#i know its a small SMALL fanbase when I google his name and my own fanart shows up in the search result....

[baconplasm]

drawing for myself and idk 2 other fans

[glorified-red]

Classify the boys as they types of fanfic writers you've encountered. :))))

Thank you so much for the request! Don't think I have to tell you how much it means to me to open up my Tumblr and see 10 asks sitting in my inbox.

The BatBoys as Fanfic Writers on Tumblr

word count: 1100~

warnings: none

Dick Grayson: The Popular One

Mostly known for his AU’s because he comes up with completely original AU’s no ones ever even considered writing about

Focuses more on plot rather than feelings, very dialogue heavy

Has done a coffee shop AU

Probably a mermaid AU if you dig deep enough

He likes to go into detail about minute things in his storyline that have nothing to do with the plot but it makes the read much more interesting

Longest taglist ever

Gets plenty of asks asking to be put on his taglist and he's always super sweet when answering them

Very, very interactive fanbase

Spends hours making headers just because it looks cool

Uses pretty dividers

His master list is so aesthetically pleasing you could stare at it for hours, probably even has a key

Dick doesn't like posting regularly, instead he likes to post whenever he has the time or feels like it

Makes up for lack of new content by reblogging things

Reblogs like a champ and WILL spam reblog

Leaves an insane amount of nice comments on every fic he reads

If he follows your blog you have his profile pic memorized because he likes to interact incredibly often 

Super bright pfp that's easily memorizable

Does not mind doing a face reveal

Huge following and very popular

Insane amount of mutuals and their biggest supporter 

Always does tag games and tags like twenty people

Super long bio

Jason Todd: The Realist

Has a “Dark Blog”

Jason likes to bring awareness to real world situations through his writing so it can get dark real quick on his blog

Makes sure to tag thoroughly and has plenty of warnings throughout his blog

Mood-boards Mood-boards Mood-boards Mood-boards

Probably doesn't use dividers but uses ----- or ~~~~

NSFW blog but super kinky that his summary/warnings can be a whole story in itself

Puts his own poetry up ONCE and his fanbase begged him for more because it was so good

Regularly has a poetry night where his fans can send some of their poetry in and Jason will give advice/react/add on etc

Has a horny night right after just to spite his followers

Jason has two separate blogs, one dark and one is a casual one for ‘normal’ fics so his fans can stay comfortable

Probably has a cheesy name for his dark blog like “After Hours” or “Dark Mode”

His profile picture is an aesthetic picture like smoke or a gun on his dark blog and the colors are just inverted on his light blog due to laziness

A good amount of followers but they’re all really interactive and act like a small family circle

Doesn't do tag games

He has like 3 mutuals he regularly talks to and one of them is an irl friend

Likes to remind his followers to drink water or go eat at random but then is the one to get snarky with them or bonk them on the head for getting too horny in his inbox

Writes about feelings a lot, goes very in depth to what his characters are feeling at any given moment, physically and mentally

Has his pronouns in his bio

Tim Drake: The Original Novelist

Very elaborate writer

Sucks at dialogue but makes up for it with his lore and descriptions

Does a ton of original work, has like ten original series’ in his master list with more than fifteen parts each

Makes his own worlds with his own lore but adds in the characters because he still wants to write for his fandom

Basically an author already

Uses words you have to google sometimes

Requests are closed and doesn't respond to feedback in his inbox but secretly rereads them

Tim’s master list is intricate with multiple links to other master lists

Pretty basic/boring headers/dividers to not distract from the links

Posts at random, can go a month or two without posting a fic and then posts nothing but fics for a week straight

Too scared to reblog things at first, barely ever likes things either

Uses the tags very often to scream into the void

Reblogs things that has nothing to do with the fandom he writes for that you'll get whiplash every time you open his blog from how random it can be

On the rare occasions Tim does comment or reblog, he’ll quote a specific line from the fic and scream about how good it was

His profile pic is a random ass photo he liked one day and refuses to change it even if it has nothing to do with his fandom

Refuses to do a face reveal but does post cosplay photos with his face blurred or a mask on

Decent following and only popular because of one original series that blew up

Tim had a few mutuals and hypes them up in private so he can tell them each and every moment he enjoyed in their fic

Does tag games but always says “I tag whoever wants to do this” because he never knows who to tag

His bio is literally just his masterlist because he has a separate bio in there

Damian Wayne: The Conversationist 

Mainly does headcanons but when he does sit down and write, its hella long and very well thought out

Loves writing body language and going into depth about the flaws of his characters

His writing is not fancy at first but its very immersive - one line in and you can easily picture everything, very good at imagery

Damian opens his askbox for headcanons from his followers and will disprove them with facts or add on with his version of canon 

Amazingly good at characterization as if he wrote the character himself 

No headers, he only uses titles

He doesn't even see the point in dividers until someone shows him then he decides to makes his own (insanely good btw)

Posts on a regular schedule to the point that you don't even need his notifs on, you can just open your phone on a certain and know Damian posted

Does not reblog things, its his own blog so why should he reblog other people's things? 

Strictly a writing blog so its very easy to scroll through and see nothing but fics

He has his pet as his profile picture

Not the biggest follower count but he doesn't care about it, he came to write nothing else

No mutuals, only people he knows of and interacts with but does not consider them mutuals

His bio is super simple, just “Writer of __ fandom”

Taglist ♡

@anothertimdrakestan

@bungunz

@red-hood-redemption​

[sexysilverstrider]

Hello, first and foremost I'd like to say that I'm a big fan of your writing - you really helped fill in that empty void that was left behind in my heart after I finished Pokemon Black all those years ago and fell in love with Ferrishwheelshipping. Your stories really lit up my life then.

Secondly, I have a problem and really wanted to ask your advice about it - I recently became invested in Legends: Arceus and somehow came out of it liking the idea of Volo x Akari, for a lot of reasons, but basically because I don't think Volo is entirely as evil as parts of the fanbase make him out to be, I think he has light in his heart and deserves a second chance.

I mean he has not one, not two, but THREE friendship evolutions, all three evolving from baby Pokemon, and during a time when Pokemon and humans were at odds with each other. And has a photo of himself and his egg baby.

(And I read there's a possibility that Giratina might have had some influence on him going totally bonkers)

Anyways, I've been a longtime fan of Pokemon and your work, and I've written several stories before, but this is the first time I've wanted to write a Pokemon fic this badly - a Volokari story (not sure what their shipping name is yet). But I'm worried about receiving backlash because in my story Akari (who is actually Hikari) is an adult when she's whisked away to Hisui, and I don't want to receive hate messages over something that's supposed to be emotional and fun.

But at the same time, I really, REALLY want to write this story sometime, how Arceus not only brought Akari to Hisui to save the land, but also Volo, and how the two hold Cynthia's existence in the future in their hands...

But I'm so sensitive, especially these days, I don't think I'd know what to do if I received hate messages over something I worked so hard on and put all my soul into, especially when those messages are calling me terrible things that make me feel like I should be burned at the stake.

hi hi!

first of all. omg. aaaaa thank u! im happy to u know love my fws esp my fws fics aaaaaaa all the stuff ive written in the past are quite dear to me so its nice to know people enjoy wm

second, regarding your problem, i solely believe in Write For Yourself. make your own food. cook your own feast. make the characters alive through your eyes for YOUR viewing pleasure. i know getting validation from others is great but it also risks the unnecessary backlash from ppl we never asked opinions from. so what i can say is start off by writinf for yourself. trust me. years later im still in a soulsilver n ferriswheel rut n all the fics ive written in the past are for my own benefit. it helps on the long run.

if u hv ao3 u can post on ao3 w proper tags! usually the readers are nicer coz it takes actually googling and filtering to find what one wants. no asshole is tht desperate to do so just to spread hate.

if not u can post here too! if youre still nervous, switch off replies or turn anon off. theyll be some useless bastards once or twice unfortunately but think of it this way: your life is way more vast, way more important and these useless things are barely worth your time or notice.

it might sting to get one. bt trust me, there are SO many people who support n love u. outside and inside the internet.

so i hope youre passionate enough to write vlkr! i knw im still super interested in them n years of doing what i love make me so desensitized by some backlash from people i couldnt care less coz the internet is just a small part of my big big world lol

[mikauzoran]

Obligatory NY Special Reaction Post

Hi guys. Guess how I spent my morning. ^.^ That’s right. I watched the New York special in French and English. People seem to like reaction posts (?), so I decided to do one. ^.^

Overall, it was very cute. I liked it a lot. I actually liked the US heroes a lot too. I’m totally shipping Sparrow/Jess and Uncanny Valley/Aeon now. They’re adorable. ^.^ I don’t know if I’ll put the time into reading the comics, though. I’m not a big superhero comics fan (like, at all), so I don’t know if I’d like the comics.

Anyway. Now, on to the live reaction. ^.^

Mademoiselle Bustier says that her baby will be arriving soon, but she doesn’t look like she can be past her first trimester. I wonder if we’ll ever get to see the baby or her actually looking pregnant. I wonder whom she’s dating.

Are we going to talk about how Nathalie is bedridden? No? Okay. ;-;

The little arm wiggle Plagg does as he tries to convince Adrien to chillax and enjoy the trip to New York is the most precious thing. XD I also love how he’s such a bad influence on Adrien. Someone had to be.

Poor Luka. He’s so good. He can plainly see that nothing is going to come of his feelings for Marinette, but he’s still such a good friend to her. Kudos to him. I’ve had people act like my friend before because they were interested in me romantically, and then when I just wanted to be friends, they dropped me, so I can really appreciate Luka just actually being Marinette’s friend for real.

I am really surprised. Why doesn’t Chloé want to go to New York? I’m sure she’s been before what with her mother working in fashion, but why wouldn’t she want to go with the class? Is she just too cool to be seen having fun?

I love Marinette. Sitting next to her “husband--boyfriend!--FRIEND!”

Part of me is sad about the way they’ve characterized Alya. :/ I don’t like her pushing Marinette and teasing her about being romantic with Adrien when Marinette is trying to move on and just be Adrien’s friend. I can see why Alya wants Marinette and Adrien to end up together, and I can see why she wants Marinette to be honest about how she actually feels about Adrien because Marinette is definitely in denial, but I think Marinette has the right idea about just trying to be Adrien’s friend. I think that’s the best road, to just be friends and let something romantic happen on its own if it’s going to happen. Like I said above, I’ve had people befriend me only because they were interested in me romantically, and I can imagine Adrien feeling hurt if he thought Marinette was only being nice to him because she had a crush on him. It’s not a nice feeling when you find out someone only tried to get close to you because they wanted something from you. Adrien has enough of that with his fanbase. So, I think Marinette has the right idea to focus on being his friend. I don’t like that Alya is ignoring what Marinette is saying and trying to push her. I get that she does it because she wants Marinette to be happy and hates to see her friend floundering, but I think it’s a poor characterization choice on the part of the creators. It doesn’t make Alya feel like a good friend, and that makes me sad. I love Alya and feel like she has a lot of potential, but the creators don’t always let her live up to it.

But I love Nino and Alya’s idea for “Operation New York”. XD I love that Nino adores Adrien and wants to help him come out of his shell. ^w^

Okay. Uncanny Valley is a really cute, clever name. Google it. The “uncanny valley” is actually a concept that as robots become more humanlike, they become more appealing and we have more of an emotional reaction to them...up to the point where they become too humanlike and it freaks us out. The drop-off point where it’s suddenly unsettling is the “uncanny valley”.

I love how psyched Alya is about all the superheroes. She’s so cute to watch nerd-out.

I also love the kind of “found family” of two superhero lesbians and the daughters they’ve adopted/built. It was a small part of the movie, but it was really precious.

I’m not sure what Adrien is looking at as Nino directs his attention out the window. XD As Alya points unsubtly at Marinette. I think Adrien still misses the point.

Also, “Les petits croissants sont en bus.” Thank you, Sparrow. I think that’s one of my favourite lines in the movie. XD

Also, Marinette having trouble with automatic doors and Adrien’s impressive side lunge to catch her. Beautiful.

I love Jess being resentful of having to keep an eye on “the French tourists and their socks”. And Aeon vowing to protect them...AND their socks. The socks make me really happy. XD

Awww. I’m so happy that Sabrina gets a love interest!!! She deserves good things. I feel sorry for her most of the time.

I love Nino’s face as he watches Adrien and Marinette trying to give each other the whole hot dog. He’s like, “Seriously, Mec? It’s a good thing I’m here to help you.” And then he’s so happy when his “chick” finally learns to fly. XD

I actually like this version of the slow dance song. The original is a little too cliché and cheesy, but I like this version. I also like that it’s Adrien who asked Marinette to dance.

Nino and Alya are adorable. As are Ivan and Mylène. I adore how he lifts her up off the ground to dance with her. Also, Juleka and Rose. My girls! They’re so cute!

I love how into the whole “get Marinette and Adrien together” scheme Jess gets. ...Because it’s more entertaining than watching socks. XD

Do you guys look at license plates? I do. I’m wondering how Gabriel is in a Tsurugi vehicle in New York. :/ Do the Tsurugis have a business empire in a lot of different countries? When Adrien met Kagami, it seemed like that was the first time they had ever come in contact with one another. It wasn’t like, “Oh, yeah. Our families are old friends. I’ve heard of your existence but never met you in person before”. It seemed like the first time they had become cognizant of the other’s existence period in Riposte. How is Gabriel getting the Tsurugis to let him borrow a car in New York? It sounded like Gabriel wasn’t going to New York openly because he said something about hiding his absence from Adrien...but he told Madame Tsurugi he was going to New York and asked to borrow a car? What?

I feel really bad for Chat Noir getting chewed out by Ladybug like that. ;-; Like, we know how bad he felt about coming, but he doesn’t get a chance to explain himself because they’re caught up in the battle. And you can tell how much he’s impacted by her reaction. He’s really thrown off his game, really shaken by her anger and the loss of her trust. Poor baby.

And him saying goodbye to Plagg and giving up his Miraculous was just heartbreaking.

I love how easily Jess is convinced to do things by Aeon. It’s so cute. It’s like one minute she’s like, “We can’t do this!” and Aeon is like, “Yes we can.” and then Jess is like, “Yeah. You’re right. Let’s do this thing.” They’re adorable to watch.

I don’t really like Jess’s costume as Eagle, though. It’s kind of...really stereotypical. :/

I also don’t like how Gabriel is turning into such a cliché cartoon villain. Like “All the Miraculouses will be mine!” What? Um...because you want to get your wife back...right? Not because you’ve become drunk on power and just want more power, right? Like, it feels like he’s completely lost sight of his goal. I prefer my bad guys complex and redeemable. I like to be able to understand why they’re doing what they’re doing. Gabriel has seemed like he’s really lost himself lately, though.

