#or fully work outside of 2D perspective

[hs-artist]

Trying a new thing recently. Instead of letting everything be in my head or searching endlessly for new vore-ish content, I'm forcing myself to open my Sketchbook App instead and work on things

[arandomassortmentofbytes]

As someone who was a part of a company (and was contracted to do tons of AI work as a developer, myself), I was fully against AI Art.

In fact, our contract with Disney was nearly cut because we actually spent time with people going over the intricacies of AI (about how the data would be used) and paid them for their time to be trained upon.

I feel what you just said is probably the best articulation of why I am against it now but not against it in the future.

So many times I have seen people argue, from the abstract perspective you mentioned, of "well if we lived in a perfectly sane world, it would be a great tool" or "you're not against automation in other industries" or "it's progress, so being against it means being anti-technology". I'm sorry, we don't live in that world, we can work towards it but using it as a justification because you like the pretty pictures AI makes does not override human suffering.

If we did live outside of capitalism then using a little chatbot to answer questions about the world, writing some code to make a game, or generating some cool looking art would be awesome!

It would drive creativity but people seem to have weaponised that idea to justify its existence in a world where creativity is the most valuable component of humans under capitalism. You make something new, people enjoy it, you make lots of money, rinse and repeat. AI has essentially become another aspect of hustle culture where you get an AI to do something cheaply then sell that thing as a service with a markup to other people until a massive tech company buys you out.

Does it learn like a human, does it think like a human, are neural networks in TPUs the same as human brains, have we made an artificial brain even?? Maybe! And if we didn't oppress and force humans to live under capitalism we could all enjoy and learn about this technological marvel. Unfortunately, the people currently living on the streets don't get to partake in this progress because the end goal of capitalism is to devalue humans completely.

The best comparison I can draw to this situation is the use of Virtual Production (my industry) and 3D VFX in favour of 2D and practical sets. Wonder why everyone moved over in recent years despite practical sets and 2D animation still holding up today? Fun fact, it's because 2D animators and set designers (among others) unionised whereas a large part of 3D VFX work and Virtual Production (basically just CGI) is not unionised and therefore cheaper. The BBC people worked 9-5, no exceptions, whereas we worked 7-7, with no pay for overtime because the show "needed to happen tonight".

I remember my dad told me practical sets were called "old" and "outdated" and that a lot of the work of set designers could be "automated with virtual scenes" so CGI needed to be embraced as the new technology to optimise TV show and movie making.

You want practical sets because the original Star Wars still holds up today because of it? You're not anti-CGI are you? You're not anti-Toy Story are you?

It's the same arguments but this time with different buzz words.

So here's the thing about AI art, and why it seems to be connected to a bunch of unethical scumbags despite being an ethically neutral technology on its own. After the readmore, cause long. Tl;dr: capitalism

The problem is competition. More generally, the problem is capitalism.

So the kind of AI art we're seeing these days is based on something called "deep learning", a type of machine learning based on neural networks. How they work exactly isn't important, but one aspect in general is: they have to be trained.

The way it works is that if you want your AI to be able to generate X, you have to be able to train it on a lot of X. The more, the better. It gets better and better at generating something the more it has seen it. Too small a training dataset and it will do a bad job of generating it.

So you need to feed your hungry AI as much as you can. Now, say you've got two AI projects starting up:

Project A wants to do this ethically. They generate their own content to train the AI on, and they seek out datasets that allow them to be used in AI training systems. They avoid misusing any public data that doesn't explicitly give consent for the data to be used for AI training.

Meanwhile, Project B has no interest in the ethics of what they're doing, so long as it makes them money. So they don't shy away from scraping entire websites of user-submitted content and stuffing it into their AI. DeviantArt, Flickr, Tumblr? It's all the same to them. Shove it in!

Now let's fast forward a couple months of these two projects doing this. They both go to demo their project to potential investors and the public art large.

Which one do you think has a better-trained AI? the one with the smaller, ethically-obtained dataset? Or the one with the much larger dataset that they "found" somewhere after it fell off a truck?

It's gonna be the second one, every time. So they get the money, they get the attention, they get to keep growing as more and more data gets stuffed into it.

And this has a follow-on effect: we've just pre-selected AI projects for being run by amoral bastards, remember. So when someone is like "hey can we use this AI to make NFTs?" or "Hey can your AI help us detect illegal immigrants by scanning Facebook selfies?", of course they're gonna say "yeah, if you pay us enough".

So while the technology is not, in itself, immoral or unethical, the situations around how it gets used in capitalism definitely are. That external influence heavily affects how it gets used, and who "wins" in this field. And it won't be the good guys.

An important follow-up: this is focusing on the production side of AI, but obviously even if you had an AI art generator trained on entirely ethically sourced data, it could still be used unethically: it could put artists out of work, by replacing their labor with cheaper machine labor. Again, this is not a problem of the technology itself: it's a problem of capitalism. If artists weren't competing to survive, the existence of cheap AI art would not be a threat.

I just feel it's important to point this out, because I sometimes see people defending the existence of AI Art from a sort of abstract perspective. Yes, if you separate it completely from the society we live in, it's a neutral or even good technology. Unfortunately, we still live in a world ruled by capitalism, and it only makes sense to analyze AI Art from a perspective of having to continue to live in capitalism alongside it.

If you want ideologically pure AI Art, feel free to rise up, lose your chains, overthrow the bourgeoisie, and all that. But it's naive to defend it as just a neutral technology like any other when it's being wielded in capitalism; ie overwhelmingly negatively in impact.

[sumerakandapola-mga2023mi5019]

Critical Analysis

Ever since a few years ago, I had fully devoted myself into digital art and digital software, so having a module in which we had to use and experiment with multiple animation mediums made me realize the enjoyment I had been missing with using traditional mediums. It also helped in stepping out of my comfort zone of traditional 2D for the most part. I still wanted to completely avoid the use of 3D, since I've had plenty of experience with it to know it's not something i want further experience with it. However, experimenting and working with stop motion has been quite an interesting journey. I found after effects to be tedious at times, yet it worked as a quite useful experience in how to navigate the software more for the future. Experimenting with and blending all sorts of mediums definitely helped in improving my problem solving skills as well as my ability to innovate and visualize my thoughts and imagination. The visualization process proved to be quite challenging, although the topic of Insects being something I'm quite fond of definitely helped in reducing the difficulty of the process. Coming up with narratives for the 6 thinking didn't prove to be quite challenging, the process of learning how to go about executing them as well as finding the information and creating the narratives for them was quite an interesting process. Visualization certainly needed multiple redo's, however through time and more research into inspiration I was able to get the boat floating. Picking animation mediums and methods to execute the hats needed some exploration as well. There were certain hats that were easier than others, and hats that were quite difficult to figure out the execution of. There were times when a medium I started out with wouldn't work out, and I needed to switch the process to see what works. Overall, it was quite a challenging yet eye-opening experience into the use of different art mediums and the artform of animation itself. Outside elements such as my time management skills and resourcefulness were certainly put to the test. However I feel that this was one of the many modules that I did quite a successful job in managing myself. The nature of the project being quite delicate was certainly the reason for it, as with stop motion, the time and location in which who handle things turn out to be quite important. I was "forced" to finish certain animations quite early, as I have a location issue of being in a hostel, so most of my stop motion animations could only be done while I was at my house, where the conditions were ideal. This turned out working very well in my favour, and helped me in finishing the project when I did.

My overall experience with this module can be described as challenging yet enjoyable and eye-opening. The animation process made me realize how much I had missed the feeling of using traditional mediums. Stepping out of my usual comfort zone of digital 2D also helped widen my perspective of the animation industry and the artform in general. Learning about the 6 thinking hats and implementing them into research on insects was quite a new experience that was certainly unique to this module. It's one that I feel quite proud of for seeing through.

[bersergner-blog]

Escape from Tombstone - Learning Outcome Matrix (pt.3)

Skills learned/Knowledge advanced:

Photoshop- I spent a lot of time polishing my Photoshop skills and I feel like I'm starting to catch up on the skill-gap (still only switched over from traditional art 4 years ago). So I incorporated more things like subtle gradient, editing saturation, lightness and contrast, utilising the lasso and magic wand as well as Layer styles and modes to enhance my art. This manifested in ways such as more warmth to skin-tones and more effective shadows and colour co-ordination.

Animation- I learned to apply Animation concepts such as squash and stretch without breaking the semi-realistic feel of the game. Animating for games in general requires specific understanding such as attack timing (a jab wants to be snappy and efficient, long, detailed animations can slow down combat dramatically and make the game difficult to enjoy) I also tried very hard to keep consistent anatomy while adding some stylistic motion and bounce.

Maya- I learned to utilise Maya for quick Greyboxing of ideas in the service of Environmental Concepting and consistent perspective.

Unity- I dove into Sprite scaling and filtering, generally learned the full ins and outs of the Sprite Editor and slice tool, was forced to edit Pivot points to make my animation work, learned 2D Rigging and utilised Layer order for sprite rendering distance correctly.

Programming- I learned some new Character controller programming patterns from the tutorial I was following. Making sprite flipping simpler.

Character Art- I pushed my Character designs hard this module, particularly Portraiting, focusing on expressing personality and creating intriguing, memorable faces. This carried through into Posing, which I used even outside of animating to get character personality across, such as the Goon aggressively preparing to swing his pipe at the viewer. I also pushed my understanding of Anatomy, especially hips and legs, which was always a problem area for me artistically. I also really pumped out those Clothing variations as my portfolio was missing them.

Environmental Art- Environmental concepting does not come naturally to me. Imagining the places and putting them to paper still took a lot of time, trial and error, but I am very proud of the results and believe I have made major and irreversible advancements that make me confident in approaching Environments.

Light & Colour- I explored Colour and Light even further this module as it's always been a low-key problem area for me. learned about colour emotions and 60-30-10 rule as well as exploring expressing character through colours and tones.

Props- Weapons and Environmental Set-dressing. Another area my portfolio was lacking in, so I was happy to rectify this during this project.

Presentation- Another problem area (can you tell I had lots of them). I would often abandon images before they were fully complete, in an inherent effort to 'catch up' and broaden my skillbase but this developed into an inability to get a "finished" look out of my images. So I really doubled down on the process from sketch to final picture and the final graphic design and polishing that gave it that extra oomph. Still a lot to learn here, but we're making strides.

Efficiency- Incorporating AI into the idea-generation phase has been helpful in breaking deadlocks and creating an influx of unique concepts. I also pushed my Thumbnailing by re-using good anatomy as mannequins to provide a lot of variety in concepts efficiently. Greyboxing in Maya has also been a huge time saver for environments and consistent perspective combining this with my new understanding of the Shapes tool for filling makes it much quicker to design geometric areas in perspective.

Project Management- Through the process from concept to final product I learned valuable skills in Time management, adapting to change, finishing, finding solutions and not shying away from a challenge, maintaining productivity without burnout and was forced to adopt a self-promotion mindset.

Video Editing- Something I've been meaning to get around to for ages, being forced to make a self-promotion video finally got me to engage with my editing software. Forcing me to adapt and learn. However I never did manage to figure out the audio balancing which gives it an amateur feel.

[bellavirtualstaging]

The Ultimate Guide to 3D Rendering Services: Local, Residential, Architectural, and Interior Design

1. Introduction

Overview of 3D Rendering Services

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Definition and Basic Concepts

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The journey of 3D rendering technology from its inception to its current state is marked by significant advancements. From basic wireframes to photorealistic images, the evolution has been driven by continuous improvements in software capabilities and hardware performance.

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Exterior Rendering

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Role in Architectural Design

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Benefits for Homeowners

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Showcasing Home Renovations and New Builds

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Importance for Interior Designers

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Advances in Rendering Technology

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Future Trends in 3D Rendering

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Residential Project Case Studies

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Commercial Project Case Studies

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Industrial Project Case Studies

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Interviews with Leading 3D Rendering Professionals

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15. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Common Queries About 3D Rendering

What is 3D rendering, and how does it work?

How long does it take to complete a 3D rendering project?

What software is commonly used for 3D rendering?

How much does 3D rendering cost?

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16. Conclusion

Recap of Key Points

Summarizing the key points discussed in the article reinforces the importance and benefits of 3D rendering services. It highlights how this technology enhances visualization, communication, and overall project success.

The Future of 3D Rendering Services

Looking ahead, the future of 3D rendering services is bright, with continuous advancements in technology and growing demand across various industries. Staying updated with these trends is essential for maximizing the potential of 3D rendering.

[homestink-classfart]

The Seer

The seer is a passive class, and the counterpart to the mage. It's mainly concerned with knowing about it's aspect. Knowing the truth is not without it's drawbacks. Sometimes the truth is awful and the seer has a bit of a tantrum. Their knowledge is used mainly to assist others, and so the seer functions as a guide class. Toting a bunch of useless assholes along for an entire session as "the guy who knows shit." Their knowledge is just as vital to success as it is to shenanigans.

