#more like animal crossing with an explore / battle mode?

[shrapnarl]

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quick dreamsnso i can find them later

[neojayink]

Sketch Dump + Splatoon Neo Artist Updates

I’m nearly finished the complete plot of sneo hero story. Currently planning on how all my ideas will coincide with each other.

Hero: “Cross Contamination” - A sub plot that introduces Toxic Octolings and shows the failures of a scientist attempting to create genetically modified Octolings. Much like sanitized Octolings, the toxic octos have been contaminated and now show off zombie-like behaviors.

“Hero Team Up” - A pair of heroes on their night shift protecting the city. The left hero is physically exhausted from the mission. Neon Octolings shown carrying the new “Dauber Glove” weapons.

“Part time environmentalist” - Sketches for a story in which the main character works at a water plant facility. Currently scrapped idea as it introduced a convoluted storyline. Reworked into the Hero Night Shifts. (Protecting the Microbiome) “Water jug ink hammer” and “stream shot” seen as weapons. May be explored in the future.

“Tree Octoling Trio” - First concept for the Tree Octoling in the story. The hero will arrive to a zoo-like Forrest enclosure in search of a hidden treasure. The tree Octoling is protecting it, and has never seen an outsider before. Their natural instinct to protect their turf kicks in and a battle starts. Tree octopuses do not exist, but this one has been created in irony of that fact. They represent a successful genetic modification experiment by the scientist.

“Hype Mode” - A new mechanic that lets the player trade their heart for stat boosts. More details coming in the sneo mechanics updates.

Edit: this mechanic will be reworked into what we will call “flow state”

“Lock Jaws” - Splatoon Neo’s second official special. Will be seen after the “Supersize: Streamshot Deluxe” is shown off. The user summons a ghostly koinobori (carp/koi fish streamer ‘kite’.) The lock jaws which is made of holo ink swims through the air and surfaces to latch onto its target. Holo ink allows inklings to cast 3D projections of ink. It’s seen in many specials, but in this case, holo ink casts into a koi fish. Once locked, the enemy player will lose access to its special, sub weapon, and given negative effects such as dizziness and dillution. (Dillution makes you take more damage and deal less damage when affected)

“Turf Board” - New weapon class of surfboard + hoverboard weapons. It will be a usable method of transportation in battles. Comes with its own ink tank to let you “hover” from its fountain mechanism. Ink saver main will be your friend with this wpn as the hover mode will burn through ink. I haven’t finished the mechanics and balancing but I could see this letting you hover for at least 5 seconds. As a turfing weapon it can shoot out two streams of ink. The win animation will definitely look like how people dance with sign advertisements. Vehicles will show up in the “raceway” stage as obstacles you can drive around with ink like the turf board.

And finally,

“Neon Lotus” - Album cover concept 1. The twins have their final designs pretty much complete and they have a few songs in the works already. Their album vibe is inspired by old school sonic graphics. Surprisingly it’s harder for me to create songs for the twins vs ultramarine. It’s about 4 to 6 in difference. I’m definitely a perfectionist to neon lotus but I’m sure they’ll come out great. Over time I’ll be sharing more audio clips for both bands songs.

(This post sat in my drafts for months 😅just now checking drafts)

[valnes941]

Satellite of Cybertron/Chapter 1

Okay, Google, what to do if you suddenly found yourself in space, didn't die after a few minutes, realized that you are no longer a human… are these two giant robots destroy nebula during battle?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was running. Again.

Green crystalline trees whizzed past, metal ferns whipped around the hull, and cable vines tried to get under the servo.

But it wasn't the first time he'd been here either.

From behind, the slow, loud stomping and noisy venting of the pursuer could be heard. The vegetation around him reflected the violet glare more and more vividly.

He was being caught up. As expected.

Spark pulsed excitedly, heating up his chamber and accelerating the energon pounding in the audials. Optics in battle mode scanned the surroundings.

Up ahead, amidst all the kaleidoscope of green, steel and purple, the native blue lights appeared.

In time. He was already beginning to tire.

Suddenly, as always, the forest was replaced by the bare bank of a shallow but wide river. He was immediately transformed.

The two wheels made sure to make contact with the ground, and he quickly picked up speed. Using the familiar rocks as a springboard, he managed to fly over the obstacle and land softly.

He braked sharply to avoid crashing into the blue crystalline thickets and transformed again, but he was unable to steady himself on the servos and rolled over. Now he was lying on the aforementioned energy-blue crystalline vegetation and mentally counting the new dents on his hull. Well, as an unnamed seeker-researcher had written: ‘If you remain conscious after landing, the landing is considered soft".

Violet mech groaned and stood up, rubbing his bruised helm. When he regained consciousness, he retrieved two cases from subspace with a single manipulator movement. First, he checked the long and narrow case, opened it, and with a sigh of relief ventilated it: the brush and paints were in order (which was a good thing, considering how difficult impossible it was to find replacements for them in these places). The second case turned out to be a book - opening it, the motorcyclist checked the fresh inscriptions on the bound pages, which were safely hidden by the metal cover. Fortunately, the characters were still legible, though slightly smudged. All that remained was to quietly update them, and all would be well.

Flicking through the previous entries, he stopped at the very first page. The young Cybertronian's optics were not on that page, but on the inside of the cover, where the large handwriting read, ‘Notes of a novice explorer,’ and in smaller print, ‘Liber, doing Vector's Feats'.

Closing the book and carefully placing the important things back into subspace, Liber looked at the opposite shore. The creature that had stalked him had not left. It was following him closely with its bright purple optics, whose colour was diluted only by the darkness in the middle, like black holes surrounded by the light they sucked in. Though the beast was not clearly visible from behind the green thickets, the fur knew its appearance well.

A powerful giant, many times larger than him, a silver body, two manipulators, two servos, a pair of horns and wings each, as if made up of a single endoskeleton, capable of flashing flames the colour of the creature's optics. Something that shouldn't live, no, exist on Cybertron.

Cronid.

A species descended from Unicron himself, the bringer of Chaos.

And yet there it was, and it was about twenty-five mechanometres away, never having left its teritorium.

Satisfied with the job he had done, Liber walked slowly into the blue forest, looking for signposts to get back to the settlement. Knowing that he would not be attacked (the cronid himself had never crossed the river, all dangerous animals had been scared away by him), he found himself daydreaming about the next time he would learn about this creature.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The creature sighed as it looked at the robotic motorbike. Wasn't he tired of following her and then running away? On one hand this behaviour annoyed her, on the other…. it was refreshing.

This purple stalker was the first intelligent (?) inhabitant of this world who hadn't tried to kill her after his first encounter with her.

Though the fact that he always came back was a little tense and reassuring. How curious/crazy do you have to be to come back to her every time, knowing it would end in a mad race?

But, come to think of it, one didn't prevent the other.

Sighing once more, she turned away from the river and walked back to her house.

This day was exhausting without metal weirdos lacking the instinct for self-preservation.

[squid-ink-symphony]

im really liking story mode and splatoon 2 in general so far, and i just got to the 4th area, so here are some random thoughts i have on it in no particular order.

I rlly like that Marie is basically the only other character here. I may be biased cuz she's my second fav character (shiver is number one ofc) but i just rlly like her commentary. But not have Callie here to also say random stuff is kinda sad..... Like at first i was like yessss lets go only Marie(no offense, i love callie). But i miss her :(

I may be one of the few sheldon enjoyers as someone who actually likes reading all his dialogue, so i appreciate him also being here.

THIS IS HARD. I know i suck at video games... but some of these levels just feel so LONG. And making me fight enemy octolings with a charger is evil. Anyway yeah i need some easier levels spread out between these like splat 3 had. Cuz this is..... not good. I have to keep taking breaks cuz the long levels do be mentally taxing. Like hello this is funny squid game i cant be bad at smth intended for kids. I havent straight up failed a level yet but ive come close.

Hello?????? The ruins of ark whatever its called salmon run map is so cool????? Why dont we have this in splat 3 yet. Its so fun.

speaking of salmon run, not being able to throw eggs or have the movement of splat 3 is so cursed. like, what do u mean thats not a thing????

Yeah the not being able to do the lil charge thing up wallls is so unsatistfying.....

I had to play as a guy cuz i wanted my splat 3 hair. (the ponytail) which i dont usually care about in games, but the girl inklings have cuter voices.... Oh well i am a dude now lol. Luckily gender is a game to me so i dont actually care other than the voice difference

Pearl and Marina my beloveds.... HOW COME WE DONT DONT GET STAGE SPECIFIC DIALOUGE IN SPLAT 3????? not only do deep cut not get many chances to speak in story mode they also have repetitive news segments...... so sad.. its ok i still love them. But yeah i love these funny creechurs. why are they like that. they say so many insane things. pearl and marina are so funky :D

Forcing me to use the hero charger for certain levels is so evil and messed up. I only like dualies, rollers, and sometimes brella. They cant do this to me.. I cannot aim....