I really liked that Adrien’s classmates made a banner for him so that he’d feel loved and missed at the end. I love it when they do sweet things like that for him because he really needs it.

(In case you were wondering, I didn’t notice any big differences between the French version and the English version. That made me really happy. There were a couple slight differences in the nuances of some word choices, but it was very much a slight thing that didn’t change the meaning of the lines in an appreciable way. Pretty much throughout the whole thing the dialogue was word-for-word translated from French to English. Most of the lines were exactly the same, so I feel really good about that.)

All together, I really liked this. It was sweet and fun. There were a lot of good moments. I was skeptical about it at first, but it turned out to be a really good story, and the creative team did a great job with the pacing and character development. Well done, team!

[mainadjacent]

Sticking to the Script

Pairing: Gwilym Lee x Reader, one-sided Ben Hardy x Reader

Summary: You are the star of the hit TV show, “Winthrope Manor” and you’ve just got a new costar, Gwilym Lee who happens to bring around his friend, Ben Hardy, to set. You develop feelings for Ben, but they’re not well received. Lucky for you, your costar is there to help make things better.

Author’s Note: I’m just getting the hang of fic writing so hopefully this is coherent! I’d like to thank the lovely @sevenseasofky for being so kind and inspiring me with her fic, “Nothing but a Number” which this fic is heavily inspired by. Really, if you haven’t read her work, you are missing out.

PART 1

“Bohemian Rhapsody” star Gwilym Lee joins the Award-winning Cast of “Winthrope Manor” as possible love interest

You sigh exasperatedly at the Google Alert on your phone. You knew that this was going to be a possibility, the press has a habit of making a big deal of your show’s guest stars and it really took away from the quality of the show.  It wasn’t even like he was the most important guest star you’ve ever had.

“Anything wrong,” asks your costume designer, Nicole, as she laces you into your corset.

“Nothing,” you say nonchalantly, “just a bit tight is all.”

“Sorry, but you know how they want it, it has to be authentic.”

“Right, right, the good name of Winthrope Manor rests on the tightness of Violet’s corset,” you grumble.

Nicole giggles but does not loosen your laces, and even though you’ve been doing this for a whole season, you can feel your own organ rearranging painfully.

It’s a small price to pay, really, as much as you complain to Nicole about it. You are consistently at a loss for words at how lucky you are to be in this position: one of the stars of the award-winning television show, “Winthrope Manor.”

“Winthrope Manor” or “American response to ‘Downton Abbey’” as critics often put it, was the story of the wealthiest textile family in America at the turn of the 20th century. It was soapy and dramatic and lots of fun. You played Violet Winthrope, the intelligent and determined oldest Winthrope sibling who was constantly trying to establish herself in the industrial world while dealing with all sorts of romantic and personal entanglements.

The show premiered to critical acclaim in part because of the writing, in part because of the star-studded cast, and the amazing production value didn’t hurt either. “Winthrope” had had an amazing first season, sweeping in awards, amassing a pretty impressive fanbase and gaining all sorts of acclaim. Apparently, Meryl Streep was in negotiations to play your grandmother for the upcoming season.

As for you, you were still adjusting to the fame since you hadn’t really had much exposure beforehand. In a way, “Winthrope” had really changed your life in that aspect; you were relatively unknown before it—most of the younger cast was—and now you had been catapulted into some sort of fame. You weren’t super famous, it wasn’t like you were getting mobbed by paps constantly, but you had gained a substantial following. People tweeted you, approached you on the street, and even had whole internet presences dedicated to you and your character. It still took a while to get used to it, but you were trying to handle it with the most grace you could muster, but you would be a liar if you said it wasn’t exhausting at times. It was a small price to pay though.

Nicole finished with your laces and you gave yourself a second to adjust. Speaking of prices you pay.

As Nicole is pinning up the hem of one of Violet’s evening gowns, you hear a knock at the trailer’s door.

“Come in!”

You were expecting any one of your female costars, as this was the woman’s costuming trailer, however, you were surprised to see your character’s newest love interest and the subject of internet articles, Gwilym Lee.

“Hi,” he says as he awkwardly stands at the trailer’s threshold.

“Hey” you great him coolly while holding the hem of your dress up as Nicole took measurements.

“Right, hi, anyway. I was wondering if you had lunch plans today? One of my friends is on the lot today and I thought we could all get lunch together?”

You lean down to fix the train of your dress while you think about it. In the last month on set, Gwil had never invited you to do anything, which you were completely fine with. You had tried to keep Gwilym at arm’s length for the last few weeks of table reads and preliminary filming. You’ve learned not to get too close to the leading-man type, and you have yet to figure out whether or not he is someone you can trust enough with your friendship. Your experiences have been mixed with male actors on your set, to say the least.

“Who’s your friend?” you ask, slowly rising upright.

“Ben, Ben Hardy. We were in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ together. He’s on the lot doing some post for ‘X-Men.’”

“Um, sure,” you say, although you’re not entirely sure why.

“Great, so, I’ll see you then,” Gwil takes one last look at you before heading out the door.

You catch Nicole giving you a long look.

“What?”

______

You spend the first half of your day in fittings which is pretty exhausting. Nicole remains cryptically silent on the significant exchange this morning, which strikes you as odd because she loves to talk about any possible set drama. Instead, you keep the conversation light and talk about how nice it is to be back on set and what each of you did over the break. While Nicole and a few other designers pin and prick and pull at your complicated wardrobe pieces the tv hums in the background and you comfortably set into a rhythm. You are too entertained that you don’t even notice three short knocks at the door, you also miss one of the seamstresses letting your costar and his friend into the trailer.

“Hello,” says Gwil, “is this a good time?”

You look up from the inseam of a pair of riding trousers you’re trying on. Gwil is back in plainclothes and behind him is a shorter, blonder man. You recognize him instantly from his feature films and even though you knew to expect him, you’re caught off guard by how handsome he is. He smiles flittingly at you and you can feel a blush creeping on your cheeks.  It’s at this time you realize that you did not have a shirt on and instead were still in your 220th-century underthings. Now you’re really blushing.

“Oh, sorry, we kind of lost track of time. Give me a second,” you say as you step down from the fitting platform as you try to keep cool, “let me change.”

Two costumers usher you behind a partition and both try to help you out of your costume and back into your plainclothes which is an affair all of its own.

“Hi nice to meet you!” you say as you stumble out from behind the partition extending your hand out.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Ben,” the blond man chuckles as you reach to shake his hand, “I’m sorry we barged in like this but Gwil just wouldn’t stop raving about his beautiful new costar and I wanted to meet the famous Violet Winthrope myself.”

You can feel yourself growing redder by the second, Ben Hardy had called you beautiful.

“Well, I hope I don’t disappoint, Violet is much more interesting than I am.”

“I beg to differ,” Gwil says, reminding you of his presence.

The three of you decide to eat close by since Ben only had 30 minutes until he had to be back on set (“Those angel wings take forever to get on!”) so you find one of the cafes on the lot.

While you eat, Ben tells you about his recent shoot on the “X-Men,” what he hopes his next project and asks you if the Richard Winthrope was going to lose ownership of the family business to his brother.

You laugh, “There is no way you watch ‘Winthrope Manor’!”

“What do you mean by that?” Ben gawks playfully, “I will have you know that I am very interested in the rich tapestry of 20th century American life woven by ‘Winthrope Manor’ and maybe I might have had a crush on the beautiful and charming Violet.”

You blush, which you seem to be doing a lot today, “Well if you must know—”

“We aren’t allowed to spoil anything!” Gwil interrupts forcefully.

“Right,”—since was Gwil so concerned about spoilers? —" I guess you’re just going to have to watch and find out!” You smile cheekily.

You and Ben carry most of the conversation during the short lunch, which you really don’t mind. You would be lying if you said you didn’t find yourself utterly charmed by Ben: he was funny, interesting and very attractive.  Before you knew it, though, your short lunch came to an end and the three of you had to go to your respective sets. Before leaving, Ben shares that he would be on the lot tomorrow for some time too and promised to try and stop by your set if he could. You try to not look too giddy when he says this and instead play it cool while you bid him goodbye.

______

“He’s nice,” you say casually to Gwil as the two of you walk back to the set. He hadn’t talked much during lunch and while you did not know him well, usually Gwil was talkative between takes and during reads. He had always struck you as someone who was naturally friendly, as someone with something to say.

“Yeah, Ben’s a nice guy,” Gwil says, his brows furrowed.

“Yeah, I mean, I can see why the two of you stayed friends after filming ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.”

“Right.”

A beat of silence.

“I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?” you ask, and regret it almost instantly when you see the look Gwil gives you.

“No, why would you think that?”

“Well, it’s just,” you sigh, “you just seemed really quiet at lunch and now it’s like you don’t want to talk to me. Which is honestly confusing, considering you invited me to lunch.”

“You think I’m confusing? You’re the one that won’t say more than a sentence to me at a time but when Ben I’m-a-literal-angel Hardy shows up suddenly you can’t stop talking.”

“Wait, this is about me being friendly to Ben? I thought you wanted us to get along, he’s your friend,” you stop in the middle of a crowded lot.

“No, that’s not it,” he reaches a hand to his temple, “its just that, we’re supposed to be playing love interests and you barely talk to me. At first, I thought you were just shy, so I invited you out with someone else to make it easier for us to get to know each other, you know? Without so much pressure. But you aren’t shy, at least not with Ben which sort of leads me to believe that you just don’t like me, which is fine I guess, you’re not obligated to like me, I just thought—”

“You worried that I don’t like you?”

“Well, you never really talk to me and whenever I’m around you find a way to not spend time with me unless you have to,” Gwil says, almost sheepishly, “and with everyone else, you’re so nice and personable.”

It’s true. You had been avoiding Gwil, but it wasn’t because you didn’t like him. Up until this point, you hadn’t really formed an opinion on him.

“You’re right, maybe I have been avoiding you, but it’s not because I don’t like you. I just haven’t decided what to make of you yet,” you say, biting your lip.

“What?”

“Well, last season I got involved with the guy who played William, Charlotte’s love interest. The actor’s name was Aaron Mayfield and, well, it ended badly, like, really badly. Lucky for me, William died on the front lines, so I didn’t have to see Aaron again. After that though, I decided to keep my relationships with any new costars as professional as possible, until I could figure out if I could trust them to be friends with. I guess I didn’t really think that through though, because now I’ve hurt your feelings and you actually do seem like a really nice guy,” you say all this with your eyes trained on the ground, part of you relieved to have come clean.

After some silence, you look up slowly, hoping to gauge Gwil’s reactions.  His head is tilted to one side, and he looks like he’s trying to figure out some sort of mathematical equation, his bright eyes catching the midday sun.

“So, does this mean we can be friends?”

PART 2

[dentalrecordsmusic]

Let's Just Go Back to the Beginning: Celebrating 15 Years of The Used's "In Love and Death"

They say you never forget your first love. Normal people typically associate this sort of thing with say, their first crush or an unrequited romance in middle school. As for myself, boys didn’t appeal to me until I was in my junior year of high school — for years before then, I was too busy listening to (and obsessing over) The Used. Yes, that post-hardcore band from Utah. Yes, I own all of the physical editions of their music. Yes, even the DVD documentaries (I can quote BERTH from beginning to end). Yes, I also have a gnome planter pot signed by Bert McCracken and Quinn Allman. YES, I know it’s weird. I don’t care. I love this band.

In 2004, my favorite thing to do with my friends was to watch MTV2 and share commentary on all of the rock music videos back-to-back for hours at a time. One of the bands that got a TON of channel time was The Used. I remember seeing the video for “All That I’ve Got” with my friend Christina, sat next to me with a bowl of Sour Patch Kids in her lap at her mom’s apartment. “This video is gorgeous," I said. “I love the guy’s voice.” She laughed that laugh I know so well and spat, “Yeah, I don’t love his hair though!” Typical. I related to her disgust, but I was thrilled to discover a band where the singer looked like a literal gremlin that just rolled out of the trash (I hadn’t been introduced to Choking Victim’s Stza Crack yet, for those of you about to fight me).

This article isn’t going to be a history lesson on the band. If you’ve read this far, it reads to me that you already know the basics. I won’t bore you with my knowledge. You can read all about that on Wikipedia and scour Google if you feel so inclined. Instead, this is a celebratory piece about The Used’s second studio album In Love and Death celebrating 15 years of its inception and why, in my humble opinion, it holds up as one of the best emo-post-hardcore-pop-punk-gross-pop albums that shaped me. Damn, what a mouthful. It really is that complicated, trust me.

It’s hard to talk about how immensely great In Love and Death is without mentioning Branden Steineckert and Quinn Allman — that is, how monumental they were in forming the instrumental backbone of this album as a whole. Drums and lead guitar are quintessential, and when I sit down and listen to ILAD (after listening to it in the ballpark of 500 times), I always come back to the special sounds Allman and Steineckert were able to come up with. Quinn’s handiwork in “Light with a Sharpened Edge”: fucking magical. Branden pounding away viciously throughout the entirety of “Take It Away”: brilliant, so brilliant. I could go on and on. They were quintessential to the very base of what the album would be, and I wish the two of them could just… work together again even if it was for a different band entirely (but that’s for another article) (@ The Used: pay Branden Steineckert for his royalties already, damn) (pay Quinn Allman too like, what the fuck, guys).

Regardless of The Used’s inner turmoil, lawsuits, and general tomfoolery, they were solid as a rock in 2004. Their DVD documentary BERTH will tell you this on its own. This was a time when the group was truly in their prime, selling out massive tours for Taste of Chaos and Projekt Revolution with My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park, among others. The commercial success of ILAD was tough to ignore — they didn’t stop touring for roughly three years straight and garnered a loyal, hardcore, riotous fanbase which would follow them for decades on (I was one of those people).

In a more academic sense, In Love and Death was one of those albums that either grabbed you or it didn’t because it was abstract, yet so inherently pop at the same time. It was cryptic lyrically, but that’s Bert McCracken for you. Sometimes I wonder if he even knows what he’s talking about. Either way, it hit me hard and I didn’t fully understand why. I was 11 and still trying to understand how mathematics worked (for the record, I still don’t). Bert, in a big way, became the guy I would look to for guidance. When I was in a jam mentally and I needed an outlet for my teen angst, his music was there. He was insanely charismatic, enthusiastically interested in music of all kinds, and he was overtly accessible to me during some of the most crucial moments in my teen years.