The seer's Journey: It should be noted that the following aspect sections are only baseline roles of these seers. Seers start their session with a poor comprehension of their aspect. Their journey is learning about their aspect, which comes relatively naturally to them. Their main challenge is overcoming the inherent struggle that comes with vast knowledge of their aspect. This presents itself in two ways. 1- The seer must not allow understanding of their aspect's negative consequences/qualities to overwhelm them. 2- Just knowing shit is not enough to make a difference, you have to use what you know to help others, and to take action yourself.*

*As is true of every class this journey is HEAVILY dependent on the nature of the session, and the players in it. I will not be covering the individual journey for each aspect because it can get a little complex! If you have questions about how a specific aspect defines the journey of this class send me an ask, I'll be happy to go over it in greater detail.

The Seer of Space

Description: No other player is as adept at perceiving the universe as the seer of space, except for maybe players with eyes. Jokes aside the seer of space is a class that sees shit, their expertise is vast perception beyond the comprehension of other players. Peering into the dustiest corners of the universe just to see what's there. A fully realized seer of space does what any good guide does and steers their co:players through physical space, big whoop.

Behaviour/personality: the seer of space is a rather intelligent person, at least they might consider themselves so. The seer of space is very patient, highly dedicated to the art of "wait and see" (haha.) After all, they have no way of controlling when things happen, so they'll just have to be patient for when something of remarkable interest comes along. This person is also pretty complacent, and is content just to watch things unfold. They likely have a very very visual interest such as mazes or physical puzzles (like those stupid metal rings you can't separate,) even art appreciation- as space is an aspect very concerned with art and depth. They're possibly exceptionally good at eyeballing measurements, and picturing objects in their mind.

In a session/powers: The seer of space is a bit unique, they have no power to see into the future the way that other seers can observe the paths their an aspect may take. As consolation nothing gets buy them, overwhelmingly perceptive the seer of space finds themself seeing more and more things they have absolutely no business seeing as they ascend their echeladder. They are the authority of where something or someone is at any given moment. Upon reaching God tier the seer of space is like a human/troll crystal ball. They can see what is going on right now ANYWHERE. Other planets, into the veil, other universes, dream bubbles, you fucking name it. They can see the world around them as though they were in a 2d platformer. Looking on from an almost outside perspective, and peering past their own line of sight. Better hope they're not a skeeve or they'll see you shat your hello kitty underwear.

Roles: Guide/Informant/ectobiologist, Likely Moon: Prospit

The Seer of Time

Description: The seer of time looks into the future lol. What the fuck did you think it would be? The seer of time works like an oracle. Weaving absurd prophecy and gazing into the future all misty eyed. ALSO a key facet of this player that gets left out ALL the time I mean you have NO idea is their ability to see into the past. They observe timelines and have this terrifying ability to predict natural disasters, maybe they worked on the writing team for The Simpsons

Behaviour/Personality: The seer of time is perhaps a history buff, or they have great interest in the past in general. They are also a little impatient perhaps, eager to see what comes next be it in a book, movie, or real life. They're decision makers who have very specific goals in mind. They have an irritating tendency to plan for every possible outcome. Even more irritating is their pension for doing stupid shit just to see what happens, or more accurately to see if their prediction was right about the consequences of aforementioned stupid shit. The seer of time might also place great faith in things like tarot cards or other similar methods of fortune telling. They have a knack for this and whatever bullshit they predict actually has some chance of transpiring. This player is the kind of person who thinks for a solid minute about what the play is in a strategy game. They don't bother trying to outplay their opponent because they can't read fucking minds, they're content with making a choice that they predict will suit their interests.

In a session/powers: The seer of time doesn't actually do a lot of time travel. Why would they need to? They have already seen into the future. They obviously do what needs to be done to preserve the alpha timeline, but further than that they enjoy just looking, seeing the remarkable fuck-ups that lead to doomed timelines. Many of the things they do, the do quite literally because they saw themselves do it in the future and just have to fulfill their destiny so to speak, this can be immensely powerful and can be used to advise players along the right path for a session. In fact it might be all they fucking do, stop their stupid friends from fucking up. Otherwise they do the most asinine shit just because "they saw themselves do it." Whether they actually did or not doesn't really matter, maybe they're just fucking with you. A god tier seer of time would be able too see aaaaaallll the futures, all of them. As well as all the pasts, perhaps making them a bit of an exposition machine. Additionally as a sort of addendum, time being associated with death, they have this uncanny fucking thing they do where they tell you the place, time, and cause of your death. What the fuck. For example- you, yes YOU are going to die in the DeForest, Wisconsin Kwik Trip on September 13'th 2032. Cause of death: Too many PRICES and VALUES.

Roles: Guide/insufferable oracle, Likely Moon: Derse

The Seer of Breath

Description: This player is the pathfinder, but also a startlingly intuitive person. The seer of breath "sees" spirit and freedom. A little abstract, but undoubtedly useful. As a breath player they're a bit detached, likely to guide you to freedom and nothing else. Liberation with a side of fuckall. They lead you to your freedom as a bit of a formality before seeking their own.

Behaviour/Personality: The Seer of breath is driven and have a vision to their life and by god they're going to follow it. Rarely at a loss as to what to do next they always have an idea of what path to take, even if it's a shit idea. It's not always helpful because it typically is for themself. A class dedicated to guiding others mixed with such a personal aspect makes for a bit of an oddball. The seer of breath is immensely practical and skilled at seeing a good course of action in a great many situations. They have an intuition for sudden change. Even if they don't know what it will be, if this seer is warning you of upheaval best listen because, like a sudden breeze, might knock you off your feet. The seer of breath's hobbies may have to do with fortune telling, but they don't really have a whole lot of faith in it, after all everything can change, nothing's set in stone!

In a session/powers: The seer of breath is a scout, they steer people to their path. They know what the spirit wants, they know where their spirit wants to go. They'll encourage you to follow your heart in this insufferably optimistic way. They place a lot of faith in you to make the right decisions because "I know you will! Whatever is natural buddy!" When they're worried you might not take the most appropriate course they offer insight about your own drive, and how to best go about trusting yourself. Though they are prone to offer more specific guidance as well from their font of wisdom. They are these leaders who have visions of freedom, who cares how far away they are! They know how people can best adapt and change to fit a situation, if a disaster is approaching you can rely on them for useless, nonspecific "gut-feelings" about it. Then shit hits the fan and you'll wish you had listened. A god tier seer of breath would know what to do literally all the time. Unexpected trouble wouldn't phase them as they'll immediately see what to do to keep moving forward, and you're free to follow.

Roles: Pathfinder/Guide to freedom, Likely Moon: Prospit

The Seer of Blood

Description: they're a matchmaker- not because they have a passion for shipping, but because they have an ability to see potential relationships between people on a level others cannot. Their master over their aspect involves knowing of relationships yes, but also of understanding the qualities and intricacies of them. This seer also can see their alternate selves, and perhaps even the alternate selves of other players. They don't serve as a guide in the traditional sense of guiding players through the session, but instead guiding them through their personal relationships.

Behaviour/personality: Earnest and passionate this seer is rooted in reality. Unfortunately sometimes the reality that they know is batshit insane. Surprisingly however they give rather good advice when you ask for it, be careful not to let them ramble. They are very much a people person, and pride themselves on being able to manage others. After all, the relationships between themself and their friends is a bond too. They're charismatic and socially intelligent, so much so they might manage to convince you that their life isn't a bit of a disaster. This player is the person you and your friend both text at the same time to try to get advice on a conflict, and they love it. They might be a little gossipy, or they might loathe gossip! It depends on what's best for their friends. The seer of blood also has a passion for social scenes, almost more interested in the social scene itself that the thing that brings it together in the first place. They may also enjoy "people watching," it stimulates the part of their brain dedicated to uncovering things about people and their friendships.

In a session/powers: Blood players make for good leaders, and this player also makes a good friend. They facilitate inner conflict between players and guide them to forging bonds. Encouraging new relationships to blossom, and old ones to be forged on terms to suit the times they're struggling in. The sessions that these players are in generally do not need someone to tell them where to go, it may be clear what to do from the beginning, or another player might know how to guide the session. Instead this player keeps the players from killing each other long enough to pursue their goals. If they're successful even the most unpredictable players would struggle succeed in sabotaging the session, but ultimately there is nothing they can do beyond pushing their friends to march forward. A god tier seer of blood has unprecedented knowledge of relationships, but not just the ones they can see. Also relationships that don't exist, and used to exist, relationships that have yet to exist. How they effect one another, and how they effect the world and how the world effect them.

Roles: Leader/ Facilitator, Likely moon: Derse/Prospit

Seer of Light

Description: The seer of light knows... knowledge? They are actual bonafide fortune tellers. They peer down the paths that may be taken and gently nudge their players in the correct direction. When you're lost the seer of light can show you the way, so long as they're not lost too. Unearthing the dustiest tomes and compiling knowledge like an insane person. The guide abilities of this player do not originate from intuition, but their enormous collection of knowledge crammed into their brain.

Behaviour/Personality: The seer of light is an intellectual. When it comes to being smart about things, they are simply the best there is. This person may have some interest in fortune telling, and they might also be interested in trivia. If not they likely have a great deal of complex interests that they understand thoroughly. A fussy fussy know it all, things must be perfect. Or perhaps elegant. The tenacity with which they share their knowledge is simultaneously unbelievably forceful, and maddeningly coy. The seer of light knows what they know, and know how to apply that knowledge to solve problems. There is nothing discreet about this player, in fact they quite enjoy showmanship even if they deny it.

In a session/powers: This player is an excellent guide even before ascending to the god tiers. They're happy to use what they know to help other players. They have tunnel vision for the path of success. learning things is part of the fun to life. Being plunged into a session suddenly unearths an enormous amount of lore and previously undiscovered things that they can gleefully observe and understand. They almost always happen across information key to success, information that a session couldn't live without. A god tier Seer of light would find themselves knowing things that they never even learned. An apt guide, they seek to steer a session down the most fortuitous path. Orchestrating vast schemes, and putting forth great effort to ensure that they're carried out to the letter.

Roles: Guide, likely moon: Derse

Seer of Void

Description: anyone can be a seer of void!!! even you! All you have to do is to shut your eyes! Isn't that cool? The seer of void is actually not one of those class/aspect combos that make almost no fucking sense. They're the keepers of secrets, not theirs though. Unlike many other seers they aren't really guides in the traditional sense. However they do assist their players. Keeping secrets and knowing the unknowable. If they do their job right the other players don't even know they're helping.

Behavior/Personality: This player is nosy, but they're also very discreet about their nosiness. They know a lot of secrets, of the world and of other people. They have an excellent nose for deceit and falsehood, though they're not the type to call out a liar. Instead they might suggest casually not to trust the reality that is understood completely. They know the truth and that's enough for them. As a result they're a bit distanced from other players, but don't think for a moment they're not watching over you. They have quite the pension for mystery, or perhaps puzzles. They are SO into shit like wordle you have no idea. Though sometimes the mystery itself is more satisfying to them than the answer. They're frustratingly vague and cryptic, though there's something to be understood from their riddles.

In a session/powers: The seer of void makes everything a lot more difficult than it needs to be, which is actually not true at all! They function as a guide like other seers but they're not guiding their session to anything specific. They might encourage trial and error, as a server player. Forcing their client to try to interface with the machines pre-entry instead of brainstorming with them. Once they think they know it they'll encourage their client to think outside the box. "Perhaps there's another way to access the item on the pre-punched card" instead of "use these machines to find a way to way to get to that item." as just an example. As the session progresses they continue to guide their co-players merely by insinuating that their current path might not be the right one. Maddeningly cryptic, and frighteningly accurate. A god tier seer of void has their powers of insight ramped up to 1,000. They can't be lied to, well you CAN technically lie to them, they'll just know the truth right away. Not that they'll go around telling everyone. It's their business to know secrets and ascending to god tier may have even granted them some insight into forbidden knowledge of the universe, what may have been written on those pages that were torn out and destroyed so long ago.

Roles:guide/oracle, likely moon: Prospit

Seer of Mind

Description: This motherfucker knows what you're thinking. And they know what you'll do now that you know that they know what you're thinking. Mind games are just that to them, games. The human/troll psyche is their playground and they're flailing about on the absurdly dangerous plastic pony rooted to the ground with only a rusty spring.

Behavior/personality: The mind bound is a very rational person. The people they get to know rapidly realize just how smart they are, and just how good they are at reading minds. Not reading minds in a traditional sense, but they do an excellent job of recognizing and predicting behavioral patterns of people. Especially people they know. What they do with this information is up to them. Maybe one day they'll just fuck with you, and maybe the next they'll be serious and give you some help. Choices choices choices, they like to spin these hypothetical situations, or stories with weighted choices weather intentional or not. They take great pleasure in watching people flail about in their made up worlds, feeling a little read by the seer. They can definitely be hurtful, pointing out insecurities and flaws, but they have no inherent leaning toward cruelty.

In a session/powers: This player is just as concerned with the progression of the session as they are with the players' progression through the session. Very important to understand that this includes the seer of mind themself too! Understanding other's minds is one thing, understanding your own is entirely different. As this player progresses through the session their abilities of inference and prediction are elevated. They begin to see outcomes, not as possibilities but as facts. It's the mental process of themself and the people around them that leads to these facts. As long as a thought occurs to a player, in some timeline they act upon this thought, however unlikely. Choices being made is a given, even if that choice is to not make a choice. A god tier seer of mind knows the minds of the players and the choices they think to make. and based on the choice that's made, they know the outcome AND the next array of choices that then are brought to fruition as a result of the first choice.

