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floralseokjin · 4 years ago

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The Zoom Halloween Party

⇢ and beyond timeline (after crystallised)

[saga index] [drabble index]

kim seokjin x reader // slice of life, humour // 2,556 words

a/n; thank you to all the anons who gave me ideas for this halloween drabble, it wouldn’t exist without you!

“I have to say your costumes are pretty lame this year, you guys.”

“We’re having a Halloween party over fucking zoom, forgive us for not going all out.”

Seokjin bit straight away, unable to help it. He and Namjoon were like cat and mouse at all times, but even you had to admit to being offended by your friend’s dismissal.

Halloween was finally here, and while you couldn’t celebrate in person together, the marvels of technology were letting you celebrate virtually – although this was more like a Halloween hang out than a Halloween party.

“I’m just saying,” Namjoon shrugged. “Hoseok went all out for his.”

You looked over at Hoseok’s screen, watching him smile smugly. You had to admit he made a great Joker, but it was also the year 2020... He and his girlfriend, Nora were like two years behind with the whole Joker and Harley Quinn gimmick, it was old now.

Seokjin rolled his eyes, willing to argue black and blue. “It’s only good because his mom helped him with the makeup.”

“Oh shut up, you’re just jealous because me and Hoseok will win best dressed tonight!” Nora scoffed under Hoseok in her own little screen.

Pouting like a baby, your boyfriend crossed his arms. “I’m not voting for you.”

“If anything, I should win. I make a mighty fine Batman.”

Attention back on Namjoon now, you all had to agree. But maybe that was because everyone was feeling sorry for him tonight. He was after all, the only single one amongst you. There was Jin and you, Lina and Jimin, Hoseok and Nora, and even though Sandeul was on his own tonight, he had Jess, who was working the night shift tonight. Two months ago there had also been Namjoon and Hana, but not anymore... Let’s just say Namjoon wasn’t having the best of time lately... Getting dumped during a pandemic wasn’t ideal. So he’d paired with Hobi and Nora tonight in some sort of DC-esque collab. He was definitely winning best dressed tonight, but maybe he’d see it as a pity vote…

“You’re body looks amazing in that suit, Joon,” you complimented, hearing Lina hum in supportive agreement.

“Hey!” Seokjin exclaimed, sounding mighty offended as he looked your way. You were smushed together on the couch, the takeout you’d ordered on your laps, but you were pretty full now, a belly full of wine already.

“The devil and an angel though.” Jimin’s voice sounded awfully judgemental. “Come on guys, so basic.”

“Well, who the hell did you to come as?” Seokjin was loud.

“Zombie Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly,” Lina replied as if your boyfriend was dumb.

“Lame,” Seokjin scoffed. “Half of these guys haven’t even watched The Office.”

“It’s a way more original idea than yours.”

You scoffed. “Um, this is the epitome of everyone’s sexual fantasy, I’ll have you know.”

“Whose?!” Lina roared, wrinkling her nose. She and Jimin were also squished together, but on his bed, the camera angle giving you an amazing shot of their chins... Not that you would tell your best friend that, of course.

“We all know what they’re doing after this then,” Sanduel stated. He was dressed as some character from a game he and Seokjin played (a lot.) Nerds.

“Stop,” Hoseok whined. “Does that mean you guys fucked as The Addams family couple last year?”

“Of course it does,” Namjoon replied matter-of-factly.

“Jesus.”

Ah yes, you two really had out done yourselves last year for Namjoon and Hoseok’s joint Halloween party. Thinking about it maybe your devil and angel costumes were quite lame this year…

“As if you didn’t guess,” Lina laughed. “They were reciting all those weird lines practically dry humping in the kitchen at one point.”

That was your cue, slamming into action, although as luck would have it you had re-watched The Addams Family two nights ago. You gripped Seokjin’s face, yanking him to look at you. “Seokjin, last night you were unhinged.” You began dramatically. “You were like some desperate, howling demon. You frightened me.” A pause for effect. “Do it again!”

Seokjin took your hand, in character immediately. He leaned down to kiss your knuckles. “Cara mia.”

You opened your mouth, ready to purr out mon cher in your best French accent but you were interrupted by Namjoon’s gagging noises. “That’s it, I’m leaving.”

Seokjin snapped his head around, unamused. “Bye.”

Everyone laughed… just before Hoseok sighed. “Aw, this makes me so depressed. I miss last year, when things were simpler.”

“This was the worst year to officially become an adult.” Nora joined in with a whine.

They were 100% correct. There couldn’t have been a worse year to graduate… The past few months had been so stressful but thankfully you were now in a much more stable place. Granted, you hadn’t been able to start the post-graduate internship you’d bagged right before the pandemic hit yet but eventually it would happen, and in the meantime you still had your retail job – and your savings.

Seokjin had truly lucked out, although his job at his father’s company had been set in stone since high school. He was working remotely until the end of the year (hopefully), rocking that business on top, casual down bottom fashion that he was so gleefully fond of – think a dress shirt and sweatpants ensemble – but you were so incredibly proud of him for adjusting so well after this shitfest of a year. He was your sexy, serious businessman.

Your friends hadn’t been as lucky though – well, mainly Hoseok and Namjoon who had recently moved back home with their parents while they job hunted. (That’s why the former and Nora were on separate screens – she still lived close by for work.) Lina hated her new job and Jimin still had a year left at college, so maybe he was better off at the moment... Sanduel and Jess were okay too, and had recently moved in with one another, leaving you and Seokjin to… follow suit…

It came as a surprise to you both, but it made more sense than the two of you living alone. You’d already grown used to it during those couple of months of lockdown at the start of the year and it felt weird after he’d left... It was a big step, but an easy one once you’d found the most perfect apartment to rent together. (You couldn’t officially live with one another in that shoebox of an old apartment, but it had been sad to leave it – you’d shared so many good times there.) It had only been about six weeks since you’d become official roomies, but you were loving every second of domestic bliss. Despite this crazy year, things were on the up, and you were very happy.

“Now we’re freshly graduated bums.” Namjoon moaned, knocking back the last of his beer.

Seokjin laughed. “Speak for yourself.”

“We can’t all have a CEO for a dad,” Namjoon shot.

“That sounds like a you problem.”

You pushed at your boyfriend’s shoulder, silently telling him to behave. Where was the sympathy for his heartbroken friend?

“At least you’re not stuck doing online classes.” Jimin piped up.

“I’d actually kill to be back there,” Namjoon chuckled. “I’m sick of receiving rejection emails.”

“Don’t give up hope, bro.” Hoseok told him. “I have an interview next week so fingers crossed.”

Nora squealed. “I hope you get it, babe. You need to get your ass back here. I miss you.”

You all missed him. And Namjoon. Even if you couldn’t all hang out like you were once able to, it was strange to think they were both living in different cities now. Last year seemed like an eternity ago, all you had were memories and even then they were murky.

“Guys, please,” Namjoon wailed, forehead hitting the screen as he threw forward dramatically. “One of us is single here.”

“Sorry.”

In fact, you all felt the need to apologise, a string of them following for no real reason other than you felt really bad for the guy. You knew he’d find a job soon, that wasn’t the problem really – whatever the company they’d be a fool to turn him down – you were just concerned about his mood. Getting dumped had come out of the blue so he was still adjusting, all while his life turned upside down in other ways too.

He hadn’t lost all sense of humour though, his trademark smirk growing across his face a few moments later. “So who will end up fucking on camera first?”

Amongst the groans, Sanduel scoffed. “Probably Mr and Mrs. Devil.”

“I’m an angel,” you corrected, a glass of wine back in your hand now. “Also, why would we fuck on camera? You guys don’t deserve the show.”

“God, you’re so drunk,” Lina screeched. She wasn’t exactly sober herself. Beside her Jimin winced at the volume.

“Of course I’m drunk, Lina, this is the first proper chance I’ve had in months.” Getting drunk alone was pretty miserable, now you had an excuse.

“So it’s definitely them who’ll start fucking first…” Hoseok muttered.

Seokjin heard him loud and clear though. He hooked his arm around your shoulders, pulling you against him. “Yeah if we leave randomly you know this angel got horny for some devil dick.”

“Seokjin!” You exclaimed, pushing at his chest. He just laughed, reaching down to kiss you.

He did look mighty fine dressed as a devil though. Yeah, the red cape was basic but so were your angel wings and halo, but with his dark hair pushed back above his forehead, two red devil horns visible and his eyeshadow off the scale (your doing), he made a very, very sexy Satan!

Jimin pulled a face. “You’re actually going to fuck in those costumes, aren’t you?”

“Of course we are.” Seokjin rolled his eyes. “That’s what Halloween’s all about.”

“No, it’s not,” Nora laughed.

“I don’t know why you’re all so surprised,” Sandeul sighed before shovelling down some candy corn.

“You know them better than anyone,” Namjoon chuckled.

“I was the first to know! Sworn to secrecy for weeks!”

“Yeah, and she didn’t tell me for so long,” Lina whined. Even though it was ages ago now you were still pretty sure she was salty about it.

Hoseok snickered. “It was because she was embarrassed to be fucking him.”

You scoffed, about to refute his claims but Sanduel had more to say apparently. “And then I had to deal with Jin moping around when she dumped him for that basketball player.”

“She didn’t dump me,” Seokjin protested. “We won’t together then.”

“Bro, you were still moping though.”

“Awh, you guys,” you whined, running your fingers through the hair on the back of Seokjin’s head. “Stop teasing him.” You leaned in to kiss his cheek but he moved, stealing one from your lips instead.

“Great Deul, you’ve started them off again.” Hoseok moaned.

“I don’t care anyway. The amount of times I’ve heard them going at it has made me immune.”

“Sanduel, we’re not that bad!” You complained, leaning forward to place your glass down on the coffee table.

Seokjin had your back. “As if we haven’t heard you and Jess fuck before.”

That however was not at all interesting to your friends though. They blatantly ignored it for a more interesting direction of topic.

“Did you ever catch them?” Jimin asked, sounding weirdly excited.

“No actually, which is baffling.”

“You nearly did – multiple times,” Seokjin informed him, which instantly turned Sanduel grey. Not bothered, my ass.

“Why are you guys so obsessed with our sex life?” You whined loudly. Was theirs that boring?

“Ooo, let’s play a game!!” Lina exploded suddenly, sitting up, her head now cut off from the screen. “Who’s the freakiest!!!”

Seokjin turned to you gleefully. “We got this in the bag, babe.”

In your eyes, the questions were quite tame, so yes, you and Seokjin really were scoring first place left and right. Although you had a hunch Lina was holding back information. As her best friend you knew what she was like and she was being awfully quiet for someone who’d suggested the game…

“Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever boned?” Nora asked, six questions in.

Seokjin didn’t even need a second. “Namjoon’s bedroom.” Your eyes bulged immediately, surprised he’d gone there.

“What?” Namjoon choked.

“Sorry, man. It just kinda happened.” Seokjin glanced at you, deeply amused. Poor Namjoon didn’t need more bad news.

“You guys have fucked in my bedroom?”

“Well, technically it’s not your bedroom anymore, but yeah,” you shrugged.

“When?”

The third degree was real. “A while back.”

“What the fuck you guys,” he groaned, his face a picture. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

“You don’t even know the half of it.” Lina couldn’t help but add.

“You, be quiet!” You warned, although you knew she wouldn’t spill. Your secret was safe with her.

Namjoon was looking more and more scared by the second. “What the fuck did you guys do in there?” Seokjin just laughed loudly. “Did you at least clean up?” He got no reply. He was deadly serious with his next question. “Did you make Ryan watch?”

“Namjoon!” Seokjin cried, practically wiping tears from your eyes. Maybe he was more drunk than you… You hadn’t realised. “He’s a stuffed animal.”

“That plush is all I have now.”

“Pity, the guy’s recently been dumped. This is bullying,” Hoseok interrupted, sticking up for his friend.

“It’s not,” your boyfriend insisted.

“Aw, Namjoon, I’m sorry,” you apologised, feeling guilty now. How could you make it up to him? “When all this is over you can come over and fuck someone in our bedroom.”

“What,” Seokjin protested. You ignored him.

“Who though?” Namjoon asked, sounding sad.

“You’ll meet someone new soon enough.” Lina reassured him. “You’re any girls dream guy.”

He perked up at that. “You think so?”

“Legit, man,” Jimin joined in.

“Wait,” Sandeul interrupted, seemingly realising something. “Is the costume roleplay exclusive to Halloween?”

… Of course the conversation was back on you and Jin…

“Why?” You asked.

“Because Namjoon had a fancy dress party for his birthday last year…”

Seokjin shrugged. “Any celebration.”

Sanduel instantly looked disgusted. “So you guys fucked as The Incredibles couple?”

You and Seokjin didn’t reply, but your faces said it all.

Namjoon groaned loudly. “I want to scoop my brain out.” Then he thought of something. “Was it in my bedroom?”

“Noooo!”

“Yes.”

You both replied at the same time and you pushed Seokjin. Now he was just purposely teasing his friend.

“Who’s lying?” Namjoon demanded, but Sanduel was too busy going through it, distracting you all.

“The Incredibles is my favourite childhood movie, man, now I feel gross. I can’t watch it ever again because I’ll imagine you two trying to superhero fuck.”

Your friends were way too dramatic. It wasn’t even a big deal, they were making it out to be way kinkier than it was, and Seokjin wasn’t helping matters. You were literally just having normal sex dressed up. That’s all.

“This game has taught me I’m best friends with a bunch of vanilla ice creams,” Seokjin tutted. “It’s called having fun. Something you guys can’t seem to do.”

“You all suck!” You agreed.

Hm, maybe you were just as guilty as your boyfriend… It was just too damn amusing goading your friends…

#bts fanfic #seokjin fanfic #jin fanfic #floralseokjin:writings #fic:crystallised

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stachehand · 4 years ago

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Sonic the Hedgehog game stage ideas

When I think of stages for future Sonic the Hedgehog games, all I really ask for are the kind that are fantastical and colourful in aesthetic, put alien-looking spins on what look like familiar locales, tell stories of the worlds that Sonic and friends explore through sub-text, and, for the final zones, evoke dread through the crazy designs put together by Robotnik, or some other villain’s desecration of sacred land with their trademark.

Like, can’t we have a 3D Sonic games that has lively worlds like what we see in the Sonic Advance trilogy or the Sonic Rush duology?

I thought of my own zone ideas for my imaginary Sonic game, Sonic Nomads. They’re rough, and take inspiration from various places, but they are what they are.

- A mountainous region following an airborne railway and a fleet of ships, like Rail Canyon, but with added interaction with clouds and some boats on a lake below.

- A Green Hill-type place inspired by Niagara Falls, because I would really like a stage like that, with enormous bodies of water to explore, caves behind waterfalls, platform near waterfalls, boats traveling around them, steep slopes and woods on top of the hills.

- An extreme sports city with rows of advertisement posters, rails that sharply turn along stairways, quarter-pipes down the sides of buildings, parkour billboards, parachute gliding sections and giant bicycle wheel platforms.