Hearing In Love and Death for the first time was a religious experience. I recall laying on my belly in my room with the CD booklet in hand, pouring over every lyric, every guitar riff, every drum fill. Alex Pardee’s immersive art is forever burned into my corneas, with each song having its own character spotlight and individual story. I read the credits, the thank yous, the damn legal jibber. I loved everything about that CD. It has a forever-home on my bookshelf, along with all of my other Used memorabilia (which probably deserves an article of its own). The first time I saw them live was at Northern Lights in Buffalo NY on a school night. I was 14 and I made my mom drive me the six or more hours to go see them. My saintly mother, God bless her, took one glance at the bathrooms at that venue and decided (on her own accord) that taking a piss in the parking lot was more appealing. I shit you not. The Used, I guess, has that sort of strange, gross impact on people. Brings out the best in ya.

At the end of the day, The Used gets a lot of heat for not being post-hardcore enough, or rather being too pop for their genre. But for me, that’s what made them so special. In Love and Death was my gateway drug to the music world in a big way and without The Used in the picture, I really don’t know who I would be as a person. I learned about so many other bands simply because The Used mentioned them from time to time. The Decemberists, Choking Victim, Mr. Bungle, and Loveage (just to name a VERY small few) wouldn’t be in my repertoire without the influence of The Used. It goes that deep. In Love and Death remains to be in my top albums of all time. It shaped me in ways that no boy, no professor or teacher, nor any other album has. It taught me that being weird, being off-center, or not fitting in with any particular group of people was okay. And for that, I am forever thankful.

Catherine Dempsey is forever a hardcore Used fan. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

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[theartofmedia]

Game Theory and the Art of Persuasion

Full disclosure from the start: I don’t like Game Theory. (I enjoy MatPat when he’s in other things (like the Random Encounters musicals, I think he’s wonderful there), but just not Game Theory.) I’ve heard a lot of other people not like Game Theory either, both personal friends and strangers on the internet, for a variety of different reasons--namely, inaccurate research, twisting of facts, and allegations of art-stealing (but we’re not going to talk about that last one for the sake of staying on topic).

Yet, it remains incredibly successful, and its fans are loyal. Many people believe the theories, or at least parts of them. Even when the top comments of the videos are critical (or even hateful) in nature, the videos still do well.

So, why?

Well, there’s no denying that a good portion of GT’s audience is young. I think we’ve all had that one creator or piece of media that we wanted to defend because we loved it, only to realize later that it wasn’t that good. (And many people still enjoy these things and recognize that they aren’t good.) Younger teens have a strong need to defend what’s important to them, regardless of however valid the criticism is--in fact, giving any negative criticism at all often just spurs them on further. Young teens just don’t have that reasoning ability (and let’s face it, we were all like this when we were that young, whether we like to admit it or not). GT is going to be successful as long as that loyal fanbase continues to thrive.

So why do people believe the theories?

I believe I have my own little “theory”--MatPat, to some, is very persuasive.

Not with well-structured arguments, but with his rhetoric. It’s in what language he uses, the visuals he puts up, his tone of voice, and how he subtly tweaks the facts in order to slant the information in favor of his argument.

(Note: I am aware that MatPat not only has editors but script-writers as well, but he has to approve all of it and read out the script. So while I’ll use GT and MatPat himself as sort of umbrella term, I do know that he is not responsible for everything.)

Let’s use the video “Game Theory: Kirby...Dream Land’s Biggest THREAT! pt.1″ and break down some of the major points. (I’ll be putting timestamps so you can check for yourself or follow along.)

Whether intentional or not, MatPat uses a lot of strong, slanted language in his arguments. At 2:14, he states “So what is Kirby? Is he hero of Popstar, or world-consuming villain? A pink puffball for good, or a fiery god of evil?” This sets up a dichotomy--good and evil, right and wrong. People are naturally drawn to definitive, clean choices. They’re easier to understand and easier to grasp. Setting up this dichotomy sets up two sides: Kirby is good, or Kirby is evil. No room for other nuances and small details that add depth, or room for any explanations of the circumstances that could lead Kirby to act the way he does.

2:22--”Surprisingly, Kirby lore does have an answer.”

2:25-2:29--”The Kirby games have slowly been revealing more and more of what the true nature of Kirby is.”

3:09--”... what the designers are intending to do with his character.”

These three statements encapsulate a common criticism of GT: MatPat exerts his theories as truth. “Have an answer,” “true nature,” and “intending to do” are all statements that present his argument as factual, as truth. He even pushes that onto the Kirby writers, saying that it’s what they were ‘intending to do’ with Kirby’s character. Now one could make the argument of him just making blanket statements and that these aren’t all calculated instances, and you’re probably right--however, regardless if intentional or not, it still plants a sort of subliminal idea in the viewer’s head that ‘what I’m going to tell you is accurate and true.’

(Also, at 3:09, he shows a visual of “kirby lore” books connected by a pentagram. Very subtle use of imagery to send a message, which once more ties back to the binary he set up earlier. It’s pretty clear what he wants you to believe.)

2:30--”And the answers they’re starting to give are shocking.”

3:16--”... after this two-part theory, I don’t think you’ll be able to look at Kirby the same way again.”

This, along with the Satanic visuals presented previously, are priming the viewer to think that Kirby is evil. It’s setting up for that assertion, easing the viewer into it so that it’s easier for them to think “oh yeah that makes sense.”

And that’s just at the beginning of the video!

Now probably the biggest criticism of GT is that he spins the facts and intentionally leaves out information, inadvertently giving inaccurate information in order to support his argument. Well--he’s basically flat-out admitted to doing so in his emails to potential script writers (as shown by this video from Inside A Mind (timestamped for convenience), where MatPat actually commented on it and talked about the incident that IAM was referring to and never outright stating that the contents of those guidelines for script writing were false.)

I feel like we don’t talk about this enough: the Game Theory script writers are actually told to omit information that contradicts the theory. Now this makes sense on the surface--omitting information that would weaken your argument--but thinking about it even a bit makes it confusing and even a bit shady. GT frames its theories as though they were scientific theories, and intentionally leaving out information that contradicts what you’re trying to say isn’t how you make a scientific theory, especially if it heavily disproves what you are trying to prove. You would acknowledge that there is contradictory information and either try to provide a counterargument, or just admit ‘yeah this exists and we don’t have an explanation for it.’ It’s okay to have holes in your argument, no argument is perfect! However, GT flat-out ignores this contradictory information, and in doing so, it actually twists the facts. (Honestly, in my opinion, him acknowledging the contradictory information would make his theories more credible.)

For example, in the Kirby video, he discusses Milky Way Wishes in Kirby Super Star/Super Star Ultra, and how the main objective is to stop the sun and moon from fighting by summoning Nova, who can grant wishes, with the help of a jester named Marx. Marx, however, betrays Kirby to get his own wish granted because he wants to take over Popstar. Kirby has to destroy Nova in order to save Popstar and possibly the rest of the universe.

Now the way MatPat explains it...

(starting at) 6:19--“When the sun and moon are fighting up in the sky, one civilian speaks up with a solution: Marx. His proposed answer to this literal star war is to summon Nova, a giant space watch that grants wishes. [something something dragonball joke] Kirby travels planet to planet to harness each one’s star power, making him quite literally an alien invading army to the locals of that area. After decimating seven planets’ worth of creatures [something something metroid joke], Kirby successfully summons Nova. But before he can make his wish and justify all the damage he just caused across the galaxy, he is betrayed by Marx, who wishes to take over Popstar. [...] Kirby goes on to defeat Marx, but also has to destroy Nova in the process, leaving the universe one step back from where this quest first started, and ultimately invalidating all the bloodshed from all the planets he just visited.”

... he frames it as though nothing was accomplished, planets were destroyed, and everything was ultimately for naught.

Conveniently leaving out that the sun and moon stopped fighting--you know, what caused all of this in the first place--in order to work together and help Kirby stop Nova. And again, his wording frames Kirby as this monster, while also conveniently forgetting about player choice. One can choose to not hurt the enemies--and the enemies are enemies for a reason, because they hurt Kirby.

So in the end, while Marx was stopped and Nova was unfortunately destroyed, the problem that Kirby set out to solve was, in fact, solved, and peace was restored. Putting back these facts completely changes the meaning of what MatPat is trying to say, and omitting them makes them inaccurate information. He does this frequently in order to support his arguments--and the very fact that he has to twist the narrative in order to make it fit how he wants to at all implies that said arguments don’t have much to stand on to begin with.

However, if you didn’t play the game or didn’t just do a quick google search like I did it sounds plausible, because there aren’t many missing pieces there (unless you think about ‘what happened to the sun and moon?’). It seems that GT is trying to reach the people who don’t know about these games, as they would be the ones who would most readily believe it. Kirby fans would be skeptical or outright against what the theory says, but if you didn’t know about what the games actually were, then it would make perfect sense.

(I’d also like to mention how he says that Kirby’s Avalanche isn’t canon and then uses it for a full minute to support his argument it’s not entirely relevant to this but it just Grinds My Gears)

15:51--”And again, if you think all of this is a stretch, and I’m reading too much into these details, I’m not.” 

And at the very end, he once again asserts the idea that the information he just presented you with is true. It’s repetition; many times if you repeat something enough, people will start to believe it. It’s similar to repeating the thesis statement at the end of an essay so that it all ties together nicely.

To the average viewer, the Game Theory videos may sound very persuasive, especially with MatPat’s charismatic voice and assured tone, the editors very snappy and visually interesting editing, and the enticing words and phrases he uses in order to grab attention and prime the viewer for what he’s about to say. However, knowing even a little bit about the source material of what he’s talking about can make the theory videos fall apart, because in all honesty, the videos don’t have much actual substance. It’s like a house of cards; one light breeze and the whole thing topples.

Despite all of this, I still have hope that, someday, Game Theory’s content will improve, and these types of criticisms will be addressed. Until then, we can only wait.

[fromtheringapron]

Reviewing Google Audience Reviews of WWE Raw

One day, I searched Monday Night Raw on Google for reasons even unbeknownst to me. What is it out of boredom? A sliver of hope that I’d discover Raw had been canceled and replaced with a rebooted Prime Time Wrestling? I don’t know, but I did stumble upon some treasure in my aimless journey: Google Audience Reviews of Raw! This is apparently a new feature to Google. It allows people like you and I to give our baseless, uninformed opinions on any TV show at any time. Isn’t the Internet great?

But, man, if that wasn’t good enough, the real treasure are the reviews themselves. Such an intriguing look into the jaded, ignorant, infuriating, hilarious, and naive group of folks who make up WWE’s fanbase. The thing about the Internet, for better or worse, is that it gives a platform for all sorts of people to voice their opinion, even on a silly wrestling show. However, I’d like to think that also means it gives me the platform to give my opinion on their opinion. There are countless Raw reviews in this new section of Google, but here are a few that have really caught my eye:

Review #27: The AEW Truther

Okay, I’ll start out by sussing out some bullshit: All Elite Wrestling has a lot of promise, but we need to stop with the narrative that they’re going to be breathing down the WWE’s neck right out of the gate. They haven’t even put on their first show and don’t have a TV deal. In addition, outside of the diehard Internet fans and wrestling journalists, the casual fan who tunes into Raw isn’t going to give a fuck about AEW, mainly because they haven’t heard of it. So, no, “us Pro Wrestling fans” aren’t just going to turn to that. Again, it’s got potential and the excitement over it is valid, but I can’t help but feel the ones hyping it up the most will be the first to voice their disappointment when it doesn’t match even a fraction of what they expected.

With all of that said, I absolutely agree with this fan on the egregiousness of WWE putting an actual fascist dickhead and a convicted rapist into their Hall of Fame, especially when there’s inexplicably more rage geared toward the likes of Koko B. Ware and Torrie Wilson getting inducted, two people who were company employees for several years. I’m usually never the one to be up in arms over who gets inducted in the Hall of Fame because it’s a fake hall for a fake sport at the end of the day, but I do earnestly believe the focus should be on the workers who clocked in the hours.

Review #352: The Benoit Truther

Look, even though many will disagree, it’s okay for you to think Daniel Bryan sucks. Everyone has their own unique set of faves and least faves, and yours is no less valid than anyone else’s. Consensus in the fan community is boring, anyway.

Well, within reason anyway, because I’d like to think that the probability of Chris Benoit rotting in Hell right now is something we can all agree on. And, honestly, still listing Benoit as the greatest of all time feels wrong on a deep, moral level. The dude did some great things in his career, yes, but that’s besides the point. That doesn’t cancel out that he murdered his wife and son. Is defending the name of someone who will always be associated with a slaughtered family a hill you really want to fight on?

I don’t want to make it seem a comment like this is totally uncommon. It’s not much different from the various Youtube comments that linger on to this day about how Benoit should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. It still infuriates me though, largely because it feeds into the cesspool of Benoit apologia that’s only swelled since that fateful weekend in 2007. It’s the kind of language that words Benoit as ultimately a tragic figure whose poor brain was so damaged that his crimes were practically unavoidable, an explanation that wouldn’t be afforded to him if he weren’t so widely regarded by smarky wrestling bros. And that’s a bunch of shit.

The first half of the review isn’t so bad, which is why I didn’t include it. Maybe this fan just isn’t aware of what they’re saying, and I get that, but intentions can only go so far with me. The scariest part though? 78 people found the review helpful. The most of any review I’ve seen so far.  Fuckin’ balls.

Review #658: The Anti-Bullying Crusader

Okay, so I kinda love this. It’s such a nice reminder in a time where kayfabe is long dead and the WWE roster, regardless of heel/face alignment, will post pics with each other out in the town on social media that there are still fans who eat all of this shit up. I obviously know nothing about this person, but the review conjures up the image of an ornery senior citizen sitting ringside ready to whack those dastardly heels with a cane.

The bullying argument is hilarious. We all know WWE’s anti-bullying campaign Be A Star is hypocritical, disingenuous bullshit, largely birthed out of Linda McMahon’s failed run in politics. Like, how many of their storylines involve and normalize bullying? How many times have guys like The Rock and John Cena engaged in homophobic and misogynistic taunting on-screen over the years? There’s nothing wrong with informing your younger viewers on why bullying in real life is wrong, but you can’t deny the WWE has certainly trivialized the message. 

And it’s even more ridiculous when someone stops watching because of all the fake, scripted bullying on the show. Honestly, my friend, what are you expecting out of a wrestling product then? Bobby Roode vs. Heath Slater in a Handshake Contest? Also, this fan has been watching since they were five years old, no doubt remembering a more innocent time where Steve Austin would give the Stunner to someone who completely didn’t deserve that. 

I also love the last line. After bashing Raw for its bully-enabling platform, they at least concede that the ladies are killing it right now. Such an encouraging feminist stance!