As with splat 3 i am enamored with the backgrounds in the story mode levels themselves. i love just wasting like 5 mins just staring at them. I want to make literally any of them my desktop background but idk how to get a good pic of them.... man especially the upside down city looking one in 3. its so pretty and just UGH ITS SO GOOOD/

I am so poor..... what do u mean clothes cost money/?? i have to play the game??? all i want is to dress up my funny lil squid... i need a splatoon spinoff that is just a casual game thats like a dress up/room decoration game. maybe w like a cooking minigame too. thats ideal. like animal crossing or smth but squids. Shooting ppl is stressful.... (dont ask me why i play splatoon if i dont like combat cuz its scary. i couldnt tell u)

WHY ARE ALL THE INK COLORS IN THIS GAME SO MUCH PRETTIER THAN THE SPLAT 3 ONES???? ITS NOT FAIR. Some of these blue's are so pretty... i want...

none of the multiplayer maps have rlly stuck out to me in any way. Like they all just kinda feel the same lol. I think like maybe one or two i thought were cool? but idk the names. i def like the aesthetic of a lot of them.

I wanna just try all the weapons and specials but noooooo i gotta level up. just gimme everything ok

i also wanna explore the stages but as far as i know there isnt recon. I was just gonna do a private battle but turns out u cant do those w one person. And i was so excited cuz there were splatfest stages availbe too...... so sad i just wanna check out the maps but idk how to/if i can do that.....

the amount of times ive fallen off the map in the main level select area of story mode is more than i can count. its not even funny at this point

I also just cannot find some of the scrolls/sardines in some levels despite playing them mulitiple times. Not to just expose myself as incompetent over and over today, but i am 100% gonna need to look up a guide cuz i do not have the patience for this.

Also the rhythm game is surprisingly one of my fav things so far??? Like i am having the most fun ever with this thing. I want it in splat 3 so bad w all the new songs. Its actually just so fun. Like idk maybe better than story mode somehow. Maybe i just have my priorities wrong tho lol

Anyway yeah tats all i have 2 say for now... I think. idk im having fun w the game so yeah

[dorematrix1]

The Rise of Real-Time Multiplayer Games: Transforming the Gaming Landscape

In the dynamic world of gaming, real-time multiplayer games have emerged as a transformative force, captivating players and redefining the gaming experience. These games, which allow players to engage with each other in real-time, have revolutionized the way people interact and compete in the virtual world. This article explores the evolution, impact, and future prospects of real-time multiplayer games.

The Evolution of Real-Time Multiplayer Games

The journey of real-time multiplayer games began with the advent of networked gaming in the 1990s. Early pioneers like "Quake" and "Diablo" paved the way for more sophisticated multiplayer experiences. The rapid advancement of internet technology and the proliferation of high-speed connections have since enabled developers to create games that support real-time interactions on a global scale.

Key Features of Real-Time Multiplayer Games

Instantaneous Interaction: The hallmark of real-time multiplayer games is the ability for players to interact with each other instantly. This creates a dynamic and engaging gaming environment where every action and decision can have immediate consequences.

Global Connectivity: These games connect players from around the world, fostering a sense of global community. Players can team up with or compete against individuals from different cultures and backgrounds, enhancing the social aspect of gaming.

Competitive and Cooperative Play: Real-time multiplayer games offer a variety of gameplay modes, including competitive battles, cooperative missions, and team-based challenges. This versatility appeals to a wide range of players, from casual gamers to hardcore enthusiasts.

Live Events and Updates: Developers often organize live events and regularly update the game with new content, keeping the experience fresh and exciting. These updates can include new game modes, characters, and special events that keep players engaged over the long term.

Impact on the Gaming Industry

The rise of real-time multiplayer games has had a profound impact on the gaming industry. Here are some key areas influenced by this trend:

E-Sports and Competitive Gaming: Real-time multiplayer games have fueled the growth of e-sports, transforming gaming into a professional competitive arena. Popular titles like "League of Legends," "Fortnite," and "Call of Duty" host tournaments with massive prize pools, attracting millions of viewers worldwide.

Social Interaction and Community Building: These games have redefined social interaction in the digital age. Players form communities, forge friendships, and collaborate on strategies, creating a sense of camaraderie that extends beyond the game itself.

Monetization and Revenue Models: The success of real-time multiplayer games has led to innovative monetization strategies. In-game purchases, battle passes, and cosmetic items generate significant revenue for developers, allowing them to invest in further game development and support.

The Future of Real-Time Multiplayer Games

The future of real-time multiplayer games looks incredibly promising, with several trends poised to shape the next generation of gaming experiences:

Enhanced Graphics and Immersion: Advances in graphics technology, including ray tracing and virtual reality, will create even more immersive and realistic game worlds. Players can expect visually stunning environments and lifelike character animations.

Cross-Platform Play: The trend towards cross-platform play will continue to grow, allowing players to compete and collaborate across different devices and platforms. This will further expand the player base and enhance the gaming experience.

AI and Machine Learning: Artificial intelligence and machine learning will play a significant role in creating more intelligent and responsive in-game characters. These technologies will also help in developing advanced matchmaking systems that pair players with similar skill levels.

Augmented Reality (AR) Integration: The integration of augmented reality into real-time multiplayer games will open up new possibilities for interactive and location-based gaming experiences. Players will be able to engage with virtual elements in the real world, blending digital and physical play seamlessly.

Conclusion

Real-time multiplayer games have transformed the gaming landscape, offering players an unparalleled level of interaction, competition, and social engagement. As technology continues to advance, these games will only become more sophisticated and immersive, ensuring their place at the forefront of the gaming industry. Whether you're a casual gamer or a dedicated e-sports enthusiast, the world of real-time multiplayer games promises an exciting and ever-evolving journey.

By embracing the potential of real-time multiplayer games, developers and players alike are shaping a future where gaming is more connected, competitive, and engaging than ever before.

[mmorgmatrix]

Pokemon go for android lg

#Pokemon go for android lg movie#

#Pokemon go for android lg android#

People will pack whatever power they want into a phone. If I want to burn my night with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp or Threes or the latest Monument valley it is my iPhone X every time. However, if I need to fiddle with screen refresh rates or I will play a game on my laptop.

#Pokemon go for android lg android#

No, you do not get the freedom you get with an android phone. However, one minute you think that you are downloading an unheard of game, the next your phone is riddled with electronic STDs. Hipsters might need you to believe that downloading some janky experimental game from android is like finding a rare vinyl or going vegan. No matter you want to play Pokemon Gochances are high that it is going to come to the App Store first, iOS-optimized and checked for any nasty bugs or glitches. What makes iPhone X the best phone for gamers is not it is Tate modern worthy Portrait Mode or the Super retina OLED screen, it is the mighty power of our Apple overlords. If that is your primary concern, this is often way ahead of the competition. However, it is a powerful phone specifically design for gaming. Yes, it is large, and no it does not have a headphone socket. The Razer Phone 2 is just let down by everyday use features. The battery of phone especially stacks up very well against this phone’s competition. That is not simply messaging and occasional use either that is playing games, using the camera, and accessing the media player. The battery is commendable too, offering each rapid charging (which means you are absolutely charged from 0 in under 2 hours) and a whopping usage time of 10+ hours.

#Pokemon go for android lg movie#

It runs Android, therefore you are getting a phone with a neat, customizable OS, and there are many settings within the system to allow you to prioritize gaming and movie watching. The overall build and feel of the phone are large, chunky and well created, therefore you know it would not break if you get a bit excited on the train, playing Pokemon Go. No, it is not edgeless, and it still sticks to the 16:9 ratio, however the quality of the picture more than compensates for this.Īdd in the Dolby Atmos sound, and therefore the terrifyingly fast Snapdragon 845 processor, and this can run anything you throw at it with panache. The 120Hz refresh rate is a thing of beauty, and it enhances pretty much any game you stick on there. With those requirements in mind, here are our top 5 best phones for Pokemon Go adventure. To enjoy it at its best, your phone can need network and GPS connectivity, a camera and gyroscope, and a large, hefty battery to get you through the day. Related Article: BEST BUDGET Gaming Phones 2019 Whereas it should sound appealing, Pokemon Go is serious business and it comes at a worth. Pokemon Go is a simple location-based game during which users are encouraged to explore their surroundings to catch Pokemon, collect things, and battle gymnasium leaders. They are playing Pokemon Go, a newly released game during which children and adults alike can enjoy the fantasy of becoming a Pokemon master. Why do you ask? Well, that is because all of them have one thing in common. There is a new phenomenon that has people young and old hanging out in parks day and night, flicking their touchscreens and shouting in excitement. Whether you have completed it or not, you have probably seen large groups of people gathered in one spot with their eyes fixated on their phones and a glance of determination on their faces, even a lot of so than usual. You also need to consider battery life, some phones will shut down after a few hours of intense gaming. When you are looking for the best phones for Pokemon Go for you, the things to consider are: what is the size of the screen? A bigger screen means you can see the details of your Pokemon Go game better, and it allows bigger fingers to be more accurate. You know, when you are not playing games on them, and you are messaging friends, taking selfies, and watching endless unboxing videos on YouTube. The best phones balance the ability to run games (and make you feel comfortable playing them) with all the other features that you will use day-to-day. But some phones are better suited to actually playing games than others. Most modern phones have similar feature sets, similar quality cameras, and comparable screen sizes. As mobile play continues to mature, it gets more and more important to make sure you are getting one of the best phones for Pokemon Go you can.