- A golden countryside forest where twilight is perpetual, the trees are massive enough to act as quarter pipes and hold treehouses and decks as platforms, leaves can be ridden along the air and flowerbeds are enchanted walkways.

- A video game and game of skill-based carnival with gimmicks centered around pushing buttons to activate rides, scoring points to determine what pathways you’ll access, platforming across tickets and entering zones where the graphics turn 16-bit.

- A haunted palace filled with ghosts, invisible walls and platforms, gravity-defying hallways and balconies and plenty of mirror portals shifting between light and dark.

- A desert where deadly sandstorms threaten to tear you apart, underground caves are constantly trying to swallow you, cacti hide among dunes that shrink and grow and spiky armoured vehicles rule.

- A snowy mountain with a Japanese flair, filled with mirages, blizzards that push you on a set path through the air, dragon statues to grind or parkour on and a fireworks display to climb up.

- A mine where rock slides occur to provide platforms, crystals that influence the shape of the area are spread about, oil spouts provide a means to grind and shifting metal platforms are abundant.

- A coast where typhoons move you and other stuff through the air, tsunamis occur regularly, palm trees are springy and gigantic sea creatures act as platforms to help with crossing the sea.

- A water park labyrinth where bubbles take you for a ride up, inside or on top of them, water slide half-pipes can either be your friend or your enemy, tube mazes attempt to disorient you and giant buckets can open other pathways.

- An underground jungle that calls back to an ancient civilization with old booby traps, crazy bridges across enormous gaps, big mounds that take the form of creatures at the top and pits inhabited by kaiju-like abominations.

- A musical instrument-themed factory where piano key roads, saxophone launchers, electric guitar rails to grind on and beatbox launching musical notes to jump across dominate every corner.

- A volcanic cyberspace area where fiery traps materialize here and there, it rains pixels that corrupt the landscape, ramps are formed from digital constructs and Internet propaganda fills the infernal sky.

- A flying fortress built by Robotnik with clock parts all over the place, minute and hour hands to grind on, flipping hourglass platforms, floor and wall-electrifying alarms and pocket watches that create time-slowing fields.

- A casino in outer space with coin mounds to parkour on and gain momentum from, giant slot reel conveyor belts, pinball tables with a wide variety of pathways to lead you to and low-gravity craps tables with dice that can launch you over to other tables.

- A Chinese demon temple Death Egg-type base built by Robotnik on a nearby moon, with weaponized walls, moats of purple lava, Badnik manufacturing plants where the doctor has set up some really deadly security measures, blade-covered towers, demonic speed traps and self-indulgent fun zones.

- A celestial void where the final boss battle against Robotnik and a godly entity takes place, capping off the adventure of Sonic, his friends and their newest ally.

That’s a grand total of 18 zone ideas. 14 of these would have 2 acts each, the 1st and 17th would have 3 acts, the 1st having an opening tutorial act, and the 17th being a grand finale for the regular platforming acts, while the 12th and 18th/final stages would both be 1 act, as the former is where a critical development in Sonic Nomads’ story would play out, and the latter exists only for the game’s last fight.

#sonic the hedgehog #video games #sonic team #sega #fan game ideas #StacheHand stuff

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unpopularly-opinionated · 5 years ago

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Nintendo is like 85% of the reasons why I hate things like patents, trademarks, and copyright law in general.

It strangely feels very anti-free market because the whole point to being a free market is that you’re able to hold your product out to the public and say “here mine is better than theirs” and have people decide to agree with you and buy your product over someone else’s.

Copyright laws stand in the way of innovation and development because it gives people legal ownership over an idea, something which should be free for anyone to have and improve upon. If someone takes your idea and makes it better and it sells better than yours, then make yours better. Plain and simple.

It’s always hyped and wow’d when Nintendo finally decides to grace us with some ‘innovation’ in Pokemon, but it’s always a matter of too little too late. Not to mention, they always seem to go one step forward and one step back, too afraid to change the magic formula which ultimately leaves the product feeling stagnate.

Like oh this is cool, some Pokemon have an extra evolution? I can’t wait to see what other Pokemon get one of these in the next ga--and they’re gone. Well okay, but Z-moves are pretty cool, right? Can’t wait to see what new Z-moves they come up wi--and those are gone too. Wait really, the gimmick now is that they set the scale to 200%? But then they have the audacity to shutdown fan-made Pokemon games that dare to break the formula.

Like, the only moderately valid argument for copyright laws that I’ve seen is that it would over-saturate the market with cheap knockoffs of every product out there, but again there will always be a better product. It doesn’t matter if there are 300 different kinds of rubik’s cubes in the world, one will always turn more easily, or be marketed better, or be made by a more-liked company, etc.

In short, copyright laws should be abolished to promote innovation and de-incentivize product stagnation.

#random rant #copyright law #trademarks #patents #the pokemon company #nintendo #pokemon

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beardycarrot · 5 years ago

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I’m the world’s worst as predicting things or having my hopes come true, but that’s not gonna stop me from weighing in on tomorrow’s Pokemon Direct!

We are, obviously, going to see some new Gen 8 Pokemon. That’s a given. I personally hope we don’t see the evolved forms of the starters, as I like evolutions to be a surprise when I play the games... buuuut, I’m pretty sure it will be impossible for me to use the internet for the next five months without it being spoiled for me, so whatever.

As always, I want... no, I NEED more butterfly and moth Pokemon, and some cute Grass-types. Where my hummingbirds, dolphins, and capybaras at? Evolutions of existing Pokemon please? I’m actually legitimately expecting not one, but TWO new Eeveelutions tomorrow. Ground and Ghost baby, c’mon let’s see ‘em! I also expect there to be some new fairly humanoid Fairy-types, since it’s based on the UK... and by that same token, some kind of big green wyvern. Make it happen, Game Freak!

I legitimately don’t know whether Galar forms will be a thing. I think Alolan forms were an elegant solution to shining a spotlight on older Pokemon, and have with every new game been mad that we’re not getting new Shellos and Gastrodon forms... so yeah, I’m all for it. Gimme a Galarian Zangoose that looks like a badger, a highland Miltank, a Stantler with a face that’s anything but Stantler’s current face. I feel like, if they did a version of variant forms, it wouldn’t be quite how Alolan forms worked... but I would be completely happy if it was.

I’m most curious about this game’s evil team. Aside from Team Magma’s cute costumes, I haven’t really cared for any of the non-Team Rocket bad guys... right up until Team Skull, who were by far my favorite thing about Sun/Moon. The new team could be pretty much anything... if you want to go by British stereotypes, maybe football hooligans or Oliver Twist-style street urchins. Maybe an aristocratic secret society that hunts Pokemon for sport, complete with Slowpoke heads mounted as trophies all over their hideout. An ancient order of knights? The logos for the game also makes it feel like there could be two teams again.

I’m pretty sure we’ll be given a more in-depth look at the stadiums that seem to be replacing the gyms. I expect it to culminate in a Pokemon battle with some kind of leader... but what will lead up to that? Probably not sports-based minigames, probably not just plain battles against other trainers... so what else fits? The soccer uniform your character wears in the stadiums, the stadiums themselves, and the Japanese logos for the games all bear this swirly, spiky red and blue pokeball symbol:

What does it mean? Well... the same spot in the logos for the last two generations bore the symbols for mega evolution and Z crystals, so it’s probably a pretty big deal. As I said back before the Gen 8 reveal in February, the term Alter Genesis had been trademarked in Japan, which I predicted would be either the name of a TCG set or some new gameplay mechanic. As it turns out... yeah, it’s a TCG set. If that symbol is related to the stadium gameplay, then we might not be getting a new let’s put something on kids’ wrists that isn’t a Yokai Watch gameplay gimmick... which is perfectly fine by me.

It kinda reminds me of rotation battles, with the three things swirling inside of it. Maybe the stadiums will feature battles using entire teams of Pokemon? What’s interesting is that they’re swirling freely between the red and blue portions... which in my mind, symbolizes two different teams. Maybe the mechanic will involve the Pokemon you send out switching sides throughout the battle? That would actually be pretty cool... It would prevent either side from being overpowered, since sometimes you would have to use your opponent’s Pokemon while they use yours. The battle would have to be based on points rather than knocking out the other team though, and that’s dangerously close to contest territory for my taste.

It’s also possible that it’s a traditional battle with all the Pokemon involved shuffled between the participants... but that feels like it would really undermine the premise of the series, and isn’t a very interesting gimmick. What could it be, then? For all I know it’s a big game of battle chess and the meaning behind the symbol only makes sense once you’ve seen it in action. Maybe it’s like a canine agility course and the symbol depicts the trainers calling out to their Pokemon with instructions?? Yeah I have no idea what it could be.

They also recently filed a trademark for the term Pokegenic... it’s entirely possible that it related to the new Pokemon apps and games introduced at that event last week and unrelated to the main series. I’m only mentioning it because Pokegenic sounds like photogenic, and could be a photography-centric replacement for the “bonding with your Pokemon” modes that have been in the last two games... though whatever it is, that’s an absolutely terrible name for it. Right up there with Gen 4′s Poketch. People got all excited when Armored Mewtwo was trademarked, since the games are called Sword and Shield, before realizing that it was in relation to the upcoming CG Pokemon movie.

Which brings me to my final point: why Sword and Shield? Ever since Gen 2 the game names have referred to what people call the “box legendaries”, which we’ll probably be seeing tomorrow... but lately, they’ve also tied into the games a bit. Black/White’s plot is squarely focused on morality and extremism, X/Y’s big focus is mega evolution, which is implied to be genetic in nature... I probably don’t have to explain Sun/Moon. So, what about Sword/Shield? Will there be equippable weapons and armor, distinct from held items? Will there be a Fire Emblem-style weapon triangle to deal with in addition to existing type matchups?

Now that I’ve gone on the record with all of that, it’s guaranteed that none of it will be even close to what we’ll see tomorrow, so you can look at all the things I didn’t say for clues as to what the direct will focus on.

#pokemon #nintendo direct #pokemon direct

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closetofanxiety · 6 years ago

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NXT to the Main Roster: A Haphazard Examination, Part 2 (2016)

More wrestlers went from NXT to the main roster(s) in 2016 than in any other year, so I want to examine it separately in my ongoing question to determine whether getting a coveted spot on Raw or Smackdown (or a less coveted spot on 205 Live) likely means stagnation and disappointment. Again, the grades here are for the way these wrestlers have been presented to the WWE audience, not for the wrestlers themselves. Except, I guess, for the F handed out to Big Cass.

Sami Zayn

Call-up date: January 24. The perfect underdog babyface at the top of the card in NXT (a role they’re currently trying to give Johnny Gargano), Zayn has had a respectable but mostly unspectacular run on the big shows. While they were never going to build main event storylines around him the way NXT did, after his initial feud with eternal lifemate Kevin Owens, he kind of drifted around the middle of the pack without a clear character or motivation. Hampered by injuries, his heel turn was initially masterfully handled: by saving Kevin Owens from Shane McMahon, Zayn was, in the immediate aftermath, allowed to seem conflicted, uncertain, and anxious about what he’d done. It looked like there was going to be real character development, and then, in a few months, he was challenging Bobby Lashley to obstacle course races.

Grade: C

Eva Marie

Call-up date: March 28. WE DIDN’T DESERVE HER. She could have been a sensational, crowd-baiting heel, as she was LOATHED by the super nerds in the WWE audience, who hated that she couldn’t wrestle and was only getting pushed for her looks. I mean, the same was true of Lex Luger ZING. Anyway, it wasn’t too be, and we’re left to wonder what could have been.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Baron Corbin

Call-up date: April 3. Big Banter has grown into the role that is probably the top-dollar best he can hope for in the WWE: a sneering heel near the top of the midcard who can talk well and wrestle well. He’s a plug-and-play guy for babyfaces who are being kept on the stove while the main event picture sorts itself out, and he does great at it. I saw Baron Corbin wrestle Tommy Dreamer at an NXT show in Albany once and thought, “This guy suxxxx.” But he has proved me wrong! Good for Big Breakfast Constable Corbin.

Grade: B+

Enzo Amore

Call-up date: April 4. I’ll go on record as saying he was used well as the shitty heel champion in 205 Live. Everyone hated him, and that was his role. That was probably his ceiling: top hate figure on the ‘C’ show, but we’ll never know.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Big Cass

Call-up date: April 4. His attitude and behavior must have really been something for Vince McMahon, The Big Man Liker, to so quickly part with a big man who could talk and was at least more adept in the ring than, say, the Great Khali. After the split with Enzo, they didn’t really seem to know what they were doing with him, so I’m not entirely sure we missed out on a legendary career or anything.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Apollo Crews

Call-up date: April 4. This decision remains a head scratcher. Crews made his NXT TV debut on August 22, 2015, and in less than eight months, was debuting on Raw. Although he’s an incredibly talented wrestler, I don’t know that his NXT stint was quite the rocket to the top that would justify this. Since his debut, he’s been totally lost in the shuffle and without a discernible character. His most significant match to date was a losing bid for the Intercontinental championship against The Miz on an episode of Smackdown. The Titus Worldwide stuff has helped, but not much.

Grade: C-/D+

Aiden English

Call-up date: April 7. Rusev DAAAAYYYEH. If it weren’t for his alliance with Big Matchka, English would be staring down the barrel of a D+. Initially arrived on the main roster as a tag team with Simon Gotch, the two had an undistinguished run that included Smackdown tag title tournament losses to the Hype Bros and Breezango. Now that he’s the guy who stiffly raps before Rusev comes out, English is basking in his Mizdow Moment. When it ends, though, what will become of the Operatic Superstar?

Grade: C-

Simon Gotch

Call-up date: April 7. His gimmick had a lot of potential: the super old-timey wrestler in a postmodern, post-kayfabe world. It never really got off the ground, though, and while his team with Aiden English worked at Full Sail, Vince’s dim view of tag teams generally, plus the material they were given, meant it didn’t have much of a shot on the big stage. WWE let the trademark on his name expire, which tells you a lot.

Grade: F

Dana Brooke

Call-up date: May 9. After kind of a hot start that I’ve largely forgotten - she was heel Charlotte’s protege, remember? - she quickly settled into the rut of main roster women’s booking, which tends to consist of two women fighting over the title and then everyone else forming an amorphous backdrop, occasionally emerging for random six-person tags involving the main eventers. Dana did eliminate Kairi Sane at the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble, so that’s something, I guess. Since November, she’s been one of the few people in the company with a manager role, as an Alexandra York figure in Titus Worldwide.

Grade: C-

Mojo Rawley

Call-up date: July 24. Did you know Zack Ryder’s been in the WWE system since 2006? He’s incredible. He’s like one of those NBA guys who you see playing five minutes in a playoff game, years after you assumed they had retired. Anyway, Mojo Rawley. He’s done as well as he’s ever likely to do, destroying Ryder after a heel turn, feuding with No Way Jose, and no longer being hyped. His main roster run hasn’t been disappointing, largely because his NXT run was about the same thing, minus the heel turn.