Review #229: Everyone Had Fun and Nobody Got Hurt

Um, what? I do get what this fan is saying in the sense that, yes, wrestling is just play fighting, but “their policy of no violence”? Do I need to bring up that Roode/Slater handshake battle for the ages? And the wrestlers may sell fake injuries on TV all the time, but they can sustain injuries that are real as hell and carry some severe long-term repercussions. I feel like I’m being way too harsh, but come on now. If you’ve been watching since 1999, you’ve probably seen plenty of guys take unnecessary, dangerous bumps that shorten their careers. Watching even a small bit of Mick Foley’s work can probably tell you that.

With that said, I do love the refreshing stance in loving wrestling because it’s scripted. People usually hate on wrestling for that reason alone, largely because the business has historically gone to great lengths to make it seem real. It’s great to have someone who basically says, “You know, this is scripted bullshit and I’m okay with it.” And honestly, girl, I feel the same way. We need more people like us.

Review #44: Garden Variety Lapsed Fan #15,712

This certainly is a take. I can’t comment on what it’s like in other fandoms, but so many wrestling fans love to engage in the narrative that WWE stopped being good a long while ago and the current product is the worst it’s ever been but because they’re such a diehard fans they’ll stick around until it gets good again and willingly suffer through all of it due to the innate goodness in their hearts or some shit. The only difference in each of these arguments is that the date of the tipping point always changes. There are fans right now who’ll tell you WWE circa 2019 is the worst it’s ever been, but this was also true back when I first started traversing the Internet back in 2004 or 2005 and fans then were talking how that period was the worst it had ever been.

With that in mind, I find this review a bit refreshing in the face of Attitude Era truthers, who’ll repeatedly tell you wrestling, and seemingly all of pop culture, stopped being good sometime in the early 2000s. But as we near closer and closer to 20 years since that era ended, the more likely we are to see younger fans who have no real nostalgia for it. It won’t be long until we hear more and more talk about the salad days of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and others. This fan says WWE stopped being good in late 2016/early 2017, which obviously wasn’t that long ago. I’m sure some fan daydreaming about the days of the Monday Night Wars would find this completely baffling.

It begs the question: when exactly was the WWE good? Has it ever been good? I don’t think any one answer is the sole correct one. None of these perspectives are invalid by any means. Every era of wrestling has had its pros and cons, and everyone has their own set of standards on what they consider a quality wrestling product. And, to be real, I don’t want to excuse the WWE of their shitty, at times irredeemable, booking and creative decisions. Fans have been driven away for numerous, valid reasons over the years.

But there’s that whole notion that nothing can ever bring back those early feelings of puppy love, and that’s just as true with the way wrestling first captivates you. Perhaps the constant frustration with present day WWE is partly the inability to rekindle what first hooked you in and never being able to recapture that feeling because, well, it’s simply not possible.

Review #788: Our Savior

We are not worthy of this review. A true diamond in the rough. So many good bits here. The prediction that Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will compete in a “no holes barred” match, which sounds like something out of a Sean Cody wrestling parody. The invention of the “Tang Tang Championship” featuring the likes of “Pop Scott Dulson and his tag team partner." The referring of Baron Corbin as not only “Barry Korgan,” but also as “Brian Corbin.” The passage that merely says “All winding.” The passage that merely says “Bobby Lashley.” That it’s not even a review of Raw, the TV show, but more a comment on the existential nihilism we feel in the Trump era.

I’ve never seen a review that makes no sense but also says so much. I love the complete refusal of punctuation marks. Who needs those archaic things, anyway? It just makes it all one, continuous thought, a stream of consciousness that could make even James Joyce blush. I also dig the experimentation with spacing. After all, why do we need to just one space? Why not several? It’s important to give our thoughts the space they need and this fan understands that. Plus, it makes for poetic reading.

The review ends on an ominous note, with the fan’s last message being “My name Matthewhisee.” Is this meant to be a threat? A coded message of some sort? Matthewhisee, if that is your name, please let us know more. The world needs your insight. Oh, and to the 7 people who found this review helpful, you are the vanguards of the resistance. Bless you all.

[myowolftire1976-blog]

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[jesspaulblog]

YOUTUBERS: 7 ADVANTAGES THEY HAVE OVER FILM ACTORS As there are various types of YouTube channels, there are also many reasons a vlogger may have started his own show. Maybe… he loves telling dad jokes, he has a specific life experience to share or, he really loves trap music and can’t stop talking about the genre.

OR, he could be an actor who’s taken it upon himself to start his career and name. If you’ve ever frowned upon an actor for getting their start on the very small screen, consider these advantages they have over an actor who has never hit that upload button.

But before the list, I’ll clear the air and admit: I’m a former YouTuber. I only get so candid because it makes more sense to narrate from my first-hand experience as I navigate this listicle. I had a YouTube show called Wrecked Radio from 2009-2014 that obtained a YouTube partnership, 3 million+ views & an international fanbase before ending. Though my production quality and performance was amateur at the start, I honed my style and skill as it developed over the five years it ran. I only said ‘Goodbye’ when I started to focus on my film career, the type of performing I really wanted to do, but I can’t deny how important my YouTube years were for my growth as a performer.

ABOVE: I turned this article into a YouTube video. If you like to watch/listen to advice over reading it, click the play button.

Comfort with the Camera As I moved surprisingly gracefully through the indie film scene in my local market, I realized a reason I did so well in the audition room: I was already so comfortable with my greatest filmmaking partner, the camera. After years of stumbling over, starting over and editing my own line deliveries, getting up in front of the audition camera wasn’t such an alien and awkward behavior as it sometimes is to beginner actors.

Homemade Reel Material As I auditioned in my first few months, it was a pleasant relief to already have an entire reel’s-worth of material to show casting. Granted, it was a reel of me telling joke monologues in front of a chroma-key screen with a couple corny skits sprinkled in, but it showed a lot of my conviction and experience and...I was on camera!

Production & Writing Experience …It was also a relief to have been able to edit that reel together myself as I still do today. When I first made the decision to start a YouTube show, I had to fumble my way around every aspect of it: filming with an old home video camera, lighting my green screen so the effect actually worked and cutting my show with the free software on my family computer. As I got more serious with the show, I upgraded my equipment and used the same fiddling/Googling technique to learn how everything worked best.

ABOVE: First acting reel (top) vs. current acting reel (bottom). Never stop learning.

But besides Mickey-Mousing my way around equipment, I also accomplished producing an entire comedy-news series by myself. I researched and wrote the show, corny half-jokes and all, every Sunday night and produced on Monday. I felt the weight of go-live deadlines (which I often worked right up to or past), exercised my skills at various, makeshift crew positions and released my work in a very public way every week. Which brings me to…

Feedback & Self-Awareness Some actors value the power of the moment and an honest performance by not watching themselves in the final product. Though I respect that approach, I never understood how it was more helpful. Every week as I edited myself, I developed constructive observations on all my innate aspects: my gestures, expressions, line-delivers, my enunciation.

I trimmed and tagged the best and worst parts of my on-camera presence and notably became more present and poised as the series went on. But, not only was I picking apart my own performance, I was critiqued by my own gallery of “digital content purveyors”. Besides informing me of characteristics I didn’t know I possessed (“I have a Pittsburgh accent??”), the brutally honest responses thickened my skin in a way that left me practically untouchable. You have enemies… what about a YouTube following?

But, despite the carnal nature of the internet, I don’t actually remember a lot of the insults or criticisms to this day. The compliments and admiration heavily outweigh the troll banter. Spoiler-alert, I actually attempted to pursue my childhood dream of acting only after Wrecked Radio did so well… I went to art school, afterall.

Marketing and Brand Representation YouTube, though, provided more than clicks and comments. When creating a web series, you are forced to also stretch your wings in the field of marketing. Watch your favorite YouTuber over a period of time and map their patterns: catchphrases, editing style, on-screen personality, content topics. And with my great art degree, I was able to design all the logo-types, posters, banners, thumbnails and video graphics.

I not only learned how to promote my work efficiently (and freely using everything I knew about the open web), but I practiced making my brand recognizable and consistent. With my own observations (and some help from YouTube analytics) I learned what demographics were watching my videos, what they liked and expected, which of my videos were most popular (and why??), and, most importantly, why did the same people keep coming back week after week?

ABOVE: Older actor-help video of mine: "What To Wear To An Audition".

Social Media Following Entwined within the nature of a YouTube channel, social media was a large part of my brand and growth. Facebook, Twitter and now Instagram continue to be an important part of not only selling anything anywhere but to actors and YouTubers. The show itself harbored likes and follows every week as it climbed the YouTube charts and I plugged and prompted attention to my social media at the end of every episode.

In today’s competitive market, producers and casting directors are considering social media popularity when choosing between actors, leaning on those with larger followings to help promote their final product. A harsh new reality but an inevitability. My wide-spread series allowed me to reach beyond my local film community, providing a reason to know and follow me.

Extra Income Not making the bucks as an actor in the beginning? It may take a while and a lot of work to popularize your show and apply Adsense to your videos, but it’s a way to take your fate into your own hands and monetize your own talent. Like YouTube taught me to produce my own content, it also introduced me to the business side of entertainment. Though YouTube has recently (if you are reading this circa summer of 2017) come under fire for monetization restrictions, it’s still a platform that allows a performer to bank on their own show success, if either through YouTube’s aforementioned Adsense or separate income-enabling entities like Patreon. (Gosh, so much good alliteration in this one)

Not all actors want to be their own producer. Creating Wrecked Radio took up a vast chunk of my time and attention when I was in it, so much so that I had to ultimately decide between continuing to build upon a hobby I was becoming weary of or take a risk at something new. I picked the latter and do not regret it, but I would not be the same performer if it wasn’t for that big, red play button.

This is a NEW Show Now on my way to my first attempt in L.A., I'm bringing my community with me. YouTube was how I got started and its how I plan to grow. You'll often watch videos of YouTubers thanking their subscribers over and over for getting them to a career they've always wanted: there has never been a closer connection between creaters and fans in the entertainment industry as their is on YouTube. If you'd like to see what new content I'm "spinning", visit my channel and turn that red sub button gray.

[waynekelton]

BGG's All-time Top Ten Board Games on iOS & Android

This article was originally written in January 2014 and looked at BoardGameGeek's top ten list, and where any digital/mobile projects where at in terms of development. A reader asked that we take a look at this article and give it a refresh, given how much has changed in digital board games over the past five years. PT regular Michael Coffer kindly went through Owen Faraday's original words and found out what became of those projects. We've also provided a new list based on the current top ten at the bottom.

We've tried to leave Owen's words intact, but edits have been made where needed to reflect the current situation.

Original Story (Jan 17th, 2014)

We're in the middle of a board game renaissance. Sales of board games are hot and getting hotter -- industry observers called the summer of 2013 "the best summer ever" for the market. Part of that success is wrapped up in the rise of iOS as a platform for digital board game conversions. I don't know which one is the chicken and which one is the egg here, but clearly there's some very influential people who think that digital board games have a very bright future, as evidenced by Silicon Valley-sized investments raised by digital board game purveyors like Playdek. Clearly, we're going to see a lot more board games on iOS in the next couple of years. It's easy to see the appeal for board game publishers. When you decide to port a board game to iOS, much of the hard work in designing the game itself is already done, and you benefit from an existing fanbase for your product who will help spread the word about it -- marketing is the toughest part of making a successful iOS game, as a lot of devs can tell you firsthand. Board Game Geek is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-meets-IMDb of the tabletop gaming world. BGG maintains a database of over 68,000 boardgames, all ranked by the site's half-million-strong membership. That's a pretty authoritative list right there. Which of the board games in BGG's top 10 (As of January, 2014-ED)can you already play on iOS? And which ones will you be able to play soon? I did a little asking around.

#10 - Le Havre 

Status: Available on iOS 

2008 board game Le Havre is a quintessential "Euro" board game: light on the theme, but deeply strategic. Players collect resources and compete to develop the titular French port city without overextending themselves.

Update: Codito's Le Havre has remained a staple on the app store all these years, although there's more to the story. Much like with Agricola (see below), in the years since Asmodee Digital acquired the rights to the two-player spin-off game, which is called Le Havre: The Inland Port. They made a digital adaptation of that version, which is also available on iOS, as well as Android.

#9 - Mage Knight

Status: In Development

Mage Knight is a big huge genre-mashing game of significant complexity: it marries together lots of mechanics that usually carry whole games by themselves. The one time I tried to play Mage Knight at a board game night, we ran out of beer while we were still learning the game. In other words: an ideal game for a digital conversion, as the iPad can do a lot of the rules interpretation and computational heavy lifting for you.

WizKids, the publishing house who hold the rights to Mage Knight, just launched their very first iPad game: Quarriors, which Dave reviewed for us in December. I asked them about their plans for a digital Mage Knight, and they told me that they were planning on following up Quarriors with another iOS game, they just hadn't decided which one yet. Current Situation: It seems nothing became of that plan, because nothing's turned up in the five years since. However, we did get news back in January 2019 that Dire Wolf Digital had recently acquired the rights to create a whole range of digital board game apps, which includes a partnership with WizKids for a new Mage Knight port. As of December 2019 it still hasn't turned up yet - the company has so far been focusing on Raiders of the North Sea and Yellow & Yangtze but we're hoping Mage Knight will come soon, if not next. 

#8 - Power Grid

Status: No Idea This network-building game (not hugely dissimilar from the popular and easy to learn Ticket to Ride) is a license that Le Havre makers Codito tried to acquire back in 2012 but were rebuffed when publisher 2-F Spiele told them that a digital version was already in the works. I wasn't able to dig up anything more recent. Maybe an iPad Power Grid's release is imminent. Maybe it's stuck in development hell. Update: Development hell is most likely - it hasn't appeared in the years since, and we can't find any recent information about it. 

#7 - Eclipse

Status: No longer available

This science fiction empire-building game was released for iOS last spring to considerable acclaim -- here's Kelsey's review of it. Polish iOS board game specialists Big Daddy's Creations don't shy away from complex games (their previous release was intricate abstract wargame Neuroshima Hex), and they're still releasing updates for this one.

Current Situation: Despite critical acclaim and a release on Steam and Google Play in 2016 (the Steam version doesn't have good user reviews), the developer seems to have gone bust and shut down. Due to the lack of post-release support, you can't currently buy this on any platform (although if you already own it, you can download and play still). The Kickstarter for the second edition of the physical game has some hints as to what the digital future might be, but it's unclear whether we'll be getting a new stand-alone game, or some kind of port to other digital board game platforms.

#6 - Terra Mystica

Status: Available on iOS & Android

Fantasy empire-builder Terra Mystica is much beloved for its dynamic play and asymmetrical sides, but it's another  complex game that would be orders of magnitude easier to play on an iPad or PC.

