

N.O.R.E. dropped some new music, a remix to his “Uno Más,” featuring Pharrell, Miguel, Wiz Khalifa and J Alvarez.

We also got new music from Thutmose, Young Buck x Twanee, Sam Smith x Logic, and Lil Durk x Ty Dolla $ign x PND.

Big Shaq recruits Busta Rhymes for a full studio version of “Mans Not Hot."

Forever M.C. returns with a new joint, “School,” featuring Lupe Fiasco, Talib Kweli, Rozewood, and Hus Kingpin.

Ty Dolla $ign recruited Gucci Mane and Quavo for his latest single, “Pineapple." What’s better than Hip Hop Beef? R&B Beef that is! Eric Bellinger takes shots - more like a whole cannon ball - at Tory Lanez in “Yikes.”

We also heard some new music from Blu and Nottz, “Yesterday,” who also have a new-ish project on the way.

Rich The Kid went after Lil Uzi Vert in “Dead Friends:” Spotify, Apple.

And while we just entered April, Wiz Khalifa is already celebrating “4.20” with a freestyle.

Visuals

SZA, baby - yass! The TDE leading lady has dropped yet another visual treatment off her debut album CTRL. Watch it above, and stay plugged for a very special CTRL feature.

While prepping for a joint release with Chris Brown (Angels & Demons), Joyner Lucas is still on his solo tip. He certainly doesn’t shy away from controversy, with his recent release of “Frozen” that head on confronts the issue of texting and driving and driving under the influence. While the video is a bit disturbing, it’s the hard truth that aids to the song’s message. Check out the visual for “Frozen,” and listen to the song via Spotify. 

“Framed” is Eminem’s next single to highlight from Revival, following suit from “River,” “Walk on Water,” and “Nowhere Fast.” With this new visual treatment, Em drops a horror-filled trailer with him escaping an asylum. There’s much more so check it out, and stay plugged for the full video.

Trae Tha Truth reverts back to Tha Truth Pt. 3 to release his latest video. Dedicated to his late friend Money Clip D, Trae watches home videos and visits his grave in the emotional visual treatment for “Can’t Get Close.” 

We got new videos from Tyler, The Creator, Shy Glizzy, Trill Sammy x Slim Jxmmi, and Thutmose.

A Tribe Called Quest have released their final music video, “The Space Program.” It features cameos from Erykah Badu, Alicia Keys, Pharrell, Vince Staples, Talib Kweli, Common, Questlove, and plenty more. Directed by Warren Fu, the visual serves as a tribute to Phife Dawg. Exclusively on Apple Music, check it out if you can.

YG can be found on new videos with Belly and Arin Ray.

With Joyride on the way, Tinashe releases her debut album’s first visual treatment for “Me So Bad,” which features Ty Dolla $ign and French Montana. 2 Chainz linked up with YG and Offset to release a new video for his “Proud” joint that stars each of their very own mothers.

We also got new visuals from Snoop Dogg x Charlie Wilson, Preme x Lil Wayne, Maxo Kream, and Phora.

Projects

Apple | Spotify | TIDAL

The Weeknd dropped a surprise EP, My Dear Melancholy. The 6-track project is reminiscent of early-Weeknd (“Gone,” “House of Balloons”) that has everybody gong crazy right now. Rumored to drop more projects in the next few weeks, check out My Dear Melancholy. Also check out two videos he’s just realized via Spotify: “Try Me” and “Call Out My Name."

Chief Keef released the fifth installment of his The Leek tape series. The 17-track project is featureless, following the fourth installment that dropped earlier this month: Apple | TIDAL | Spotify.

Birdman has released the Cash Money Before Anythang soundtrack. The 18-track album features the likes of Snoop Dogg, Jacquees, Gucci Mane, Migos, Young Thug and plenty more: Apple + Spotify.

Rich the Kid has finally dropped his debut album, The World Is Yours. The 14-track album features the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Offset, Swae Lee, Trippie Red and more. Check it out: Apple, Spotify, & TIDAL. 