Grade: C

Nia Jax

Call-up date: July 25. Rock’s cousin or no, she’s managed to remain above the midcard scrum in the women’s division by having a unique look, as the only credible monster in the locker room. She has the problem that all monsters have sooner or later, which is: what do they do after getting beaten? In her case, it was a clumsy face turn in a bullying-themed angle with Alexa Bliss that didn’t do much for either woman. Still, because of her size and ability, she’s always somewhere near the top of the card, something that’s unlikely to change.

Grade: B

Finn Bálor

Call-up date: July 25. To my mind, he’s one of the few wrestlers who’s been better served on the main roster than he was in NXT. He’s the longest-reigning NXT champion so far, but his tenure there seems largely forgettable apart from his Beast in the East match against Kevin Owens and the bloodbath against Samoa Joe at Takeover: Dallas. On the main roster, he’s regularly near the top of the card, with his painted demon character receiving the holy-shit treatment, as we saw at SummerSlam. He’s become one of their most recognizable stars and the company clearly loves him.

Grade: A

Alexa Bliss

Call-up date: July 26. One of the best examples I can think of that demonstrates how a turn can elevate a wrestler, she went from boring, sparkly cheerleader to the top woman in NXT by becoming a heel. Initially the manager of the lookalike midcard tag team of Make and Blurphy, it was clear from the start she was bound for greater things. She’s been the signal success story of the WWE System in developing stars, as opposed to repackaging stars from the indies, Japan, and Mexico: Bliss is, if not quite a mainstream star, one of the most recognizable women in the company, constantly on top of the women’s roster, and winning raves for her incredible microphone work. Nerds who complain she isn’t good at wrestling probably wouldn’t have understood Abdullah the Butcher either.

Grade: A+

Carmella

Call-up date: July 26. OH THE IRONY! When she managed Enzo and Big Cass in NXT, she was despised by the Full Sail nerds, who would chant “you can’t wrestle” at her. Two years later, and here we are: Real1 is making unlistenable hip hop tracks for his Instagram stories, Big Cazz is set to make his indie debut for Big Time Wrestling in Spartanburg, S.C., and Carmella is coming off a 131-day run as Smackdown Women’s Champion, having beaten Asuka in matches on pay-per-view and free TV. She’s not at Alexa’s level as a heel - not many people are - but she’s done a great job of establishing herself in a women’s roster that suffers from way too many bland characters and storylines.

Grade: B+/A-

Jason Jordan

Call-up date: August 2. Listen, Vince hates tag teams. American Alpha was a red-hot team in NXT, where they got over thanks to their phenomenal work inside the ring. But even there, they were kind of bland as individuals. On the main roster, where tag teams rarely last, this spelled trouble. Jordan has been hampered by injuries, but even without that he’s a man adrift, the highlight of his tenure so far being the kayfabe revelation that he’s Kurt Angle’s son, which has mostly been treated as an afterthought.

Grade: D

Chad Gable

Call-up date: August 2. Second verse, same as the first. They tried to spark some of that American Alpha magic after disbanding American Alpha by pairing Gable with Shelton Benjamin, with predictable results. I don’t think Gable’s been on television since May, and he’s not injured. He apparently feuded with Mike Kanellis on Main Event back in June, to give you some idea. He taped a thing for WWE’s social media channels with amateur wrestling god Dan Gable, which I liked, so there’s that.

Grade: D

Bayley

Call-up date: August 22. I will admit here that I did not “get” her gimmick in NXT. It just always seemed vaguely unsettling, and now we know that it led to the Cult of Izzy. That aside, she had an undeniable connection with the audience, largely thanks to her palpable enthusiasm and tremendous in-ring skill. I never really bought the commonplace line that she could become the female John Cena, mostly because I think that underestimates how much of Cena’s appeal comes from the fact that half the audience hates him. But she’s a true-blue babyface in a company that doesn’t really know what to do with true-blue babyfaces, and so her main roster stint has been something of a disappointment. It’s weirdly fitting that she’s locked into this seemingly endless frenemies storyline with Sasha Banks, another woman who was adored in NXT and who hasn’t really found her footing on the main roster.

Grade: C

Rich Swann

Call-up date: September 19. He had his moments in 205 Live, but it was clear his off-kilter personality and presentation were not what they had in mind as the Face of the Division. They were trying to mold him into what they have with Mustafa Ali or Cedric Alexander, when they would have been better off trying to make Swann the Dean Ambrose of the cruiserweights. Instead, well, we know what happened instead.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Austin Aries

Call-up date: December 18. I have a theory that Vince McMahon thought Austin Aries was Bobby Roode, and that when they hired the real Bobby Roode, Vince immediately said, “Well, then who the fuck is this guy?”

Grade: F

#NXT #official rankings #WWE

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kaibutsushidousha · 7 years ago

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Artbook Data - Tsumugi Shirogane

Best girl doesn’t disappoint.

Seiyuu’s comment: Mikako Komatsu

She looks very much like a class representative, so I first expected her to be like a cool big sis, but when I got to play her it turned out she was much instable character, always getting overexcited about the things she like. I didn’t have much experience with this type of character, so I had a lot of fun with her. I’m really looking forward to play this game for myself.

Kodaka’s comment: The fanatic mind hidden in “plain” sight

She’s named “Shirogane” because it’s a name gives sort of a “honours student” vibe and “Tsumugi” because she is the one who weaves the story. This is a verbal representation of her mentality that allowed the killing games to continue. The keyword for her design was “honours student-like” and for her personality was “cringey otaku”. I personally wanted her to have vaguely likeable features without looking any special, but if I made her too lacking in personality it would get suspicious, so I tried to make her stand out from time to time while still keeping her plainness as her central gimmick and find this balance was extremely difficult.

The “Super High School Level Cosplayer” characterization was established starting from its final punchline: the alternating transformations. Reverse-engeneering from this established conclusion, we defined her as a cosplayer. And then we made her mixing this with the vaguely-defined “honours student” keyword we set from before. I had quite a tough time trying to decide how her “true personality” sprite, how it should be different from her regular sprites, what indications should I give to the seiyuu and stuff. I wanted her to be something more than just threatening... So we made her in a way she feels like an escalation of the outside world’s worldbuilding, a world hopelessly obsessed with DanganRonpa.

She has some “fun cosplay stories” in the first half of the story and her free time events. These were all stories I got by interviewing real cosplayers. I think that’s the first time I actually interviewed someone to make a character. But it was very worth it, seeing how well-liked she is among the cosplayers.

By the way, about her cosplays of past characters, I really wanted to include the the characters from the DanganRonpa 3 anime. However, we didn’t have enough budget nor ready sprites, so my idea was almost immediately rejected. We’re limited to videogames, 1 and 2. Ultra Despair Girls was removed for being as spin-off and I cry every time I remember this fact. But even without them, the voice acting cost for the final parts already killed me... I’m sorry I had this idea.

Design Notes:

Plain Glasses: A must-have item for the plain folk. We’ll never figure out whether wearing glasses make you plain or if being plain attracts glasses but we still not for sure this is the plain character’s trademark.

Plain Face Out of Costume: Normally, she gets called a plain face a lot. But if Shirogane words “When I take my glasses off, I transform” are real, she could probably look like a different person with the power of her make-up.

Company Badge:

A misterious company’s badge. She keeps it hidden in her person instead of wearing it so it won’t disturb her plain visual. Is it a cosplay office or is it perhaps something else...?

Plain Conversations: Shirogane’s speech pattern has the distinticve otaku quality: she’s only talkative about her hobbies and normally just reacts to what other people are saying and nothing else. She shows up for breakfast every morning, so the reason why people forget she exists so much is indeed because she is plain!?

Plain Body: When it comes to cosplaying a wide range of characters, having curves too wide can sometimes be counterproductive and you can hear many ingenious tricks to purposely make your chest look smaller, bigger, etc. Good thing she’s was born with a plain, moderate body, perfect for cosplaying.

Plain Uniform: A high-waist skirt with a form-fitting jacket. But even an uniform so cleverly design to emphasize her femininity so strongly becomes plain when Shirogane wears it.

Underwear: A pair made for the ultimate final battle. But they are not for show, so she firmly refuse to take low angle photos.

Favorite presents:

Cosplay Carrying Bag: A carrying case highly demanded by cosplayer for being easy to carry. Very useful for things like travels and of course, conventions. Something Shirogane would probably consider a trusted partner.

Photostore: An image editing software used mainly to retouch photographs. Perfect to erase flaws in your make-up or visible freckles. Indispensable for any cosplayer nowadays.

Sewing Set: A portal kit all the basic tools necessary for sewing. In the context of cosplay, she can use it to immediately fix a damaged piece. Indispensable for Shirogane’s daily life.

Steels Glasses Case: It’s sturdy enough to protect your glasses from any kind of shock, even being stepped on by an Exisal. After all, glasses are as super important as underwear!

Hated present:

Death Flag: An item with an unexplainable effect of increasing it’s owner chances of dying. A rare case of an item hated by Shirogane, who is otherwise very proud of her open-mindedness.

Key phrases:

Cosplay is an Equivalent Exchange: The cosplays that defined Shirogane as the Super High School Level Cosplayer are famous and popular enough to earn her sponsors and their selling point is faithfulness to the original’s character design. That said, she prefers devoting herself to making the costumes rather than wearing them and acting the character. For that reason, she has a lot of complaints about the current community of idol-like cosplayers and vocally expresses them in order protect the quality and the soul of cosplaying. By the way, the condition for her cosplay is an “Equivalent Exchange”. She claims that if she imitates real people, she breaks out in a horrible allergic reaction and is limited to only playing fictional characters... Leaving aside the question that this can’t be described as Equivalent Exchange at all, this is a terrifying allergy that colors her whole body pink. You can tells it’s harsh just by looking at it.

Glasses are underwear!?: For Shirogane, a fervent defender of plainness, glasses are an indispensable prop, an item to be always worn, no different from underwear. The glasses are the trademark of the plain. By just wearing a pair, you are turned into a plain person and disappears from the plains of existence... That quicly leads to you having innumerable plain anecdotes, like passing unnoticed by the cashier, being left behind by your friends, entering the movie theater with a ticket, becoming an expert in covert investigations, etc. Leaving aside the question of how many of those are true, the point here is that appearence is important.

God has Black Hair and Red Eyes: Angie’s God prioritizes convenience above all else, changing it’s appearence according to the believer. So, if you’re wondering what would he be like for the fiction-loving Shirogane, the answer is the expected one: she sees a God loaded with fantasy tropes like “black hair and red eyes”. She, who values those characteristic hard to find in real life and makes fervorous speeches about “Red-eyed black-haired characters are all perfect”, has already completely turned to an Angie devout. I... just hope someone who would wholeheartedly listen to all her hyperfixations descends from heaven to her soon!?

Main Quotes:

“Huhuhu... Don’t you know? Those who see my true form pay a terrible price, you see?“: The foul-mouthed Iruma told Shirogane “If you take off your glasses, you’ll fade away“. In other words, if she loses the glasses that mark her as a plain character, her character would lose it’s meaning of existance and disappear. However, Shirogane said she’s off, if she takes her glasses off, she will transform. “She was actually hot all along without her glasses!” is a plot we see a lot in shoujo manga, but in Shirogane’s case we’re very curious to see what her real face will look like!?

“Sorry... I’m in a bit of a financial trouble. Oh, if only someone could support me, that would be so great“: Now, Shirogane ascended to the top of the cosplayer world with overwhelming fame and reach. But before, she was a measly cosplayer that lived barely scraping by and had to earn her money through part-time jobs. A simple and easy option if you wanted to earn money fast, is to work in a place that sells alcohol to rich men, smile sweetly and conquer sponsorers. It’s admirable how far her passion towards her hobbies go!

“But, as I thought... maybe you should be The White Kanata“: After teaching the Cosplaying 101, Shirogane finally starts luring Saihara into the unescapable path of cosplay (popularly known as “cosplay hell“) and starts endlessly brainstorming garments that would suit him! After considering fantasy knights, failproof school uniforms and even crossdressing, the answer she arrived at was the protagonist of an old superhero anime Saihara also knows, “The White Kanata“. It was the first character Shirogane ever cosplayed and visibly a character she has strong feelings about. Knowing about their unexpected common point, Shirogane became unstoppable, filled with the will to put her soul into Saihara’s outfit.

Final comment: She clinging on to her otaku hyperfixations, fully trusting the belief they do no harm nor good. Shirogane’s presence runs full speed on the path to plainness, but it turns out she wants to make it shine on the cosplay stage!?

#tsumugi shirogane #artbook translations #I loved how the stories in Shirogane's free time felt so real and now I know why #how the heck is black hair a fantasy trope?#typing the sentence Shirogane became unstoppable was a life-changing experience #I'm so glad I'm doing this

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clickbliss · 6 years ago

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Pig Eat Ball is a bewildering and frankly disgusting game of sportsball

by Amr (@siegarettes)

Pig Eat Ball

Developer: Mommy’s Best Games

Publisher: Mommy’s Best Games

Bizarre, bewildering and frankly disgusting. That’s how I’d describe pretty much any other game from Mommy’s Best Games. Thankfully, they’re also a lot of fun, Pig Eat Ball included.

The trademark Mommy’s Best Games originality is here, with out there mechanics and art. Previously, their games all shared a similar rough, overgrown art style. There were grimy textures that felt as if they’d been melted and reconstituted into ridiculously detailed tableaus.

Pig Eat Ball goes for a more animated vibe, with a lighter hand on textures, more broad strokes of colors and expressive characters. It’s still made up of an absolutely bewildering combination of imagery, but there’s a more confident, less chaotic approach this time.

Not that the chaos is gone, no, no.

While the art goes with a clear, readable style, the mechanics branch into several bizarre takes on the maze running genre. There’s a few basic moves, but how they interact with each level’s layouts and gimmicks gets a lot of mileage out of them.

The princess, a pig in disguise at a tournament held to decide who wins her hand, constantly inhales objects in front of her, which can be spit out in a barf covered state. Holding her breath makes her move slower, and a dash lets her crash through objects and build speed by timing the next two dashes. Inhaling tennis balls increases her size, which prevents her from getting through narrow passages, but might be useful to take down certain obstacles. Oh, and if you inhale a barfed up ball too soon, or get hit, you’ll spew the contents of your stomach.

Things get really chaotic when these basic mechanics play off the environment. At the start I was simply gathering up tennis balls, spitting them into new rooms, and avoiding them as I waited for the gross stuff to roll off the spit up balls. But soon I was puking on bugs to make them puke, losing ghosts in Pac-man mazes, eating their brains, and using my suction to drag balls through mazes to get them to areas where I could gobble em up.

There’s a real madcap, experimental quality to a lot of the stage designs. It’s the kind of game where you look at the stage title to get an idea of what the heck the designer was thinking, then parse the gimmick while trying to avoid the tricks they’ve laid out for you. Then you do it again to get the gold medal.