Sadly, there doesn't appear to be a digital edition of Terra Mystica in the works, and some off-the-record conversations I had suggested that complex IP rights arrangements with Terra Mystica's publishers in different regions might make an iOS edition difficult to work out. Current Situation: Oh ye of little faith. Terra Mystica eventually got a mobile release on iOS and Android three years later in 2018, developed by digital board game connoisseurs DIGIDICED. It's so good, it's on our list of the best mobile board games.

#5 - Android: Netrunner

Status: Yes & No This William Gibson-inflected cyberpunk card game designed by Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield has been hugely popular since its release in 2012 and publishers Fantasy Flight Games have fed thirst for the game with a steady drip of expansions. Fantasy Flight are famously quiet on the PR front and wouldn't comment, but an industry source told me that Android is in the works. Fantasy Flight have been hiring digital artists lately, and since they're not producing the recently-announced Witcher digital board game in-house, those new bodies have to be working on something. My bet is this.

Current Situation: Except it wasn't. An official mobile app of the game never materialised, although you can play it via a web browser thanks to jinteki.net. The physical game was also retired in 2018 after a six-year run, meaning that no new card sets or official tournaments are being supported. So far, FFG seems to have turned a blind-eye towards the browser game so that's your only means of getting that digital fix at the moment.

#4 - Puerto Rico

Status: Available for iOS

The oldest iPad app on this list, Puerto Rico HD has been up on the App Store since 2011 and German board game publisher Ravensburger (who had Codito build the app on their behalf) have updated the game every year to keep it current with new versions of iOS. Like Codito's Le Havre above, this game is none-too-friendly UI-wise.

Current Situation: Nothing much more to add here - there was never an Android version, although the successor game San Juan also got a mobile release on both iOS & Android.

#3 - Agricola

Status: Available for iOS (& Android, sort of)

The second appearance on Board Game Geek's top 10 for German game designer Uwe Rosenberg (who also designed Le Havre), Agricola is one of the most remarkable digital board games we've ever seen. Players run a medieval European farmstead and attempt to increase the size of their farms while managing to keep their growing families fed.

While it's true to the rules that made the tabletop game such a huge hit, Playdek's realisation of the game for iOS brings it to life in a way that only video games can, transforming the game board into a living, breathing farm village. We liked this one so much that we named it the Board Game of the Year and our Runner-up Game of the Year for 2013. Current Situation: Playdek's version of the game never made it to Android, and the developer later sold the publishing rights to Asmodee Digital. DIGIDICED created a separate game in 2016 that is the digital adaptation of the two-player variant, Agricola: All Creatures Big & Small. They also sold the rights to Asmodee, and that game is available on iOS & Android. I know.

#2 -Through the Ages

Status: Available on iOS & Android

This Civilization-style empire builder is one of our most anticipated games of 2014, though it's far from a sure thing that the game will come out this year. The iOS conversion was originally in the hands of Le Havre makers Codito, though the board game's publisher Czech Games Edition parted ways with them in 2012.

Czech Games Edition head (and TtA designer) Vlaada Chvatil told me this week that work is progressing on Through the Ages for iOS, but that his company's current focus was the digital edition of Galaxy Trucker. Chvatil said that they were re-doing much of the art that had been made for Through the Ages, suggesting that maybe this one's going to be on our 2015 most anticipated list, too. Update: Vlaada Chvatil got in touch to say that he wouldn't rule out TtA for a 2014 release.

Current Situation: Through the Ages wouldn't actually turn up until September 2017, although it was well worth the wait. Available on both platforms, it's also on our list of the best mobile board games. In a rare turn of events, Michael actually enjoys playing the digital game more than the table-top version. In an even rarer turn of events, we learned that not only would Through the Ages be getting its first expansion in September 2019, but that it would be coming to the digital app BEFORE it got a physical release.

#1 - Twilight Struggle

Status: Available in all its glory for iOS & Android

Twilight Struggle is a game that I've been getting into myself over the past year. It's an extraordinarily cerebral head-to-head contest between players taking the roles of the US and the USSR during the Cold War, waging an indirect campaign against one another as you vie for influence with client states and spread your ideology.

First released in 2005 (and designed by XCOM: Enemy Within designer Ananda Gupta), Twilight Struggle has been in the works for PC for years now and release is perennially six months away. Publisher GMT told me that there's "no concrete plans" for an iPad edition, as all of their efforts are currently focused on the PC version.

Current Situation: The PC & iOS versions of Twilight Struggle would eventually be released by Playdek in 2016, and it was glorious. An Android release followed shortly afterwards, and there was much rejoicing.

Board Game Geek's Top Ten Board Games September 2019

Now that we've resolved 2014'a list, let's have a quick peak at the list as it stands today to see where we're at in terms of digital adaptations for mobile. As we're going to be updating this article semi-regularly, this part especially will change as BGG's own top ten list changes over time.

1. Gloomhaven

If any game needed a digital conversion, it'd be this behemoth of an Adventure/RPG. It'd certainly be a load off everyone’s minds (and backs, for the game weighs 10 kg). Thankfully it's definitely coming to PC at least thanks to Asmodee Digital, and the Early Access kicked off in Jul 2019. We had Matt take a look at it and come up with some pointers for anyone not familiar with the game.

Unlike past digital ports however, Asmodee haven't yet committed to mobile versions. Lately we've seen more and more board games port over to the Nintendo Switch rather than mobile, and we're a little concerned companies like Asmodee will follow suit.

2. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1

Unlikely, given that Legacy games stake their niche on physical alterations and a permanent end-state, concepts which don't exactly translate well to a digital app. Although that's not going to stop ACRAM Digital from trying with Charterstone, mind. The original game, Pandemic, already has a digital version that's quite good, so we imagine that'll be enough for most people.

3. Terraforming Mars

Coming soon™ since 2018, although the PC version has been out for some time now. We were so close to the finish line when the mobile closed beta test started in the summer in 2019, but then the developer decided to go bankrupt. Thankfully Asmodee Digital themselves stuck with the project and it was finally released on iOS and Android in December 2019. At the time of writing we've yet to review the mobile app, but we're glad it's finally here.

4. Through the Ages

Present and accounted for and it now has an expansion to boot. See above for more.

5. Brass: Birmingham (New Entry) 

It's been a while since there's been a significant change to BGG's top ten, and Brass: Birmingham's ascent to 5th place took us by surprise. If you want to know more about this one you can read its entry in our list of excellent strategy board games over on Strategy Gamer, but as far as we know there's no mobile version planned.

6. Twilight Struggle (Down from #5)

Present and accounted for, see above. 

7. Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition)

No, and not in the pipeline for similar reasons as Rebellion below (since FFG owns this one as well). Stretching back aeons (okay, 1997,) this sci-fi game featuring seventeen playable races in its present incarnation (4th ed.) is epic in duration and execution. Its ambitious design has stood the test of time, offering a related tabletop version of the intricacies of 4X genre, what with the conflict of warfare being counterbalanced by technology, economy and general politicking and ‘diplomacy,’ which is as genteel a front for betrayal and vendetta as any.

Given the massive scope, a digital version of this game would be near indistinguishable from a made-from-scratch Space 4X strategy game, and there's precious few of those on Mobile.

8. Star Wars: Rebellion (Down from #6)

Nothing, and probably not going to happen for a few reasons. Like Twilight Struggle, this game simulates a struggle between two factions for ultimate control and is heavy on bluffing and deception. While there's no reason an AI couldn’t reasonably emulate these qualities, FFG generally doesn’t make digital versions of games. They do have a dedicated digital studio which is hard at work making A Game of Thrones: The Board Game 2nd Edition into a digital product, so going from that to Rebellion isn't that large a step.

It's worth keep in mind though that Rebellion is also a premium product of a premium IP so its exclusivity on that front means a digital version might cheapen the game’s status, from a business standpoint.

(While not on iOS, you should all check out the late-90's grand strategy game of the same name, which is available on Steam. The board game is pretty much a replica in physical form-ED)

9. Gaia Project (Down from #8)

Possibly, especially since its spiritual precursor, Terra Mystica, already has one. If Terra Mystica were re-imagined from the ground up and shot into space, it would look something like Gaia Project, which is a little more sandbox-y and a little less blueprint-y. Still every bit as cutthroat but, going with that space theme, a more capacious and innovative design.

10. Scythe (Down from #9)

In Scythe, mechs of fearsome size harvest and gather or wage war across Europe. This Eurogame strikes a tight balance between territorial conflict and engine-building and is well-beloved for its starting factions and their distinct identities and powers.

Asmodee Digital are publishing the Digital Edition, and it was developed by newcomers Knights of Unity. The game was released on Steam in September 2018 after a stint in Early Access, but has yet to make the leap to mobile. There's been no official word on the mobile port for a while now, but the Invaders from Afar expansion has been released on PC, so at least the game is still being worked on.

Generally we're a little worried about Asmodee Digital's stance with regards to mobile. Many of their newly announced digital adaptions don't even bother mentioning iOS or Android anymore (although many have gone to Switch). Terraforming Mars, which has just released onto mobile (see above) may be the last serious board game the company port to our phones, which is a shame.

We hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane - let us know if there are any other older articles you want us to take another look at and update! 

BGG's All-time Top Ten Board Games on iOS & Android published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[rbeatz]

Space Mom, Rezz, is my #1 act of 2017

Billboard recently dubbed Dance’s Breakout Artist of 2017 to REZZ, and I couldn’t agree more. I had the pleasure and opportunity to cover her Mass Manipulation World Tour this Saturday at the Playstation Theater in Time Square, New York City, New York, USA, North America, Planet Earth. It didn’t feel like planet earth; however, as I was sonically and visually transported to another dimension in time and space. Below is my Rezz discovery story, my transformation into a Rezzbian, my review of the events that took place last Saturday at Playstation Theater, and photos I took from her unforgettable performance.

In 2017, I’ve seen Rezz 4 times: Bonnaroo, Electric Zoo, Lost Lands, and last Saturday in New York City. I’d never heard of Rezz before Bonnaroo. I had a slew of friends adamantly tell me I should go see Rezz at Roo (Bonnaroo’s nickname) because “she’s incredible.” I typically know which friends to trust musically at this point, and these emphatic murmurs were coming from trusted sources.

That low end play @OfficialRezz #Bonnaroo http://pic.twitter.com/QneNP8MSNK

— rBeatzRadio (@rBeatzRadio) June 11, 2017

I was blown away by the downtempo, experimental-bass music that was coming at around 100 BPMs (Beats Per Minute) or lower. I’d classify it as beautiful, trippy bass music from space for the masses. When I was younger, I loved dubstep; however, at the ripe age of 27, the 140 BPM intense energy drops can exhaust me. Rezz’ music kept those industrial sounds at a lower tempo, giving me the tonality and texture I always loved from dubstep at a lower speed and energy I could get behind.

I loved dubstep, also, because of how creative and crazy I could get with my whomping or headbanging as most would call it. I always called it whomping because that’s what dubstep sounds like. If you don’t know what whomping is, check the video below of a mom whomping. You can really get creative with it. It’s kind of like dancing to heavy metal with A LOT more moves. With Rezz’ music, I was still able to WHOMP, combining my two favorite elements of dubstep with the unavoidable passage of time. This is WHY I loved her music the first time my ears laid ground to the frequencies she was combining and arranging.

After Bonnaroo, I was hooked. When I got home, I read about her and listened to all her music. Standard operating procedure when you’re blown away. I found out she really blew up on deadmau5’s mau5trap label and was found early on by Skrillex. She released her first two EPs in 2016: The Silence is Deafening and Something Wrong Here (both released on mau5trap), and peaked at #19 on the Billboard Dance Charts late in 2016.

When I saw her at Electric Zoo, I spent the most time with my camera in my backpack dancing alone to her set. I couldn’t have been happier. This was her debut show on her Mass Manipulation World Tour.

I wanted to see her on the biggest stage with more lights and her accompanying visuals around her. Another aspect of Rezz’ show that is out of this world is her visual performance. There is an essence of hypnosis in the majority of her visuals; a perfect compliment to her sound. There is typically a lot of red and black spirals of different patterns that put listeners into a visual trance. Occasionally during her sets, there will be other Rezz animations there to mass manipulate. The more Rezz’ the merrier in my opinion.

#EZoo2017 @OfficialRezz Riverside stage was too small for her http://pic.twitter.com/rUwJWLy82j

— rBeatzRadio (@rBeatzRadio) September 2, 2017

Aside from the apparent tone of the above tweet, Rezz was still one of my favorite sets at Ezoo. I ended up buying her Snek T as my only merch purchase at Ezoo. Rezz’ merch was so popular, they only had one small left. I still wanted it, so I bought it and gave it to my girlfriend.

It glows in the dark, which is pretty cool if ya ask me.

Click HERE to get your OWN.

Lost Lands was more like it. It was another stop on her Mass Manipulation World Tour. Rezz did her THANG at a New York City festival; however, it’s like when you see a HUGE Great Dane in New York City. You think to yourself, “Dam, that dog is really limiting their potential in such a small area. I need to see it run free in a huge field.” Lost Lands gave me just that. The sound and visuals were everything I dreamed of, and she was in a prime-time slot. She started her set with her hit single, Relax, which provided the calming, hypnotic, spacey, weird, and exciting vibe that would carry through her entire set. I took the video below.

Rezzbians yelling, “SPACE MOM!” were out in full force. I felt weirdly at home in the middle of Ohio that night, finding so many people who were just as obsessed with Rezz as I was. After Lost Lands, I found out there’s a Facebook group called The Cult of Rezz, which I joined immediately after gaining that knowledge. I was enamored by the creative collaboration by the Rezz fans (or Rezzbians) participating in the group chat. There is a sense of respect and compassion in the group that’s been passed down by the group’s mother, Rezz. Click HERE to check the group out on Facebook.

After seeing her crush three festival stages, I was eager to catch her at a venue. I saw she was playing at Playstation Theater in my hometown of New York City, and thankfully rBeatzRadio has done enough to be able to get me access to such amazing shows.

I wrote a preview for the event, which you can read by clicking HERE, and I joined the Facebook event Cult Meet Up @ Playstation Theater to interact with my fellow Rezzbians before and at the show. In the preview, I revered Rezz’ storytelling techniques. Music is storytelling, and it takes another level of skill to do it so well with just sounds. A lot of her music doesn’t have lyrics.

I packed up my camera, and headed off to my 3rd iteration of Rezz’ Mass Manipulation World Tour. I headed straight to the bar when I got it, that’s where I saw Playstation Theater was serving a special Rezz drink. I didn’t get it because I like beer. I wondered, though, if this was her idea or not.