[prof-peach]

If you could cross over two of your favorite games, which would you choose? Please explain, why that crossover would be a good match.

Oh you’re going to regret asking this one, I’m bout to GET SERIOUS.

So Pokemon, obvs, I love the whole world it’s built in, but the games imo are REALLY boring, I haven’t enjoyed one a lot since gale of darkness, the main ones just are a little too linear obvious plots, pretty standard setups for story and style. Speaking of style, the games lack personality, the models aren’t animated well, moves have no dynamic energy or visual difference at times, and the turn based battle style just feels kind of, I don’t know, old? Slow? Just doesn’t suit what I enjoy personally, gives me a FInal Fantasy vibe and I just cannot stand the speed at which things happen in those games, plus not into 3rd person ‘let’s build a team of people’ much, but that’s a problem for another time. With this all in mind, the game I wish would happen is like gen20 Pokemon, far future sadly, I doubt I’d see it in my lifetime but god I’d be happy if I did!

Ok so take the newest Zelda graphics, the visual treat that was BOTW, open world, puzzles, not JUST combat, you got side missions, hunt the chickens, find missing pets, parcels, items, whatever. Love it! The horse taming?! Amazing you funky little game. Now take the bad guys and beasts from that. And put Pokemon in instead. Give them the diversity, the life and believable natures that BOTW gave the animals, I followed a frog in BOTW for 15 minutes, and it was a great experience, it felt like it was believable. Above world spawning, ACTUAL difficult gameplay, rare spawn rates, make dragons hard to get again, cmon, it’s too easy now, make it so we need a certain set of Pokemon for certain tasks. Water types big enough to carry you will be able to get you to new areas, rock types that can help you climb mountains faster, or break through blocking boulders. Actual towns with more than 4 houses in them, shops, barns, farms, homes. Like little link with the heat, maybe ice types would struggle in volcano areas, or bug Pokemon not be so comfortable in gale force winds. Give the weather more of an effect on your partners. Mounts, don’t even get me started that Pokemon Let’s go had you able to ride any of the larger species, but swsh did not???? Bitch please, give me my rideable Pokemon. The wild area too was far too closed, limited, online was laggy and a mess, camping is limited, let me do more with my team. Pokemon for me is all about the actual creatures, how they live with humans, and the many wonderful things they’re capable of. Yes of course it’s cool they can fight, but like what else you know?

I’d love a game that lets me buy a plot of land, maybe plant things, custom build things. I’m a sucker for the fallout4 settlement builds when they’re modded to hell and back, they’re fun! It can be a really calm and creative process. If I could do that and skip the main campaign and all the battles for a bit? Amazing, it sound perfect for me. I am that distracted hoe collecting flowers while the kingdom burns in the background. Side quests are everything to me. Let me give homeless people enough money to get them in a home? Let me adopt Pokemon that are stray around the town? Plz oh plz bring me a Pokemon game that allows me to work WITH my team to do more than KO other species. I want to save and buy a plow for my buddy gogoat, and grow amazing foods to sell to get currency to spend in decorations, to spoil my team. Give me actual game consequence, if I ignore that sick and injured Pokemon I find in the wild, later maybe it’s family don’t want to help me out with a different problem, too stricken from grief. I am all about the average bits, the old women who need help, the lost pets board in town, the general day to day stuff. Let me get cosmetic items for the Pokemon I keep, cute outfits, special gemstone items, let me actually live with them, or even feel remotely like they’re realistic.

Ok so in game, if it’s looking like BOTW it’s pretty beautiful but also stylised, I’d have it so you can send out a maximum of 3 Pokemon from your 6, using bumpers and such to throw them out. If you hit the trigger you switch from controlling the human trainer, to the Pokemon you’ve targeted with a standard lock on targeting system. You then can be the leader, but be the Pokemon. You could technically defeat the game without a human if you wanted, which incorporates the mystery dungeon games I think, and caters to that crowd. I’d love to see the use of attacks out of battle, things like using water gun to grow plants, using ember to start a campfire faster and stave off the cold. There’s no consequence to Pokemon anymore, and I think that’s where it’s lost me. I have to admit I miss the days of a poisoned pokemon fainting if you don’t heal them soon enough, I miss gym battles that were actually tough, damn, try picking charmander in red and beating brock without grinding in viridian forest first, it’s not easy. And I loved that. Yes it’s a child’s game, it will never be difficult again, but god it’d be nice to have a bit of a challenge, or maybe a difficulty setting, so some could play it with hostility turned off, great for kids, or you can be n adult like I know so many Pokemon fans are, and play it on expert mode and ACTUALLY have to work hard to beat the game. Alternate skill trees anyone? Train gun a fire type to ACUTALLy combat water moves?? Please! Cmon! It frustrated me that every challenger has pretty much a systematic set of moves to use to win. Grass opponent? Fire attack spam until you win. It’s dull, so at least with very difficult tricks to either find or learn in game would make it more achievable if you can send that fire type in and I don’t know, train them so much the heat evaporates the water mid-battle and you suddenly have a shot at winning. Pokemon has taught me that if you work hard enough you can achieve something, but the games just have such strict ways to win. Feels wrong.

In terms of battling, let us BE the Pokemon, let us learn to dodge, train our speed, train our defence, make a team of truly tough Pokemon instead of just, average? Some species have a cap on their skills, a squirtle has lower stat points than a Charizard, but you can’t ever change that? Let me choose the Pokemon I believe in, and let me work with them until they’re just as good, if not better than the game tanks. This would also make online battles more interesting. Everyone picks the top trio. Fairy, dragon, legendaries. And yknow what? It’s boring. That one IRL fight with the monster Pacharisu that won in the world tournament with follow me and the situs Berry? Unbelievable, I love that little rat so much because of this, so let us all have a chance to build a team that’s strategically viable, strong, and potentially a winner formula, even if they aren’t fully evolved, or the biggest Pokemon in the world. Yeah maybe you have to grind way harder with your unevolved Pokemon, but you get to the end game and win, because you put love and time into species that you enjoy, not just good fighters.

Unfortunately I am beholdent to Todd-idiot-Howard, and I love the Eldrescrolls and fallout games (before they got dumb, not that I don’t play the new ones. 76 I’m looking at you, you big asshole game.) honestly I hate online games, so none of that junk, just a good old fashioned open world sandbox game is plenty. Games for me are an escape from others, not an invitation to socialise. To each their own of course, and I do play online games sometimes, just pretty short lived ones, over watch and rdr2 for example. Would they be sometimes better on private servers? Yes of course, fallout76? Want to play with others? No. I do not. Please leave me alone. And if you buy a private server you’re feeding the monster that is Todd Howard, the man the myth the asshole, then we’ll get more bad games like 76. I just so desperately want the Pokemon company to see what a beautiful potential game they’ve got on their hands, that could be suitable for far greater audiences, but instead they’ve focused on the kids. It’s fine, it’s functional, but it’s lost to the fans from day 1, that are all 20+ years old now and want something meatier to play, something far more broad and inclusive. I also hate that there’s no wheelchair option in any Pokemon game. Like cmon, it’s not hard to include that.

In short, BOTW + Pokemon, with a sprinkle of open world sandbox to it, less fighting, more fun. Or, at least both options. Sure, go fight everything, great, but I want to farm carrots over here with 6sunflora, plz let me have some peace.

Edit: I forgot about harvest moon, chuck some of that in there too.

SECOND EDIT: someone in the comments mentioned to put this in Unova? Plz love yourselves, this game would be ALL MAPS. Stuff one singular location, this is the ideal game, put every map in it, join them, put islands in, make them more explorable, more detailed!

[orojuice]

Paradox Bandit: Alternate Take

A comic by me and Sha-Y. Part of our NMH3: Alternate Struggles series.

Paradox Bandit was probably the alien “superhero” I was least interested in when FU’s crew was revealed way back in “The Return”.

Some noted his resemblance to He-Man, which I only recognized after it was pointed out. This comparison was strengthened during the Rankings comicbook intro that called him the “Master of Explosion”, a possible riff on “Masters of the Universe”.

Even with 2021 being an odd year for the Champion of Eternia, I wasn’t very inspired to do an “alternate take” comic with him like I did with Vanishing Point, Sniping Lee, or Black Night Direction.

Then Travis unveiled his skeletal “Full Green” armor mode and everything just sort of clicked, and a backstory for Paradox Bandit as fallen superhuman barbarian hero of a far-off planet/dimension whose Yuga-esque cyclic exploits are broadcasted on Earth ala Robert A. Heinlein’s “World as Myth” concept i.e. all “fiction” is “real” somewhere out there in the multiverse.