Styles P recently announced an upcoming project, Nickel Bag. He took to Instagram to unveil the artwork and official tracklist. The five-track EP features Dyce Payne, Flowboy Vegas, and Whispers. Just a couple days after, Styles P drops the project and man… you just gotta hear it: Apple, DatPiff & TIDAL.

Coming Soon...

Queen Cardi has finally revealed details on her debut album. About damn time! She took to Instagram to share the cover of her upcoming Invasion of Privacy, which is set to release April 6th. It was also announced that she has signed to Quality Control’s management division, joining her Migos and Lil Yachty.

Also set to release this Friday, April 6th, is Kali Uchis (Isolation), Khary (Captain), and Flatbush Zombies (Vacation in Hell).

Blu and Nottz are back at it! The dynamic duo have a joint album on the way. The collab is a joining of their ’13 EP Gods in the Spirit and their ‘16 Titans in the Flesh. As a full-length album, it will all be remastered as well as the tracklist restructured. Gods in the Spirit, Titans in the Flesh is set to release April 13th and is available for pre-order.

Weeks after announcing her debut album, Joyride, Tinashe has now revealed more details. Coming in at 13 tracks, the album will feature the likes of Offset, Ty Dolla $ign, French Montana, Little Dragon and Future. Hear it on April 13th.

Consisting of Gucci Mane, Lil Yachty and Migos, the Glacier Boyz have a joint project on the way. Gucci Mane took to Instagram to announce the release date: “Ice Ice Baby #GlacierBoyz April 13.” Shortly after, Gucci should be releasing his solo album, The Evil Genius.

Ne-Yo’s upcoming album, Good Man, is set to release June 8th. With some singles already dropped - scroll up for one - the album will feature the likes of 2 Chainz, Stefflon Don, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Romeo Santos, Eric Bellinger, and Bebe Rexha.

Linkin Park member, Mike Shinoda, recently announced that he is gearing up for a solo debut release June 15th. Post Traumatic will consist of 16 tracks, and he shared one - “Crossing A Line.:”

“It’s a journey out of grief and darkness, not into grief and darkness. If people have been through something similar, I hope they feel less alone. If they haven’t been through this, I hope they feel grateful.”

Post Traumatic is available for pre-order/pre-save.

Check This

After becoming a Kennedy Center honoree, LL Cool J now launches a new radio station on SiriusXM that’s dedicated to classic Hip Hop. Here’s what he had to say while celebrating the show’s launch: "If you wanna be a fly on the wall in the world of classic Hip Hop, SiriusXM’s ‘Rock the Bells Radio’ is for you. It’s where fans can come and be immersed in the music, the culture, the energy and the history of classic Hip Hop. We’re gonna have great artists, legendary artists, lyricists, superstars, sex symbols. This is the place to be if you want uncut, raw, pure, classic Hip Hop, but there’s one catch, it's strictly for OGs."“Strictly for OGs” comes to no surprise, as LL has in the past talked down about this new era of Hip Hop artists. If you have SiriusXM, catch LL Cool J on channel 43.

“The Roc’s in the building”

Jay-Z sat down with David Letterman and discussed the art of rapping as well as praised Eminem and Snoop Dogg. In a preview of Letterman’s “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” Netflix series, Hov’s interview clearly focuses more on Hip Hop but also spans other topics such as President Cheetos, Kanye West, and Jay-Z family. The episode is set to release on Netflix April 7th, but catch the preview above. 

Following his latest album, Heartbreak On a Full Moon, Chris Brown has announced that he will be heading out on a 27-city tour along with 6LACK, H.E.R., and Rich the Kid (select dates). Check out the full date list.

Afropunk Festival has announced their lineup and they pulled together an impressive list. The two-day festival will take place in Brooklyn, August 25th, and 26th. It will host the likes of Badu, Miguel, Tyler, The Creator, Jaden & Willow Smith and plenty more, You can check out the full line up above, and get your tickets over at Afropunk’s website. Get more details here.

Stay plugged

That sums up this past week in Hip Hop. Come back next week for more.