It’s a familiar loop, and it would be easy to get comfortable with if it wasn’t for how outlandish it gets. It seriously, seriously gets weird. Like, I’ve played a lot of games and seen a lot of weird games, but most of them use familiar, predictable mechanics to direct you. In Pig Eat Ball I’m never quite sure what I’m gonna see next, or what the next stage is gonna have me do. It’s not so scattershot that I find myself lost, but there’s an astounding set of ideas on display.

Within the first stage I was doing careful sneaking missions, fast paced races against the clock, convoluted mazes, and even engaging in battles with bugs where I had to gobble up more balls, catch stars and uh, build a sandwich. Then I topped it off by fighting a giant dragon who was also an accordion.

Describing what you do in Pig Eat Ball really doesn’t do it justice. This is the kind of game that’s bursting with a creative energy that you just sort of have to witness yourself. It’s got the level design sensibility of an arcade game, but with a willingness to recontextualize itself at every turn. I could write another five paragraphs just listing notable stage gimmicks, but you wouldn’t get the same rapid fire nonsense that comes along with each of them.

There really is something wonderful and bizarre about Pig Eat Ball. It’s a refreshing game to take in bite sized stages, often leaving me with a a bemused, and somewhat disgusted, smile.

#pig eat ball #mommy's best games #ps4 #pc #xbox one

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turntothree · 8 years ago

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Ry& Reaction: “Share the Joy”

To start things off, I think the on-stage performances were pretty good.

Going in I wasn’t sure if opting out the whimsical silliness and backstage skits of standard Nintendo Directs in favour of a lavish Apple-esque event was a good idea, but Kimishima and company pulled it off.

image source - Nintendo

The lighting was good, the music was catchy and the idea of using finger snaps as stage transitions was a clever way to stay on message with Switch’s gimmick. The presenters were great too, with everyone selling their pitches with clarity and confidence.

... And yes, a little bit of Nintendo’s trademark quirkiness seeped in, too.

image source - Nintendo

Editor’s Note: Switch General Producer Yoshiaki Koizumi really impressed me and proved to be the most charismatic salesman in the bunch. Perhaps he could be groomed as the late, great Satoru Iwata’s replacement.

image source - Nintendo

But the skits and props and lasers are all just showmanship razzmatazz and while folks appreciate those things as lead-in material, what really sells people on gaming products are the video packages. Because there’s nothing quite like a sharply edited trailer to get you hyped for a new game or piece of hardware.

The Switch itself received two hype videos. The first providing an overview on the console as a whole, while the second focused specifically on the Joy-Con controllers.

image source - Nintendo

Video one started out as a nice little recap of how the TV Mode, Handheld Mode, and Table-Top Mode functions work and really hammered down the benefits of taking your game anywhere. As the package rolled on however, Nintendo started to answer some FAQ’s regarding certain elements of the Switch’s hardware like for example: What’s the battery life of the Switch tablet? Will the tablet have a touch-based interface? How many Switches can be linked together?

Answer 1 - As the previous rumours suggested, roughly three to six hours. Nintendo says this is fully depending on the game in play. So something like say Breath of the Wild can run up to three hours, while smaller scale stuff like low-res indies or Virtual Console classics are likely in six-hour territory.

image source - Nintendo

Hot take – It’s kind of hard to say this revelation is disappointing but it still is. It’s running games at 720p and 60fps, so this is pretty reasonable. On the other hand, three hours isn’t much play time for a handheld device. So if you plan on traveling with this thing, bring a book, too.

Answer 2 – Yes. It’s a 6.2’ inch multi-touch pad, similar to the tech used for the Wii U and the Dual Screen handheld lines.

image source - Nintendo

Hot Take – It’s a good design choice, as that interface worked beautifully for those systems and opened up a lot of game design possibilities. I fully expect this new screen to work the same magic for Switch.

Answer 3 – Up to eight Switch tablets can be linked together for local multiplayer.

image source - Nintendo

Hot Take - So ... that’d be 8-16 players depending on the game? That’s going to come in handy for competitive tournaments ... or a big old house party!

Editor’s Note: It was also pointed out online multiplayer can be accessed in all three Switch Modes ... kind of weird that that got mentioned. Most people would think it was given but good news all the same.

Switch video #2 provided a demo of the Joy-Con’s motion sensing technology, because Wii aren’t going to see Ninty let go of that old chestnut any time soon.

image source - Nintendo

Although, perhaps a Wiimote/nunchuck comparison isn’t totally fair. Oh, Joy-Con R&L serve the same purpose but according to Koizumi’s demonstration, these nifty little inventions are more sophisticated and precise than their predecessors. Apparently they allow actions like say swinging Link’s Master Sword or one of Little Mac’s trademark Star Punches to be performed with pin-point accuracy.

Part of what makes this proposed accuracy possible is an IR camera built into the right Joy-Con that can measure the shape, motion, and distance of any object in front of it.

That’s not to say Joy-Con R is the only of its kind to innovate because both the right and left controllers have built-in “HD Rumble”, the Rumble Pack’s next-gen cousin. What this new tech does is add a greater sense of weight and sound to the rumble, making it so the player can really feel the impact of the aforementioned punches and sword clangs.

Editor’s Note: His examples were Rock, Paper, Scissors ... Glass of Water. Mine are better.

Also, the left one has a Share button and the right one has an NFC scanner for Amiibo figures. Oh, and wrist straps are included in box to ensure no wayward Joy-Cons breakthrough the televisions that bind them.

Editor’s Note: Don’t you dare laugh at that last part. The threat is real.

image source - Nintendo

Thoughts on video #2:

So, on top of being two-thirds of the Switch Grip (TV Mode controller), two-thirds of the Switch Handheld, as well as P1 and P2 controllers (Tablet Mode), the Joy-Cons are also Wiimote/nunchuck 2.0 HD? Quite the little technical marvels, wouldn’t you say?

Now, I haven’t been one to consistently sing the praises of motion controls, not that I don’t think stuff like Wii Sports, Wii Fit or Just Dance can be fun ... in fact, I’ve had plenty of fun with those games.

image source - Nintendo

That said, the precision of Wii Motion (even with Plus) wasn’t always up to snuff and Nintendo would often insert those slightly finicky mechanics into more traditional (or classic style) games and let’s just say (to put it gently) the results varied.

image source - Nintendo

Still, motion control technology has a lot of potential and overall I’m glad Nintendo experimented with it. If what Koizumi said is true, we would be looking at the most immersive gameplay set-up around ... that doesn’t involve a VR headset. I don’t know if I fully buy that but I’d be willing to give his bold “new world of entertainment” a fair shake ... just as long as it doesn’t force me out of my comfort zone.

image source - Nintendo

Editor’s Note: At the very least it could prove to provide plenty of fun. I mean, who doesn’t like to move around and get a little silly with friends, right?

My one suggestion would be to build games specifically around those mechanics, as opposed to cramming said mechanics into everything. Considering this setup doesn’t work in Handheld Mode, I don’t think that’s much cause for concern.

The Share button ... OK; Nintendo’s more than a couple years late to the social networking party, which is sad cause it could have lead the charge back in 2012 ... but it didn’t. Although, there’s something to be said about better being late than never and this function will be very useful for fans to share their experiences ... just a shame the video portion will be a few months late.

image source - Nintendo

Editor’s Note: A logical step two would be to sign a partnership deal with Twitch TV. Step three would be to stop putting an ad revenue cap on Youtube uploads. If you want creative folks to make and share videos based on your IPs, you got to build that bridge.

image source - Nintendo

The Amiibo scanner is a no brainer and building it into the Joy-Cons only makes sense since it allows figures to be usable in all three Switch forms.

Oh, and (again) the wrist straps are great because they prevent property damage.

Ooooo! Now we can get to the best part of this little blog, The Game Trailer Lightning Round!

image source - Nintendo

The screen (whether it be TV or tablet) is almost a non-factor in 1-2-Switch, a weird (oh so very weird) mini-game collection/Joy-Con motion sensor showcase.

Whether it’s engaging in a quick draw showdown, a copy cat dance-off, cow milking ... or fictitious sandwich eating, 1-2-Switch is all about gaining the upper hand on your opponent through awareness of audio cues and slight changes in HD Rumble.

Pro-Tip: Keeping a watchful eye on your opponent and their physical tells is also a keen strategy.

I honestly didn’t know what to make of 1-2-Switch. Between the goofy gestures and one-on-one contact, this one has the potential to be a game night regular. But the clips in the trailer were a bit too strange to get a good read on whether or not I’d personally enjoy it overall. (I say overall because I was sold on that Quick Draw game from the moment it shot up)

Release Date – March 3, 2017

Editor’s Note: This would make for a perfect pack-in title.

image source - Nintendo

Next up is Arms: a figurative (and literal) one-two punch of physicality and traditional gameplay.

Likely inspired by the Nintendo Ultra Hand, Arms is a 3D fighting game that’s a little bit Wii Sports Boxing and a little bit Team Fortress 2.

Players can pick from a variety of colourful heroes, each with their own unique abilities and power-ups ... with the added twist that their arms are spring-loaded extendo-gloves.

Basically the goal of the game is too grab, throw and punch your opponent from half-way across the arena until you can deliver a super move and knock ‘em out; as you bob, weave, jump and dodge. And it’s all done through a combination of wrist-flicks, timed button presses and actual punching.

I had no idea whether or not the game would work as intended but it was so incredibly silly that it tickled punched me in all the right places.

Release Date – Spring 2017

image source - Nintendo

Swimming in from Inkopolis was Splatoon 2! (A proper sequel ... good swerve)

Good to know the kids and squids are back to squirt up some more trouble in an all-new set of turf wars filled with new characters, weapons, maps and even a few new mechanics like a dodge roll and rocket blast.

The original was one of the few games on Wii U to bring millions of players together through online play, so it’s little to wonder why The Big N decided to let the squids (and kids) Switch it up for a whole new round of Splat Fests.

Yup, happy to see Nintendo continue its efforts to support fresh IP ... and even happier to know Splat Fest (along with a variety of free DLC) is making a comeback, too.

Release Date – Summer 2017

image source - Nintendo

Then suddenly, after years of build-up, we finally caught a good glimpse of [insert drum roll] Super Mario Odyssey!

Oh man, oh man! I think it’s safe to say many of us have waited years for a new 3D open-world game to take the red-clad plumber far beyond the samey terrains of The Mushroom Kingdom and when it finally came, I (for one) wasn’t disappointed.

Mario jumping and swooshing around the busy city streets of New York Donk City like Spider-Man; exploring the deepest darkest forests of parts unknown; cooking up trouble in a crystallized food world; and riding the frickin’ sphinx from Super Mario Land(?), were awesome sights to behold!

Wait a second ... he can break dance? OK, I’m giving it six, no, seven stars!

image sources - Nintendo and Capcom Fighters

... Also the new hat throw and hat jump mechanics are pretty neat.

This trailer blew me away then knocked my socks off! It’s a beautiful looking game that boasts the Switch’s HD vigour in full effect and a great mix of cool new stuff and the classic stuff that made us all fans in the first place.

So yeah, good first impression. Can’t wait to see more during E3.

Release Date – Holiday Season 2017

Following that wonderful display was an onslaught of upcoming RPGs:

image sources - Monolith Software, Koei Tecmo, Square Enix, Nintendo, Atlus and Bethesda

Xenoblade 2 – A proper sequel to the cult classic brought stateside by popular demand.

Dragon Quest Heroes 1&2 – After further confirmation of Dragon Quest X and XI Switch ports, it was revealed Square Enix’s classic series’ recent crossovers with Koei Tecmo’s popular hack-and-slash Dynasty Warriors franchise would also “make the Switch”.

Fire Emblem Warriors – Speaking of Dynasty Warriors, following its recent success crossing over with Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda series, the two dev teams are hoping to make lightning strike twice but this time with Fire Emblem characters. No footage was shown aside from a shield, a hand, and a sword.

Shin Megami Tensei 25th Anniversary HD Project – A new entry in Atlus’ (oc)cult classic franchise “makes the Switch” with many of its fan favourite monsters in line. It’s probably the fifth game in its mainline ... probably.

Project Octopath Traveler – 2D pixels and 3D backdrops collide in this little beauty from Square Enix.

Skyrim – At long last, Bethesda has joined forces with Nintendo and together they will bring at least one of the best western made RPGs to the Switch, and that game is the legendary Skyrim! Not only that, but the game looks great (maybe not the best it’s ever looked but still great) and having it on a handheld is sure to make many Elder Scrolls fans shout H-Ur-Rah!

RPGs have always had a prosperous home on Nintendo consoles (excluding the N64) and it’s nice to see such a great and varied selection settle on Switch. It’s just unfortunate (for this blog at least) that aside from the ports, we really don’t know that much about any of them other than they’ll all be out this year.

youtube

video source - Nintendo on Youtube

Later on in the evening, fans watching at home were treated to the typical end of show sizzle reel, featuring a rundown of every game shown up to that point, as well as a few many that were left out ... many being 22 in this case.

And here they are ... *Ahem*:

I am Setsuna

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

Rayman Legends

Snipperclips

Mario Kart

Steep

Sonic 2017

Has Been Heroes

Skylanders: Imaginators

Minecraft

Minecraft: Story Mode

LEGO City Undercover

Redout

Farming Simulator

Disgaea 5

Just Dance 2017

Puyo Puyo Tetris

Super Bomberman

Nobunaga’s Ambition

Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers

Rime

NBA 2K18

Editor’s Note: *GASP! PANT! PANT! GASP!* I think that’s all of them.

More on this list later but first ... the grand finale.

After much teasing and commercial plugging, Nintendo’s biggest wigs closed out the show with a final bow and fade to black, very classy.

PSYCHE!

... Yeah, that stuff happened but to serve as a lead in for one last trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild!

image source - Nintendo

Wow, what a trailer! It had everything: drama, tragedy and of course some sweet gameplay action, all without giving too much away. It was the perfect piece of mass media marketing.

And that March 3, 2017 launch date reveal? Truly a “legendary” stinger to close such an historic night.

Some loose notes from the show:

image source - Nintendo

An EA rep appeared on stage to announce a new kind of FIFA game is coming to Switch this fall. Probably the best possible sports game get for the system given FIFA’s world-wide reach.

image source - Nintendo

Suda 51 made the scene with the announcement of a brand-new game starring No More Heroes loser-in-chief leading man Travis Touchdown. Apparently, it takes inspiration from pro-wrestling and that’s all he could share ... so maybe it’s No More Heroes 3 or maybe it isn’t. Also, it’s only in the early development stages, so it’s not coming out anytime soon unfortunately.

Editor’s Note: No More Heroes 1 & 2 were hallmark titles on the original Wii, making Nintendo (and publisher Ubisoft) a lot of money, while also transforming Suda from a weird niche auteur into an indie dev superstar. Welcome home, Suda-San.

And at the start of the show, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima addressed the crowd and viewers at home with five fascinating factoids.

First & Second: A fair share of Nintendo’s online services will revolve around a mobile app and when I say fair share, I should really say most, since the app supported features include match making, lobbies and voice chat. Sadly, the app won’t be ready in time for Switch’s launch but basic online play and the eShop will be up and running from Day One.

image source - Nintendo

Speaking of Switch’s online play, Nintendo will take the Xbox Gold and PlayStation Plus route with some sort of pay-to-use structure ... the details of which weren’t ironed out during the show.