A quick two-punch, two-page comic script reminiscent of Travis’ confrontation with Electro Triple Star in TSA came to mind. One that satirizes the quick AND painful way writers try to shake up long-running fictional franchises, as well as the feuds that follow. We’ve seen it with He-Man, with Marvel’s Thor (whose washed-up Endgame iteration Paradox Bandit also resembles) with Star Wars, with The Greatest American Hero, the list goes on. In the stories these shifts typically occur in, the current is powerless to challenge the coming, the past is to be killed with no sincere purpose, but in the chaotic framework of No More Heroes, that needn’t be so as anything can happen.

Thus, the dismissed, diminished, and discarded demigod is given the chance to “fight back” in a raw and direct fashion that some of the archetype’s bereaved fans secretly wish they would, resulting in a metaphorical sequence rife with genuine pain, visceral delight, and undeniable horror. 

Choking Hazard: 3 years of age and under.

Rather than a straw supporter of the new guard or an upright acolyte taking a former idol to task, Travis would be an interesting opponent as he’s clearly not the ideal result of the pop culture strata Paradox Bandit is supposed to represent. Despite being a fan of heroic fiction as seen in the likes of Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and presumably 80s action cartoons (Travis was born during 1981 or 1982), he’s grown up into a thoroughly unpleasant and dysfunctional individual, calling into question just how effective the old way of doing things was in providing actable and legitimate inspirations for audiences. He is, in short, exactly what Paradox Bandit accuses him of being, the awkward contrarian who would like the Skeletor and Orko stand-ins over him.

That in mind, perhaps a change is needed. Although pre and post-fight, Travis tacitly argues for a method that ties in for his love of tokusatsu (see the names for the various Death Glove Chips), sequel stories that explore new themes, ideas, and characters but truly respect the virtues and spirit of the mythology’s bedrock rather than treading upon them to form a distinct platform: succession rather than supplanting (you can see that in how MotU progressed from simple toy comic tie-ins to all its much loved animated iterations, graphic novels, etc). Which is more diplomatic and preferable than Paradox Bandit’s wish to take the reins of his next cycle and lock it in a status quo where he will remain secure at the cost of stagnancy.

For his battle, Travis fights Paradox Bandit in his Full Green mode much like he does against Midori, more out of symbolism and to have at least one other Full Green boss fight on the roster. In contrast to Midori’s area control/denial battle style, Paradox Bandit fights in a much more aggressive and direct manner: causing tremors, stomping up boulders to kick towards Travis, calling down lightning, throwing his axe and calling it back, doing melee combos reminiscent of the Captain Treatments, summoning his version of Battle Cat that Travis needs to use missiles or his Tiger Attack to knock him off of, and of course, doling out EXPLOSIONS.

The fight ends with Paradox Bandit managing to badly damage the Full Green armor (to the point that it can only be used in short bursts, explaining why Travis didn’t pull it out during a crucial moment during the final boss sequence), but this gives Travis a chance to wrest his axe away from him. Screaming “By the Potence of ZweiNull! I have the Potence!” (which does nothing), he swings it down and critically wounds Paradox Bandit. As he lies dying, he expresses fear at what’s going to happen to him come his next incarnation, if one happens at all, and laments over his failures as both a hero and villain.

Travis assures him that despite how screwed up he himself is, he still lives by some of the lessons Paradox Bandit doled out as De-Max in his original show: He recycles, he looks both ways before he crosses the street, etc, which he’s passed on to his own kids. Paradox Bandit asks him if he’ll share MASTERS OF EXPLOSION with Hunter and Jeane, but Travis shrugs and says they’re not really into the kind of entertainment he likes, but if the new CG MoE show on Notflix is good, he’ll probably buy a couple of the toys if they’re of acceptable quality.

This gives Paradox Bandit some measure of peace, who says that he’s once again feeling very, very sleepy, as his body suddenly disintegrates. His axe then flies out of Travis hands and up into space, presumably to reboot MASTERS OF EXPLOSION.

I’ve actually watched the CG He-Man show. It’s actually pretty good. Radically different in lots of ways, but the essence and ideals of the Masters of the Universe remain. It also comes packaged with shockingly good humor, character dynamics, and action scenes. So check that out if you like.

Travis’ shirt is part of the logo of Forgotton Anne, a beautiful and fully-voiced indie puzzle platforming game that’s also about lost things…and lost people.

[darksaiyangoku]

My dream RWBY videogames

Since asking everyone else about their dream RWBY games, I figured I'd have a go at it. With my dream games, barring one, I'd like for them to be standalone. Each game or game series would take place in its own universe but still retain common elements that make it RWBY, such as:

Huntsmen/Huntresses

Dust

Kingdoms/Academies

Aura/Semblances

Grimm

Teams

Though before carrying on with my dream games, there's a subgenre which I don't think would fit with RWBY and that is the SoulsBorne subgenre. Difficulty aside, the SoulsBorne games are all about slow and methodical gameplay and that doesn'f sit well with RWBY's faster, high energy combat style.

With that out of the way, let's get to it!!!

1. Bandai Namco

Series influence: Tales

Gameplay: Linear Motion Battle System

Story: Standalone AU

Bandai Namco's Tales series are pretty much just like playing a fantasy anime and the beautiful cutscenes by Ufotable enhance that experience even more. Imagine that? RWBY animated by UFOTABLE? That would be rad as hell!

In terms of gameplay, the Linear Motion Battle System is a signature to the Tales series and Berseria has my favourite version called the Liberation Variation. This means that the player is able to roam freely within the battlefield and each button can be assigned for a specific attack. The fast pace of battles fits right at home with RWBY and can make for some pretty fun combat.

2. Shift/Bandai Namco

Series influence: God Eater

Gameplay: God Eater System

Story: Standalone AU

God Eater's world could easily fit within Remnant. A group of young heroes battling monsters with crazy weapons and powers? Textbook RWBY! And once again, animations by Ufotable. Man, I love that studio!

The battle system has a feature where you can swap between melee, ranged and shield mode, which can be pretty handy and allows for a variety of different combos that you can use to defeat your enemies! The variety in Aragami can be an influence for the Grimm and the missions can be placed all over the various kingdoms, adding variety and exploration to the world of Remnant. You can't go wrong with God Eater, folks!

3. Square Enix

Series influence: Final Fantasy

Gameplay: Active Cross Battle System

Story: Standalone AU

I mean, RWBY was influenced by Final Fantasy and what better studio to tackle a JRPG-infuenced anime series than Square Enix themselves.

I LOVE Final Fantasy; the different worlds, the fun characters, the epic storylines and the variety in gameplay! It's just so awesome and Square Enix would have no trouble of making RWBY into an epic game. The gameplay style that I chose to go for was FFXV's Active Cross System, which focuses on real time combat, dodging, parrying and using the environment to your advantage. With some fine tuning and switch ups, such as swapping out weapon fighting styles instead of new weapons altogether, this could fit well with the cast of RWBY. Plus, the open world allows for tons of exploration, more so than God Eater, where you can take missions, go on hunts, search for upgrades, etc. The possibilities are pretty much endless.

4. Capcom

Series influence: Devil May Cry

Gameplay: DMC 5 style

Story: Canon STRQ prequel

A hack n' slash RWBY sounds like a no-brainer. Slicing up Grimm with style and savagery? Sign me up!!!

While more linear compared to the open worlds of both Final Fantasy and Tales of Berseria, the adrenaline pumping gameplay more than makes up for it. The style system ensures that players are able to keep on the offesensive, experiment with various weapon types (both melee and ranged) and increase their score ranks each time they encounter enemies. Compared to my previous dream games, this one would be more in line with the anime canon and would follow STRQ in the prime. Focusing on a group of adult Huntsmen can allow the writers to experiment with darker themes that wouldn't fit in the anime.

And those are some of my dream RWBY games. I'll be sure to make another list in the future and focus on how each story would be different from canon. Let me know what you think of my list and if you want to contribute with your own list, you're more than welcome to!

[agtteam]

AGT Team March - April Progress Report

Two months have flown by like the wind, but we’re excited to be back bringing you the latest news!

[NDS] Death Note: Kira Game

We’re proud to announce that work has begun on yet another project, Death Note: Kira Game for the Nintendo DS! Imagine a game of mafia (werewolf) or Among Us played by all your favorite Death Note characters and this is the game you get. Characters take turns building trust and raising suspicion until a round of voting takes place. In the role of Kira, it is your goal to remove L from the game through voting or with the power of your Death Note. As L, you must gather the trust of your fellow investigators to bring Kira to justice.

The game includes a story mode which roughly follows the events of the manga/anime, as well as single and multiplayer modes where you can play the Kira Game with computer AI’s or your friends.

Already, translations have been completed for the tutorial and four story chapters.

[NDS] Vampire Knight DS

Next is an oldie, but a goldie! Originally started in 2018 by Zorbnog, the AGT Team have officially restarted work on translating Vampire Knight for the Nintendo DS. Set in an alternative universe, the game gives players a chance to explore the prestigious Cross Academy as never seen before, and to learn more about many fan-favorite characters.