Roles: mastermind/planner, likely moon: Prospit

Seer of Heart

Description: The seer of heart knows who they are. They know who you are. This player is a reliable bastion to fall back to when you're at a loss, they have all their shit figured out and also probably have a good idea how to guide you to a similar place.

Behavior/personality: The seer of heart is a highly introspective person. Their identity is of upmost importance to them. They are constantly pondering their inner world and coming to conclusions about themselves. These people however are also good gauges of the souls of others, even if they won't really consider it unless prompted. They know the motivations and aspirations of their friends. What makes this player unique is their comprehension of their limits. They know just how far they can go without breaking both physically and mentally. They know what defines themself and they always trust themself to stay true to who they are.

In a session/powers: The seer of heart is a relatively piss-poor guide as far as seers go. They do their own thing. This seer stays true to themself and their own ideals, there's no mystery to who these people are. They wear their heart on their sleeve so to speak Though, should another player be involved in that story, say romantically, they'd be along for the ride. These players are steady, and even if they don't have the situation under control it doesn't get to them. They're remarkable people to confide in because they understand what your troubles are, just as they know how to present themselves to make you comfortable. What is important to remember is that the seer of heart is not gifted with traditional seer foresight. They understand the souls of people, their true identities. The god tier seer guides those who are lost within themselves to the truth that the seer of heart has known all along, who these people are.

Roles: Personal Therapist/shoulder to cry on, Likely moon: Prospit/Derse

Seer of Life

Description: Life is an aspect associated care and compassion, but also growth and drive. The seer of life has a great deal of understanding of how to soothe and care for others and themself. But don't mistake them for a useless support. They're also inclined to encourage growth, show people how to move forward even in situations where it seems like a barrier is impassible.

Behaviour/personality: The seer of life is a person who knows to put people first. They're caring and posses a quality other life players can sometimes lack, actually knowing how to care for someone. They might have passion as a doctor or nurse, but they also might just be a person who knows how to care for your spirit. They're a mom friend, or perhaps their sage advice is more fatherly in nature. It's their duty to pick you up and dust you of, and send you on your way with a bit of helpful advice. This is a person with a lot of wisdom. their knowledge of life doesn't come without experience, and as a result adversity just doesn't phase them. Shit happens, and all you can do is keep on living. When things are grim the seer of life knows just what to do to overcome it. They don't really push you forward as much as they show you the way to overcome an important obstacle and how to grow from it. Sometimes you need to deal with a lot of strife to grow as a person and the seer of life knows that! As an extension the seer of life also knows when to let a sleeping dog lie. you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped, they understand better than most that some people have to take their own paths to grow as a person.

In a session/powers: As the group's seer, it's this players duty to guide other players using their knowledge of their aspect. This can be difficult for everybody because sometimes, "that's life." This player understands the life force of players and might even be the only person who knows that a kiss is required to revive dead players. But they also serve as mentors. Especially for players who go through a lot. They can help them sure, but their assistance won't be topping your health off every time you're hurt. It will more likely be advice, and meaningful encouragement. A god tier seer of life will help If you have taken a huge mental or physical blow. the seer's hand on your shoulder won't knit your wounds together per se, but they will guide you through adversity with patience and kindness. They are sort of the ultimate cheerleader for mental and physical altercations. Other seers will help you strategize, the seer of life will help you grow to meet the challenge.

Roles: Parental friend/impromptu leader/pep talk generator, likely moon: Prospit

The Seer of Doom

Description: The seer of doom is often misrepresented as the guy who tells you that you're going to die. The seer of doom is the guy who tells you that it is the nature of the universe for all things to die. Similar, but importantly different. Doom concerns order, rules, and futility. They have a concrete understanding of the forces that bring suffering. And the consequences of that suffering.

Behaviour/Personality: The seer of doom might be a bit apathetic, but not nearly as much of a downer as you might expect. Pragmatic and calm, the seer of doom knows all good things come to an end. They're not much of a problem solver, but they are a guide nonetheless. A good listener the seer of doom has an intuitive understanding of suffering of others. They have excellent pattern recognizing abilities, and are very familiar with what rules exist and why, even if they're not GOOD reasons. They're a little pessimistic, and by a little, I mean they are vastly pessimistic. Yet for someone so convinced that the world will end in fiery death they're pretty calm about it.

In a session/powers: The seer of doom is THE player who warns you that things aren't going to go the way you think it will. As a consequence they are not too attached to the idea of success. And when things have cone completely fucking pear shaped they know that the only thing left to do is let go. Asking the seer of doom about things you don't know is not as futile as you think. They aren't vast fonts of knowledge the way other seers are, but they do have a complete understanding of the rules that govern fate. They can give you a vague understanding of how a plan might go based on the natural order of the universe. A god tier seer of doom knows all ends. They recognize and identify all the harbingers of death and failure. When all is lost, and things look grim, it is the seer of doom who leads their allies through the murky sludge of fate.

Roles: voice of reason/token pessimist, Likely moon: Derse

Seer of Rage

Description: Rage players are off the fucking shits. The seer of rage is an expert when it comes to uh, being pissed off. This is a more abstract role so bear with me. Rage is the aspect of chaos, it is primarily concerned with immense passion, conviction, tenacity, and reality. The seer of rage understands these primal emotions on a personal level.

Behavior/personality: The seer of rage exhibits a bit of a strange attitude toward life. They are natural skeptics. They know what's real, and when something appears to challenge that perception they resist, and thrash against it. This person is likely very closed off, not necessarily as combative and standoffish as they could possibly be. They're the type to immediately shut down an idea they don't like or goes against their ideals. This can be frustrating because, their perception of the world is constantly being fashioned and re-fashioned . As a result their ideals are also likely to change. On a more sociable level, they're very in tune with their emotions, and the emotions of others. Especially emotions associated with frustration and resistance. They have an intuitive understanding of their friends insecurities and frustrations, what they do with that information is entirely up to them.

In a session/powers: Seer's are guides, they are adept at steering players forward. The seer of rage is actually a pretty reliable ally, proving to be a soldier forging onward through tumultuous waves of chaos. The seer of rage knows that madness and frustration are no state for the players of a session, they may assist players in navigating the labyrinth of their own emotions, or even to redirect their rage in a more constructive manner. The only way to truly circumvent chaos and tragedy is to ride it out. When shit goes haywire the Seers or rage can't do much to balm your confusion. They can show you the way to hide against the proverbial rocks to avoid the crashing tide of chaos.

Roles: Anger management/emergency leader, likely moon: Prospit

The Seer of Hope

Description: This person is the optimist to end all optimists. Seriously there's not a situation thy can't find the bright side to. Nothing is over until it's over and the seer of hope will be there to help sessions push onward to success, even when all seems lost. It's this player's duty to understand other player's convictions and to give them something to fight for.

Behaviour/personality: The seer of hope knows their friends. They know what makes them tick! These players have a deep understanding of dreams and aspirations. They might be avid role-players, with deep and complex characters and worlds in their minds. The seer of hope is prone to encouraging their close friends to follow their dreams, with an expertly crafted pep talk to get them going. They are people with infectious and unrelenting optimism. The annoying sort that you can't even argue with and turns out to completely right.

In a session/powers: The seer of hope is a bastion of light in uncertain times. They have the upmost faith that things will turn out okay. Their power of belief is not infectious in it's own right, instead they guide whole sessions by reminding them that there is still hope. There's always hope. If there's a chance, however small, the seer of hope knows it and won't let people hear the end of it. Most importantly the seer of hope is highly attuned to their friends goals, they can rouse passion for success in even the most pessimistic players. They speak the language of success for every person they meet. A god tier seer of hope is not a guide to great fortune or huge success. They're a guide to the next day. The seer of hope restores faith in even the most hopeless of players. They show the way through strife and adversity does not have to be wrought with sorrow.

Roles: Leader/token optimist, likely moon: Prospit/Derse

[shinydelirium]

MLQC Season 2 Chapter 15 (Kiro’s Chapter) Part 4 [Double Courage] & [New Game] Translation [CN]

***SPOILERS*** DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED!!! 

I decided to combine 2 parts into one post since 15-5 was short. Enjoy~

For the previous translation of Chapter 15: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

[Double Courage]

There was no sound of footsteps coming and going outside the door and I was the only one left in the empty utility room.

I know he is still outside. Looking at the closed door, I slowly stepped forward and lifted my head.

It suddenly occurred to me, when I first arrived at the hospital after hearing that Kiro had an accident.

At that time, he was also on the other side, refusing me.

I turned around, leaned against the door, and sat down. Soon, the sound of footsteps quietly leaving came to my ears.

I have to admit, I really can’t help him. I am not strong enough to make him feel more at ease.

People need to accept their own weaknesses and limitations in order to think about what they can do from their own perspective.

The whole space is quiet and my heart is surprisingly calm.

I closed my eyes and replayed all the scenes of my time with Kiro over and over again in my mind.

If I were Kiro, why would I need to use another identity while insisting on solving the problem alone?

If I was admitted to the hospital and refused to see anyone, it must be because there is a serious illness and I don’t know how to deal with others.

And I act alone because it may be dangerous and I don’t want to be dragged down by others or….

MC: Drag others down with me.

My brain is spinning so fast. I always feel that there is something that has constantly plagued me and I have come to a conclusion.

MC:…Kiro’s illness has not been cured?

So everything makes sense now.

From beginning to end, he never said why he was admitted into the hospital.

If he was attacked because of what he did, then he abandoned the identity of “Kiro” and acted under the identity of “Helios” which made it even more logical sense.

It is precisely because the illness has not been cured. He cannot expose his weakness but at the same time, he will also worry that he will be a burden to others because of this.

MC: Kiro, are you trying to be strong again?

Secretly covering up his wounds and then create an identity of another person to carry everything on his back.

But this shouldn’t be a world where only superheroes get hurt.

MC: Kilo, display location.

Following my instructions, an electronic map immediately laid out before my eyes. I looked towards the center of the map and was shocked.

Next to the little bear wearing a small flower is another bear.

Helios hasn’t left. He was just outside the door.

I remember coming in, passing by the fire control room.

I thought for a while, not worrying about it anymore, I reached out my hand and touched the head of the little bear that was close to me, as if I could the person behind it.

MC: Kiro, can you hear me?

As I expected, there was no response.

I carefully tapped the microphone on the collar twice and then muttered to myself.

MC: Kiro, I know you are there. You can just treat this as me talking to myself but listen to me, okay?

MC: I know that I am very small and there are many things I can’t do and can’t help much.

MC: I don’t think it is shameful to admit that I am weak, because I know where to move forward after realizing this.

MC: For example, right now I’m thinking, do I have to learn some hacking skills or any combat skills?

There was a vaguely violent cough outside the door and I couldn’t help but smile.

MC: I know you must have encountered something sad.

MC: I also know that I can’t help you with this. You are afraid that I will only worry more so you choose to stay away from me.

MC: But Kiro, do you know?

MC: Sometimes you are a coward and then you make yourself look strong.

Kiro:….MC

Kiro’s dull voice rang in my ears as if it came from the collar and also from the door behind him.

MC: Kiro, you don’t have to be so strong.

MC: Difficulty is like a giant beast with its teeth and claws bared. A little bear will inevitably be nervous and scared when facing it.

MC: But it doesn’t have to force itself to fight alone because if it were two bears, the courage would be doubled.

MC: The weapon to defeat the beast is often not any sharp knife, but the power of courage.

MC: My courage can be lent to you at any time.

There was a small voice and I knew he was listening to me carefully.

MC: I know you are working hard for everyone so I hope I can also help you in some way.

Next, I started to tell him all the information about the hunter game, Joker and the little boy I learned about.

Rather than watching him fight alone, I will accompany the superhero in my own way.

After Helios closed the door of the utility room, he took out the hidden mini computer from under the console of the fire control room.

This is his temporary stronghold. It is located in the center of the city so it is convenient for his system to scan the entire terrain of Loveland City.

After he hacked into the opponent’s map program and was kicked out, he came to a decision.

He wants to build a brand new system to replace the other party’s authority and control over Loveland.

He opened the program on the mini computer and took out another device.

After the device started up, a beam of light projected into the air, showing an unfinished 3D map.

He sat down and flicked his fingers quickly in the air and the program projected in the air began to change with his movements.

This is a program he developed overnight to scan a map of the city and it is more intuitive than a 2D map.

At the same time, he tried to hack into the opponent’s system again, only this time, he did not bother to snatch the program they made.

He just wants to use their system to master the information of all players and all supply points so that he can enter the next step of the plan.

He quickly worked out a plan to end the game, with every step interlocking. And the first step of all plans must be that she can stay safe.

He knows that once Kilo is enabled, his identity will be exposed to the girl.

But in such a chaotic situation, he can no longer consider that much to ensure her safety.