Hot takes – I’m of two minds on this whole app business. Match making and voice chats through an app is an interesting concept and with DeNA (a mobile company) behind it, it could be taken in several creative directions. That and it kind of makes sense since Switch is two-thirds a mobile console.

On the other hand, users’ best keep a watchful eye on their phone bill ... or stay put in a wi-fi zone.

image source - 20th Century Fox (made with Frinkiac)

Editor’s Note: Fingers crossed this isn’t a data muncher.

image source - 20th Century Fox (made with Frinkiac)

*Sigh* I guess it had to happen eventually and I understand the logic of charging for online play (servers and whatnot). Still ... maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan. Free online play was a nice competitive edge Nintendo had over the competition (and not having to pay an extra $60-80 a year was a nice treat for customers) and now it’s gone. Let’s just hope the price is reasonable and it has some perks aside from basic services.

Editor’s Note: Also, credit where it’s due, Nintendo will grant users free access for the first few months, as DeNA works out the kinks. Props to The Big N for doing something it (in all honesty) didn’t have to do.

Third: Starting with Switch, Region Locking is donzo on Nintendo!

image source - Nintendo

Editor’s Note: He put it more eloquently but I wanted to rhyme and it’s my blog, so there!

Hot take – This is good news for developers who make niche games that don’t typically get localized for foreign markets. It’s good news for international fans who can ship and play said games without having to also ship region specific hardware (or resort to piracy). And it’s also good PR for Nintendo, so it’s good news for everyone. Nice play, Big N.

image source - Nintendo

Fourth & Fifth: Mark the date, Nintendo fans. Planet Earth will “Make the Switch” on March 3, 2017! Two weeks prior to the date that had been tossed around by the press ... and it will be priced at $299.99 in North America.

Hot takes – March 3 is a pretty good launch date. Just before spring break season and it’s also when some lucky folks have a bit of extra cash on hand. So a nice portion of Nintendo’s base is bound have some time and money spend on Switch.

That North American price point seemed so bold to me. In fact, I couldn’t believe it when I heard it and had to rewind the video feed twice. But Kimishima said clear as day the words, “$299.99” and “North America”, as in a universal price point across the continent? It seemed so.

To put that into perspective for my fellow Canucks, Switches sold in Canada would be roughly $75 (USD) cheaper when the (usually terrible for us) exchange rate is taken into account. “Truly a gutsy and most appreciated move”, I thought. “Nintendo must really want to win the Canadian market share.”

Editor’s Note: I was so young, so naive. Like a little koopaling.

If I were to give a brief overview of the show, I’d say it wasn’t without a select few weaker moments but the showmanship was good and between the potential in the hardware’s gimmick and some sweet looking games, I closed out of the window feeling mighty enthusiastic about the Switch.

...

Editor’s Note: I realize this is a tad late (on account of multiple re-writes ... each longer and more thesis-y than the last) and for that I’m sorry. To make amends, here are some reactions to Switch stuff that popped up in the aftermath.

In the mere minutes that followed the Switch presentation, Nintendo and a handful of third-party partners continued to dish on the multifaceted dream machine and it wasn’t all good news.

For starters, it turns out Kimishima forgot to put a USD label next to that price tag. ... I should have known it was too good to be true.

So what’s the true Canadian price? $400 CAD...

And with that, my optimism took a good bonk to the head.

image source - Nintendo

Editor’s Note: Total time spent in denial – 75 Minutes

Dang dude, it’s almost as if Nintendo doesn’t want to compete here in The Great White North.

I get Nintendo of Japan doesn’t want to lose money on the exchange rate and I’m sure Nintendo of America would rather not see its customers travel north of the border for bargain Switches, but really? $400 for a Switch is craz ... ludacr ... less than ideal.

An Xbox One or standard PS4 in Canada can run between $380 & $350 depending on where you shop and the particular bundle. Sony and Microsoft have chosen to take a slight hit on the exchange but in turn, they’ve also kept their consoles within an enticing price range. This is important because a lame loony means consumers have fewer of those loonies to spend on luxuries.

image source - PlayStation Blog

image source - EB Games

Also notice how I said “bundles”. Yeah, PlayStations and Xbox One S’ come with games and not just any games but major blockbusters like Uncharted 4 and Gears of War 4; or Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Yes, customers pay more in CAD than their friends down south would pay in USD but they can still feel like they’ve gotten their money’s worth. Switch has no such pack-in. Not even 1-2-Switch, which might as well be classified as a tech demo.

Editor’s Note: Nintendo said a pack-in game won’t be included in order to keep the price at $300 USD.

Then there’s the memory issue. Ordinary PS4′s and standard Xbone S’ have 500GB of storage built in. What does Switch got? A 32GB Micro SD card. ... Breath of the Wild on its own is a 13GB download.

Editor’s Note: Additional Micro SDs of up to 256GBs can be swapped in but could be another pricey purchase, especially if you choose one with Nintendo branding.

Not to mention the other two options also have superior hardware and some slightly spiffier graphics.

And it’s not just the console that’s steeply priced. Get a load of this:

image source - EB Games

Yikes. $90 bucks for the least gimmicked controller? $100 bucks for an extra pair of Joy-Cons? Yes, there’s fancy tech installed into the JC’s and yes, name-brand controllers are pricey across the board but at least the other players on said board have affordable third-party alternatives in stock.

Editor’s Note: To Nintendo’s credit, it did commission HORI to make a cheaper ($39.99 CAD) wired controller ... but it can’t be used for travel play, which is Switch’s main selling point.

Well, at least game prices synch up with the competition ... even if $65 for 1-2-Switch, $70 for Bomberman and $55 for The Binding of Isaac is a bit much.

Oh and speaking of games, a few more Switch titles have been announced since the presentation.

image sources - SEGA, Nicalis, Arc System Works and Bandai Namco

Sonic Mania (YES!), BlazBlue (YES!), The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (YES!), the next Tales game (neat), and New Frontier Days: Founding Pioneers (woo?) were all announced just minutes after the keynote.

Another game related revelation of the (late) evening was that the new Mario Kart game is in fact a port of Mario Kart 8, as previously rumoured.

image source - Nintendo

Mario Kart 8: Deluxe features 10 new characters (including Dry Bones, King Boo and the Inklings from Splatoon), a second item slot (as well as some new to MK8 items such as the Super Leaf) and (by popular demand) a return to the classic Battle Mode. Just a shame the Inkoplois park is the only new track.

MK8D will be a good pick-up for those who didn’t pick-up a Wii U (which is A LOT of people) and perhaps OG MK8 players will pick it up, too because of the new content.

In the month since ...

image source - Yacht Club Games, Nicalis, Tomorrow Corporation and Warner Bros.

Yacht Club Games confirmed the Treasure Trove edition of Shovel Knight will dig into the Switch. Indie publishers Nicalis and Tomorrow Corporation have confirmed choice selections from their libraries. Warner Bros. will continue to build its relationship with Nintendo through a Switch version of LEGO Worlds.

Ah yeah, and Nintendo hosted a Fire Emblem themed Direct on January 18 in which a proper (but yet to be named) Fire Emblem title was announced for a 2018 release on Switch.

image source - Nintendo

We also got to see Chrom slash a bunch of dudes in a slightly extended Fire Emblem Warriors trailer.

image sources - Nintendo and Koei Tecmo

Wait ... I almost forgot. When Game Spot’s Chris Pererira caught up with Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Amie at the January 13 hands-on event at Nintendo World in NYC, Pererira attempted to inquire about two particularly popular (and currently MIA) franchises. I don’t think I need to you tell what those franchises were ... (they were Metroid and Mother) *Cough*. Anyway, Reggie cut him off guard and asked the question himself, at which he promptly answered in a rather interesting manner.

image source - Nintendo

"Oh, so earlier today I got asked about Mother 3; maybe you can ask me about Metroid. Look, again, I am proud as an executive with Nintendo to say that we look at all of the boards and all of the comments and we really have a good understanding of what our consumers want. And believe me, we take that to heart as we work to create content.

"So I have nothing to announce--here. But we are aware that there are some key IP that consumers just can't wait for the next true installment in that franchise's legacy. Suffice it to say, we're aware of it, and talk to me in a year and let's look back and see what's happened." - Reggie Fils-Amie to Game Spot (January 13, 2017)

As Pererira noted in his article, these comments do not guarantee either a new and proper entry in the Metroid franchise or the long-awaited (and official) English language release of Mother 3. However, they do offer up a nice little bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, those deeply wanted announcements are incoming ... maybe at E3? ... Maybe?

image source - @Nintendeal on Twitter

Aside from all that, Nintendeal made this nifty little (albeit incomplete) 2017 release schedule, with the added promise that between Nintendo and its third-party partners, 100 games are currently in development for Switch.

That’s all well and good but ... is it really enough?

image source - 20th Century Fox (made with Frinkiac)

Editor’s Note: *Sigh* I’m starting to come off as an entitled snot, aren’t I?

Look, 100 games is a great release target for a console’s first year, I’m not debating that. And I certainly wouldn’t imply it’s a weak collection from what we’ve seen thus far.

Between the point-and-click adventures, world-builders, platformers, racers, puzzlers, party games, fighting games and the wealth of RPGs, Switch will have plenty of good stuff to offer all ages and tastes.

However, most of what’s listed is ports of games released several months or years ago on PS4 and Xbox One. Now that I think of it, there’s also an alarming lack of star power outside of Nintendo’s development bubble.

image sources - Blizzard, Ubisoft, EA, Rockstar Games, Bethesda, Square Enix, Capcom, NetherRealm Studios, BioWare and Nintendo

Sure, Switch has most of the world’s leading development and publishing houses pledging support but where are those studios’ heaviest hitters? Have Overwatch and For Honor enlisted? Will Injustice 2 and MvC Infinite bring the fight to Switch? Red Dead 2 and GTA are MIA? Did Final Fantasy XV & Kingdom Hearts 3 not belong in that RPG package? I could go on with a longer list of missing major third-party titles that have or will make fat stacks on and for other platforms, but I’ll leave it at that. ... Oh, and I don’t recall seeing a Switch logo in the recent Avengers teaser.

Editor’s Note: And aren’t there sports other than Basketball and Soccer?

Perhaps these games will be revealed down the line during E3 or even in one of the few Directs Nintendo is bound to host between now and then. Or maybe they won’t arrive at all.

image source - EA

Respawn’s Mohammad Alavi recently scoffed at the idea of Titanfall 2 landing on Switch, stating the console’s hardware was “under-powered”. There are also rumours Switch’s crack at the FIFA franchise will be based on past PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.

Editor’s Note: Yikes.

Basically, despite its Maxwell chip suggesting it could handle producing games visually on par with basic PS4 and Xbone titles, there might be some U-esque hardware flaw that prevents ports of let’s call them “busier” games from being viable options.

Editor’s Note: Potentially devastating, if true.

Although, another likely explanation could be these studios are playing the waiting game to see if Nintendo moves enough Switches to make the effort of porting that stuff worthwhile. As much flack as some of Nintendo’s hardcore fans tend to give them for Wii U’s “failure”, these companies got burned, too; losing good money on their few investments.

image source - Bioware, Ubisoft and Warner Bros.

Long story short, Switch’s initial line-up is fairly solid with some good (and great) stuff from third-parties and Nintendo itself. However, the third-party portion has some major absences for one reason or ... multiple others.

I wouldn’t normally wish to speculate off the cuff but (granting Switch is successful), I think these publishers will port over as many of their hallmark games as they can (IE as many of them that are compatible with Switch’s hardware). I suppose any gaps could be filled with original content they would’ve made for the 3DS. (This is likely the fate of Level-5’s Yo-kai Watch series, for example)

image source - Level-5

PS: One more thing that’s setting off some red flags is the fact only a handful of games has a release date set in stone. I hope we don’t see any dry spells like with the Wii U’s early days ... and middle days ... and later days.

Boy, this sure is getting long in the tooth (again) but before I end this, I want to make sure I cover the growth of Nintendo’s online services.

In the moments following Switch’s grand showing, Nintendo released this adorable little gem on Youtube:

youtube

video source - Nintendo on Youtube

To summarize, Big Bow protects Little Bow from the more intimidating aspects of online play, as well as shielding him from inappropriate content, all while tapping contently through a simple mobile app. This app also gave the senior koopa the power to control junior’s playtime and to set a play schedule, all while learning everything there is to know about his son’s favourite games.

I’m all for anything that gives parent’s the power to monitor what their kids are playing and add any restrictions they deem suitable for their child. I also think Nintendo should be commended for encouraging parents to learn more about their child’s interests and to play with them. I like that a lot.

Having it all controlled through an app is a great idea, too. After all, mom & dad can’t be home 24/7, so having an ace up their sleeve for some extra piece of mind is a lovely courtesy.

Editor’s Note: I hope mom & dad have good coverage.

image source - 20th Century Fox (made with Frinkiac)

Another key online selling point Nintendo immediately put forward was its counterpoint to PS Plus Rewards and Games With Gold.

Subscribers to Nintendo’s online service will get one free NES or SNES classic each month. OK, that doesn’t quite measure up to the competition considering they hand out multiple free and current (or currentish) games each month, but a free game is a free game.

Wait, let me just read this fine print before moving on...

image source - Nintendo

It expires after a month? You mean to tell me Nintendo can’t afford to give away decades-old roms no bigger than a couple songs on iTunes? Not to mention the library of NES and SNES games is so massive; The Big N couldn’t possibly come close to giving them all away anyway. Come on, man.

Needless to say, that news irked me a bit when I first read it. However, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate the member discounts continuing on into the Switch’s life-span or thought online play for SNES games wasn’t so darn cool.

You know what else is cool? A region free online store!

image source - Koei Tecmo

On January 19 it was uncovered that much like Switch discs, digital copies have also been unshackled! But ... there’s a bit of catch. That catch being region specific sections of the eShop, as well as region specific games, can only be accessed with user IDs tagged to those regions. Luckily, up to eight user profiles can be attached to a Switch console and those profiles can be tied to any region of the user’s choosing. So, say if a primarily English speaking player wants to buy and play a Japanese game but doesn’t want to go through the expensive process of importing a physical copy, all they have to do is create and log into a Japanese profile on their Switch. Easy peasy, Wario queasy.

Getting back to the NYC show, Youtube personality ProJared caught up with Reggie for a rather Switched up interview.

image source - ProJared on Youtube

At one point in the discussion, Jared inquired about the possibility of Virtual Console purchases becoming cross-platform tie-ins. Reggie offered this promising reply:

“We’ve heard this comment. We’ve heard it many times. Obviously the first step for us was getting a unified Nintendo account that goes back and ties back not only existing systems but will tie back to the Nintendo Switch and mobile gaming. The details of exactly how the Virtual Console will work, we’re holding back a little bit, so we can share the full concept at a later date but we heard the comment and we’re working on it.” - Reggie Fils-Amie to ProJared (January 13, 2017)

Not much to say here other than it’s about time. You buy a game once, you shouldn’t have to buy it again or pay a fee just to transfer it over to another system. Good to see Nintendo has finally come to understand this.