Thanks to the work left behind by the old team, the project has been off to a roaring start, with translations already having reached the fourth chapter.

[PS2/PSP] Soul Eater: Battle Resonance

The majority of Battle Resonance’s text comes from its Adventure Mode, and lots of progress has been made on that front. All mission descriptions have been translated, as have all the secondary character paths. From the three main character paths, it is only Soul and Maka’s Adventure Mode path which has yet to be completed. 

A fun bit of trivia for Soul Eater fans, the bloodthirsty killer, Sonson-J is briefly mentioned in Battle Resonance, making him the only minor villain from the series who shows up both in this game and Monotone Princess!

[Wii] Soul Eater: Monotone Princess

Speaking of Montone Princess, we’re pleased to annouce that it has now been through a total of two proofreading passes, and is awaiting one final review before it’ll be ready for release! Unfortunately, these last two months have been busy for the members of our graphics team and so not much progress has been able to be made on the remaining untranslated images, but with the bulk of the work finished now, we are determined to make sure this patch is released in a timely manner.

[NDS] Spice & Wolf: The Wind that Spans the Sea

Finally, a reminder we are still seeking translators for Ookami to Koushinryou: Umi o Wataru Kaze. Interested parties, please get in touch!

--

If you enjoy these posts and want to find out more about what goes on behind the scenes, be sure to follow lead translator Haribeau on twitter for more news and exclusive previews. 

That’s all from us here today, until next time!

[xenonmalachite]

so Pixie now has a redesign.  so here she is! Crosshair’s little niece. I’ll admit, British Sign language or sign language in general is a bit of a task to draw but hopefully i can get better. 

since Pixie uses sign language to talk, i had to look up multiple diagrams and videos to help me get what she’s saying right. it’s a bit difficult as this is a new area for me. I’m thinking maybe she also writes or uses something for text to speech to talk to those who may not know sign. her uncle and aunt obviously know sign but the other autobots may not so she’s stuck on figuring out how to communicate with them if both her aunt and uncle are away. 

but other than that i think she turned out cute. i made a little human version because why not

she has a different colour scheme so she looks more like his niece rather than a daughter. a niece is what i was going for. and look. she has a lil pair of goggles like her uncle. i think she turned out well

Bio Below the cut

Name: Pixie

Nicknames: Pix, Froggy, Frog, Tadpole, Kiddo, Pixie Frog.

Age: youngling. 

Faction: autobots

Alt. Mode: (Too young to transform)

Family: Crosshairs (Uncle), Loco Motion / Dot (Aunt), Fuselage (father) 

hobbies and interests:

Frogs, frog catching, reading, animal crossing, plushies, herpetology, swimming, nature, bugs, camping, puzzle games

personality:

Pixie is mostly an energetic little kid who loves to explore and learn. she’s adventurous and curious, always asking questions and watching how things work. she’s shy to new people and mostly quiet. when she’s not excitedly chasing after frogs, she’s reading about them. she thinks it’s funny she shares the name of a species of frog. though, she doesn’t have a limit to questions and can be accidentally distracting. she’s still learning a lot, being a little kid. she’s also opposite in bravery to her uncle. she’s jumpy and can be a bit emotional. she gets easily frustrated when not understood. she’s been known to have a bad habit of wandering off a lot. She’s nonverbal and has to communicate what she needs in a different way. her uncle is starting to rub off on her, and she’ll do small little prank favors only in exchange for some energon sweets. she’s clever and loves trying to problem solve when it comes to puzzles. she loves solving logic puzzles. she’s got a lot to learn in her young age, but don’t underestimate her, there’s stuff she knows and she will surprise you with her knowledge. 

Background:

Pixie was born on earth when Fuselage and his partner first arrived on earth. Crosshairs, who had arrived around the same time was around for majority of Pixie’s first years, watching Pixie grow with her parents. She instantly looked forward to when he would visit. Even from her younger years, it was clear Pixie didn’t talk. Crosshairs had taught her to sign when he remembered a deaf comrade he had back on cybertron. 

eventually, Crosshairs had to take leave to join the battles between the autobots and decepticons. Pixie didn’t quite understand so everyday she basically waited for her uncle to come back. that day never happened that Crosshairs would return to her family’s home. Pixie soon got lost when walking in the woods. seeing that she was too far from home, she started sending out distress signals as she started trying to find her way back, getting even more lost

luckily for her, Crosshairs had received her signals by sheer chance. he and his conjunx endura, Loco Motion, managed to find Pixie. unfortunately, so did cemetery wind. the two fled with pixie, afraid of what cemetery wind would do with the information of what a youngling was like. fearing the worst for her parents, as they couldn’t be contacted, Loco Motion and Crosshairs took little Pixie under their wing. Because of the unfamiliarity, Pixie was a little weary warming up to Loco Motion, but eventually they got along. she started calling Loco Motion “aunty Coco.” which seemed to stick. she traveled with her uncle and aunt to reunite with the remaining autobots

Pixie was very shy meeting the other autobots and was initially very scared of hound. Hound was loud and the amount of weaponry on him frightened the heck out of Pixie. she did get confident enough to be in the same location as him but so far that’s as good as it got. she had a little less trouble warming up to bumblebee though, given his younger demenor. she’s slowly warming up more to drift, though the sight of his swords do scare her a little sometimes. during the storming of KSI and the rescue of optimus he had to stay hidden. during the fight in England in The Last Knight, she remained in Lockdown’s old ship, hiding, as instructed by her uncle. 

but one thing happened during the fight. a con snuck on board. with drift piloting the ship, and Pixie in a compartment on the other side, there was trouble. with her uncle fighting on the ground below, she was stuck. so she climbed into the roof and when the con came past below her, she dropped a heavy book on him. it knocked the con out just enough for Pixie to run to Drift and alert him to the situation, something Crosshairs is very proud of her for doing. not just alerting drift, but for being the clever and brave little tadpole she is. she’s not quite ready to start training as an autobot yet but she has the potential for being one in the future. 

Misc:

- her “birthday” is july 5th

[khalayak]

music, trauma and time

so much has been written about evangelion’s visual motif, but barely enough about its soundscape. i mean, sure, we know about the silence in that elevator scene and the irreverent use of classical music (will you ever hear handel’s messiah the same again?), and still there’s so much more to talk about.

consider this a tasting platter:

the series lies on a bed of keening cicadas (insect buffs, eva likes minminzemis and kumazemi). repetition in music psychology is shorthand for anxiety, tension, monotony. it’s linked to the freudian death drive, the loss of ego and is also a nod to the lacanian real (meaning, the world divorced from distorting perception and symbolism, the reality that won’t change according to how we wish things to be). this is played straight: cicadas scream through mundane scenes and the dull wait between battles, signaling the here and now. in ep1, the cicadas stop just before shinji sees a vision of rei to underline his departure from the real. the next time we hear them is in ep2, when shinji waits at the hospital hallway as rei is wheeled past. this time they continue to shriek, because it’s real. cicadas are altogether absent in shinji’s utopia in ep26.

misato, who can live wherever the fuck she wants in tokyo-3, picks a near-abandoned apartment building right by a noisy train crossing that sounds much like a siren. this underscores her need to be constantly on alert, on survival mode. this is how trauma works, the second impact has reconfigured her way of existing, where survival has become her one and only reason to live to the detriment of any other way of being

overhead announcements form the architecture of shinji and misato’s early relationship, where shinji expects to be instructed and misato expects to be obeyed even as both yearn for a deeper connection. the intercom chatters through nearly all of their first scenes together, even replacing the conversation when misato picks him up from the hospital in ep2. remember, shinji runs away the first time when misato demands him to want what she wants, a breach of this unspoken pact (insert hedgehog dilemma). in ep4, misato’s world is rendered near silent (save the above siren) while shinji is hounded by blaring train announcements, salesmen, screams from the cinema. misato must face her solitude while shinji struggles with a deluge of directives. once reunited, they both adopt an intercom-like speech before misato snaps, again crossing the line. shinji runs away again. the final piece is so obvious. at the end of ep4, listen.