After finding her, his ecstatic mood made him temporarily forget the anxiety caused by those recent events.

He forgot for a while that Kiro is broken, lonely and silent.

When she heard that she was looking forward to meeting the healthy Kiro, he suddenly recovered.

He is no longer the same Kiro, at least not the Kiro she was expecting.

He still couldn’t stand in front of her as Kiro.

The girl’s voice chattered endlessly, but it made him calmer than ever.

When she said that she wanted to learn hacking techniques or combat skills, he couldn’t help but cough.

At that moment, he was sure that she was serious.

She said that he was a coward.

She said that he doesn’t need to be so strong.

Helios tapped his fingers on the keyboard and gradually stopped.

Never compromise, never give up.

He feels his heart slowly being peeled off. There is a force pushing him forward.

She was right. As long as she was by his side, he would gain great courage.

This courage can support him to do many things and make him feel even more strength.

And the information she brought was really helpful to him.

Although he had investigated some information long ago, some of it was the first time he had heard of it.

The name Joker and Evol may be the main messenger of the game and the boy who can provide teleportation for him.

The so-called “ghost” to “human” transmission is actually done by this young man.

He frowned and began to think about what changes his plan needed to make as a result.

Fast fingers flew over the keyboard again and a “beep” came from multiple devices at the same time.

He raised his eyebrows slightly and his eyes showed unstoppable sharpness.

After scanning the three-dimensional map of the city, the player’s information points have been fully entered, the locations of the supply points have been disclosed to him, and the girl’s location information has also been erased from the game.

Helios: This game is mine.

[New Game]

I leaned against the door and suddenly felt a vibration from my phone. When I picked it up, I found that the phone had a black screen.

Before I had a chance to restart it, the screen automatically lit up and then a line of words were displayed.

“Welcome to the new hunter game.”

New hunter game? I was stunned for a moment, before I realized what had happened, the word “hunter” was marked with a red “X” by the animation effect.

MC: Welcome to…..the new hunter game?”

The red animation effect keeps flashing on the screen, seeming to constantly emphasize the concept of “new game”.

Did Joker change the rules of the game? Why cross out the word “hunter”? What does he want to do?

Unsettling emotions came to my mind. I subconsciously wanted to call Helios but I heard a familiar voice come over the phone.

??: Now, the game management rights will be changed.

??: I hereby announce, the new game has officially started.

This voice….is Helios!

I looked at the phone in disbelief and saw the screen change along with his voice.

“Hunter Game Is Out”

Helios: All the rules of the hunter game are invalidated.

Helios: There is only one rule you have to abide by—“No harm to anyone.”

I looked at the big words “NO FIGHT” displayed on the screen and faintly guessed what Helios wanted to do.

Helios: The communication method will now be opened, allowing all players to establish contact.

Helios: The game system adds a help platform and anyone who needs assistance can upload coordinates.

Helios: The map resumes normal use and all supply points will be publicly marked.

When he released these rules, the signal of my mobile phone showed full frame synchronously; a dialog box for help also popped up on the screen.

Then the phone automatically opened a brand new Loveland City map which not only showed the locations of all supply points but also a panoramic 3D map.

Helios: But don’t be too happy. My game will only be harder.

Helios: All of you, still have to follow my rules.

His tone was blunt, as if he was really the master of the game.

I was a little puzzled. Helios is clearly helping everyone to restore peace in Loveland. Why is he deliberately being so cold?

Although the fog has not dissipated, he can directly announce the end of the game. Why would he go the other way and announce the new rules of the game?

At this time, the screen switched to the surveillance on the streets of Loveland City and Helios seemed to have set up thermal imaging technology to clearly see colorful figures on the screen.

After seeing the contents of the surveillance clearly, my eyes widened unexpectedly—

Many people still pushed and scrambled for the aerosol at the replenishment point, fighting hard, and the scene was chaotic.

It seems that the so-called “new game” and “new rules” are meaningless to them.

Faintly, I seem to understand something.

Even if the game itself is stripped away, some people will still be dominated by fear or some kind of temptation and continue to dwell in the cold-blooded fighting.

So is this also Helios’ consideration?

I looked back at the closed wooden door waiting for his answer.

Helios: If someone insists on going their own way and continue to compete for limited resources…

Helios: The aerosol that you’re competing for will be ineffective at the moment.

Before he finished his words, everyone on the screen seemed to be taken aback. Several people raised the aerosols in their hands and panicked.

Helios: This is my game.

Helios: If you don’t believe me, you can try it.

The picture automatically zoomed in and the aerosol in the person’s hand was clearly exposed---the aerosol valve was automatically opened.

The crowd seemed to have finally realized the existence of the new game and stood there facing each other.

This is the meaning of Helios building a new game—

If the game is announced directly, everyone will continue to compete for aerosol if the fog is not effectively resolved.

That’s why he created another image of the game controller and introduced new game rules.

The purpose is to establish authority, let everyone follow his instructions, and get out of the mindset of fighting in a more orderly manner.

Helios: If you want to live, you must act according to my rules.

Helios: All players will be divided into three levels and displayed on your mobile phone screens according to the length of the remaining survival time.

Helios: Sub-level players need to help emergency level players to obtain aerosol.

Helios: The more people you help, the higher the ranking will be.

Helios: The highest-ranked person can still get a generous bonus.

Helios: Remember, “you are the game itself.”

Helios: Looking forward to your wonderful performance.

Helios completely changed the rules of the game.

If it can be executed smoothly, it will make the hunter game lose its original meaning.

It turns out that this is his “own way” to solve the hunter game?

While sighing, I was also a little worried.

The current situation is undoubtedly a huge change for Joker. In order to take back control,  he will certainly not give up.

I was about to remind Helios to be vigilant but suddenly there was a slight noise outside the door. Helios opened the door in the next second.

Helios: Let’s go.

Helios: Someone has snuck in.

-End of Part 4-

Continue to Part 5 

[reshanims]

『 Dreamwalking 』

Here is my VR final project! There are two versions on Youtube:

2D perspective: https://youtu.be/ehLHw1e1ipI 360 perspective: https://youtu.be/MHx1ychKwgs 2D version is recommended for desktop viewers, and loads faster. The 360 version is more immersive with mobile devices, but can be alot laggier. Both versions lose a bit of the original feeling, but I can only get the original animation to run within the VR workspace. This is as close as I can get right now to distributing the experience to others without a headset.

After experimenting with the software, seeing the works of others, and becoming familiar with the strengths and limitations of the software, I wanted to push the medium to the fullest. This final project, "Dreamwalking" is the result of trying to address several challenges. Firstly, the expansion of hand-drawn into the 3rd dimension has redefined the boundaries of what can be animated, but more importantly, the space in which the animation takes place in and how the viewer can interact with that space. The piece takes place within a room that is defined to be near-exact to the physical room the Oculus is set up in. After establishing a connection between the real space and the virtual space, I explore how I can break those boundaries. I also tried playing around with the idea of transitioning between the 2D and 3D dimension as ways of storytelling. Secondly, most applications of VR hand drawn animation software seem to use it as an intermediate step to either a 2D video or a 3D render. However, I wanted the end result to be experienced within the VR realm itself, and more importantly, to establish the viewers as active participants of an engaging world rather than onlookers from the outside. Thirdly, this prompted the challenge of artistic direction within a medium that gives viewers freedom of movement and attention. I want to capture the viewers attention while still giving them the same sense of free will, trying to find a balance between scene direction and open world methods. In different meetings with my instructor, we had new viewers watch the animation and judge from their first reactions whether or not I was successful in capturing their attention in the right way at the right time. Fourthly, I explored trying to create a seemingly engaging piece without any sort of response mechanisms. Nothing is dependent on the viewer's actions, my role is to simply click play. This differentiates animation from games in terms of storytelling. The difficulty was providing feeling of discovery even though the timeline had already been completely pre-defined. 

On a last note, due to hardware, format changes, and just the physical environment, I don’t think there’s a way to fully replicate the experience I had to anyone outside that VR room. The entire animation was built around the physical location it existed in, and without it, part of it is lost. But I guess regardless of how much I wish everyone could’ve had the full experience, it was special in the end because of that. Whether or not I succeeded in addressing the challenges I set out to tackle, this experience was definitely insightful, and I already miss it. Extremely grateful for the faculty and instructors that helped me along the way.

[attractthecrows]

ahh, i've had a few drinks, and it's time to spout my opinions.

the worst part about using social media, as an artist, is the constant underlying expectation for you to live up to people's weird, arbitrary standards.

you have to be "nice" (but only when they want you to).

you have to like [insert fandom] and make massive amounts of art for [insert fandom].

you can't swear (???).

you have to like Unproblematic things; no matter the justification you may have for liking Problematic things, you can't.

the criteria of Problematic Things is always changing but you must Always be aware of it and adjust your tastes accordingly.

you have to anticipate your fans' triggers, and control their online experience (again, ???).

you can't like [insert character].

you have to like [insert kink] but not [insert kink].

etc

and honestly, as someone who's been an artist as long as I can remember? minimum 20yrs of experience, discounting toddler years? this ain't how art fucking works.

like, ok. everyone's perspective on art is different. everyone's experience is different. art itself is fundamentally subjective as it is a representation of human values and the human soul (both of which are arbitrary). Art in any media (2d, 3d, musical, textile, terrestrial, etc) is something that humans always have created and always will create, and as a deeply personal phenomena unique to every human on the planet it cannot be impartially judged.

you hear me?

art CANNOT be impartially judged.

not because of some moral rule or code that says it cant, but because, fundamentally, there is no perspective that is not, in some even minute way, completely biased.

if you want, you can liken the idea to moral relativism.

So what does this mean? In short, there's no way for any individual person to fairly judge anyone that lies outside their own situation and experience. you don't know the values that person carries, you don't know the conditions that brought them to that point, and you certainly can't read their full intent behind the piece. even if there are underlying constants, you can't fully predict how a person will react to those- you are not that person, after all.

the point is that every time you view something someone has created, you are viewing it through your own lens- a lens (perspective) shaped by the culture you grew up in, your parents, the art that surrounded you, the law, your grades, your friends, your family, the climate, the things you've learned; everything you've ever done, seen, or experienced. All of what makes you who you are is a form of bias, and it's different for every human on this planet.

in the face of this, isn't it kind of stupid to judge other artists on your own set of values?

like, sure, you share the same cultural background, or legal system, or whatever. but that's 1-2 perspectives out of a potential multitude that this person could have been referencing with the piece in question. how do you know which one(s) are correct? how do you know which one(s) are the axis by which the art should be judged? long story short: you can't.

so why should we expect artists to live up to our standards, rather than their own?

[thesteadydietofeverything]

Video Game Year in Review: The Top 10

As with any year-end list, this one probably isn’t complete. Last year, I fell in love with Nioh over winter break after I had already made my top 10, and just a few days ago, I started playing Hollow Knight. As I made clear in my previous lists, Metroidvanias can be hit or miss for me. I can get fed up with wandering around without a clear destination, and Hollow Knight has a bit of that so far, but it also has one of the most atmospherically welcoming settings for a video game in recent memory, and so far I’ve been pretty damn enraptured by it. I’m not too worried about it making the list at this point; it didn’t even technically come out this year anyway, but its Switch release earlier this year gave it somewhat of a second debut, for all the earned attention it finally got. At least I got a little shout-out here before publishing.

Anyway, here’s ten games I loved the shit out of in 2018. This was one year with a handful of games that I absolutely adored, none of which necessarily immediately jumped out to me as hands down the best one of the bunch, and honestly, that’s the way I’d prefer it, but it did make ranking them a bit tough. Really, from number five onward, the ranking gets pretty interchangeable. I didn’t plan on the game in my number one spot being the one that it is until I actually wrote out my feelings for it and decided that out of all them it was the easiest for me to just gush about. Alright, no further ado:

10. Donut County - Overall, it’s probably a good thing that Donut County isn’t longer than it is, but for as mechanically simple as sucking objects into an ever-expanding void is, it’s something that I felt I would’ve been perfectly entertained doing for a lot longer than the game lasted. Donut County has a wildly inspired and novel central gameplay hook, a relatably goofy sense of humor that might border on obnoxious if it weren’t so sincerely delivered, and an anti-gentrification, anti-capitalist message that mostly works without beating you over the head too hard with it. Ben Esposito and his team have created one of the most charming and original games I’ve played in years here.

9. Paratopic - “Cinematic” is a grossly overused and frequently inappropriate word to use in games criticism, but this game often had me coming back to the word, observing how many ways it feels like it authentically takes inspiration from creative methods seen more often in film, particularly art films, than in games, much more so than say, Red Dead Redemption 2, which typically embarrassingly pales in comparison to any movies it’s obviously aping from. There’s its willingness to not explain to you what’s going on, letting you pick up on clues from scenery and incidental dialogue. Its multiple switching perspectives, laced together to draw meaningful narrative connections. Its tendency to sit in the atmosphere of a scene. Its ability to tell a succinct story intended to be experienced in one sitting. And most of all, those jump cuts. I know Paratopic isn’t the first game to employ this technique, but as far as I can remember, it’s the first that I’ve played to utilize them for purposeful artistic effect, and every time it happened, it was oddly thrilling. I loved when I’d switch from walking to suddenly driving, and had a moment of panic, as if I suddenly just woke up at the wheel. The cliffhangers scenes would occasionally end on made me desperate to get back to that thread. Hell, even just the fact that there clearly were scenes, that lasted a few minutes at a time, then moved on to the next one, felt weirdly refreshing at a time when AAA design is becoming so absurdly bloated. Paratopic excited me, not in its desire to emulate a separate art medium, but in its casual realization of how many underutilized narrative techniques work genuinely effectively in this medium.