I also can’t forget February 1, when Japanese financial paper Nikkei uncovered Nintendo’s plan to charge between 2,000 and 3,000 yen per year for the online service. (This translates to $17 and $26 USD ... or roughly $22 and $34 CAD).

image source - Nintendo

Needless to say, that’s great! If Nintendo has to charge for online play, at least it’s reasonably priced ... more so than PlayStation Network and Xbox Live which charge (at least) twice as much.

Suddenly the whole “month-long free VC game rental” thing doesn’t seem so bad anymore.

Editor’s Note: Switch Online sure has some nice positives ... *Sigh* I’m going to miss Miiverse. I know, it’s getting scrapped because Nintendo can’t provide enough moderation to make it a family friendly environment but still :( .

image source - Pure Nintendo (via Miiverse.net)

Editor’s Note [part deux]: Nah, I don’t want to end the discussion like that. Hmm ... oh, those bothersome Friend Codes are gone! I don’t care to remember all those extra numbers.

image source - 20th Century Fox (made with Frinkiac)

Update - Scratch that, they’re back. Groooooooooooan!

Hold it! ... Is there anything else about Switch I should note before reaching the conclusion? Well, I saw the Switch ad that played during the Super Bowl.

image source - Nintendo

It was alright. More or less the same sort of ad used to reveal Switch last October; folks out enjoying their games anywhere and everywhere to the tune of a snappy song about beating to the tune of your own drum, expect this time the entire family got into it, as opposed to just the hip millennials. The message of the ad is simple: Switch can be enjoyed anywhere and everywhere by anyone and everyone.

Editor’s Note: Wait a second ... “First Thing” – TV Mode; “Second Thing” – Tabletop Mode; “Last Thing” – Handheld Mode. Oh my, that’s some clever use of song lyrics.

I guess I could also make a brief mention of the Treehouse livestream. While it didn’t reveal any additional games, it did shine a nice spotlight on the games that made their debut the night before ... also Zelda.

image source - Nintendo

All of the Treehouse segments have been archived to Youtube but I’d like to list off my favourites:

Arms – I didn’t expect this game to look so cool in motion but it did. The button presses, wrist-flicks and RL punches flowed into each other perfectly. Not to mention the game itself seems like a nice light-hearted bit of fun.

Super Bomberman R – I don’t know what’s more shocking, the fact Konami brought Bomberman back, or that his return didn’t blow up in a pachinko machine.

Snipperclips – An adorable paper craft puzzler that took me by surprise.

Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers – A new spin(kick) on a timeless classic.

Super Mario Odyssey – Nothing new here but I loved Miyamoto’s history lesson concerning Super Mario’s 64 and Sunshine and the influence their design had over this grand new adventure.

1,2-Switch – The Treehouse gang had some fun messing around with a few mini-games and it was fun to watch. That said, I’m still not sure if I’m entirely sold on it just yet. Still, I’d love to try out a few samples.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – I really enjoyed the quick look at the improvements made to the horseback riding mechanics and the new stable system. The real-time weather was quite something as well.

Moment of truth time is finally here; the moment to render that verdict I P-Winged my way out of last time. And now that there’s virtually no escape, boy, I have to make a call.

OK...I have to give Nintendo credit, the Switch’s introduction into the public eye has been a rousing success these past few months...for the most part.

The hardware and marquee games both left a major impression, and (unlike Wii U) Switch’s ad campaign has been firmly on point. Based on the tens of millions of Youtube views alone, there’s a level of excitement for this thing that hasn’t been felt for a Nintendo product in a good-long time. I’m talking Wii and NES level excitement. Its appeal has reached far beyond gamers and hardcore Nintendo fans; the Switch is now part of the wider pop culture consciousness. The mainstream market is very much interested in “making the Switch”.

image source - Nintendo

Editor’s Note: Pre-orders have sold out world-wide and some shops have even had to cancel pre-orders because their pre-order stock couldn’t meet the pre-order demand and that is after Nintendo increased production to get more Switches on shelves...this is going to be a hot item. (*sigh* Oh Nintendo, Why do you under stock things?)

Will this mainstream appeal last? That’s a whole other story.

Sure, it’s currently selling out like crazy and folks are desperately clamouring to get one but a lot of fads started out that way and died down eventually and there are a few ways Switch could meet that same fate.

Like say, if the third-parties ultimately choose to abandon porting their big blockbusters to Switch, much like they did with the Wii U. Or if Nintendo were to disband its current united front and build another handheld to succeed the 3DS, giving big publishers that want to work with Nintendo (and even Nintendo’s own teams) another option, which was another thing that hurt Wii U.

There’s also the matter of Nintendo’s hardware and accessory pricing.

Editor’s Note: “Oh look at this big baby crying about those Canadian price points, again.” First: it’s my blog and I’ll cry if I want to. Second: yes, the prices are too darn high! Third: those US prices aren’t exactly bargains either. The US controller prices are gouges, too and Americans can buy those same PS4 and Xbox One bundles I mentioned earlier for the USD price of a Switch! Is the portability gimmick enough to cover the lack of a pack-in game, lack of decent hardware storage or lack of guaranteed full-fledged third-party support?!

*Cough* The Big N might also shoot its own Big old Foot and under stock Switch to the point customers just give up and choose to spend their money on other things. ... I’m looking directly at you, NES Classic Edition!

Or maybe, Switch is destined to fade away into fad zone obscurity. Like the SEGA CD/32X; the PlayStation Vita; and (to name it again) Nintendo’s own Wii U. It’d be unfortunate and it could happen for any number of reasons but to put it simply, sometimes things just don’t work out.

image credit - SEGA, Sony and Nintendo

I certainly see Koizumi’s angle of a bold “new world of entertainment” and its potential is bright but the more I think about, the clearer I can see a few possibilities for failure.

In the end, the only advice I could give to anyone who is curious about “Switching over” but isn’t entirely sure about it, would be to wait it out a bit...although in all honesty, they probably don’t have a choice but to wait at this point anyway.

How long of a wait am I talking here? I’d say Christmas (because there will likely be at least one good bundle and a much wider array of games to choose from) or next year (because a slight price drop is probably going to happen in year two). Not to mention waiting it out for 8-12 months would give you plenty of time to get a read on Switch’s future and determine whether or not it’s a good long-term investment.

Editor’s Note: If you’re desire to “Switch sides” relies on “Breathing in the Wild”, the latest incarnation of Zelda is also saveable on Wii U...yeah, it’s essentially U’s last rites.

Whelp, that does it. I hope you enjoyed this exceedingly long look at the Nintendo Switch’s pre-release hype and I thank you so very much for sticking with me.

Also, if I still have your attention, and if you do dig my work, feel to share, like, comment, re-blog, or whatever. ... A follow would be great as well, since it’s a lovely indicator that people are reading. *Cough* Ah...bye for now!

Don’t touch that dial...

Research sources – Nintendo, Game Informer, GameXplain, IGN, Game Spot, Game Rant, Siliconera, IGN(again), Game Spot (again), ProJared, the BBC , Digital Trends, Game Rant (again), The Verge, Forbes and VG247

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New Post has been published on https://otakudome.com/aew-double-or-nothing-2021-review/

AEW Double or Nothing 2021 Review

Double or Nothing has come and gone and AEW put on a a spectacle of an event for a good four hours or so of pro wrestling action. In what definitely felt like a star making show Double or Nothing featured five title matches, and tons of great wrestling. Though it did suffer from some small duds the show overall was an incredible presentation.

AEW Double or Nothing is a 2021 pro wrestling event, it is produced by All Elite Wrestling and aired on May 30, 2021. It is available on demand as a replay on Fite.TV and other services.

Editor’s Note: Medium to complete spoilers for AEW Double or Nothing 2021 may be present within this review.

Double or Nothing was probably AEW’s strongest PPV to date.

Following it’s debut on Friday nights AEW once again returned with a packed house. This time for it’s annual Double or Nothing event. The show was nearly a complete sell out with The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reporting that only 352 tickets were left available for purchase just hours before the show began. The show opened with AEW’s free portion known as the buy-in which featured NWA Women’s Champion Serena Deeb defending against former AEW Women’s World Champion Riho. While I’m in agreement with those that this should have been on the main card, I think this was the perfect way to wake up the live crowd and get the energy flowing from the jump. Deeb has been killing it with strong performances since debuting in NWA & AEW and this one was no different. Riho is another well-received worker so this match was expected to deliver and it did. The finish saw Deeb who was working Riho’s leg all match slam her knee down on the mat several times following with a Serenity Lock for the win.

Winner: Serena Deeb retains **** stars

Double or Nothing opens with a very fun title match.

Next it’s the main show and Taz is out on commentary to rep his (soon to be former?) man Brian Cage as he takes on former Number 1 Contender Adam Page in a rematch from Dynamite a few weeks back. Cage promised Page a man to man contest after screwing him out of title contention much to Taz’s chagrin. The match was very good but Cage was doing a lot of really odd moves for the sake of it and it looked hilarious in motion. The finish saw Ricky Starks coming in with the FTW Championship calling for Cage to use it. Cage refuses keeping his word to Page only for Page to turn the tables with the distraction and hitting the Buckshot Lariat for the win. This would be lame otherwise, but the storyline made up for it. Cage is also clearly turning babyface very soon.

Winner: Adam Page **** stars

Adam Page makes another comeback while Brian Cage prepares for a different direction.

The second title match of the night is up as those dastardly heels The Young Bucks take on Jon Moxley and long-time companion Eddie Kingston for the AEW World Tag Team Championship. The feud all began because Kingston got involved with Kenny Omega and Moxley’s beef during the finish of Revolution leading to the Bucks joining Omega & The Good Bros. and reforming The Elite as a heel group. Since then, Moxley and Kingston have reformed their friendship entering the tag division. I really like Kingston & Moxley together, but as a wrestling duo they don’t always click for me. Their match with the Bucks however, is probably the best match we’ll see the two together in during their tag team run (prove me wrong AEW). The match opened with a trademark AEW brawl before the match began. There was a hilarious bit where Moxley shoved the streamers from the Buck’s entrance into Matt’s (God I hope I got the right Buck) mouth. There were tons of Superkicks and even an even an Indie Taker on the ramp. At one point Moxley got color on his face and looked like a badass throughout the rest of the match. After a couple of Paradigm Shifts and some very realistic near falls the finish saw the Bucks hitting the BTE Trigger for the win.

Winner: The Young Bucks retain ***** stars

AEW continues to show that the tag division is probably the strongest quality wise.

The next bout is the annual Casino Battle Royal featuring 21 men vying for a future AEW World Championship title match. This match also featured two of my favorite moments of the show which I’ll get to in a bit. So for a battle royal there isn’t much to go about talking on the wrestling of the match. However, I will say that when Max Caster made his entrance he continued with his no fucks given epic rap entrances. He even had no issue giving Christian an Edge dig. The Acclaimed was one of my favorite teams on Dark just based on their ring work alone, but since being featured on TV more that fandom has only grew. Speaking of Caster, there was a nasty spot during his elimination where it looked like he injured his leg hopefully he’s ok. This was an extremely fast paced match and the eliminations came quick. Following Double or Nothing doesn’t look like the Rhodes Family is done with The Factory just yet as they teased Dustin feuding with Nick Comoroto moving forward. Now on to favorite moment number one, Lio Rush made his debut. Yes that Lio Rush and I have no idea what it means for AEW as a business moving forward. And what I mean by that is, is this the beginning of a talent program with Major League Wrestling? If so awesome, last I checked Rush was still signed to MLW and he’s been working NJPW’s US-based show Strong. So is Rush gone from MLW or is this the start of a partnership? So many question unanswered with this one. The second favorite moment was of course the winner of the match. Everyone and their ancient ancestor expected Christian Cage to win. However, AEW went for the swerve and gave the win to a fresh face in Jungle Boy. And yes I’m aware he’s been on AEW TV for well over two years now but he’s really come into his own as someone they see a future in the last year. There was a moment post-match where it looked like Christian was dangerously close to turning heel with the story being he’s pissed he lost. However, Christian continued the moment by pumping up Jungle Boy and telling him to win the gold which was a neat moment.

Winner: Jungle Boy ** 2/4 stars

Quick Update: Turns out Lio Rush is signed to NJPW who allows him to freelance elsewhere and they have a deal with AEW so this all lines up.

AEW provided us with a star making move by giving Jungle Boy the feel good win.

Reaching the middle point of the show it’s time for The “American Dream” (yes that’s the name he used for this match) Cody Rhodes to face off against The Guv’nor Anthony Ogogo. So this match should have been way better than it was given the hype. However the point was to show off Anthony Ogogo’s wrestling training from the last two years. Which I think they ultimately succeeded in doing. After a gut punch Ogogo opened the match with an Olympic Slam and showed off some really strong wrestling talent. I’m glad they didn’t go too far with Ogogo’s “former boxer” gimmick (yes I know Ogogo is a shoot boxer). They definitely teased it in the beginning of Ogogo’s run, which I was always worried about, but I’m glad I was wrong and the wrestling came above all else. Cody picked up the win with the Cross Rhodes.

Winner: Cody Rhodes ** 2/4 stars

While the match itself could have been much better Ogogo showed off his two years of training impressively well.

It was time for the big HOSS fight in TNT Champion Miro defending against “The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer. This was a really short but sweet match between two very solid big man workers. Strong showcase of power style wrestling from both men. At one point Archer slammed Miro through a table. Jake “the Snake” Roberts brought out the snake (in bag), but Miro attacked him and tossed the snake for huge heat. Finish saw Miro taking advantage of Archer being distracted from another Roberts attack with Archer being choked out with the guillotine hold.

Winner: Miro retains *** stars

A good big man wrestling match which featured two monster workers.

Our next match was the second Women’s Championship with Britt Baker facing off against AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida whose held the belt for over a year. So this one kind of hurts as I’m a bit of a Britt fan and I was looking forward to seeing her win the belt with a great match. Unfortunately this match seemed to suffer from going on a tad too long. And it especially sucks because it was just last year that Shida and Britt had a fantastic match in which Britt had to deal with a broken, bloody nose afterwards. Here the chemistry just felt off again I don’t know if there was too much time given or what. But something just wasn’t clicking here. There was a ton of near falls, Rebel (Reba?) interferred but was caught. Shida hit the Tamashii, but Britt kicked out and caught her in the Lockjaw for the win. I really wanted Britt and Shida to have another great match to start Britt’s run and cap off her & Shida’s feud. Hopefully things only improve from this point.

Winner and NEW AEW Women’s World Champion DMD Britt Baker ** 3/4 stars

The doctor is in as Britt Baker’s moment continues as she ends Shida’s run as Champion.