in ep15, shinji performs bach’s g major prelude, which also happens to be the most overplayed cello piece ever. it’s a simple piece yet, true to bach, carries this theme of creation ➝ fall ➝ redemption. it starts by setting the key, then introduces the tension that drags the piece to explore other keys, releases to the improvisation part, then returns to g major all glorious, made better for its journey. it’s not hard to see how this also functions as a metaphor for growth, i.e. childhood ➝ adolescence ➝ adulthood. that shinji plays only a fraction of it, and only the part that sets the key, is most likely due to time constraints (y’all wanna watch an anime, not a cello solo) but there’s something poetic in seeing this as a symbol for the many “failures to launch” in the ep, from shinji vis a vis gendo/yui to asuka’s stubborn obsession with kaji to misato, who says it herself: “i joined NERV to put all that behind me but there was also where my father worked.” each of them makes their failed bids to break free of old patterns only to return to their habitual ways of being, just like shinji with his made-up ending to bach’s actually awesome piece

in death, asuka’s violin solo is the gavotte en rondeau from bach’s partita 3 in e major. this is interesting cause the gavotte is a musical form that starts in the middle of the bar (say, the tempo’s 4/4, meaning there are four beats in each bar, the song starts on the 3rd instead of the 1st, like so). this is meant to create an upbeat tone and also true to asuka’s in medias res entrance. as with shinji, she doesn’t complete this piece

anno didn’t come up with komm susser tod. that was bach using a text by (now) anonymous author. while the eva’s version has become the theme song of our “life sucks just lemme die” gen, the original is more about a longing for heaven’s reward after life’s toils. it’s since been set to many variations. here’s my fave version as set by knut nystedt, true to the idea that music is the most temporal of the arts, as someone once said to me: “a chord is a glimpse into eternity”

there’s little point juxtaposing the lyrics of ode to joy to evangelion when it’s the context that matters. the finale to beethoven’s symphony 9 is a holiday song inextricable from war, which 10,000-strong japanese choirs sing to mark the new year’s by memorizing how the lyrics sound and not necessarily its meaning. it was the anthem of japanese nationalism in ww2 as its technical difficulty signaled their superiority over the rest of asia and their alignment with axis germany. it’s since been co-opted as a message of unity and brotherhood, but it can never shed its wartime burden. no doubt many japanese would still see in it a great deal of nationalistic pride (anno himself included)

trivia: technically most of the “classical” music in evangelion isn’t even classical but baroque (bach, pachelbel, handel). fittingly complex and polyphonic

notice any other examples? let me know. and please, actual musicologists out there, enlighten us.

[qwertyfingers]

i’m on a jackposting roll so i’m thinking about video games. i think he loves goofy, funny games, and exploration/questy stuff and avoids combat for the most part. here is a non-exhaustive list of games i think he would enjoy

minedcraft obviously

no man’s sky for similar reasons to minecraft. heloves the procedurally generated creatures, and he gives custom names to every plant, mineral and animal he discovers, on every planet

mirror’s edge and mirror’s edge catalyst though some combat is unavoidable in this game, most of it can be sidestepped using the free-running mechanics. he loves the feeling of leaping through the air and thinks the graphics are neat

untitled goose game they got this one because it makes dean laugh, and they play it on the switch together

donut county

he does play fortnite but only with people he knows (mostly claire) and they generally just play the creative and limited time modes. they got the worldwide high score in the taxi cabs of chaos mode 

he likes a lot of walking simulator type games, they make him feel calm

he loved everybody’s gone to the rapture but cas only lets him play it the once, with supervision

tearaway: unfolded it’s a really cute ps4 exclusive where the entire world is made to look like it’s built from papercraft! absolutely beautiful and he would love it

journey would enthrall him

PIKMIN!!!!!!!!!! cas and jack both love pikmin they play it constantly

unravelled

animal crossing of course of course he has animal crossing. he makes sam, dean and cas make villagers on his island and he makes them all custom clothes to wear and cas is so proud of him it makes him cry

katamari damacy it’s silly and it’s fun and full of bright colours, he’d love it

zelda dean has definitely played every zelda game since the dawn of time and introducing jack to it is his favourite dad thing. they use that tactic in BoTW where you lure chickens to attack big bosses and it makes jack howl with laughter

ta few years down the line they let him pick one MMO to play (fantasy, not scifi, no guns whenever possible), i’m thinking maybe guild wars 2 or maybe FFXIV based on what people around me have said (i’m not rly an mmo person). he plays it with charlie and his character is called castiel because he’s a nerd and has yet to outgrow the phase of naming everything after his favourite people

ratchet and clank despite being absolutely full of combat ratchet and clank is a CLASSIC and also very, very silly and therefore acceptable. dean realises he also loves this one

spyro, because duh

jack does like pokemon but he doesn’t really understand any of it he just collects fairy pokemon. kevin does all the gym battles for him. jack has a shiny sylveon and its his most treasured possession

he tries to play fall guys but he always gets annoyed and makes sam play instead. he has much more fun watching other people fail at it

[ducktastic]

2020 Gameological Awards

Over on the Gameological Discord, we have an annual tradition of writing up our games of the year not as a ranked list but rather as answers to a series of prompts. Here are my personal choices for the year that was 2020.

Favorite Game of the Year

I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into Paradise Killer. I knew that I liked the vaporwave resort aesthetic from the game’s trailer and figured I was in for a Danganronpa-style murder mystery visual novel with an open-ended murder mystery at its core. Those assumptions were… half-right? The game definitely plays out like the exploration bits of Danganronpa set on the island from Myst but with far simpler puzzles. What I didn’t expect was to fall so deeply in love with the environment—its nooks and crannies, its millennia of lore, its brutalist overlap of idol worship, consumerism, and mass slaughter. It makes sense that the world of Paradise Killer is its strongest feature, since the cast of NPCs don’t really move around, leaving you alone with the world for the overwhelming majority of your experience as you bounce back and forth between digging around for clues and interrogating potential witnesses. And despite what the promo materials indicated, there IS a definitive solution to the crimes you’re brought in to investigate, the game just lets you make judgment based on whatever evidence you have at the time you’re ready to call it a day, so if you’re missing crucial evidence you might just make a compelling enough case for the wrong person and condemn them to eternal nonexistence. Am I happy with the truth at the end of the day? No, and neither is anybody else I’ve spoken to who completed the game, but we all were also completely enthralled the entire time and our dissatisfaction has less to do with the game and more to do with the ugly reality of humanity. I’ve always been of the mindset that “spoilers” are absolute garbage and that a story should be just as good whether you know the twist or not and any story that relies on surprising the audience with an unexpected reveal is not actually that good a story, but Paradise Killer is a game about piecing together your own version of events so I feel that it’s vital to the gameplay experience that people go in knowing as little as possible and gush all about it afterwards. Just trust me, if the game looks even remotely intriguing to you, go for it. I’ve had just as much fun talking about the game after I finished it with friends just getting started as I did actually solving its mysteries myself.

Best Single Player Game

I honestly missed out on the buzz for In Other Waters at launch, so I’m happy I had friends online talking it up as Black Friday sales were coming along. The minimal aesthetic of his underwater exploration game allows the focus to shift more naturally to the game’s stellar writing as a lone scientist goes off in search of her mentor and the secrets they were hiding on an alien world. It only took a few hours for me to become completely absorbed in this narrative and keep pushing forward into increasingly dangerous waters. In Other Waters might just be the best sci-fi story I experienced all year and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci-fi novels, regardless of their experience with video games.

Best Multiplayer Game

Look, we all know this year sucked. 2020 will absolutely be chronicled in history books as a fascinating and deeply depressing time in modern history where we all stayed inside by ourselves and missed our friends and family. It was lonely and it was bleak. Which is why it made my heart glow so much more warmly every time I got a letter from an honest-to-goodness real-life friend in Animal Crossing New Horizons. Knowing that they were playing the same game I was and hearing about their experiences and sending each other wacky hats or furniture, it lightened the days and made us feel that little bit more connected. Sure, when the game first launched we would actually take the time to visit one another’s islands, hang out, chat in real-time, and exchange gifts, but we all eventually got busy with Zoom calls, sourdough starters, and watching Birds of Prey twenty-two times. Still, sending letters was enough. It was and still is a touching little way to show that we’re here for one another, if not at the exact same time.

Favorite Ongoing Game

Zach Gage is one of my favorite game designers right now, and when I heard he was releasing a game called Good Sudoku I was sold sight unseen. The game as released was… fine. It’s sudoku and it’s pleasant, but it was also buggy and overheated my phone in a way I hadn’t seen since Ridiculous Fishing (also by Zach Gage) seven years ago. Thankfully, the most glaring bugs have been fixed and I can now enjoy popping in every day for some quick logic puzzle goodness. Daily ranked leaderboards keep me coming back again and again, the steady ramp of difficulty in the arcade and eternal modes means I can always chase the next dopamine rush of solving increasingly complex puzzles. It’s not a traditional “ongoing” game the way, say, Fortnite and Destiny are, but I’m happy to come back every day for sudoku goodness.

Didn't Click For Me

With Fortnite progressively losing me over the course of 2020, finalizing with my wholesale “never again” stance after Epic boss Tim Sweeney compared Fortnite demanding more money from Apple to the American Civil Rights movement (no, absolutely not), I dipped my toe into a number of new “battle pass”-style online arena types of games, and while Genshin Impact eventually got its hooks into me, Spellbreak absolutely did not. With graphics straight out of The Dragon Prince and the promise of a wide variety of magic combat skills to make your character your own, the game seemed awfully tempting, but my first few experiences were aimless and joyless, with no moment of clarity to make me understand why I should keep coming back. Maybe they’ll finesse the game some more in 2021, or a bunch of my friends will get hooked and lure me back, but for now I am a-okay deleting this waste of space on my Switch and PC.