8. Dusk - I really can’t imagine a game that more perfectly matches my Platonic ideal of “video game comfort food” than Dusk, aside from, maybe, the game in the number one spot of this list. I was raised on 90’s PC FPS games like Doom and, as is much more relevant to this game, Quake. Yeah, for the most part, it’s nice that games have moved on, both in depth of gameplay and artistry, but goddamn does a back-to-basics twitchy shooter with inspired level design and creepy atmosphere just feel good sometimes. The grainy, chunky polygons of this game encapsulate everything I love about the rudimentary but remarkably evocative minimalism of early 3D graphics. The movement feels absurdly fast by modern standards, and the effect is thrilling - every projectile is dodgeable, as long as your reflexes are sharp enough. Undoubtedly the most impressive thing about this game is its ambitious level design, so much of which rivals even John Romero’s. The longer this game goes on, the more sprawling and labyrinthine it becomes. The map shapes become increasingly wacky. The gothic architecture becomes more foreboding and awe-inspiring. Dusk does a lot with a little, and in the process, makes so much more than a tribute to game design and aesthetics of the past - for me, it stands right alongside its obvious inspirations as one of the very best of its ilk.

7. Into the Breach - An absolute masterclass of game design. Into the Breach leaves nothing about its mechanics obscured, making sure you understand how every move is going to go down just as well as it does, and the fact that the result is still compellingly challenging is a sure sign we’re in the hands of remarkably skilled and intelligent developers. The narrative in this game is sparse - you assume the role of time-looping soldiers attempting over and over again to save your world from alien invasion (think Edge of Tomorrow), and that’s pretty much all you get for the plot, aside from some effective but minimal character beats and dialogue one-liners. And yet, every battlefield, a small grid with its own arrangement of sprites (giant creepy-crawlies, various creative mech classes, structures full of terrified denizens given a modicum of hope at the arrival of their ragged potential saviors) offers a playground for drama to unfold, as gripping and epic as any great mecha anime battle. As I mentioned in my previous list with Dead Cells, I have trouble sticking with run-based games, and this game wasn’t quite an exception - honestly, if it had something resembling a more traditional narrative campaign, I could see it potentially filling my number one spot. But that a game of its style nevertheless stuck with me as well as it did proves what a tremendous achievement I found it to be.

6. Astro Bot Rescue Mission - This was both the first game I’ve played fully in VR and the first game I’ve ever platinumed. I guess that might say something about how thoroughly I fell for it. For some reason, one of the questions that my brain kept posing while playing this game is, “would you like this game as much if it weren’t in VR?” I would like to pose that first off, if this wasn’t a VR game, it would be quite a different game, but yes, probably a perfectly delightful 3D platformer in its own right. But most of all, this game helped me realize what a bullshit question that is in the first place. By virtue of its VR nature, this game is just fundamentally different, just as the jump from 2D to 3D resulted in games that were just fundamentally different. The perspective you’re given watching over your little robot playable character allows to look in 360 degrees, and often you need to, if you’re seeking out every level’s secrets, and yet, while it moves forward, it doesn’t follow you vertically, so sometimes you’re looking up or down as well. It’s difficult to describe exactly how this perspective is so much more than a gimmick or something, outside of the cliched exaggeration of “it feels like you’re really there, man,” but honestly, this statement isn’t wrong. I truly did feel immersed in these levels in a way that I wouldn’t have if this weren’t a VR game, and while it’s not exactly a feeling I now desire from every game, it does stand out as one of the singular gaming experiences I had in 2018 as a result.

5. Thonebreaker: The Witcher Tales - I gushed plenty about this game in my review. How its approach to Gwent-based combat is both welcoming to newcomers and remarkably varied, offering new ways to approach and think about the game with nearly every encounter. How its sizable story is filled with fascinating characters and genuinely distressing choices, forcing you to grapple with the inherent injustices of your position. How its vivid art style and wonderfully moody Marcin Przybyłowicz score sell The Witcher feel of this game, despite how differently it plays from the mainline entries of the game. And maybe most of all, how criminally overlooked this game has been. So I’ll make the same claim I did before - if The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt did something for you, it’s likely this game will too. Don’t worry about the card game - I did too, and trust me, it’s fun. It’s the new Witcher game; that really ought to be all you need to know.

4. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life - There’s...a lot about the Yakuza games that I’ve come to adore, but one of the biggest ones that kept sticking out to me while playing The Song of Life is how they build a sense of place. After playing Yakuza 0, set in 1988, and Yakuza Kiwami, set in 2005, I played this one, set in 2016. Each time, same Kiryu, but older, same Kamurocho, but era appropriate. Setting every Yakuza game in the same map has to be one of the quietly boldest experiments in video games, forgoing fresh new vistas to explore in favor of the same familiar boulevards, alleys, and parks of the iconic red-light district, painting an exquisitely detailed and loving portrait of a neighborhood changing with the decades. While Kiryu’s exasperation at once again walking into the all-too-familiar crowded streets of Kamurocho, brighter and louder than ever, hardly matched my eagerness to see how it had changed, it felt appropriate. Though he’s still the hottest dad (grandpa?) in town, he is kinda old now, and he’s certainly earned the right to just be over it a little. Even the silliest of the era-relevant sub stories (one of which delightfully features Kiryu putting a selfie-stick wielding, obnoxious-stunt pulling, wanna-be influencer shithead in his place) serve to underscore how out of place he now is in his old stomping grounds.

By contrast, the other setting of Yakuza 6, the quaint seaside town of Onomichi, very quickly begins to feel like an idyllic retirement destination. The introduction to this part of the game has to be my favorite video game moment of 2018 - Kiryu trying to calm a hungry baby, while walking the deserted streets after dark in search of one store that still happens to be open. The faint sound of ocean in the distance effectively evokes the freshness, the bitterness, of the air. The emptiness and darkness of the space is almost shocking, compared to the sensory overload of Kamurocho. And there’s Haruto. Kiryu took Haruka in when she was 9, so he’s never had to deal with a baby before. He’s out of his element, but hardly unwilling. The help he gets from Kiyomi and his other new friends is the kind of comfort Kiryu needs at this point in his life. Likewise, the events in Onomichi play out like a retirement fantasy - building an amateur baseball team out of local talent, building relationships with the denizens of a bar in an incredible Japanese version of Cheers, hanging out with the town’s Yakuza, who are so small potatoes they seem to barely fit the definitions of organized or crime. It all works beautifully as a touching send-off to my favorite video game character.

3. Tetris Effect - There was a long time where I was contemplating putting this as my number one game. I went through some strange conflicts in the consideration - next to all these original, thoughtful games, am I really going to say that fucking Tetris is best one of them? Is that even fair? Is this game really anything more than just regular-ass Tetris but with some pretty lights and sounds and a 90’s rave kinda vibe? The answer to all of these, is, of course, yes, but also no. I’d defend my choice any day, though. This is the first game to actually get me into Tetris. I always appreciated it; it’s a classic, but it was never a game I had actually put much time or thought into before. This game not only sold me on Tetris, but got me obsessed with it, to the point where the name feels remarkably appropriate: ever since I began playing, I’ve been seeing tetriminos falling - in my sleep, in daydreams, any time I see any type of blocky shape in real life I’m fitting them together in my mind. The idea that all Tetris pieces, despite their differences, need each other and complement each other and can all fit together in perfect harmony, and that this is a metaphor for humanity, has to be some of the cheesiest bullshit I’ve ever heard, and yet, the game fully sold me on it from the first damn level. It’s all connected. We’re all together in this life. Don’t you forget it.

2. Celeste - This is a damn near perfect game, both as refreshing and demanding as a climb up a beautiful but treacherous mountain ought to be. I died many, many times (2424, to be exact), but the game explicitly encouraged me to be proud of that, acting as a friendly little cheerleader in between deaths, assuring me that I could do it. It’s both a welcome break from the smug, sneering attitude so many “difficult” games tend to traffic in, and absolutely central to its themes involving mental health. As the shockingly good plot starts making it increasingly clear that it’s about Madeline’s quest to conquer (or, at least, understand) her inner demons, the gameplay itself offers a simple but effective metaphor for struggling with mental illness - yes, it’s hard, and yes, you’re going to suffer and struggle, but you can make it, and you will make it, because you’re so much better than you think you are. Oh, and also, it’s not all bad, because at least you get to listen to some absolutely rippin’ tunes while you do it.

1. Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - (Another one I reviewed!) This is my ideal JRPG. In my mind it stands next to childhood treasures like Final Fantasy IX. Unlike some recent Square projects that specifically try to clone their late 90’s output, this game hardly feels beholden to the game design of the past, and yet, feels of a piece with that era in a respectably non-cloying way. It has a bright, colorful, inviting world full of charming characters, an all-time great soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi, and an exciting, deep combat system with an emphasis on action. Building my kingdom of Evermore was remarkably satisfying, down to all the little dumb tasks my citizens would ask of me, none of which my very good boy King Evan was too busy or too proud to refuse. There’s very little grinding. It’s a long game by most standards, but at 40-something hours, it feels lean by JRPG standards. And for as much of a storybook fantasy as the plot is, as much as it reduces woefully complicated socio-political issues into neat, resolvable tasks for Evan to solve, it always came across as perfectly genuine, and sometimes surprisingly affecting. It’s the game that I’ve wanted to play since the PS1 Final Fantasy games stole my heart as a kid. That’s hardly what I expected it to be as I started into it, and what a joy it was to discover that it was.

[furrycatcollection]

Landscaping Design Software For Mac Free Download

At my college, I teach a course named “Computers in Landscape Design” where I train landscape design students in AutoCad and Adobe Suite Programs, among others. These programs are tremendous for landscape designers who wish to use industry-standard software like regular landscape architects; however, they can be very expensive.

3d Landscape Design Software Free

Best Free Landscape Software Downloads

Students often do have access to free trials of the software, but for anyone interested in continually using them for the purposes of their professional business, eventually they will need to pay for the programs. To provide some perspective, currently the subscription for AutoCad software is around $200 per month. Unfortunately, this is just too expensive for many new business owners.

The most advanced landscape design software, for the most incredible landscape designs. VizTerra offers a streamlined interface, intuitive tools, and an extensive 3D library that makes it seamless to draw in 2D, transform your ideas into 3D, and then create a fully interactive 3D presentation to share with your clients — instantly. Home Designer Landscaping Software by Chief Architect (Paid) Chief Architect is one of the leading developers and publishers of 3D Architectural home design, and have also developed a software for landscape design that is just as up to par. This is often used by architects, interior designers, landscape designer and home designers, even DIYers. A free version of DreamPlan home design software is available for non-commercial use. If you will be using DreamPlan at home you can download the free version here. See more house design software screenshots.

Students often ask me if there are any free landscape design apps that work well for professionals. Over the past several years, I tested many free landscape design apps on various projects. In this article, I will review the pros and cons of the market’s five main free landscape design applications.

First, I won’t keep you guessing – my recommendation for the best free app is iScapes. The iScapes app is by far the best free landscape design app among its peers, having quality graphics, a solid user-interface, and a good plant library. In the table below, I provided a breakdown of some of my ratings for each of the five design apps. In case the image is too small, click here to download the pdf version. I will provide some helpful insights of each app in the sections that follow, along with some common issues that may influence your decision before downloading. But before you head off and just download the iScapes or PROLandscape app, I want to give you a little piece of wisdom I’ve accrued over my years of design. There is no substitute for a poor knowledge of landscape plants or design. If you are new to gardening or landscape design, before you purchase any app, I would highly suggest picking up a copy of The Essential Garden Design Workbook along with some essential drafting supplies and learn the old-fashioned way. Not only will it be fun, but you will be a better designer by doing this.

Okay, that’s my word of warning – now onto the reviews

Finally – before I diveinto each application – I must state that noneof these free programs compare to the professional industry standards ofAutoCad, Vectorworks, PROLandscape, or Dynascape. Although these programs dohave some good features – they just simply cannot match the quality of theprofessional software. But for those designers that are looking for a cheapoption that can get the job done, some are worth checking out.

iScapes (Rating: 16/20 )

The iScapes software offers a free and paid premium subscription service. The paid service offers a larger plant library, along with additional image downloads, and project archives; however, the free version is very useful for a beginner landscaper or do-it-yourselfer. The biggest disadvantage of the app is that it is currently only available for iPhone or iPads. For Android users, they will need to find a substitute. To try iScapes, click here.

Pros: The biggest advantage of this app is the graphic quality of the three dimensional landscape elements. The drag and drop interface, along with the visual characteristics of the app make it very useful to professionals doing quick designs for clients on-site.