Mad Zach was one of Rezz’ openers. I thought he was a perfect warmup to Rezz’ more intense, higher-energy vibe. He loves experimenting with sounds, just like Rezz.

I interviewed Mad Zach earlier this year for the release of his EP, Fortress. I was impressed with his acute interest in sound design and experimentation. He’s also been taken interest by Ableton and Native Instruments, helping these music tech companies create unique sample packs that other producers can use in their music. Click HERE to read the full rBeatzRadio interview with Mad Zach.

.@madzachofficial was the perfect opener for @OfficialRezz _ http://pic.twitter.com/QBFvi6LF3P

— rBeatzRadio (@rBeatzRadio) December 19, 2017

Rezz agreed because, duh, she PICKED HIM, and she’s super involved with her fanbase. She makes it a point to really be there for her fans when she can, regularly replying back when you catch her attention. This is another aspect that makes Rezz great, and another reason that she was named Dance’s Breakout Artist of 2017 by Billboard. Rezz has truly built up an organic, engaged audience through the last couple of years. These fans are also super devoted to her cause because she’s there for them.

Couldn’t agree more !

— ᴿᵉᶻᶻ (@OfficialRezz) December 19, 2017

She started off with, Relax, which is such a good song to start with. As I said above, it sets the tone for the rest of the night, letting listeners know to throw all their anxieties away because this isn’t a scary bass performance, this is REZZ.

She eventually delved into an evil edit of Porter Robinson & Madeon’s Shelter, which is a favorite of mine because that vocal chop melody is super catchy and comforting, then the script is flipped, adding power and grit creating a stark contrast. The bass was so heavy, as you can see from the video taken below, thanks to Playstation Theater’s in-house sound system powered by JBL.

Rezz relies a lot on sub-bass in her song compositions. According to Google, sub-bass is “low-register pitched pitches approximately below 60 Hz and extending downward to include the lowest frequency humans can hear, assumed at about 20 Hz. In this range, human hearing is not very sensitive, so sounds in this range tend to be felt more than heard.” Therefore, her music is very much FELT. This also explains the movement of the phone, as it’s unable to hold still from the heavy sub-bass.

After the evil edit of Shelter, you can hear her going into probably her 2nd most popular song off Mass Manipulation, DRUGS! She obviously played most songs from the album since that’s what the tour was about!

  One of my favorite drops was when she played Rage Against the Machine – Killing In The Name (Just A Tune Flip), bringing that heavy metal/ punk rock feel to a modern day electronic setting.  Bringing back those old-school rock style vibes into a bass music setting is a fantastic way to change it up during sets. The nostalgia factor kicks in, where everyone in the audience remembers that old song, and goes crazy to its modern day spin. I loved this song, so I posted the Soundcloud embed below.

Killing in the name of @OfficialRezz _ http://pic.twitter.com/3Lryx2SBoL

— rBeatzRadio (@rBeatzRadio) December 19, 2017

From time to times, Rezz would slow it down and play some noticeable vocals. At one point, playing her song with Laura Brehm, Melancholy from her Billboard chart topping Something Wrong Here EP. Rezz’ melodies are quite noticeable, creating a sense of uncertainty and anxiety. A lot of her songs don’t have lyrics; however, the storytelling in her songa speak to a contrast between confusion and power.

This drop also had my head spinning. Since Rezz has such a sinister vibe to her show, I decided to put this old-timey black and white filter over the video. I’m not sure what the song is and have been trying to find it ever since! Someone help ID!

Towards the end of her set, she played her new single with Isqa, Psycho.

New single by @officialrezz & @isqamusic – Psycho _

A post shared by rBeatz Radio (@rbeatzradio) on Dec 19, 2017 at 12:29pm PST

Overall, Rezz has been my favorite artist to go see in 2017. She’s not only my current favorite up-and-coming artist. She is my #1 favorite artists at the moment for everything I described above. There are still tour dates for Rezz’ Mass Manipulation World Tour, so if you’re feeling the vibe and notice she’s playing in a city near you…

Click HERE to purchase tickets to Rezz’ Mass Manipulation World Tour

Photos from Rezz @ Playstation Theater

from rBeatz Radio http://ift.tt/2oMAGmG

[waynekelton]

BGG's All-time Top Ten Board Games on iOS & Android

This article was originally written in January 2014 and looked at BoardGameGeek's top ten list, and where any digital/mobile projects where at in terms of development. A reader asked that we take a look at this article and give it a refresh, given how much has changed in digital board games over the past five years. PT regular Michael Coffer kindly went through Owen Faraday's original words and found out what became of those projects. We've also provided a new list based on the current top ten at the bottom.

We've tried to leave Owen's words intact, but edits have been made where needed to reflect the current situation.

Original Story (Jan 17th, 2014)

We're in the middle of a board game renaissance. Sales of board games are hot and getting hotter -- industry observers called the summer of 2013 "the best summer ever" for the market. Part of that success is wrapped up in the rise of iOS as a platform for digital board game conversions. I don't know which one is the chicken and which one is the egg here, but clearly there's some very influential people who think that digital board games have a very bright future, as evidenced by Silicon Valley-sized investments raised by digital board game purveyors like Playdek. Clearly, we're going to see a lot more board games on iOS in the next couple of years. It's easy to see the appeal for board game publishers. When you decide to port a board game to iOS, much of the hard work in designing the game itself is already done, and you benefit from an existing fanbase for your product who will help spread the word about it -- marketing is the toughest part of making a successful iOS game, as a lot of devs can tell you firsthand. Board Game Geek is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-meets-IMDb of the tabletop gaming world. BGG maintains a database of over 68,000 boardgames, all ranked by the site's half-million-strong membership. That's a pretty authoritative list right there. Which of the board games in BGG's top 10 can you already play on iOS? And which ones will you be able to play soon? I did a little asking around.

#10 - Le Havre 

Status: Available on iOS 

2008 board game Le Havre is a quintessential "Euro" board game: light on the theme, but deeply strategic. Players collect resources and compete to develop the titular French port city without overextending themselves.

Update: Codito's Le Havre has remained a staple on the app store all these years, although there's more to the story. Much like with Agricola (see below), in the years since Asmodee Digital acquired the rights to the two-player spin-off game, which is called Le Havre: The Inland Port. They made a digital adaptation of that version, which is also available on iOS, as well as Android.

#9 - Mage Knight

Status: In Development

Mage Knight is a big huge genre-mashing game of significant complexity: it marries together lots of mechanics that usually carry whole games by themselves. The one time I tried to play Mage Knight at a board game night, we ran out of beer while we were still learning the game. In other words: an ideal game for a digital conversion, as the iPad can do a lot of the rules interpretation and computational heavy lifting for you.

WizKids, the publishing house who hold the rights to Mage Knight, just launched their very first iPad game: Quarriors, which Dave reviewed for us in December. I asked them about their plans for a digital Mage Knight, and they told me that they were planning on following up Quarriors with another iOS game, they just hadn't decided which one yet. Current Situation: It seems nothing became of that plan, because nothing's turned up in the five years since. However, we did get news back in January 2019 that Dire Wolf Digital had recently acquired the rights to a whole range of digital board game apps, which includes a partnership with WizKids that will involve a new attempt at a Mage Knight port. As of September 2019 it still hasn't turned up yet - the company decided to work on Raiders of the North Sea first it seems, but we're hoping Mage Knight will come soon, if not next. 

#8 - Power Grid

Status: No Idea This network-building game (not hugely dissimilar from the popular and easy to learn Ticket to Ride) is a license that Le Havre makers Codito tried to acquire back in 2012 but were rebuffed when publisher 2-F Spiele told them that a digital version was already in the works. I wasn't able to dig up anything more recent. Maybe an iPad Power Grid's release is imminent. Maybe it's stuck in development hell. Update: Development hell is most likely - it hasn't appeared in the years since, and we can't find any recent information about it. 

#7 - Eclipse

Status: No longer available

This science fiction empire-building game was released for iOS last spring to considerable acclaim -- here's Kelsey's review of it. Polish iOS board game specialists Big Daddy's Creations don't shy away from complex games (their previous release was intricate abstract wargame Neuroshima Hex), and they're still releasing updates for this one.

Current Situation: Despite critical acclaim and a release on Steam and Google Play in 2016 (the Steam version doesn't have good user reviews), the developer seems to have gone bust and shut down. Due to the lack of post-release support, you can't currently buy this on any platform (although if you already own it, you can download and play still). The current rumour is that the license holders are looking to make a new app based on the 2nd Edition of the game with a new studio. 

#6 - Terra Mystica

Status: Available on iOS & Android

Fantasy empire-builder Terra Mystica is much beloved for its dynamic play and asymmetrical sides, but it's another  complex game that would be orders of magnitude easier to play on an iPad or PC.

Sadly, there doesn't appear to be a digital edition of Terra Mystica in the works, and some off-the-record conversations I had suggested that complex IP rights arrangements with Terra Mystica's publishers in different regions might make an iOS edition difficult to work out. Current Situation: Oh ye of little faith. Terra Mystica would get a mobile release on iOS and Android three years later in 2018, developed by digital board game connoisseurs DIGIDICED. It's so good, it's on our list of the best mobile board games.

#5 - Android: Netrunner

Status: Yes & No This William Gibson-inflected cyberpunk card game designed by Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield has been hugely popular since its release in 2012 and publishers Fantasy Flight Games have fed thirst for the game with a steady drip of expansions. Fantasy Flight are famously quiet on the PR front and wouldn't comment, but an industry source told me that Android is in the works. Fantasy Flight have been hiring digital artists lately, and since they're not producing the recently-announced Witcher digital board game in-house, those new bodies have to be working on something. My bet is this.

Current Situation: Except it wasn't. An official mobile app of the game never materialised, although you can play it via a web browser thanks to jinteki.net. The physical game was also retired in 2018 after a six-year run, meaning that no new card sets or official tournaments will be happening. So far, FFG seems to have turned a blind-eye towards the browser game so that's your only means of getting that digital fix at the moment.

#4 - Puerto Rico

Status: Available for iOS

The oldest iPad app on this list, Puerto Rico HD has been up on the App Store since 2011 and German board game publisher Ravensburger (who had Codito build the app on their behalf) have updated the game every year to keep it current with new versions of iOS. Like Codito's Le Havre above, this game is none-too-friendly UI-wise.

Current Situation: Nothing much more to add here - there was never an Android version, although the successor game San Juan also got a mobile release on both iOS & Android.

#3 - Agricola

Status: Available for iOS (& Android, sort of)

The second appearance on Board Game Geek's top 10 for German game designer Uwe Rosenberg (who also designed Le Havre), Agricola is one of the most remarkable digital board games we've ever seen. Players run a medieval European farmstead and attempt to increase the size of their farms while managing to keep their growing families fed.

While it's true to the rules that made the tabletop game such a huge hit, Playdek's realisation of the game for iOS brings it to life in a way that only video games can, transforming the game board into a living, breathing farm village. We liked this one so much that we named it the Board Game of the Year and our Runner-up Game of the Year for 2013. Current Situation: Playdek's version of the game never made it to Android, and the developer later sold the rights to the game to Asmodee Digital. DIGIDICED created a separate game in 2016 that is the digital adaptation of the two-player variant, Agricola: All Creatures Big & Small. They also sold the rights to Asmodee, and that game is available on iOS & Android. I know.

#2 -Through the Ages

Status: Available on iOS & Android

This Civilization-style empire builder is one of our most anticipated games of 2014, though it's far from a sure thing that the game will come out this year. The iOS conversion was originally in the hands of Le Havre makers Codito, though the board game's publisher Czech Games Edition parted ways with them in 2012.

Czech Games Edition head (and TtA designer) Vlaada Chvatil told me this week that work is progressing on Through the Ages for iOS, but that his company's current focus was the digital edition of Galaxy Trucker. Chvatil said that they were re-doing much of the art that had been made for Through the Ages, suggesting that maybe this one's going to be on our 2015 most anticipated list, too. Update: Vlaada Chvatil got in touch to say that he wouldn't rule out TtA for a 2014 release.

Current Situation: Through the Ages wouldn't actually turn up until September 2017, although it was well worth the wait. Available on both platforms, it's also on our list of the best mobile board games. In a rare turn of events, Michael actually enjoys playing the digital game more than the table-top version. In an even rarer turn of events, we learned that not only would Through the Ages be getting its first expansion in September 2019, but that it would be coming to the digital app BEFORE it got a physical release.

#1 - Twilight Struggle

Status: Available in all its glory for iOS & Android

Twilight Struggle is a game that I've been getting into myself over the past year. It's an extraordinarily cerebral head-to-head contest between players taking the roles of the US and the USSR during the Cold War, waging an indirect campaign against one another as you vie for influence with client states and spread your ideology.

First released in 2005 (and designed by XCOM: Enemy Within designer Ananda Gupta), Twilight Struggle has been in the works for PC for years now and release is perennially six months away. Publisher GMT told me that there's "no concrete plans" for an iPad edition, as all of their efforts are currently focused on the PC version.

Current Situation: The PC & iOS versions of Twilight Struggle would eventually be released by Playdek in 2016, and it was glorious. An Android release followed shortly afterwards, and there was much rejoicing.

Board Game Geek's Top Ten Board Games September 2019

Now that we've resolved 2014'a list, let's have a quick peak at the list as it stands today to see where we're at in terms of digital adaptations for mobile. As we're going to be updating this article semi-regularly, this part especially will change as BGG's own top ten list changes over time.

1. Gloomhaven

If any game needed a digital conversion, it'd be this behemoth of an Adventure/RPG. It'd certainly be a load off everyone’s minds (and backs, for the game weighs 10 kg). It's definitely coming to PC thanks to Asmodee Digital, and the Early Access kicked off in Jul 2019 - we had Matt take a look at it and come up with some pointers for anyone not familiar with the game.

Unlike past digital ports however, Asmodee haven't yet committed to mobile versions. Lately we've seen more and more mobile games port over to the Nintendo Switch rather than mobile, and we're a little concerned companies like Asmodee will follow suit. They're still committed to a Terraforming Mars port (see below), and Scythe technically was supposed to come to mobile, so we imagine these projects will inform the company's future strategy in this areas.

2. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1

Unlikely, given that Legacy games stake their niche on physical alterations and a permanent end-state, concepts which don't exactly translate well to a digital app. Although that's not going to stop ACRAM Digital from trying with Charterstone, mind. The original game, Pandemic, already has a digital version that's quite good, so we imagine that'll be enough for most people.

3. Terraforming Mars (Up from No. 4)

Coming soon™ since 2018. We were so close to the finish line when the closed beta test started over the summer in 2019, but then the developer decided to go bankrupt. As far as we know, Asmodee Digital has retained the rights and all of the development assets, so we imagine its a case of either trying to complete it themselves or bring another studio on board to finish the port. The PC version has been out for some time, in case you weren't aware.