"Oh Yeah, I Did Play That Didn't I?"

I remember being really excited for Murder By Numbers. Ace Attorney-style crime scene investigation visual novel with Picross puzzles for the evidence, art by the creators of Hatoful Boyfriend, and music by the composer of Ace Attorney itself?! Sounds like a dream come true. But the pixel-hunt nature of the crime scene investigations was more frustrating than fun, the picross puzzles were not particularly great, and the game came out literally a week before the entire world went into lockdown which makes it feel more like seven years ago than just earlier this year. I remember being marginally charmed by the game once it was in my hands, but as soon as my mind shifted to long-term self care, Murder By Numbers went from hot topic to cold case.

Most Unexpected Joy

I was looking forward to Fuser all year. As a dyed-in-the-wool DropMix stan, the prospect of a spiritual sequel to DropMix on all major digital platforms without any of the analogue components was tremendously exciting, and I knew I’d have a lot of fun making mixes by myself and posting them online for the world to hear. What I didn’t expect, however, was the online co-op mode to be such a blast! Up to four players take turns making 32 bars of mashups, starting with whatever the player before handed them and adding their own fingerprints on top. It sounds like it should just be a mess of cacophony, but every session I’ve played so far has been just the best dance party I’ve had all year, and everyone not currently in control of the decks (including an audience of spectators) can make special requests for what the DJ should spin and tap along with the beat to great super-sized emoji to show how much they’re enjoying the mix. Literally the only times my Apple Watch has ever warned me of my heightened heart rate have been the times I was positively bouncing in place rocking out to co-op freestyle play in Fuser.

Best Music

Only one video game this year had tunes that were so bumpable they were upgraded to my general “2020 jams” playlist alongside Jeff Rosenstock, Run the Jewels, and Phoebe Bridgers, and that game was Paradise Killer. 70% lo-fi chill beats to study/interrogate demons to, 20% gothic atmospheric bangers, 10% high-energy pop jazz, this soundtrack was just an absolute joy to swim around in both in and out of gameplay.

Favorite Game Encounter

It’s wild that in a landscape where games let me live out my wildest fantasies, the single moment that lit me up in a way that stood out to me more than any other was serving Neil the right drink in Coffee Talk. Over the course of the game, you serve a variety of hot drinks to humans, werewolves, vampires, orcs, and more, all while chatting with your customers and learning more about their lives and relationships. The most mysterious customer, though, is an alien life form who adopts the name Neil. They do not know what they want to drink and claim it doesn’t make a difference because they cannot taste it. Everybody else wants *something*. Neil is just ordering for the sake of fitting in and exploring the Earth experience. It’s only in the second playthrough that attentive baristas will figure out what to serve Neil, unlocking the “true” ending in the process. Seeing the typically stoic Neil actually emote when they tasted their special order drink? What an absolute treat that was.

Best Free DLC of the Year

It’s still only a couple of days old at the time I’m writing this, but Marvel’s Avengers just added Kate Bishop, aka Hawkeye, and THANK GOODNESS. Almost every character in the game at launch just smashed the endless waves of robot baddies with their fists and that looks exhausting and uncomfortable. Hawkeye (the game calls her Kate Bishop, but come on, she’s been Hawkeye in the comics for over 14 years, let’s show her some respect) uses A SWORD. FINALLY! Aside from that, I’m just having a blast shooting arrows all over the place. She and Ms Marvel are the most likable characters in the game so far, so I hope they keep adding more of the Young Avengers and Champions to the game, and if the recently announced slate of Marvel movies and tv shows are any indication (with America Chavez, Cassie Lang, and Riri Williams all coming soon to the MCU), that seems to be what Marvel is pushing for across all media

Most Accessible Game

Nintendo is, first and foremost, a toy company. They got their start in toys and cards long before video games was a thing, and they still do more tests to ensure their video game hardware is childproof than anybody else in the industry (remember how they made Switch cartridges “taste bad” so kids wouldn’t eat them?). This year, Nintendo got to rekindle some of their throwback, simplistic, toys-and-cards energy with Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, a Switch collection of timeless family-friendly games like Chess, Mancala, and Backgammon, along with “toy” versions of sports like baseball, boxing, and tennis for a virtual parlor room of pleasant time-wasters. The games were all presented with charming li’l explainers from anthropomorphic board game figurines, and the ability to play quick sessions of Spider Solitaire on the touch screen while I binged The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix made Clubhouse Games one of my most-played titles of the year. Plus, local play during socially-distant friend hangs was an excellent way to make us feel like we were much closer than we were physically allowed to be as friends knocked each other’s block off in the “toy boxing” version of Rock’em Sock’em Robots.

"Waiting for Game-dot"

I get that everyone loves Disco Elysium. I saw it on everyone’s year-end lists last year. I finally bought it with an Epic Games Store coupon this year. This year was a long enough slog of depressing post-apocalyptic drudgery, I didn’t want to explore a whole nother one in my leisure time. I’ll get to it… someday.

Game That Made Me Think

Holovista was an iPhone game I played over the course of two or three days based on the recommendation of some trusted colleagues on Twitter and oh my goodness was I glad that I played it. What starts as a chill vaporwave photography game steadily progresses into an exploration of psychological trauma, relationships with friends and family, and the baggage we carry with us from our pasts. In this exceptionally hard year, I badly needed this story about spending time alone with your personal demons and finding your way back to the people who love and support you. Just like with Journey and Gone Home, I walked away from Holovista feeling a rekindled appreciation for the people in my life.

[wizardofahz]

True Facts about the Kryptonian

A/N: This is based on the True Facts videos by zefrank on youtube. For those of you who are unfamiliar, that means please read this in your best parodic version of Morgan Freeman’s documentary narrator voice.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The video opens on a split screen. Supergirl soars over National City on the left side, while Superman hovers over Metropolis on the right. Near the bottom of the screen in the center are the words “True Facts” in a cursive font with “The Kryptonian” in a smaller serifed print font just below it.

Immediately the voice-over begins, Here we will explore true facts about the Kryptonian.

The Supers are replaced by a still from a CATCO LIVE feed. The headline at the bottom reads, “BREAKING NEWS: SUPERGIRL AND SUPERMAN ARE COUSINS!” A picture of Supergirl is overlaid on the left. The background is a star map with Krypton marked with a big red circle and labeled in a thick white font. 

Our story begins thousands of years ago when a planet called Krypton was destroyed.

Actually, no, it doesn’t. For this to be true, imagine a speed that you can’t even imagine.

Superman reappears on the screen, fighting General Zod. Behind them, the streets of Metropolis are empty, save for a few reporters and scattered debris. In the blink of an eye, Superman disappears from one location and reappears in another using his super speed.

Now imagine a speed not even light can imagine.

The video cuts to Supergirl, speeding in front of a car to protect children crossing the street.

“But I can imagine that speed. The physics is really quite simple if you--”

“But humans can’t, and that’s the point.”

A baby in a Superman costume appears on the screen.

That is the speed at which Kryptonian bebes rocketed through space to arrive on this planet.

“Look, cute baby. Focus on that.”

Not much is known about the young Kryptonian; however, the male Kryptonian first emerges into the world wearing underwear over his pants.

Superman flies over Metropolis in his original super suit. The red underwear stands out against the mostly blue suit.

It is an interesting fashion choice by Earth standards, but that is how a Kryptonian do.

“But that’s not a Kryptonian thing.”

“Kara, shhh.”

“That’s just something that Martha--mmph.”

“I can’t hear.”

In addition to external underwear, Kryptonians also supplement their outfits with capes. Without a cape to go flappy flappy in the wind, a Kryptonian can find herself on the wrong side of aerodynamics.

Grainy surveillance footage from the stoplight cameras at an intersection shows capeless Supergirl crashing into a hill. After she re-emerges and the dirt cloud settles, a Supergirl-shaped hole remains. 

Hehe. Looks like Edna Mode was wrong.

“That was one time! How did they even get that footage? Alex. Alex, please stop laughing. Alex... seriously? It’s not even that funny.”

More majestic footage of Supergirl appears, hovering in the air and almost glowing with the sun behind her.

Kryptonians derive their powers from the sun, which means they are basically plants--

Supergirl wanders through a busy fair on foot, happily munching on some pink cotton candy.

--carnivorous plants. At least they’re not stuck eating bugs and animal feces. Or maybe they would like that. Who knows. They are aliens after all.

“Ew, gross. I think I’ve accidentally eaten enough bugs when flying and super speeding at the same time, and no, thank you.”

A slow motion clip shows Superman catching a bullet in midair.

With the Kryptonians’ arrival, the smasher mantis shrimp has been demoted to second fastest puncher in the world.

Finally, someone to save us from these little psycho bastards.

“Hey, that’s mean!”

“I know. They’re so cool, right?”

“No, I mean I wouldn’t fight them. There’s nothing wrong with them.”