Cons: As with most of the apps you will see on the list, the major disadvantage is that if you want additional quality add-ons, you will need to pay. A more extensive plant library, along with additional project storage is available with payment.

Home Outside (Rating: 10/20)

I originally had high hopes for the Home Outside app, as the average app review was 3.8/5.0 with many positive comments. After having used the app in many different types of projects, I was disappointed in the lack of three-dimensional perspectives and the limited plant library. To test out the software, click here.

Pros: For plan graphics, the renderings are quite nice and the app allows for the importing of google maps of your customer’s property.

Cons: The biggest downside to the app is the lack of any real plant library. The plants are categorized by “tree” or “shrubs” with no indication or availability to specify the planting in the free version. The paid version does offer some extra features.

Home Design 3D (Rating: 5/20)

Home Design 3D was an intriguing app that had very distinctive reviews when I originally had downloaded it. People seemed to either love it, or hate it. Unfortunately, I was one of the latter. The app is very useful for interior planning and design, but falls short for any realistic landscape design applications. To try the app, click here.

Pros: The only thing the app has working for it is the 3D aspect. The three-dimensional rendering capabilities are better than I would have expected for a free app.

Cons: The user-interface is very poor and the app itself is not intuitive. This combination makes for a very difficult experience for a designer, especially when there are other options available. I would hope that future updates provide pop-ups or a tutorial at the beginning to help designers navigate the platform prior to starting a design.

PROLandscape Home (Rating: 5/20)

I will start off with a disclaimer. In one of my classes, I train designers on the PROLandscape Professional Softwares (Planner, ImageEditor, and Proposal). These are good (but expensive) programs that are very useful for design. I believe it is a great marketing strategy by the developer Drafix to provide this free app to showcase some of the basic features of their paid programs.

With that being said, I found it difficult to provide an honest review of the free version because I kept remembering the full functionality of the paid programs. In any case, I did my best to realistically provide good feedback on the user-interface. Overall, there are many elements that can be improved. To test this out app, click here.

Pros: The free software has many similarities with the overlay perspectives of Home Outside, but with a greater plant library. The biggest drawback of the software is that most of the plant database is only offered for the paid version.

Cons: The app is not very intuitive and there is very little within the program to provide help or support. Also, there is a limited availability of plants, with poor customization, and relatively no ability to modify the existing library.

Sketchup Viewer (Rating: 5/20)

I had originally downloaded the Sketchup Viewer because I had received a recommendation about the app from another designer. I already have extensive knowledge in Sketchup, along with a variety of other 3D Software programs including three-dimensional CAD, Rhino, and Revitt, so I figured the Sketchup Viewer was worth a try. In general, it was a big disappointment as the viewer does not really offer anything valuable for a designer that does not have access to the base-program of Sketchup. To test out the viewer, click here.

Pros: If you have the ability to work on a regular computer to complete a great 3D model in Sketchup, the Viewer is useful -essentially just a tool to view the model and show it to your client on site. Other than that, the viewer does little else.

3d Landscape Design Software Free

Cons: It is not a design software and offers no specific landscape capabilities. The app is obsolete without actually using Sketchup to generate the landscape model.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for the best free landscape design apps that also offer some assistance in designing and showcasing designs to clients in a professional manner, then I would recommend iScapes. If you do not have an iPhone or iPad, use Home Outside.

None of the free apps have great functionality when compared to their paid counterparts. If you are starting out in the design profession, the free apps might be worth exploring but you will quickly find better value from some of the other paid alternatives.

If you haven’t already – check out my article on Gift Ideas for Landscape Designers – you can use the money you’ve saved on some nice things for a fellow gardener, or yourself.

Best Free Landscape Software Downloads

For more articles on Landscape Design, please be sure to check out our Design resources and landscape Business articles.

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ImportantLegal Disclaimer: This site is owned and operated byDraftscapes. We are a participant in affiliate marketing programs designed toprovide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to participantvendors. Affiliations include Utrecht Art Supply and Amazon Associates.Draftscapes is compensated for referring traffic and business to thesecompanies. Recommendations for products or services on this site are not influencedthrough the affiliation.

[surmisecollective]

Is there a bigger art platform than Instagram? Is it the best place with the opportunities it provides?

23/01/2021

R. Saunders and C. Goodwin

Word Count: 1552

If we are told all throughout our art school experience that social media is the newest and most effective marketing tool for ourselves and that we should all be posting our work online on platforms such as Instagram, how are we to stand out from the rest?

Disclaimer- We don’t hate Instagram at all! What we’re about to say and what we have focused on is an artist's perspective, and we currently find ourselves at a wall in terms of the variety and quality of content we can produce on this platform in particular. We fancy having a rant about it because it’s relevant to the current state of social platforms for artists mostly, and these thoughts are very much going through our heads NOW.

With Instagram being such a two dimensional platform, ideal for posting still imagery, how does this work for different disciplines that may not focus on a final image? Yes, we can use video as well as still imagery, however this still only offers things to a certain limit. How do people show, for example, theoretical practice through still or video based imagery? It’s restrictive and it forces them into parameters that may not suit their way of thinking or exhibiting. The obvious thing some might say is don’t be on Instagram then, but I think that is simply disregarding the point. Instagram could offer these platforms for writers and critics in the same way Tumblr offers a range of media all to be posted on one feed. Instagram now being what it is, it's not out of their reach to simply offer some small design changes that in the long run will bring in more users, and more artists in turn creating a bigger network of multidisciplinary artists.

It’s great for posting developmental images or behind the scenes in the studio, but when considering the world we are living in, with limited options of exhibiting work physically, there are very limited avenues for curation on Instagram. We don’t get the freedom of choosing levels or different hanging methods online, we are limited to photographing what we can do in the physical and, at a push, enhancing these using editing software. Without these technical abilities available on the platform, we as creatives have to take initiative, creating our own ways of attracting attention and making our space more unique and inventive in a market that is constantly becoming more crowded. But how do we do it on this platform, how can writers’ and critics’ experiences compare with painters when they are given the same 2D 1080px by 1080px canvas with no ability to scroll through text? Is it that these types of creatives need to find alternative platforms to display their practice and work like Blogger. Maybe it’s attractive to some people to see text based profiles on Instagram as it offers something different to permanently viewing imagery, but it doesn’t seem to be as convenient to share such content as it does with simply uploading something from your camera roll.

So why has this platform been chosen to sell to art students? Why have we all been pushed to create an account and share our work this way? Surely it must have something to do with its ease and established audience of users, however if we all switched to a more diverse platform, then we can build up the network there, right? Maybe this is how we stand out, we branch out to another platform and use it differently than the majority of the current users. Tumblr began as a very art and photography orientated platform but then as other people discovered it, they found a new way to present on there and it’s now become driven by very different content. Similarly with TikTok when it began as Musical.ly, it was a platform for lip syncing and dancing, but creators saw the gap in this and began using it as a place to show their art, exposing them to a new audience and as they were offering something different, they gained a following.

Instagram is becoming more diverse in it’s formats, in recent years bringing in IGTV and Reels, but this is really just different forms of video content. Have they not just taken notes from other forms of social media i.e. Snapchat with the way they have formatted stories and the options that come with that way of presenting.

Without the financial backing or access to resources, there’s only so much that we can do with their standard formats. We’d have to invest in programmes to take advantage of things like making our own filters to display work that way or simply take people to a third party website. However, websites also have financial limitations. Access to domains can be pricey; it’s not essential with the ability to have a free plan with companies such as WIX or Wordpress, but these free options can hinder the amount of content displayable, again because they are the basic package. So we can’t really win without putting some money behind it on a regular basis, as the majority are subscription services. Again our options are limited to using the basic functions all these platforms offer, and when you are a startup or an amateur that wants to grow, these drawbacks can be very limiting to your content.

Should we as creatives and art organisations have to have multiple different platforms all supplying the same content or would it be better to have everyone in one space, allowing people to truly experiment and set themselves apart from the crowd? Instead of having hundreds of static platforms all with different algorithms making them hard to maintain, why not one that is dynamic and creatively free? What if on Instagram there was also a way of writing blogs, articles and publications to be presented alongside others? What if you could have a platform for group discussions and talks without requiring all participants to be in the same room? What if you could fully customise your feed, given full design freedom, creating an individual audience experience for when they see your content and follow your feed? Surely this would allow everyone to connect and display their practice in a unique way? These ideas won’t be for everyone, not everyone will want to have group talks and a place to publish articles. However if the opportunity is there then surely it will lead to more people dabbling in new and exciting mediums like writing.

Instagram, for artists and creatives, in its most basic form is a platform that connects you with people and institutions outside of your immediate networks and this is a great element. It allows you to find inspiration from new people constantly and follow hashtags for topics that are relevant to you. Like we said at the beginning, we think Instagram is a good platform, it just has room to be more inclusive for all disciplines. It’s a great marketing tool and it’s the prime platform right now to reach a readily available and active audience, however with the limited facilities, it doesn’t have all the things that a fully functional website may be able to provide, so it is mostly used to direct to these other sites. With the addition of these functions, we could use one collective site rather than spreading ourselves thin across a number of different ones.

What we’re basically wanting is an art platform; one that is from the very beginning, designed to be used by artists and art organisations, one that is inclusive of all disciplines or at least more than is on offer currently with instagram. Tumblr, as we have mentioned before, has some really great ideas and tools for us as creatives but unfortunately its active audience is slowly decreasing annually, which for start-up galleries comes as a concern. So what if we took all these positives and placed them under one roof, one umbrella that was built for artists and could house and exhibit all kinds of works and concepts. That is what we are crying out for at the moment, just easier said than done. An argument would be that we aren’t tapping into the audience that is there as viewers of art and not creators. It would be a great idea for networking, but it disregards the casual audience, the support network of people who simply enjoy art. But with this whole new site, could also come a viewer option; the choice to create an account to simply browse, follow and discover.

This is probably one of those impossible dream projects that in principle would be great but in reality, it's more than just “let’s do it”. However it's not written off, we shall see for the future what could be possible. For now we will continue to challenge Instagram’s restrictions and work out a new and unique way of showing.

These opinions and thoughts are all our own and are very much open for discussion but let’s take a look at this:

These are the basic options given by Tumblr that you can post on one single feed that can be curated freely with limited restrictions. It is possible.

[franki3-png]

Performance and Character

P and C 2 Snowball

Treatment

Performance 2:

Darren is on the phone when he gets hit in the head with a snowball. He hangs up the phone and turns to who threw it. He throws a snowball back in response.

Character Bio:

Darren

22

Short tempered

Setting:

Outside somewhere

Treatment:

Darren is on the phone to a friend and in a good mood, when he gets hit in the back of the head with a snowball. He hangs up the phone and turns to who threw it. He does a double take as if he recognises the person. He bends down and throws a snowball back in response.

Acting style:

Representation

Reference video:

The inspiration for this animation was similar to the first. I wanted to do something more action based. I had also been watching One Punch Man at the time and some of the animation in that show is so dramatic and intense. I was conflicted about making a more dramatic animation using perspective and exaduration, but this was one of the first fully 2d animations I’ve ever made, and with such little time to complete it in, I thought it would be better to pick a camera angle that was more simple and straight forward. Also Jonny had advised us to not to pick any crazy foreshortened angles which then put my off of some of my original, and more dramatic ideas. I think it would be fun to recreate this animation with more of a dramatic angle, to see if I can improve my foreshortening and posing skills.

I had made a short animation in my free time and looking over that one again was the made springboard for this one. At the time of planning my ideas, I was having issues with art block, so I struggled making new characters for this module, therefore the characters I used in both animations were my original characters from a story I have been planning for a while, rather than new ones I created for this project. As soon as I had some up with the idea for this animation, I couldn’t think of any character other than Darren, the one I drew. He’s hot headed, sarcastic and impulsive. He often retaliates without thinking, which fit well for him immediately throwing a snowball back to whoever threw one at him.

I was under the impression that we had to create our 2d animations with a characters full body and pose bin view. This was an assumption I made based of previous work but having now seen others submissions, I understand that this module was more lose with the requirements than I originally thought. Because of this, I created both of my 2d animations with characters fully in the frame of the camera. I think this meant I gave myself more work that necessary when I could have accomplished the same effect and had half of the frames to draw.

Unfortunately, due to file errors and my internet reloading pages, I lost my original timings for my animations. I have the actual blocking frames but not a bar sheet that shows the frame number they are on. I also had screen recordings but they wouldn’t import into premiere and once I had converted them, they were taking so long to render that I didn’t have time to add them in.

Because I underestimated how long it would take, this animation turned out a lot less smooth than I would have liked it to be. I didn’t have time to add in all of the inbetweens that I wanted to.

Unfortunately, I spent too long on the first 2d animations which meant I had a lot less time to complete this one. Next time I will start my work earlier so that I can spend enough time making my animations a higher quality. Also, because of my lack of time, I wasn’t able to add as many inbetweens which means the animations looks jumpy and more like an animatic in places. I believe I would have been able to do better if I had only planned my time more effectively.