4. Through the Ages (Down from No. 3)

Present and accounted for, and waiting for its' first expansion. See above - I wonder if that'll help shift it back up to third place?

5. Twilight Struggle

Present and accounted for, see above. 

6. Star Wars: Rebellion

Nothing, and probably not going to happen for a few reasons. Like Twilight Struggle, this game simulates a struggle between two factions for ultimate control and is heavy on bluffing and deception. While there's no reason an AI couldn’t reasonably emulate these qualities, FFG generally doesn’t make digital versions of games. They have a dedicated digital studio now which has been hard at work adapting The Lord of the Rings: Living Card Game into a digital product, but going from that to Rebellion would be a huge leap.

Rebellion is also a premium product of a premium IP so its exclusivity on that front means a digital version might cheapen the game’s status, from a business standpoint.

(While not on iOS, you should all check out the late-90's grand strategy game of the same name, which is available on Steam. The board game is pretty much a replica in physical form-ED)

7. Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition) (Up from No. 9)

No, and not in the pipeline for similar reasons as Rebellion above (since FFG owns this one as well). Stretching back aeons (okay, 1997,) this sci-fi game featuring seventeen playable races in its present incarnation (4th ed.) is epic in duration and execution. Its ambitious design has stood the test of time, offering a related tabletop version of the intricacies of 4X genre, what with the conflict of warfare being counterbalanced by technology, economy and general politicking and ‘diplomacy,’ which is as genteel a front for betrayal and vendetta as any.

Given the massive scope, a digital version of this game would be near indistinguishable from a made-from-scratch Space 4X strategy game, and there's precious few of those on Mobile.

8. Gaia Project (Down from No. 7)

Possibly, especially since its spiritual precursor, Terra Mystica, already has one. If Terra Mystica were re-imagined from the ground up and shot into space, it would look something like Gaia Project, which is a little more sandbox-y and a little less blueprint-y. Still every bit as cutthroat but, going with that space theme, a more capacious and innovative design.

9. Scythe (Down from No. 8)

In Scythe, mechs of fearsome size harvest and gather or wage war across Europe. This Eurogame strikes a tight balance between territorial conflict and engine-building and is well-beloved for its starting factions and their distinct identities and powers.

Asmodee Digital are publishing the Digital Edition, and it was developed by newcomers Knights of Unity. The game was released on Steam in September 2018 after a stint in Early Access, but has yet to make the leap to iOS. There's been no official word on the mobile port for a while now, but the Invaders from Afar expansion has been released on PC, so at least the game is still being worked on.

10. Great Western Trail

Pfister’s proven himself a designers-to-watch since Mombasa, and his Great Western Trail does not disappoint. Long past are the days when victory point games were inevitably about homeland and empire, now it’s more en vogue to have peripatetic ‘journey’ themed games (Voyages of Marco Polo, the Century series of games). The Great Western Trail tasks players with a herd and a dream and sees them wrassle with dust and disaster. It’s fresh but already feels like a staple of many a game night.

The thirst for an app is ‘being shared with the team’ but no concrete plans have been announced or rumoured so far. 2016 is relatively young in board-game years, and unless you happened to be an Asmodee property, the turnaround for digital editions is years, not months, so don’t hold your breath, this one is likely but only in the far-future.

We hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane - let us know if there are any other older articles you want us to take another look at and update! 

BGG's All-time Top Ten Board Games on iOS & Android published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[waynekelton]

BGG's All-time Top Ten Board Games on iOS & Android

This article was originally written in January 2014 and looked at BoardGameGeek's top ten list, and where any digital/mobile projects where at in terms of development. A reader asked that we take a look at this article and give it a refresh, given how much has changed in digital board games over the past five years. PT regular Michael Coffer kindly went through Owen Faraday's original words and found out what became of those projects. We've also provided a new list based on the current top ten at the bottom.

We've tried to leave Owen's words intact, but we've made edits where needed and posted updates to each entry to reflect the current situation.

Original Story (Jan 17th, 2014)

We're in the middle of a board game renaissance. Sales of board games are hot and getting hotter -- industry observers called the summer of 2013 "the best summer ever" for the market. Part of that success is wrapped up in the rise of iOS as a platform for digital board game conversions. I don't know which one is the chicken and which one is the egg here, but clearly there's some very influential people who think that digital board games have a very bright future, as evidenced by Silicon Valley-sized investments raised by digital board game purveyors like Playdek. Clearly, we're going to see a lot more board games on iOS in the next couple of years. It's easy to see the appeal for board game publishers. When you decide to port a board game to iOS, much of the hard work in designing the game itself is already done, and you benefit from an existing fanbase for your product who will help spread the word about it -- marketing is the toughest part of making a successful iOS game, as a lot of devs can tell you firsthand. Board Game Geek is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-meets-IMDb of the tabletop gaming world. BGG maintains a database of over 68,000 boardgames, all ranked by the site's half-million-strong membership. That's a pretty authoritative list right there. Which of the board games in BGG's top 10 can you already play on iOS? And which ones will you be able to play soon? I did a little asking around.

#10 - Le Havre 

Status: Available on iOS 

2008 board game Le Havre is a quintessential "Euro" board game: light on the theme, but deeply strategic. Players collect resources and compete to develop the titular French port city without overextending themselves.

Update: Codito's Le Havre has remained a staple on the app store all these years, although there's more to the story. Much like with Agricola (see below), in the years since Asmodee Digital acquired the rights to the two-player spin-off game, which is called Le Havre: The Inland Port. They made a digital adaptation of that version, which is also available on iOS, as well as Android.

#9 - Mage Knight

Status: In Development

Mage Knight is a big huge genre-mashing game of significant complexity: it marries together lots of mechanics that usually carry whole games by themselves. The one time I tried to play Mage Knight at a board game night, we ran out of beer while we were still learning the game. In other words: an ideal game for a digital conversion, as the iPad can do a lot of the rules interpretation and computational heavy lifting for you.

WizKids, the publishing house who hold the rights to Mage Knight, just launched their very first iPad game: Quarriors, which Dave reviewed for us in December. I asked them about their plans for a digital Mage Knight, and they told me that they were planning on following up Quarriors with another iOS game, they just hadn't decided which one yet. Update: It seems nothing became of that plan, because nothing's turned up in the five years since. However, we did get news back in January that Dire Wolf Digital had recently acquired the rights to a whole range of digital board game apps, which includes a partnership with WizKids that will start with a new attempt at a Mage Knight port.  

#8 - Power Grid

Status: No Idea This network-building game (not hugely dissimilar from the popular and easy to learn Ticket to Ride) is a license that Le Havre makers Codito tried to acquire back in 2012 but were rebuffed when publisher 2-F Spiele told them that a digital version was already in the works. I wasn't able to dig up anything more recent. Maybe an iPad Power Grid's release is imminent. Maybe it's stuck in development hell. Update: Development hell is most likely - it hasn't appeared in the years since, and we can't find any recent information about it. 

#7 - Eclipse

Status: No longer available

This science fiction empire-building game was released for iOS last spring to considerable acclaim -- here's Kelsey's review of it. Polish iOS board game specialists Big Daddy's Creations don't shy away from complex games (their previous release was intricate abstract wargame Neuroshima Hex), and they're still releasing updates for this one.

Update: Despite critical acclaim and a release on Steam and Google Play in 2016 (the Steam version doesn't have good user reviews), the developer seems to have gone bust and shut down. Due to the lack of post-release support, you can't currently buy this on any platform (although if you already own it, you can download and play still). The current rumour is that the license holders are looking to make a new app based on the 2nd Edition of the game with a new studio. 

#6 - Terra Mystica

Status: Available on iOS & Android

Fantasy empire-builder Terra Mystica is much beloved for its dynamic play and asymmetrical sides, but it's another  complex game that would be orders of magnitude easier to play on an iPad or PC.

Sadly, there doesn't appear to be a digital edition of Terra Mystica in the works, and some off-the-record conversations I had suggested that complex IP rights arrangements with Terra Mystica's publishers in different regions might make an iOS edition difficult to work out. Update: Oh ye of little faith. Terra Mystica would get a mobile release on iOS and Android three years later in 2018, developed by digital board game connoisseurs DIGIDICED. It's so good, it's on our list of the best mobile board games.

#5 - Android: Netrunner

Status: Yes & No This William Gibson-inflected cyberpunk card game designed by Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield has been hugely popular since its release in 2012 and publishers Fantasy Flight Games have fed thirst for the game with a steady drip of expansions. Fantasy Flight are famously quiet on the PR front and wouldn't comment, but an industry source told me that Android is in the works. Fantasy Flight have been hiring digital artists lately, and since they're not producing the recently-announced Witcher digital board game in-house, those new bodies have to be working on something. My bet is this.

Update: Except it wasn't. An official mobile app of the game never materialised, although you can play it via a web browser thanks to jinteki.net. The physical game was also retired last year after a six-year run, meaning that no new card sets or official tournaments will be happening. So far, FFG seems to have turned a blind-eye towards the browser game so that's your only means of getting that digital fix.

#4 - Puerto Rico

Status: Available for iOS

The oldest iPad app on this list, Puerto Rico HD has been up on the App Store since 2011 and German board game publisher Ravensburger (who had Codito build the app on their behalf) have updated the game every year to keep it current with new versions of iOS. Like Codito's Le Havre above, this game is none-too-friendly UI-wise.

Update: Nothing much more to add here - there was never an Android version, although the successor game San Juan also got a mobile release on both iOS & Android.

#3 - Agricola

Status: Available for iOS (& Android, sort of)

The second appearance on Board Game Geek's top 10 for German game designer Uwe Rosenberg (who also designed Le Havre), Agricola is one of the most remarkable digital board games we've ever seen. Players run a medieval European farmstead and attempt to increase the size of their farms while managing to keep their growing families fed.

While it's true to the rules that made the tabletop game such a huge hit, Playdek's realisation of the game for iOS brings it to life in a way that only video games can, transforming the game board into a living, breathing farm village. We liked this one so much that we named it the Board Game of the Year and our Runner-up Game of the Year for 2013. Update: Playdek's version of the game never made it to Android, and the developer later sold the rights to the game to Asmodee Digital. DIGIDICED created a separate game in 2016 that is the digital adaptation of the two-player variant, Agricola: All Creatures Big & Small. They also sold the rights to Asmodee, and that game is available on iOS & Android. I know.

#2 -Through the Ages

Status: Available on iOS & Android

This Civilization-style empire builder is one of our most anticipated games of 2014, though it's far from a sure thing that the game will come out this year. The iOS conversion was originally in the hands of Le Havre makers Codito, though the board game's publisher Czech Games Edition parted ways with them in 2012.

Czech Games Edition head (and TtA designer) Vlaada Chvatil told me this week that work is progressing on Through the Ages for iOS, but that his company's current focus was the digital edition of Galaxy Trucker. Chvatil said that they were re-doing much of the art that had been made for Through the Ages, suggesting that maybe this one's going to be on our 2015 most anticipated list, too. Update: Vlaada Chvatil got in touch to say that he wouldn't rule out TtA for a 2014 release.

Actual Update: Through the Ages wouldn't actually turn up until September 2017, although it was well worth the wait. Available on both platforms, it's also on our list of the best mobile board games. In a rare turn of events, Michael actually enjoys playing the digital game more than the table-top version. 

#1 - Twilight Struggle

Status: Available in all its glory for iOS & Android

Twilight Struggle is a game that I've been getting into myself over the past year. It's an extraordinarily cerebral head-to-head contest between players taking the roles of the US and the USSR during the Cold War, waging an indirect campaign against one another as you vie for influence with client states and spread your ideology.

First released in 2005 (and designed by XCOM: Enemy Within designer Ananda Gupta), Twilight Struggle has been in the works for PC for years now and release is perennially six months away. Publisher GMT told me that there's "no concrete plans" for an iPad edition, as all of their efforts are currently focused on the PC version.

Update: The PC & iOS versions of Twilight Struggle would eventually be released by Playdek in 2016, and it was glorious. An Android release followed shortly afterwards, and there was much rejoicing.

Board Game Geek's Top Ten Board Games June 2019

Now that we've resolved 2014'a list, let's have a quick peak at the list as it stands today and see where we're at in terms of digital adaptations for mobile. As we're going to be updating this article semi-regularly, this part especially will change as BGG's own top ten list changes over time.

1. Gloomhaven

If any game needed a digital conversion, it'd be this behemoth of an Adventure/RPG. It'd certainly be a load off everyone’s minds (and backs, for the game weighs 10 kg). It's definitely coming to PC thanks to Asmodee Digital, and the Early Access is due to start on July 17th. Unlike their previous games, however, Asmodee haven't committed to mobile versions yet, which is smart, I guess. We hope it does eventually come to mobile but I imagine games like Scythe and Terraforming Mars will inform the company's stance towards mobile board games going forward.

2. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1

Unlikely, given that Legacy games stake their niche on physical alterations and a permanent end-state, concepts which don't exactly translate well to a digital app. Although that's not going to stop ACRAM Digital from trying with Charterstone, mind. The original game, Pandemic, already has a digital version that's quite good, so we imagine that'll be enough for most people.

3. Through the Ages

Present and accounted for, see above.

4. Terraforming Mars

Coming soon™ since 2018. We’re closer to the finish now that the game is in an active, closed beta state on both iOS and Android, and the PC version has been out for some time now. This is one of those recent hits which rapidly had its app ambitions announced perhaps too early, and now everyone is collectively stuck tapping their watch, waiting.

5. Twilight Struggle

Present and accounted for, see above. 

6. Star Wars: Rebellion

No and probably not happening, for a few reasons. Like Twilight Struggle, this game simulates a struggle between two factions for ultimate control and is heavy on bluffing and deception. No reason an AI couldn’t reasonably emulate these qualities, however FFG, generally speaking, doesn’t make digital versions of games to play solo. They haven’t digitised games featuring duels between two players and have given no indications to start. Oh, and Rebellion is a premium product of a premium I.P. so it’s exclusivity on that front means a digital version might cheapen the game’s status, from a business standpoint.

(While not on iOS, you should all check out the late-90's grand strategy game of the same name, which is available on Steam. The board game is pretty much a replica in physical form-ED)

7. Gaia Project

Definitely maybe, especially since its spiritual precursor, Terra Mystica, already has one. If Terra Mystica were reimagined from the ground up and shot into space, it would look something like the Gaia Project, which is a little more sandbox-y and a little less blueprint-y. Still every bit as cutthroat but, going with that space theme, a more capacious and innovative design.