The screen splits into two. On the left, a smasher mantis shrimp punches a hermit crab’s shell. In the slow motion footage, the cavitation bubbles are visible, water being displaced so fast that air bubbles are formed. The bubbles collapse immediately producing light, heat, and shock waves. On the right, Supergirl claps her hands together with so much speed and power that it also produces shock waves.

Imagine the cavitation bubbles a Kryptonian could produce underwater. 

“Ooh, can we try that? I mean, can you try that?”

“You know, it’s kind of tempting...”

Superman wanders across the screen. He stops and squints at something in the distance.

Kryptonians also have enchanced hearing and x-ray vision, which basically means they can see and hear everything for miles around. That is unfortunate for any Kryptonian in the vicinity of a seedy motel. The things they would be able to see and hear... dirty, dirty.

“Ew. No. I-- Ew.”

To make up for this, Kryptonians can also shoot heat beams out of their eyes. This is a convenient power to have if staring contests are important to you.

Supergirl and Non face off in a heat vision battle, torsos tilted forward, hands by their sides.

There’s no chance of the other person winning if they don’t have eyes anymore.

On the other end of the temperature spectrum, Kryptonians also have freeze breath. 

Children crowd around Superman as he makes snow cones at an outdoor elementary school event.

Aww, that’s adorable. I wonder if they do ice sculptures. 

“You know, if you wanted one for your wedding, I’d try.”

“Kara, Kelly and I aren’t even engaged. Chill. No pun intended.”

The female Kryptonian is stronger than the male Kryptonian-- 

Supergirl and Silver-Kryptonite-infected Superman battle in the streets of National City.

--and supplements her superpower arsenal with hope speeches.

Muted footage of Supergirl’s speech to the Myriad-controlled National City population plays on the screen.

Listening to a Supergirl hope speech is almost like watching feel-good animal videos on the internet.

“You really are good at them.”

Supergirl plays with puppies that she had helped deliver a few months previous. They scamper around her while their mother watches and their owner laughs with delight behind the camera.

Okay, now that’s too much. I might die from the cute.

“I miss those puppies. I should go visit them again.”

With all those powers, we are hashtag #blessed that Kryptonians have decided to be heroes.

Well, the ones that appear on Earth for more than one year anyway...

The screen fades to black.

[radramblog]

Ninty Direct Feb 2021 Thoughts

That was uh. Kind of disappointing, actually.

I suppose it was inevitable that we weren’t seeing Pokemon since they’re gonna do their own announcement. But like. Coulda done better here.

(oh no you’re now introduced to my awful awful handwriting, is this better or worse than my cursed interests? you decide)

Anyway I wrote down everything they announced so here we go

Pyra/Mythra in Smash: I don’t give a single shit about the Xenoblade series, but it’s one of like 2 IPs Nintendo has had in the last decade so sure whatever they can have second a character as a treat. I’m mostly just annoyed this wasn’t a third-party character.

Fall Guys Switch: This feels inevitable. It also feels about 5 months too late.

Outer Wilds Switch: I’ve heard some absolutely excellent things about this game, so fair enough. I’m not sure I’d buy it on the Switch, but I haven’t bought it at all yet, so.

Famicom Detective Club: This looks like a Ren’py game if it had an actual budget, but still used Ren’py for some reason. Prooobably not biting on this one chief.

Samurai Warriors 5: The only Warriors game I’ve played is the first hyrule warriors, and the only Nobunaga game I’ve played was Pokemon Conquest (it’s a trip), so. I don’t understand the obsession they have over there for this bloke, like imagine if Australia made like a tv series a year and a large handful of video games about Ned Kelly or something.

Legend of Mana: Shit I should go play Octopath Traveler huh

Monster Hunter Rise: Those monster designs looked pretty kickass, and those human designs made me crack up laughing. I’ve never played Monster Hunter, and I don’t think this is gonna change that.

Mario Golf: Hey look they confirmed Waluigi as playable ahead of time so people wouldn’t complain, good job guys. The multiplayer of this looked silly as hell, but I’m not spending 80 bucks on wii sports tennis for a multiplayer mode ill drag my mates to play all of once before we go back to playing Beetle Adventure Racing.

Tales from the Borderlands: Wait telltale is still around? Ok…? I haven’t played Borderlands and don’t really care for the Telltale style so nah

Capcom Arcade Stadium: They could have made a peripheral like the NES/SNES mini, but they didn’t, and it’s for the best. The fact that one of the games is free implies to me that the rest are going to be overcosted, though.

Stubbs the Zombie: What the fuck am I looking at. Apparently this is a remaster of an old Xbox game, but I’ve never heard of it. Weird as fuck, but sure.

No More Heroes III: No more Heroes is a franchise that I’ve never played, but always wanted to. It seems right up my alley aesthetic-wise, and the gameplay looks pretty solid too- probably gonna try one of the older ones first, though.

Neon White: Speaking of aesthetic. This looks anime as fuck and edgy in a good way, and the gameplay looks real fun. I actually really want to check this out, and no, it’s not just because of the skull masked goth gf on the cover. (Doesn’t hurt, though.)

DC Super Hero Girls Teen Power: Jesus, this looks like a bad tie-in game from the mid 2000s. Not like Battle for Bikini Bottom, more like a Jimmy Neutron. And while I really liked the Jimmy Neutron game as a kid (shame about the show), this doesn’t look like it’ll stand up to that…high bar. Listening to this trailer made me want to die a little bit inside.

Plants Vs Zombies: Battle for Neighbourville: I miss PopCap. Peggle 3, never.

Miitopia: This looks cute, and will probably lead to the same sort of 3am DMs that happened with Tomodachi Life. If it’s a full priced game, it probably won’t sell at all.

Animal Crossing New Horizons Mario items: uhhh sure. Don’t have that game, so.

Triangle Strategy: Aww fuck it’s a final fantasy tactics that looks like octopath and it might have an actually good story, shiiiiiiiiit. I’m gonna give the demo a try before I land on this, but I’m optimistic.

Star Wars Hunters: When was the last time we had an actually good Star Wars game? And don’t say Fallen Order. Yeah, didn’t think so.

KO City: Ah, the bottom of the barrel. Didn’t think it would take this long. At this point, the pseudo-cartoony style everything has because they’re trying to ape Fortnite is extremely grating on me. (I definitely thought this ad was for Fortnite stuff at first)

World’s End Club: OK this one has me actually hyped. I knew that Kodaka (director/writer of the Danganronpa series) and Uchikoshi (director/writer of the Zero Escape series) were working on a joint project, and we’re finally seeing the results. Both of them have multiple excellent games under their respective belts, and this new game looks like a fun spin on what I’m sure a lot of people were expecting from the pair. Literally both of them have made a game where (spoilers I guess, Keara stop reading here you haven’t played VLR yet) there’s a death game going on while the characters are unaware the world fucking ended, so to see the idea of the death game getting interrupted and the characters actually having to live in the dead world is really cool. I’m paying cloooose attention to this one.

Hades (Physical Release): Dang now if I buy hades I can choose to have some of my money go to EB games or JB hifi or something. Cooooooooooooool.

Ninja Gaiden Collection: This just made me wonder why Ryu Hayabusa isn’t in Smash yet. Is it because there’s already a Ryu?

Age of Calamity DLC: I don’t think I mentioned this in my post yesterday, but I would have put money on DLC for this game coming out. I still haven’t played it, but the first Hyrule Warriors had so much fucking DLC so this was inevitable in my eyes.

Bravely Default 2: Uhhh its another JRPG man idk what you want me to say. Didn’t play the first one, apparently its good.

Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection: Kinda funny having this next to the free original in the Capcom Arcade Stadium. Capcom is reviving old franchises, I guess? Where’s Mega Man Battle Network, cowards?

SaGa Frontier: I’ve heard good things about the SaGa series, but this looks awful. Not like gameplay wise, the style for the models and shit in game just disinterests me.

Apex Legends: Is anyone still playing this game?

BOTW 2 (no news): I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. Next Direct, I guess.

Skyward Sword HD: I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.

Seriously though, I was expecting 3 of the best Zeldas ever made to get ports, and we got the one that I wasn’t interested in. Fuck you too, I guess.

Splatoon 3: I actually was super interested in this, seeing as the trailer looked like it was gonna be for some like… side game, 3D RPG or something, exploring the origins of the Splatoon world? But then it’s just Splatoon 3. And like, I know people really like that series, but it never appealed to me. The world is neat! But I’m not interested in the series as it is.

And that’s the tea.

ADDENDUM:

shit that’s this weekend? huh ok -New Hearthstone expansions revealed, kinda like WOTC does with magic every so often, just like “here’s the next couple sets btw”. Since they do nothing but plagiarise off each other and MTG is having a set based on another WOTC property this year (D&D), there’s going to be a Starcraft set. -Diablo 4 release date that will not be stuck to since COVID is still a thing -people are hoping for starcraft 3. Blizzard to announce Starcraft 2 Episode 1. -New WoW expansion announced, determined objectively to be “worst ever” before trailer is even finished