Working from home has been difficult. For some reason the atmosphere on campus lends itself well to focusing hard on work and not getting distracted. I cannot say the same for working remotely. My house isn’t very loud and people don’t often come into my room while I’m working. Despite this however, I found my thoughts wandering, or I wouldn’t get distracted by an need to look up an unrelated question I had. I got a little better at this as the weeks went on, but I think it’s definitely a room for improvement. I’m not entirely sure of how to change the fact that I get distracted without realising, but I am planning to look into it and trying to prevent it from happening so often.

[alaskamuseum]

PHOTO ABOVE: From “Cradle of Kleptocracy” by Madara Mason

I CONTAIN MULTITUDES -- Madara Mason is an eclectic artist. Her work combines paper, beads, found objects, dressmaking patterns, grant rejections, prescription labels, block prints, magazine and book cutouts, and traditional media like acrylic paint and ink. Born and raised in the South, Mason moved to Alaska in 1994 and began painting the animals and plants she found in her backyard. Her work is featured through July 2018 in the Café Gallery at the UA Museum of the North.

Is there a theme to the artworks that you selected for this show? So many artists have made powerful political statements regarding women's work, and I don't feel I need to repeat those statements. But by the same token, in rejecting that emphasis, I might ALSO be guilty of rejecting women's work as irrelevant. The traditions I allude to in my work are more meaningful than the generic label of women's work: the reuse of old materials, mending the broken, using patterns to bind a community through the use of shared imagery, and constructing objects that carry the memories of a family or individual.

I also think there's an element of landscape and flora and fauna in these works that I'm hoping won't be overlooked. Landscapes are so often tidy recreations of a singular individual's (often romanticized) perspective. In my experience nature isn't tidy at all and it changes constantly, especially the landscapes you find in Fairbanks and the surrounding areas, which are often as urban as they are wild. You can't really go on a hike or a walk or a kayak trip without coming across bits of wrappers, labels, odd trinkets with no clear purpose, pieces of tools or cars, remnants of junk mail, and the remains of the pipeline industry. Most of these paintings are my attempt to reconcile that detritus of urban life with the wild, organic forms that spring up inside of it and all around it, which would be a more honest vision of my local landscape as I see it.

I guess I'm trying to hone in on the realities of all these multiple landscapes, multiple identities, multiple perspectives, and multiple methods of constructing a work of art. There's a voice in American culture right now asking me to define myself as one thing: one race, one origin, one gender, one religion, one nationality, one political party. This is my refusal to define myself and my world in such singular terms. Like Whitman said, "I contain multitudes" and those multitudes sometimes contradict one another.

"Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself; (I am large, I contain multitudes.)" "Song of Myself" Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman

Have any of the pieces been shown in public yet? Most of them have been shown at Well Street or in the Alaska House, but there are a few new pieces that no one has seen, and I'm really excited about the new audience I'll have through the Museum.

Why did you pick these particular works? There are few opportunities locally to show my larger works, so I submitted most of the recent large pieces I currently have in my studio which carry this theme of "women's work reworked".

What are you hoping the audience will take away from this exhibit? Each of these pieces is meant to reveal themselves fully over time. They're pretty packed with minutiae that I've woven together according to a personal narrative, but I think a story will emerge for anyone who looks at the pieces long enough. 

What inspires you as an artist? The materials themselves (paint, ink, paper) but also what I refer to as "genesis objects" things like quilts, maps of footpaths through public spaces, math problems on graph paper, button blankets, a row of tiny masks in the Museum collections. Any place where humans have taken something apart and refashioned it into a meaningful pattern is inspiration to me.

What does it mean to be able to reach the summer visitors from outside the community? As an artist who loves to work on heavy wooden panels, getting my original work to an outside audience is challenging and cost-prohibitive. Etsy and other online venues have helped me get print reproductions and other printed items into the homes of thousands of people all over the world at this point, but that feels very anonymous sometimes. It's an entirely different animal to have my work presented in the context of the Alaskan artists' tradition, as a distinct voice within a particular lineage.  

Mason teaches 2D digital design and a professional practices course for the UAF Art Department. You can learn more about her artwork at www.madaramason.com.

[avoresmith]

au where anyone other than atsushi is the main character, go

Kyouka

Kyouka is the most obvious option here, as her character arc literally follows Atsushi’s beat by beat and does it better because she gets to be seen having actual flaws and conflict while Atsushi’s point in life is just to Be Very Good. 

She’s an orphan who was beat down badly by the universe and needs to make peace with her Gift and how it’s uncontrolled presence in her life has played a huge part in all of the painful garbage she’s had to deal with. She has to learn to not just value her own life (Atsushi) but learn to believe she is capable of using the same abilities she used to kill to help people and that there is value to that (Dazai). She has a connection to Akutagawa, a better one than Atsushi, who just thinks that guy is a dangerous asshole, as Akutagawa fucked her up by trying to 'help’ her the same way Dazai 'helped’ him (which echoes the fact that Dazai fucked up Akutagawa by trying to teach Akutagawa the way he was taught by Mori). This creates a way more dynamic and interesting victims vs their abusers and cycle of violence story that they were TRYING to do with Atsushi and his abuser that falls completely flat, on account of how that guy wasn’t actually a character and we are just told we’re supposed to sympathize with him because ‘life is complicated’ instead of actually shown the ways in which life is fucking complicated. 

This would also allow for a narrative of victims vs their abusers where ACTUALLY HAVE, A VICTIM, CHALLENGING THEIR ABUSER AND DEMANDING THEY DO BETTER instead of what we currently have which is 1) Dazai flees Mori and hates him (legit) 2) Akutagawa seeks Dazai’s acknowledgement forever (no?? buddy) 3) Atsushi cries when his abuser died trying to maybe be nice to him for once finally =‘( (ohmygod).

Also, while Dazai and Atsushi mean... something?? to each other, it’s practically only relevant in Atsushi’s arc as something to yell at Akutagawa about, and while we can Assume Dazai Has Feelings we basically never see Dazai impacted by Atsushi. However, if it was Dazai who stops Kyouka from killing herself and takes her out of the mafia we have Dazai directly engaging with his perspective on suicide, and saving someone from the mafia in a way he was never saved, and this leads into him Also Engaging With All Of That, which then could be a continuing theme within their relationship.

(And I didn’t Go In This Direction because my central argument is that Kyouka already does everything Atsushi is doing if better and if given more focus could dramatically improve the manga, but also her relationship with Kouyou could also be given more prominence, and then holy shit, we’d have two important ladies instead of just one!)

In this AU Atsushi honestly doesn’t even need to exist. Kyouka could make friends with Kenji instead, and they could have adorable hyjinks where Kenji teaches her how to be polite to people and then they both get way too extra if politeness fails. 

(MORE UNDER THE CUT)

Akutagawa

This would probably have to be a darker manga, or Akutagawa would have to be less garbage, but as one of the only characters with multiple interesting relationships he is kind of a natural point to focus around. He has Gin, Higuchi, Kyouka, (thREE WOMEN) and Dazai as far as relationships that already important, and Chuuya and Mori and Kouyou are all characters that could be explored more if the manga was more mafia focused. While the mafia aren’t actually villains anyway, this change would make them more sympathetic, but Akutagawa would still be a really interesting MC, and this would fix the fact that Atsushi is only interesting around Akutagawa. 

Unlike Atsushi, Akutagawa has clear wants, motivations, and character progression, so Atsushi makes a lot more sense as Akutagawa’s rival character than the reverse. Boy with garbage life collides into the boy his master replaced him with, only to constantly seethe with anger that this asshole was so fucking lucky. Eventually discovers that his rival’s life actually wasn’t that easy but still can’t comprehend why his rival doesn’t appreciate what he has enough, or why this prick is worth more to his master than he was. Cue a compelling dynamic of Akutagawa improving himself relentlessly while not fully understanding what path he is on, but desperate to get out of the trashfire of his life. He thinks this means earning Dazai’s approval but in fact it means learning he doesn’t need to be a terrible human being to survive.

This would make Dazai far LESS sympathetic, but Dazai sucks so that is only fair.

Dazai

Okay, I won’t lie, Dazai would a SUPER CHALLENGING perspective character for a manga. What makes Dazai’s writing so amazing is how deftly he handles the unreliable narrator, which is hard to do when we don’t actually see the world via the MC’s perspective. And while I am happy to rag on BSD all the live long day, I do think one if it’s strengths is that it picked up on what an interesting character Dazai-types would be viewed exclusively from the outside, and has managed to portray that sort of peculiar contradiction of personality traits quite well. 

HOWEVER, despite being the most popular character, we never really get to see Dazai having a character arc. We know he has improved, we know he has wants and is actually probably working very hard to get his life in order, but we only know any of that from the end of the light novel to the start of the manga. We don’t actually get to see Dazai having conflict, confronting his fears, making hard choices, and growing as a person. 

However, while we never really see it in the manga, given what we know about Dazai’s history, we can probably assume that the choices Dazai makes to help Atsushi is something that actually impacts Dazai quite a bit. The last time he put himself in this position the result was Akutagawa; a challenge which Dazai completely failed on many levels, even if the result was technically a very loyal and capable mafioso and thus something Mori would have slated as a win. Dazai engaging with what it means to teach a human without himself knowing how to be a good human, and probably in the process also learning about ‘goodness’ via someone like Atsushi who is naturally inclined toward the heroic, would actually give Atsushi an interesting place the narrative. 

This would make Dazai waaaaaay more sympathetic, as we would also presumably see him struggling to adapt to ADA life, see his masks slip more often, and more signs of the fact that for real these last two years of being around decent human beings from 9 to 5 is probably the first time in his life he’s dealt with such people. We’d also get to see that he’s probably still depressed, drunk, and suicidal, but may be able to chart the ways he gradually becomes less so and what prompts those improvements. 

Kenji

Kenji is also a nice boy who wants to talk it out but then will beat the shit out of you if that attempt fails. What if instead of being a 2D one time gag character he actually had a motivation and a character arc to engage with? He could more or less follow the same story beats Atsushi sets up, just done better and with less redundancy. Kenji would make an interesting foil for Akutagawa since by all appearances his life wasn’t garbage, and his ceaseless tone deaf optimism in the face of Akutagawa’s ceaseless tone deaf fury would be, if nothing else, pretty fucking entertaining. 

Kunikida

wOW ANOTHER HEROIC CHARACTER WHO USES VIOLENCE TO RESOLVE CONFLICT. IT’S LIKE THERE ARE A BUNCH OF THESE. What if Kunikida being Dazai’s partner was at all narratively relevant and they had a dynamic that went deeper than Dazai aggravating Kunikida for the lulz and Kunikida being willing to trust Dazai when the chips are down.

Since Kunikida is slated to be the next leader of the ADA he makes a potentially compelling choice as a protagonist, as it would be an easy way to involve all of the (MANY) under appreciated ADA characters, by having their future boss learn what it means to actually work with and appreciate the backgrounds of his various future underlings. It wouldn’t need to be slated specifically as ‘Kunikida Is The Heir’ but given that it’s a shounen manga it could be effortlessly set up that way, and unlike Atsushi, Kunikida has a LOT of obvious flaws. He is naive, inflexible, emotionally vulnerable, distrustful, impatient, judgmental, and gullible. He also has CLEAR WANTS (Idealism) seeing him struggling for something fundementally unattainable and the ways he learns to update his ideal of idealism, in part by overcoming his individual flaws and in part by realizing that while idealism might be worth seeking it cannot be achieved. He would have a lot to learn from every member of the team, and in doing so could give them more importance to the story.

Yosano

you waNNA KNOW WHO IS GREAT AND DEEPLY UNDER APPRECIATED?? YOSANO. IT’S YOSANO. AU where actually Yosano is the main character. If you need a more compelling argument than that IDK what to say to you.

Tanizaki

What if Tankizaki had a narrative purpose other than gag and deus ex ability.

Mishima

AU where Mishima Yukio is in the manga, he’s an ex-government worker who was fired for being a bit too radical but he deeply respects and is super gay for Fukuzawa’s aesthetic and agrees to join the ADA. Rather than being Dazai’s protege he fancies himself Dazai’s rival and is intent to expose what garbage he is but the joke is on him because everyone knows that including Dazai. 

None the less, Mishima also is a more callous and aloof person who wears a friendly mask and via picking at Dazai he picks at himself. The more fixated he gets on exposing Dazai, the more he has to confront the fact that the world is more complicated than he wants it to be and it frightens him to examine the degree to which he doesn’t feel he actually belongs among society and thus tries very hard to construct a place for himself in it with his radical behavior and exacting standards, whereas Dazai accepts that he just should go in the trash. 

Dazai, in response, really doesn’t like being picked at effectively. Everyone else within the ADA accepts the masks he wears without question, never actually confronting his suicidal ideation or talking to him about where he comes from, even once they know about it. Mishima, in his relentless pursuit of being able to classify and deconstruct Dazai to overcome him, does just this, and frankly it sucks a lot for Dazai because Mishima would be the first person to A) learn the grueling details of his past and B) understand how fucked up that is for someone like Dazai who is only hiding his sensitivity and C) still look him in the eye and tell him to get his shit together. Mishima becomes the first person since Odasaku who actually understands Dazai but this time it is the worst because Mishima is mean. 