8. Scythe

In Scythe, mechs of fearsome size harvest and gather or wage war across Europe. This Eurogame strikes a tight balance between territorial conflict and engine-building and is well-beloved for its starting factions and their distinct identities and powers.

Asmodee Digital are publishing the Digital Edition, and it's being developed by newcomers Knights of Unity. The game has been in beta Early Access on Steam for some time now but has yet to make the leap to iOS or a full PC release, though both are planned and likely to hit sometime this year. They have stretches of silence and delays up to this point, though, so until a hard date is available odds are 50-50 it’ll be delayed again. The Invaders from Afar expansion has recently been released on PC, though, so at least the game is still being worked on in general.

9. Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition) (Up from No.10)

No, and not in the pipeline, as far as we know. Stretching back aeons (okay, 1997,) this scifi game featuring seventeen playable races in its present incarnation (4th ed.) is epic in duration and execution. Its ambitious design has stood the test of time, offering a related tabletop version of the intricacies of 4X genre, what with the conflict of warfare being counterbalanced by technology, economy and general politicking and ‘diplomacy,’ which is as genteel a front for betrayal and vendetta as any.

10. Great Western Trail (Down from No. 9)

Pfister’s proven himself a designers-to-watch since Mombasa, and his Great Western Trail does not disappoint. Long past are the days when victory point games were inevitably about homeland and empire, now it’s more en vogue to have peripatetic ‘journey’ themed games (Voyages of Marco Polo, the Century series of games). The Great Western Trail tasks players with a herd and a dream and sees them wrassle with dust and disaster. It’s fresh but already feels like a staple of many a game night.

The thirst for an app is ‘being shared with the team’ but no concrete plans have been announced or rumoured so far. 2016 is relatively young in board-game years, and unless you happened to be an Asmodee property, the turnaround for digital editions is years, not months, so don’t hold your breath, this one is likely but only in the far-flung future.

We hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane - let us know if there are any other older articles you want us to take another look at and update! 

BGG's All-time Top Ten Board Games on iOS & Android published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[waynekelton]

Then & Now: BGG's All-time Top Ten Board Games on iOS & Android

A reader asked that we take a look at this article and give it a refresh, given how much has changed in digital board games over the past five years. PT regular Michael Coffer kindly went through Owen's original words and found out what became of the BGG's Top Ten list as of January 2014. We've also provided us with a new list based on the current top ten.

We've tried to leave Owen's words intact, but I've made edits where needed and posted updates to each entry to reflect the current situation.

Original Story (Jan 17th, 2014)

We're in the middle of a board game renaissance. Sales of board games are hot and getting hotter -- industry observers called the summer of 2013 "the best summer ever" for the market. Part of that success is wrapped up in the rise of iOS as a platform for digital board game conversions. I don't know which one is the chicken and which one is the egg here, but clearly there's some very influential people who think that digital board games have a very bright future, as evidenced by Silicon Valley-sized investments raised by digital board game purveyors like Playdek. Clearly, we're going to see a lot more board games on iOS in the next couple of years. It's easy to see the appeal for board game publishers. When you decide to port a board game to iOS, much of the hard work in designing the game itself is already done, and you benefit from an existing fanbase for your product who will help spread the word about it -- marketing is the toughest part of making a successful iOS game, as a lot of devs can tell you firsthand. Board Game Geek is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-meets-IMDb of the tabletop gaming world. BGG maintains a database of over 68,000 boardgames, all ranked by the site's half-million-strong membership. That's a pretty authoritative list right there. Which of the board games in BGG's top 10 can you already play on iOS? And which ones will you be able to play soon? I did a little asking around.

#10 - Le Havre 

Status: Available on iOS, iOS again & Android

2008 board game Le Havre is a quintessential "Euro" board game: light on the theme, but deeply strategic. Players collect resources and compete to develop the titular French port city without overextending themselves.

Update: Le Havre is in the rather unique situation of not only sporting more than one version, but more than one version on the same App Store. Due to the recent expansion of Asmodee Digital's library of mobile board games, they've ended up either releasing or acquiring apps for games that have had version made in the past.

Codito's original 2012 game is available on iOS, titled Le Havre (The Harbor). Asmodee Digital have their own version available on iOS known as Le Havre: The Inland Port, which is also available on Android. We should really do a comparison at some point. 

#9 - Mage Knight

Status: In Development

Mage Knight is a big huge genre-mashing game of significant complexity: it marries together lots of mechanics that usually carry whole games by themselves. The one time I tried to play Mage Knight at a board game night, we ran out of beer while we were still learning the game. In other words: an ideal game for a digital conversion, as the iPad can do a lot of the rules interpretation and computational heavy lifting for you.

WizKids, the publishing house who hold the rights to Mage Knight, just launched their very first iPad game: Quarriors, which Dave reviewed for us in December. I asked them about their plans for a digital Mage Knight, and they told me that they were planning on following up Quarriors with another iOS game, they just hadn't decided which one yet. Update: It seems nothing became of that plan, because nothing's turned up in the five years since. However, we did get news back in January that Dire Wolf Digital have recently acquired the rights a whole range of digital board game apps, which includes a partnership with WizKids that starts with Mage Knight. 

#8 - Power Grid

Status: No Idea This network-building game (not hugely dissimilar from the popular and easy to learn Ticket to Ride) is a license that Le Havre makers Codito tried to acquire back in 2012 but were rebuffed when publisher 2-F Spiele told them that a digital version was already in the works. I wasn't able to dig up anything more recent. Maybe an iPad Power Grid's release is imminent. Maybe it's stuck in development hell. Update: Development hell is most likely - it hasn't appeared in the years since, and we can't find any recent information about it. 

#7 - Eclipse

Status: No longer available

This science fiction empire-building game was released for iOS last spring to considerable acclaim -- here's Kelsey's review of it. Polish iOS board game specialists Big Daddy's Creations don't shy away from complex games (their previous release was intricate abstract wargame Neuroshima Hex), and they're still releasing updates for this one.

Update: Despite critical acclaim and a release on Steam and Google Play in 2016 (the Steam version doesn't have good user reviews), the developer seems to have gone bust and shut down. Due to the lack of post-release support, you can't currently buy this on any platform (although if you already own it, you can download and play still). The current rumour is that the license holders are looking to make a new app based on the 2nd Edition of the game with a new studio. 

#6 - Terra Mystica

Status: Available on iOS & Android

Fantasy empire-builder Terra Mystica is much beloved for its dynamic play and asymmetrical sides, but it's another  complex game that would be orders of magnitude easier to play on an iPad or PC.

Sadly, there doesn't appear to be a digital edition of Terra Mystica in the works, and some off-the-record conversations I had suggested that complex IP rights arrangements with Terra Mystica's publishers in different regions might make an iOS edition difficult to work out. Update: Oh ye of little faith. Terra Mystica would get a mobile release on iOS and Android three years later in 2018, developed by digital board game connoisseurs DIGIDICED. It's so good, it's on our list of the best mobile board games.

#5 - Android: Netrunner

Status: Yes & No This William Gibson-inflected cyberpunk card game designed by Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield has been hugely popular since its release in 2012 and publishers Fantasy Flight Games have fed thirst for the game with a steady drip of expansions. Fantasy Flight are famously quiet on the PR front and wouldn't comment, but an industry source told me that Android is in the works. Fantasy Flight have been hiring digital artists lately, and since they're not producing the recently-announced Witcher digital board game in-house, those new bodies have to be working on something. My bet is this.

Update: Except it wasn't. An official mobile app of the game never materialised, although you can play it via a web browser thanks to jinteki.net. The physical game was also retired last year after a six-year run, meaning that no new card sets or official tournaments will be happening. So far, FFG seems to have turned a blind-eye towards the browser game so that's your only means of getting that digital fix.

#4 - Puerto Rico

Status: Available for iOS

The oldest iPad app on this list, Puerto Rico HD has been up on the App Store since 2011 and German board game publisher Ravensburger (who had Codito build the app on their behalf) have updated the game every year to keep it current with new versions of iOS. Like Codito's Le Havre above, this game is none-too-friendly UI-wise.

Update: Nothing much more to add here - there was never an Android version, although the successor game San Juan also got a mobile release on both iOS & Android.

#3 - Agricola

Status: Available for iOS (& Android, sort of)

The second appearance on Board Game Geek's top 10 for German game designer Uwe Rosenberg (who also designed Le Havre), Agricola is one of the most remarkable digital board games we've ever seen. Players run a medieval European farmstead and attempt to increase the size of their farms while managing to keep their growing families fed.

While it's true to the rules that made the tabletop game such a huge hit, Playdek's realisation of the game for iOS brings it to life in a way that only video games can, transforming the game board into a living, breathing farm village. We liked this one so much that we named it the Board Game of the Year and our Runner-up Game of the Year for 2013. Update: Playdek's version of the game never made it to Android, and the developer later sold the rights to the game to Asmodee Digital. DIGIDICED created a separate game in 2016 that is the digital adaptation of the two-player variant, Agricola: All Creatures Big & Small. They also sold the rights to Asmodee, and that game is available on iOS & Android. I know.

#2 -Through the Ages

Status: Available on iOS & Android

This Civilization-style empire builder is one of our most anticipated games of 2014, though it's far from a sure thing that the game will come out this year. The iOS conversion was originally in the hands of Le Havre makers Codito, though the board game's publisher Czech Games Edition parted ways with them in 2012.

Czech Games Edition head (and TtA designer) Vlaada Chvatil told me this week that work is progressing on Through the Ages for iOS, but that his company's current focus was the digital edition of Galaxy Trucker. Chvatil said that they were re-doing much of the art that had been made for Through the Ages, suggesting that maybe this one's going to be on our 2015 most anticipated list, too. Update: Vlaada Chvatil got in touch to say that he wouldn't rule out TtA for a 2014 release.

Actual Update: Through the Ages wouldn't actually turn up until September 2017, although it was well worth the wait. Available on both platforms, it's also on our list of the best mobile board games. In a rare turn of events, Michael actually enjoys playing the digital game more than the table-top version. 

#1 - Twilight Struggle

Status: Available in all its glory for iOS & Android

Twilight Struggle is a game that I've been getting into myself over the past year. It's an extraordinarily cerebral head-to-head contest between players taking the roles of the US and the USSR during the Cold War, waging an indirect campaign against one another as you vie for influence with client states and spread your ideology.

First released in 2005 (and designed by XCOM: Enemy Within designer Ananda Gupta), Twilight Struggle has been in the works for PC for years now and release is perennially six months away. Publisher GMT told me that there's "no concrete plans" for an iPad edition, as all of their efforts are currently focused on the PC version.

Update: The PC & iOS versions of Twilight Struggle would eventually be released by Playdek in 2016, and it was glorious. An Android release followed shortly afterwards, and there was much rejoicing.

Board Game Geek's Top Ten Board Games March 2019

Now that we've resolved 2014'a list, let's have a quick peak at the list as it stands today, and see where we're at in terms of digital adaptations for mobile.

10. Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition)

No, and not in the pipeline, as far as we know. Stretching back aeons (okay, 1997,) this scifi game featuring seventeen playable races in its present incarnation (4th ed.) is epic in duration and execution. Its ambitious design has stood the test of time, offering a related tabletop version of the intricacies of 4X genre, what with the conflict of warfare being counterbalanced by technology, economy and general politicking and ‘diplomacy,’ which is as genteel a front for betrayal and vendetta as any.

9. Great Western Trail

Pfister’s proven himself a designers-to-watch since Mombasa, and his Great Western Trail does not disappoint. Long past are the days when victory point games were inevitably about homeland and empire, now it’s more en vogue to have peripatetic ‘journey’ themed games (Voyages of Marco Polo, the Century series of games). The Great Western Trail tasks players with a herd and a dream and sees them wrassle with dust and disaster. It’s fresh but already feels like a staple of many a game night.

The thirst for an app is ‘being shared with the team’ but no concrete plans have been announced or rumoured so far. 2016 is relatively young in board-game years, and unless you happened to be an Asmodee property, the turnaround for digital editions is years, not months, so don’t hold your breath, this one is likely but only in the far-flung future.

8. Scythe

In Scythe, mechs of fearsome size harvest and gather or wage war across Europe. This Eurogame strikes a tight balance between territorial conflict and engine-building and is well-beloved for its starting factions and their distinct identities and powers.

Asmodee Digital are publishing the Digital Edition, and it's being developed by newcomers Knights of Unity. The game has been in beta Early Access on Steam for some time now but has yet to make the leap to iOS or a full PC release, though both are planned and likely to hit sometime this year. There have stretches of silence and delays up to this point, though, so until a hard date is available odds are 50-50 it’ll be delayed again. 

7. Gaia Project

Definitely maybe, especially since its spiritual precursor, Terra Mystica, already has one. If Terra Mystica were reimagined from the ground up and shot into space, it would look something like the Gaia Project, which is a little more sandbox-y and a little less blueprint-y. Still every bit as cutthroat but, going with that space theme, a more capacious and innovative design.

6. Star Wars: Rebellion

No and probably not happening, for a few reasons. Like Twilight Struggle, this game simulates a struggle between two factions for ultimate control and is heavy on bluffing and deception. No reason an AI couldn’t reasonably emulate these qualities, however FFG, generally speaking, doesn’t make digital versions of games to play solo. They haven’t digitised games featuring duels between two players and have given no indications to start. Oh, and Rebellion is a premium product of a premium I.P. so it’s exclusivity on that front means a digital version might cheapen the game’s status, from a business standpoint.

(While not on iOS, you should all check out the late-90's grand strategy game of the same name, which is available on Steam. The board game is pretty much a replica in physical form-ED) 

5. Twilight Struggle

Present and accounted for, see above. 

4. Terraforming Mars

Coming soon™ since 2018. We’re closer to the finish now that the PC version is out, but this is one of those recent hits which rapidly had its app ambitions announced too long ago, and now everyone is collectively stuck tapping their watch, waiting.

3. Through the Ages

Present and accounted for, see above.  

2. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1

Unlikely, given that Legacy games stake their niche on physical alterations and a permanent end-state, concepts which don't exactly translate well to a digital app. The original game, Pandemic, already has a digital version that's quite good, so we imagine that'll be enough for most people.

1. Gloomhaven

If any game needed a digital conversion, it'd be this behemoth of an Adventure/RPG. It'd certainly be a load off everyone’s minds (and backs, for the game weighs 10 kg). Last we heard, Asmodee Digital were making a digital version but they've only said it's coming to Steam so far, so its unknown if it'll ever come to mobile.

We hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane - let us know if there are any other older articles you want us to take another look at and update! 

Then & Now: BGG's All-time Top Ten Board Games on iOS & Android published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/