Sting’s first in-ring match since 2015 is here as he teams with young Darby Allin against the newly formed team of Scorpio Sky and Allin’s old rival Ethan Page. This match likely surprised many who watched as Sting, especially for his age of 62 went above and beyond in his performance. It starts with Sting & Darby attacking Page & Sky and he does a crossbody dive off the ramp. We even get to see Sting wrestle without a shirt on for God knows how long. Commentary even made what looked like a jab at the shirt wearing Sting joke by immediately pointing out that the “old Sting is back” after he ripped it off. Sky hit Sting with a suplex on the ramp, which I’m sure made people watching shit bricks with worry. However, Sting almost instantly got back up and no sold it which was cool. There was also a fun spot where had Page in the Scorpion Deathlock and Sky had Allin in a hold of his own. The two were face to face and began beating the hell out of each other while in their respective holds. Finish saw Sky going for what looked like a cutter only for Sting to reverse it into the Scorpion Death Drop for the win. Really fun match that saw Sting being in much better shape than initially thought.

Winners: Sting & Darby Allin *** 1/2 stars

Sting made his return to the ring in a very solid tag match.

The penultimate match arrives as the AEW World Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega defends against “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy & “The Bastard” Pac. Don Callis is out on commentary and I love his character. He has the obnoxious, talentless heel using the talent of others to boost himself gimmick down to a T. Wrestling wise this was probably the strongest match on the card, but the tag title match had a lot going on that give it a bit of an edge in overall quality. A lot of focus on Pac and Kenny going at it basically ignoring Orange in the process. When Orange got some work in it was great. Some fun near falls. There was a spot where Kenny & Orange were trading pins and Pac broke it up with the Black Arrow onto both men. Don got involved with a very convincing Orange fall. The finish had Orange giving Omega an Orange Punch with an extremely close fall only for Omega to reverse the pin into a crucifix pin for the victory. Really supreme back and forth wrestling from all three workers in this match. They had a perfect opportunity to have Cassidy regain the moment he lost with the pandemic effecting attendance and took full advantage of it establishing him as an upper midcarder & potential main eventer.

Winner: Kenny Omega retains ****

Kenny Omega successfully retains in a very fun world title match.

The main event arrives as The Inner Circle take on the Pinnacle in a Stadium Stampede match where if the Inner Circle loses then they must disband. The Inner Circle made a neat entrance by coming in on hanging wire from the big tron. Fun fact the John Wick stunt coordinator apparently helped AEW pull this off among a number of other sequences in this match. It starts off on the football field with most of Inner Circle & Pinnacle battling it out. MJF who had began taunting them earlier alone hid jn a limo thinking he one upped the group only to be outsmarted by Chris Jericho who was waiting for him. The two battle across the arena and there’s a bit with a staple which MJF was a champ for being on the receiving end of. There was also a funny moment with a cardboard cutout of Tony Khan’s dad Shahid being used as a weapon and Jericho “protecting” it afterward. We got a couple of NFL cameos one of which being Urban Meyer who responded to Jericho & MJF busting into his room with a “holy shit”. We see Wardlow and Jake Hager beating the hell out of each other before it becomes completely one sided on Wardlow’s end. Wardlow beats Hager with water jugs and eventually spears him through a wall. A very surprising lack of Santana and Ortiz in this we get a couple of moments of them facing FTR but nothing too special. However, there was a scene in a bar with a Konnan appearance that was awesome. Jericho & MJF eventually spill into the live arena and beat each other between the crowd. Sammy & Spears appear next in what I can only describe as a “chair war” they toss and beat the hell out of each other with chairs before heading to the ring. The crowd was in absolute love with Sammy. The finish saw a call back to the Pinnacle’s debut where Sammy got his face mashed in by a chair in the corner. He did the same spot to Spears before ending it with a 450 Splash for the win. There was so much going on in this match. Sammy winning was the right move he’s gonna be a huge star for AEW when he has his solo babyface run. I thought this match was a bit weaker compared to the first that had stronger wrestling, but this year the match was way more about the story and it told an excellent one.

Winner: The Inner Circle *** 1/2 stars

While not as good as the first, the second Stadium Stampede provided some cool moments to send fans home happy.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: AEW’s second PPV for 2021 was one of it’s strongest shows in quite sometime. Most of the matches were good, but there were some duds of which were disappointing to be unimpressive matches. This was a show meant to invest in the promotion’s future and I think they succeeded for the most part. Otaku Dome gives Double or Nothing 2021 an 88 out of 100.

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wineanddinosaur · 5 years ago

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The Twisting, Turning, Slightly Dirty History of the Foam Party — and Its Enduring Global Appeal

Around 2 a.m. on June 3, 2012, guests started spilling into the parking lot of Loft 59 Nightclub in Naples, Fla. Many were vomiting, some had chemical burns to their skin and scratched corneas, others had head injuries and broken bones that would eventually render a few wheelchair-bound. Soon epidemiological officials from the Collier County Health Department would descend on the gruesome scene.

The culprit? Foam.

“It smelled like soap and it was mostly dripping from the ceilings,” one victim told Naples News. “I put my trust in the club owners. I thought they knew what they were doing.”

The nightclub industry, in fact, seems built on club owners not really knowing what they are doing — beds in bars, for example —but surely hoping they accidentally stumble upon the next gimmick that will get partiers into their bars. Now, the idea of injecting foam into a club may seem pretty strange, as it did when it was introduced in the early 1980s, but it would create an immediate local sensation, then form a cottage industry of nightlife that, remarkably, still prevails across the globe today.

It started with much more humble origins.

Espuma, literally meaning “foam” in Spanish, started in Ibiza at a club called Amnesia, the birthplace of acid house music and the oldest nightclub on the island (having opened in 1976). The then-open-air terrace club started foam parties with basic fire hoses.

“The fire department would literally go into the street, put a hose into the hydrant, and run it through the club and upstairs until you filled the whole dance floor below,” recalls Robin Whincup, who first encountered a foam party while on vacation in Ibiza in the mid-1980s.

Jane Bussman, the author of “Once in a Lifetime: The Crazy Days of Acid House,” and a visitor to Amnesia in its early espuma days, claims the mostly British tourists back then would “flail around [in the foam] like very drunk puppies in their first snowfall.”

It was a far less cute sight by morning. “The problem was it left a lot of water residue on the floor afterward,” explains Whincup. “I had to come up with a better idea.”

Whincup was a bounce house operator and new father at the time. He took what was essentially a vacuum cleaner motor, screwed on a mesh sock, then connected a half-inch-diameter plastic hose. Reversing the vacuum’s suck function to blow, the fluid would squirt into the sock right in front of the air stream, then shoot out, leaving a mere 1 percent of the water buildup on the floor.

He called it the Foam Cannon.

“Before me, no one had ever had a foam party in the U.K., and it caught on very quickly,” he claims. He started a new company called Big Fun, this time for an adult audience.

Whincup used his background in bounce houses to add inflatable perimeters to dance floors, assuring no foam would escape to the main areas of the club. He created an oil-drum-sized device that could “pre-foam” an entire dance floor in the 30 minutes before partiers arrived. A typical party would have four Foam Cannons shooting at once, soapy streamers arching 20 feet along the nightclub ceiling.

“It was such a blizzard of foam with all the lights shining through it,” he explains. “It looked really cool.”

Whincup would tackle the north of England, renting and selling his equipment to some of the era’s biggest nightclubs like Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle, which hosted a weekly Roman toga night in concert with the foam. He partnered with a buddy, Roy Barlow, who would handle the top spots in southern England like The London Hippodrome. For a good chunk of the 1990s, the U.K. became the epicenter of foam parties.

Whincup reckons he must have sold over 500 $3,500 Foam Cannons and made well over $1 million during those seven or eight years. Unfortunately, he never got any sort of patent or trademark on the Foam Cannons — he claims people simply didn’t protect their IP as much back then like he would have today. He is proud of how much cleaner and safer his foam parties were than the ones that soon followed.

“We went through a lot of effort to get a detergent that wasn’t going to hurt people’s eyes,” he explains. “But it was just never 100 percent safe, and it still isn’t today. You’re crawling home at stupid o’clock, you’re not going to shower before hopping into bed, and if you have sensitive skin, you’re almost certainly going to get a rash.”

A rash would be the least of the worries of foam-party patrons as foam parties became more prevalent across the pond.

Whincup started selling Foam Cannons to America in 1993, partnering with another bounce house purveyor based in Orlando. By then, however, he was ready to get out of the foam party game, as he was starting to become concerned about liability issues. Someone else would have to take on the challenge in the States.

“‘Oh no no, this was done in Ibiza years ago, it won’t work!’” Yves Di Lena recalls being told when he tried to bring the foam party concept to Miami. The then-40-something Frenchman had also partaken in Ibiza’s foam scene in the mid-80s and then introduced them at a Paris restaurant he owned. He immediately realized they could be a sensation in America as well, but he, too, feared our sue-happy culture.

“There is also in America this situation with everyone suing everyone else. So that was a problem,” he explained to the Miami New Times in 1995. He was using the same kind of foam technology normally used to put out airstrip fires. “I didn’t want a million people suing me because they slip in the foam or get wet clothes,” he said.

Ultimately he decided to have patrons sign a disclaimer before entering the South Beach nightclubs Warsaw Ballroom, which pumped 3,000 liters of foam into the club every Saturday night, and (yet another club named) Amnesia, where he promoted foam parties on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Amnesia’s would often attract a thousand randy patrons per night to the two-story complex with a massive, open-air dance floor in the middle.

While the Ibiza foam parties had always been an excuse for rowdy behavior, on South Beach the transgressions were kicked up a notch, with the foam acting as a bubbly veil for topless, and sometimes bottomless, men (and, occasionally, women). “Kissing. Petting. Rubbing,” wrote the New Times, with reporter Steven Almond reporting on a conga-line of coitus. “Because the foam froths up waist high, it acts both as a lubricant and camouflage.” Amnesia’s emcee, a local-legend drag queen named Kitty Meow, would officiate over the parties, yelling at the many jock-strap-clad men to behave themselves.

This was the still height of AIDS fears in America, especially among the gay community. Eventually, with the urging of the Health Crisis Network, Di Lena had to add Safe Sex Lifeguards, musclebound men strolling around the nightclub spraying children’s squirt guns at those patrons getting a little too frisky. (Di Lena continually insisted all the complaints about his foam parties were being spread by rival club promoters, jealous of his success.) It hardly mattered.

“This is my second foam party in four days. It’s just sensational, like slithering around in a giant bubble bath,” claimed one foam fan at the time, while another bluntly noted, “From what I could see, the whole thing is basically an excuse to get fucked in public.” Or perhaps fall in love, something a future presidential candidate, Senator Marc Rubio, claims happened to him when he met his wife at a South Beach foam party in 1995 — though many have questioned the veracity of that story.

Soon, Di Lena started getting requests to bring his foam parties to other cities. He started flying his liquid and machines to New York, Chicago, and Atlanta, kicking off foam party scenes in those respective cities. Gradually, the trend began spreading to smaller, less trendy areas across the U.S.

By the late 1990s, it had jumped off the contiguous 48. “I had a buddy in Alaska who owned a club there and wanted to do a foam party,” recalls Glen Kitchin, who, back in 1999, was a construction worker and part-time DJ. “I told him, ‘I think I can help you out on that.’”

He didn’t like the available equipment at the time, finding it too loud, too messy, and a little pathetic — the foam would only go up to your ankles. He used his construction know-how to build stainless steel and aluminum machines that would overwhelm partiers with foam. He also made it smell like Piña Colada.

“I wanted something truly memorable,” he explains. “With my version, you could make people disappear all the way into the foam.”

Kitchin’s foam parties were a hit locally, but he never imagined 21 years later he would still be in the foam business. It just seemed like a one- or two-year trend. Today, however, Kitchin is known as “The Foam Guy” (motto: “Wanna get…wet?��), the founder and face behind the largest touring foam party in the nation. He’s done events in every state but Hawaii, sometimes four or five per weekend these days. In other words, he’s a true professional, with no tolerance for all the fly-by-night operators that continually spring up and ultimately hurt the industry’s reputation — and its patrons.

Like at Antalya, Turkey’s luxury Venice Hotel, where in 2008 several partiers were injured and two died when the foam caused them to get electrocuted. Or at a University of Georgia frat party where a reveler slid on the foam and destroyed her jawbone in the ensuing crash.

“The problem,” Kitchin says, “was the backyard chemist who wanted to throw something together on the cheap.”

Foam party injuries became so ubiquitous by the 2000s they were being written up in medical journals, Psychology Today, and by the Centers for Disease Control. As Dr. Howard Mell, a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians, noted in 2012, “I question any party where you’re intentionally going to put together alcohol, slippery surfaces and blinding people to their visual surroundings.” Often the problems with foam parties were more mundane, though — too much foam causing short people to get lost on the dancefloor.

It wouldn’t be injuries that would eventually cause foam parties to lose their luster, however.

It would be Paris Hilton.

Fittingly, perhaps, foam parties’ shark-jumping would happen back in Ibiza, where Amnesia is now the only club still hosting them, every Sunday night. In 2013, Hilton was signed to a five-year DJing residency there, with some reports saying she was pulling in as much as $1 million per gig.

“Every single night I play in Ibiza is crazy,” she told Fox in 2015.

At her party, called “Foam & Diamonds,” she would DJ every Sunday between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., before changing into her signature pink bedazzled Herve Leger bikini, operating a balcony-level cannon, and helping blast foam all over the party peasants below, some of whom had paid upwards of €700 per person for VIP tables.

Even with Paris’s residency over, and despite the fact that most people now consider them kinda played out, it seems foam parties will never go away, either in Ibiza or the world at large.

“Foam parties are without a doubt the most successful and popular Promotional activity within the Night-club Industry (sic),” touts the website for The Entertainment Biz, Barlow’s current company, which currently offers five different foam-generating machines, including the Colossus used at Amnesia.

Today Whincup lives in Florida and runs Galaxy Multi-Rides with his son, mainly producing unique inflatables and mechanical bulls for bars and nightclubs. Despite being long out of the foam party game, even he doesn’t see them ever going out of style.

“I think it’s one of those things that, at a certain time of your life, you’ll always want to do. It’s become a staple entertainment. I think they’ll go on for as long as there are nightclubs,” he says.

“I mean, who doesn’t want to play with bubbles?”

The article The Twisting, Turning, Slightly Dirty History of the Foam Party — and Its Enduring Global Appeal appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/foam-party-history/

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johnboothus · 5 years ago

Text

The Twisting Turning Slightly Dirty History of the Foam Party and Its Enduring Global Appeal

The culprit? Foam.

“It smelled like soap and it was mostly dripping from the ceilings,” one victim told Naples News. “I put my trust in the club owners. I thought they knew what they were doing.”

It started with much more humble origins.

It was a far less cute sight by morning. “The problem was it left a lot of water residue on the floor afterward,” explains Whincup. “I had to come up with a better idea.”

He called it the Foam Cannon.

“Before me, no one had ever had a foam party in the U.K., and it caught on very quickly,” he claims. He started a new company called Big Fun, this time for an adult audience.

“It was such a blizzard of foam with all the lights shining through it,” he explains. “It looked really cool.”