Dazai counters by ruining Mishima’s life in the most extraordinarily petty ways as frequently as possible.

Atsushi

ALTERNATIVELY. Atsushi actually is a good protagonist.

HERE IS AN EXERCISE, WHAT DO EACH OF THESE SHOUNEN HEROES WANT AND HOW DO WE KNOW?

Edward Elric: wants the philosopher’s stone, will do basically anything for it, we find this out in chapter 1.

Gon Freaks: Wants to find his dad, chapter 1

Luffy: Wants to find his dad, chapter 1

Allen Walker: wants to save everyone from akuma because dad feels, chapter, idk, like 3

Naruto: Wants the acknowledgement of his village, works tirelessly for it. We find this out in like chapter 1. (yeah I know naruto is bad don’t @ me but look the MC had a clear motivation)

(AV have you read any shounen manga since 2001-- nO)

Atsushi: Wants... uh. To not starve??? This need is met in chapter 1. Wants to... be.. a good employee...? Wants to beat Akutagawa because... he’s bad....??? Wants to... make Dazai proud...?

It’s not impossible to write a story with a MC who isn’t clearly motivated, but it’s a fuckload harder to make it compelling and you prrrroobably need to have some other kind of clear focus to replace the fact that your MC does not. IE if you are specially exploring the story of an unmotivated hero, you frame his actions around the fact that he is really just doing things by route and how this separates him from the people around him who actually have priorities in their life. 

Or, if you want to be like ‘Atsushi’s motivation is that he cares and wants to help!’ LOOK: If they are sO HEROIC that they just nEED TO BE THE HERO ALL THE TIME (Allen Walker) either because they lack self worth (Allen Walker) or are so empathetic that they can’t help but try to save everyone (Allen Walker), you narratively frame the story around them so that it highlights this as both a strength and a weakness of their character. The inability to save everyone vs feeling like your life only has value if you can save everyone is deeply fucked up and should haunt your MC.

The manga starts to slightly course correct Atsushi after waaay too many chapters, which is why he starts having an actually interesting dynamic with Akutagawa. But now he wants to ‘overcome his abuser’, and though this itself is extremely unclear as to what it means. I suspect it means ‘continue to do the exact same shit he’s being doing until he believes in himself’ whichhhhh is boring. It could work if the framing is consistent and Atsushi begins to have actual conflict with his own behavior and the way he treats his life as disposable and his suffering as unimportant. 

He could also use some flaws, which, again, we only see signs off later in the game with his Akutagawa relationship. Atsushi can be forgiven for not realizing that Dazai was horrible to Akutagawa, since neither Dazai nor Akutagawa will ever explain that, but he is still pretty shitty to Akutagawa deliberately! And it’s nice seeing him be a little prick.

If everything that is happening now with Atsushi had happened from the beginning, you know how you are supposed to start a shounen manga with the protagonist actually doing anything interesting or important, the manga would be much less bad. If Atsushi had more than like 1.5 flaws and a .75 motivation now, the manga would also be a lot better.

I don’t actually like this idea as much as all of my other ones, but if he MUST be the MC, what if he was actually good at it at all.

[landenhqcf035-blog]

Do you know everything about Grand Theft Auto 3

The GTA series has always been about working the good with the bad. On one supply, the open-ended character of the entertainment next the enormous city environments put together the ready a large thrill to tease. For the problem, the previous incarnations with the game were cursed with reduced mission propose that never really get you feel like you are working toward any type of greater goal. You just got around, causing problems, occasionally doing odd affairs for the area criminal masterminds until you had collected enough funds to continue. Rockstar's latest opening in the collection, GTA 3, reinvents the strings, replaces the idea for the latest initiation of consoles, and manages to keep every one positive view on the two previous activity. Before, to set that a new means, Grand Theft Auto III is one of the most amazing PlayStation 2 ready to be announced this year.

Before we leave any more, there's one thing everyone should know about GTA III before getting it. It is definitely the most "mature" M-rated game available today. More often than not, it is storyline circles around very violent achievement of offense, in case you run from the storyline and go on a crime spree of your personal, the game becomes an utter bloodbath. On top of to, the experience contains adult expression with locations, including drugs, prostitution, and a heaping helping of sex innuendo. If R-rated crime sagas such as Goodfellas or Warm are too much for you, then this isn't the game for you. The game and dialogue have taken place generated specifically with an adult audience, and it definitely isn't for adolescents.

GTA3 happens in a fictional metropolis known as Liberty City. Liberty City is a largely corrupt lay, with numerous warring criminal factions spread throughout the boroughs. You're a small-time crook that receives set up by your girlfriend during a heist. People bring the accident for the crime but manage to escape when a posse of heavy overwhelm the paddy car which you, plus a couple of other prisoners, are vacationing now. This is everywhere a person land ahead with the demolitions expert known as 8-Ball, who uses you to suffer a good friend from the beginning part with the game, that also works as a article of form to help you get adapted to the leadership with the planet. Which buddy is involved with the Mafia, naturally, after that he gives you jobs of growth difficulty. Each mission begin with a cutscene which program up your concern nicely, explaining why it being done to aid "the descendants" also grant the missions--which include such jobs while offering the object, trailing a suspected security leak, and removing shown the organizer of opposing gangs--a real good sense of use. As you progress, you'll meet other people in the business of destroying the law, who will have work for you. This provides options, as you can both make every available mission through every regarding your own contacts or skip about since boss to boss then sort out the mission in what buy you want. As one missions trigger plot points, this entirely potential to overlook some missions throughout the course of the game. As you proceed, other portions from the city may start, offering you access to contemporary missions, automobiles, and terrain.

While the missions in GTAIII are pleasure and a bit wickedly challenging, there's also lots of fun being owned with simply exploring the world all around you. Rockstar and DMA Design have clearly spent a lot of time adding tons of little moves on the game to, while almost completely unnecessary, become the world seem like a living, breathing place. Groupings of small face missions are incorporated, brought about by shooting into a specific vehicle. Lifting a taxi can allowed anyone get traveling and provide them for funds. Jacking a cop car enables you get on on vigilante missions to clean the neighborhood with eliminating specific criminals. Fire pickup and ambulances also have their own particular missions. Other little effects are graphical; the person can change the hen to any car which grows too all around people while crossing a road. If you start in a van with remove immediately, your identity will not have time to close the driver's-side door, keep that flapping open until you understand your finger down the chatter for an extra to offer him time to yank the door shut. Cars dismantle in spectacular ways as they get more and more beat up, spending hoods, trunks, doors, and bumpers as you try. A little vehicles get special features, including sirens on emergency vehicles, working water hoses on fire bus, and operating hydraulics with a given gang's make of lowrider that enabled people hurt switches to make the car step or roll around by three wheels. The game is track of any spectacular stunts you pull off in the van and grades them. Finally, while you can't go into many of the supplies and structures in the area, they have a realistic look that really adds to the tone with the game.

In addition to those touches, overlooking the assignment also gives you time to go on crime sprees of your. This sort of freestyle element isn't exactly rewarded in the game, but it's definitely one of the coolest things about GTA3. As you commit crimes, the police force get your trail. Hitting somebody with a bat while a lift is looking at is a positive way to get them on your own tail; stealing a car with laying this up on the sidewalk to cut down down a corner full of prostitutes is another. The game is track of your reputation with an arrest meter. Small offenses, like as rear-ending a police officer car, can get you lone star next to the six-star meter. While cops will do you if they look at you with this state, you can hide and ultimately the celebrity will disappear. Still live life beyond the law, also you'll find a couple stars, and so on. With each level comes a more severe response in the Work." In three stars you'll have cop cars travel in you away from nowhere. On some, they'll all but give up by trying to destroy a person with rather simply go to gun you down. Helicopters will be reported to ones site, assuring that you won't get away easily. On top blow up, the FBI can respond to the crime place, with with the highest blow up, the forces will get involved. There's really only one way to make your arrest turn happy that high: point cops. Pass over safe and crack up a few cars could get you three or four stars, yet to help truly anger the law, you have to take a few of them losing. The AI for control vehicles is fairly rough--they tend to practically destroy their own cars while chasing people into walls and other impassible obstacles. Outside of the car, the law fares somewhat better, but quite a few cases in which cops get stuck because they can seem to recognize the way to use a voyage of stairs so that an individual then easily encounter a border repeatedly, offering people all the time in the world to get rid of them.

Getting the cops in the end and then trying to run away is insanely fun, with the game gives you a pretty amazing arsenal to make sure that the police officer be busy. The former weapon will be a baseball bat, cool for robbing citizens by defeat them near murder, but it won't hold up in a fight. Eventually you'll get a handgun, which is when the game's lock-on targeting goes into play. Holding R1 can board a neighboring human being, and the L2 and R2 buttons can be used to cycle through another targets. As you outgrow the pistol, you'll gain the Uzi, giving you fully automatic fire while even live light enough allowing you to work. In addition, the Uzi is the only weapon that could be worked coming from within your vehicle. When you're getting, the L2 and R2 buttons let you look either trait of the car, and your Uzi can be fired out the side windows. That drive-by system is incredibly practical for slow-moving pedestrians but doesn't work well at all about cars because while you can see the drivers inside the cars, you can't run them directly. All hits into a car simply do generic damage to it, whenever it makes a certain damage reading, it strikes fire and eventually explodes. Since the Uzi is a relatively low-power weapon, this then to difficult to skyrocket cop cars as they try to push people away the street, forcing one to perform your serious battling on foot. In addition to those systems, you'll also encounter significantly heavier artillery, including assault weapons, a shotgun, grenades, a rocket launcher, along with a flamethrower. The tools are extremely settled, with every retains their place in the game. For instance, the rocket launcher can be used to take down police helicopters, also the sniper rifle contains a moving extent which enables you remove individuals in the relative protection of rooftops or out-of-sight positions for the block.

The previous Grand Theft Auto activity were engaged in from a 2D top-down perspective to appeared quite clear, but these were control in the total of realism and stroke they could display. Even though the video camera would focus out showing more on the highway ahead as you picked up speed, more frequently than not anyone rammed head-on into developing because turns simply seemed too rapidly. GTA 3 leads the strings into a polygonal world. That provides game a far more realistic, gritty look, changing the cartoonish, colorful appearance from the other games. DMA has in fact done an excellent career with the graphics in GTA 3. The appeals look great, the automobiles are entirely well formed and split apart extremely nicely, with total, the touch quality is quite nice. You will often see around things from the earth (vehicles and pedestrians, for example) fade in position as you approach, but that hardly noticeable and doesn't touch the gameplay. Also, the construction rate may take some really visible dives, yet this typically occurs not until the partition is packed with angry police, exploding autos, with a lot of other mayhem. By default, the game uses a tracerlike blur effect that gives the entire game a shade, dreamy beginning. That filter can be disabled on the options screen, if desired. Grand Theft Auto III contains a number of different cameras for the two travel with wandering pieces in the game. That defaults to a behind-the-back prospect for both, and you may switch the game distance, https://gtadownload.org/the-history-of-rockstar-games/ opt for a first-person view, go for a cinematic driving cam, or choose for the aged top-down glimpse on the big GTA games, which is a nice touch but isn't really advantageous to performing the game, as there are sometimes streets on top of streets and other level design parts to just do not production from which view. Different perspective problems include not being able to get after you actually while by base. While you can get a back view in pushing R3, this very easy for law with opposing team vehicles to just walk after a person then track people down before you possibly know what's going on.

GTA III sounds terrific. The lanes are populated with chatty pedestrians, and law enforcement include some great, typically macho-sounding lines. Rockstar pulled in some terrific voice talent to the game, and it gives off by making up the game's main characters extremely convincing. Celebrity voices include Frank Vincent (Casino, Cop Land), Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix, Bad Son), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy), Michael Rapaport (Cop Land, Metro), Debi Mazar (Goodfellas, Space Truckers), Kyle MacLachan (Twin Peaks, Showgirls), and Expert from the rap group Gangstarr. Put to the aural portion in the game is a runs of seven radio stations, any of which can be switched in while you're in the car. The radio concept has been with the Grand Theft Auto series since beginning, but GTAIII really believes the concept to the next level. Each place fills a different type, including pop, classical, hip-hop, with an absolutely hilarious talk radio stop. The composition is licensed and involves courses by Start Shadow Records, tracks licensed on the soundtrack on the movie Scarface, and rap road from Game Records, including artists such as Royce Da 5'9", JoJo Pelligrino, with Black Rob. Finally, everything from the screech of rolls on the firm of a helicopter crashing in the ground sounds good and groups quite a punch.

Rockstar and DMA Design have definitely spent time ensuring that GTA III is a quality product, and that quality program in the lot, from the graphics, to the look, on the area things, for the gameplay itself. Unlike previous sport from the collection, the action is really fun whether you act it the way it happened plan to be performed or avoid the playoffs intended mission constitution and put down by your own to wreak havoc throughout the city. While the violent quality on the game can surely turn some people down with adolescents just shouldn't be allowed anywhere around that, GTA III is, fairly merely, a awesome encounter which shouldn't be lost with someone mature enough to manage that.