A rash would be the least of the worries of foam-party patrons as foam parties became more prevalent across the pond.

“I wanted something truly memorable,” he explains. “With my version, you could make people disappear all the way into the foam.”

Kitchin’s foam parties were a hit locally, but he never imagined 21 years later he would still be in the foam business. It just seemed like a one- or two-year trend. Today, however, Kitchin is known as “The Foam Guy” (motto: “Wanna get…wet?”), the founder and face behind the largest touring foam party in the nation. He’s done events in every state but Hawaii, sometimes four or five per weekend these days. In other words, he’s a true professional, with no tolerance for all the fly-by-night operators that continually spring up and ultimately hurt the industry’s reputation — and its patrons.

“The problem,” Kitchin says, “was the backyard chemist who wanted to throw something together on the cheap.”

It wouldn’t be injuries that would eventually cause foam parties to lose their luster, however.

It would be Paris Hilton.

“Every single night I play in Ibiza is crazy,” she told Fox in 2015.

Even with Paris’s residency over, and despite the fact that most people now consider them kinda played out, it seems foam parties will never go away, either in Ibiza or the world at large.

“I mean, who doesn’t want to play with bubbles?”

The article The Twisting, Turning, Slightly Dirty History of the Foam Party — and Its Enduring Global Appeal appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/foam-party-history/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/the-twisting-turning-slightly-dirty-history-of-the-foam-party-and-its-enduring-global-appeal

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isaiahrippinus · 5 years ago

Text

The Twisting, Turning, Slightly Dirty History of the Foam Party — and Its Enduring Global Appeal

The culprit? Foam.

“It smelled like soap and it was mostly dripping from the ceilings,” one victim told Naples News. “I put my trust in the club owners. I thought they knew what they were doing.”

It started with much more humble origins.

It was a far less cute sight by morning. “The problem was it left a lot of water residue on the floor afterward,” explains Whincup. “I had to come up with a better idea.”

He called it the Foam Cannon.

“Before me, no one had ever had a foam party in the U.K., and it caught on very quickly,” he claims. He started a new company called Big Fun, this time for an adult audience.

“It was such a blizzard of foam with all the lights shining through it,” he explains. “It looked really cool.”

A rash would be the least of the worries of foam-party patrons as foam parties became more prevalent across the pond.

“I wanted something truly memorable,” he explains. “With my version, you could make people disappear all the way into the foam.”

Kitchin’s foam parties were a hit locally, but he never imagined 21 years later he would still be in the foam business. It just seemed like a one- or two-year trend. Today, however, Kitchin is known as “The Foam Guy” (motto: “Wanna get…wet?”), the founder and face behind the largest touring foam party in the nation. He’s done events in every state but Hawaii, sometimes four or five per weekend these days. In other words, he’s a true professional, with no tolerance for all the fly-by-night operators that continually spring up and ultimately hurt the industry’s reputation — and its patrons.

“The problem,” Kitchin says, “was the backyard chemist who wanted to throw something together on the cheap.”

It wouldn’t be injuries that would eventually cause foam parties to lose their luster, however.

It would be Paris Hilton.

“Every single night I play in Ibiza is crazy,” she told Fox in 2015.

Even with Paris’s residency over, and despite the fact that most people now consider them kinda played out, it seems foam parties will never go away, either in Ibiza or the world at large.

“I mean, who doesn’t want to play with bubbles?”

The article The Twisting, Turning, Slightly Dirty History of the Foam Party — and Its Enduring Global Appeal appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/foam-party-history/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/612114631830437888

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theteenagetrickster · 5 years ago

Text

TLC's 'CrazySexyCool' at 25: The scoop of the game-changing R&B standard

Atlanta georgia triad TLC came in on the arena in 1992, yet it was actually 'CrazySexyCool', their game-changing 2nd album, that bound their tale, launching the globe to fly female fashion trend as well as swinging brand of message-driven R&B, while performing factors not one other lady team had performed previously. T-Boz and Chilli talk to NME about the landmark cd as it celebrates its own 25th wedding anniversary

Tender Loving Care's' CrazySexyCool 'is actually 25 today" Our team were all resting there certainly like, 'This is awful ',"claims Tionne"T-Boz "Watkins, giggling as she recollects the opportunity bandmate Lisa"Left behind Eye "Lopes turned in her knowledgeable for their initial Amount One single,'Creep'."She essentially composed an anti- 'Creep' rap. When it came to shooting the 1st video clip we took the rap off of it. And since we carried out that Lisa put tape on her oral cavity as a protest so she could not sing the track."

"As well as not frequent strip," includes Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. "Our experts're speaking about the gray tape you apply a container at the UPS retail store, right stuff that may take your skin off. We possessed to go to the trailer as well as attempt and talk her into taking it off."

According to T-Boz, Left Behind Eye, that tragically passed away in a cars and truck accident in 2002, wasn't a fan of the topic concern of 'Creep'. In amongst the monitor's jazzy horns, funky drum stops and also wishing synths were actually lyrics like: "I'll certainly never leave him down/ Though I could play around/ It is actually merely create I require some devotion," which she dreaded her then-boyfriend, NFL vast recipient Andre Rison, might obtain the incorrect idea.

"They possessed among those genuine sensitive, jealous-type partnerships so she didn't desire him to think that she was cheating," she describes. "But it possessed nothing to perform along with their genuine relationship, it was really a private circumstance that occurred to me."

Bearing In Mind Left Behind Eye and the "charming and odd" ways she will pen her raps, T-Boz says: "She used to go in the restroom as well as write in the stall along with her little of grass. She used to sit certainly there and smoke cigarettes, and write sidewards on the bathroom along with her feet up on the wall and her back versus the stall." And also those raps were an integral part of the results of 'CrazySexyCool'.

"Left Eye generally wrote an anti-'Creep' rap due to the fact that she really did not just like the topic. Our company were all sitting certainly there like, 'This is actually terrible ...'"-- T-Boz

Accredited 12-times platinum eagle in the United States and selling over 23 million copies worldwide, the album observed Tender Loving Care happen to come to be the initial girl group to ever before be granted ruby status due to the RIAA. Bagging them a couple of Grammys, they were likewise first black show ever to win the desirable Online video of the Year award at the MTV Video Recording Songs Honors for their outbreak smash hit, 'Waterfalls'.

A lot more than sales as well as honors, 'CrazySexyCool' paved the method for the next creation of woman teams. Taking what they had picked up from watching those that came prior to them -- such as the likes of SWV, En Vogue and R&B boybands like New Version and BBD -- TLC packaged an innovative brand-new attitude as well as distinct swagger that influenced the following surge of girl power. A few of the enthusiasts who grew up listening to the team happened to take facility stage on their own: All Saints, Minimal Mix and, on a much bigger scale, Serendipity's Child and also the Seasoning Girls -- something Mel C acknowledged in a meeting with last year.

TLC:( L-R) Rozonda "Chilli "Thomas, Tionne"T-Boz" Watkins and also Lisa "Left Behind Eye"Lopes of TLC" Our team had a great deal to prove keeping that second album," claims Chilli."It established us en masse that was actually gon na be actually right here for a long period of time as well as it

showed our experts weren't merely a gimmick. "" As well as I think it is actually doing what our experts wished it to accomplish still to this day "T-Boz incorporates."It's merely good music that possesses no age and also interest everybody, irrespective of colour. It does not matter what sex, creed or race you are, it is actually only great songs and also that's what I really love regarding it. It is actually enduring."

Enduring is an absolutely a great way to explain 'CrazySexyCool', as is, unsurprisingly, the cd's label. Designed through Left Behind Eye, Spicy pepper mentions the title -- which exemplifies the private individualities of the team (Crazy [Left Eye], Alluring [Chilli], Trendy [T-Boz] -- was become pregnant while on a vacation to Europe.

"It's so comical due to the fact that when Lisa formulated it I was personally a little upset," details Spicy pepper. "I thought Tionne should have been actually sexy. All of us can possess participated in crazy as well as sexy however I understand I am actually great-- I'm the trendy one. I was actually confused in order to why I would certainly be seductive. I felt like, 'That is actually certainly not me, that is actually Tionne!' I simply failed to take a look at myself like that."

Giggling, T-Boz states: "Lisa slapped her benefit her scalp as well as was like, 'Lady, you much better acknowledge!'"

"I thought Tionne must possess been 'gorgeous'. All of us can possess played 'outrageous' and 'sexy' however I understand I am actually 'awesome'. I am actually the great one!" -- Chilli

It was obvious from the minute you initially pressed play on 'CrazySexyCool' merely just how much of a departure it was actually from the group's 1992 debut, 'Ooooooohhh ... On the TLC Suggestion'. Combining ardent gouges as well as sensuous riffs with edgy hip-hop beats and moving away from the preferred sounds of brand-new jack swing, they took what Mary J. Blige was actually performing at the moment along with her signature brand name of hip-hop heart, mixed in some Atlanta georgia festoon, and also provided something brand-new as well as distinctive for attenders to wrap their ears around.

Tackling more severe subject matters than in previous years, the album was a coming-of-age minute for TLC. From AIDS as well as gang physical violence to sexuality and romanticism, regardless of the topic there was a newly found peace of mind as well as youthful confidence on display screen all over the album's 16 monitors. In the erotic bounce of 'Allow's Do It Once again' as well as 'Take Our Opportunity', the trio showed a more aggressive edge to their art while verifying they were fully comfy along with the more explicit edge of self-expression.

TLC's'CrazySexyCool'

has actually offered over 23 million copies worldwide. Joining several of the very same manufacturers who worked with their launching cd, Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri as well as Babyface got on hand to aid assemble the important basis of 'CrazySexyCool'. Organized Noize, Chucky Thompson as well as the then-named Drag Father filled out the remainder of the creation roster.

Puff's job was to look after some of the cd's interludes, which at opportunities, be it unexpextedly, offered some comic relief. 'Sexy' starts off apparently illustrating phone sexual activity just before turning right into a prank telephone call as Chilli seductively talks to Puffy to pass her some tissue ... so she can rub her ass.

"Me and Puff resided in the display together as well as I was expected to, you know, speak alluring," describes Chilli, chuckling to herself. "And I needed to turn it lucky unusual because I found it weird talking sexy throughout. I could not cease giggling so our team found yourself must take it in that instructions and merely make it extra like a laugh."

Puffy also produced the only cover on the album, 'If I Was Your Girlfriend'. Initially created by Royal prince, it is among the rare events that the Purple One provided yet another performer permission to cover his job.

"Getting consent to carry out it was in fact simpler than creating the song," says T-Boz, including that she couldn't believe Prince even permitted all of them to perform it.

The album's trademark track, and most likely the group's too (some may say that 'No Scrubs' is entitled to that honour) is 'Waterfalls'. Created by Left Behind Eye, Marqueze Etheridge and Organized Noize, with some effect coming from Paul McCartney (properly, maybe), and also including support vocals coming from Cee-Lo Veggie, it didn't merely hint the album over the edge, it released it into another stratosphere. Accomplishing mass international success, it arrived at top of Advertising board's Very hot 100 chart as well as kept there for 7 weeks, while likewise topping graphes all over the planet, topping at Amount Four in the UK.

Originally claiming that she positively understood the tune will be actually a hit, T-Boz then quickly back-pedals. "Really, no I didn't," she says. "I wished that it will be, yet moreover I simply hoped that folks would certainly comprehend it considering that our team were discussing some challenging circumstances. I undoubtedly recognised the potential that it had."

"It was the kinda track that required a video clip to make it happen to life," she includes, mentioning the song's significant spending plan online video. Directed by F. Gary Gray and fired in the very same pond where Jaws was filmed, 'Waterfalls' features the team in liquefied form walking on water as they perform about the consequences of the controlled substance field and also the risks of possessing vulnerable sex.

Coming out with to include that it was "game over" once the music video clip went down, Chilli reviews the song's topic issue. "It was regularly essential for our team to chat regarding things that were actually definitely happening," she describes. "Therefore along with AIDS being such a significant thing our team intended to deliver understanding to it since people were referring to it however they weren't really referring to it."

"We would like to defend things that was essential however perform it in a way that was actually musically exciting as well as never preachy," includes T-Boz.

As well as while 'Falls' might have been actually the initial Leading single ever to mention HIV, it wasn't the first opportunity Tender Loving Care openly marketed safe sex. In the video for 'Ain't 2 Honored 2 Beg', a singular from their debut cd, the ladies can be viewed using unopened prophylactics as style accessories, pinned to pants, braces and put inside glasses lens.

TLC were actually the 1st dark act ever to succeed Video clip of the Year at the MTV Video Songs Awards.

"Regrettably, all right stuff our experts discussed at that time, and even on the brand-new album, is actually still going on today," points out Spicy pepper. "Our experts still possess concerns along with folks not utilizing prophylactics and with secure sexual activity in standard. Whether the updates yearns for to speak about it or otherwise, it is actually still there."

Yet another intense minute on 'CrazySexyCool' is actually cd nearer 'Sumthin Wicked In This Manner Arrives'. Participating in like a 'What's Happening' for the hip-hop creation, it includes a knowledgeable from a young André 3000 taped just before OutKast released their debut album. Spicy pepper remembers hearing his vocals for the very first time.

"I was only like, 'Oh my gosh'," she says, gushingly. "It's hilarious considering that he wasn't even André 3000 yet but you simply recognized he performed his means. His voice, it was actually so unique."

"He had not been even André 3000 but-- yet you felt in one's bones he performed his technique. His vocal, it was actually so exclusive" -- Spicy pepper, on a specific then-unknown 'CrazySexyCool' guest performer

Other songs newsworthy feature: 'Traffic signal Unique', the seductive slow-moving jam created to acquire factors entering the bedroom; 'Diggin' on You', the Babyface-produced crush anthem that features perhaps the absolute most beautiful bridge in current R&B; and also 'Scenario of the Fake Individuals', which the ladies both wish they will discharged as a single during the time. "I looked at it as our 'What Concerning Your Friends' sequel," points out Chilli.

As fresh currently as it remained in 1994, 'CrazySexyCool' remains for good in fashion. Like Paradise's 'Nevermind', Janet Jackson's 'Rhythm Country 1814', Royal prince's 'Violet Storm' or Madonna's 'Like a Prayer', its own patterned technique to creation and unflinching cultural commentary keeps it appropriate no matter time.

Today, TLC are actually still The United States's biggest-selling gal team. T-Boz and also Spicy pepper remain to visit-- they've simply announced they'll be going back to Greater london upcoming year-- as well as in 2017 they released a self-titled album, their 1st center cd in 15 years. However 'CrazySexyCool' is going to constantly be that album.

Searching for the most ideal method to define the album, after tossing out phrases like "timeless" and also "game-changing" T-Boz talks to if she can phone it "torch-worthy".

"We are actually the biggest lady group of everlasting in The United States and also our experts are actually still keeping the light, so the cd's torch-worthy." Can not argue with that said.

The blog post TLC's 'CrazySexyCool' at 25: The inside account of the game-changing R&B standard seemed initially on NME.

This content was originally published here.

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