#people worked together one pixel at a time to create something just because

[thatscrazyrandom]

I know the reasons r/place is happening right now suck, and there's obviously a lot of drama on going with it, but fuck man. I love that shit so much.

[dream-in-fall]

The theory of "The Hidden Morse Messages"

These people have done a unique work. They discovered and deciphered The Hidden Morse Messages.

@theastrophysicistnextdoor

Here's my theory "The Hidden Morse Messages."

1 SHE’S IN MA PHONE (or He's) Ma phone is an outdated name for a magnetophone. During World War 2, german engineers developed a device for recording sound on magnetic tape.

Crowley uses such a device and even gets inside - into it magnetic field. Together with Hastur. And we know that you can get stuck there, just like Hastur got stuck. Who exactly is this "She" or "He" who is in the "ma phone", I do not know yet. Perhaps the "dreadful eternity" itself.

2 HAVE A DREADFUL ETERNITY

- it is said to someone who is stuck in this "dreadful eternity"

- it is said about some eternity that has become dreadful, because it has become closed perhaps. (It's a little difficult, I know).

3 TOMMY’S A LEGEND I think we're talking about Tommy Westphall here. And about Tommy Westphall universe hypothesis.

In short, there is a kind of crossover of all (or many) shows /series in the consciousness of Tommy Westphall. A little more: In a 2003 article published on BBC News Online, St. Elsewhere writer Tom Fontana was quoted as saying "Someone did the math once… and something like 90 percent of all [American] television took place in Tommy Westphall's mind. God love him."[9] (link 2) When directing episodes for the eighth series of the revived Doctor Who in 2014, Ben Wheatley had the art department create a replica of Tommy Westphall's snowglobe, which Wheatley placed in the TARDIS set as a reference to the hypothesis.[11] (link 2)

4 PAUL’S OUR MIXING HERO Re-recording mixer Paul McFadden. He was actively involved in the creation of a huge of TV series. This man literally lives in the universe of a TV show. (Tommy Westphall universe).

He was not only a sound engineer, but also a dialogue editor. I wouldn't be surprised if he is the co-creator of this magic (secret dialogues and hidden hints).

5 HEAVEN LOOKS DOWN ON YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE PATHETIC ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE CHEER UP IT’S ONLY ETERNAL DAMNATION DO NOT LICK THE WALLS

Here is one of my generalizing theories of Morse messages. We are really stuck in the universe of Good Omens, like a hellish web. This universe is full of references to literature, music, series and movies. In addition, a large of dialogues in the series are written in such a way that you can read between the lines and find new meanings. We literally "lick the walls." That is, we examine every pixel on every damn frame. Heaven (the creators) suggests that we give up all hope of saving our long-suffering souls. But they cheer us up - it's a sweet eternal damnation. Heaven looks down on us because we will never be able to find all the hidden meanings.

In this post: 20% jokes 5% sarcasm 20% pathos 100% love and admiration for the creators of Good Omens 40% hope to find another meaning of these secret messages 15% of the fatigue from Googling.

p.s. I'm going to formulate a more complex theory, good luck to me

[plottwiststudios]

PlotTwist Studio's Patreon is Finally Live

Studio's Patreon Page

My Personal Ko-Fi Page

Hello, hello! We haven't had a hardcore update here in quite some time, have we? Well, if you remember back during "Women of Xal's" production, it's very much because we were doing a lot in the background and didn't have the energy to provide giant update posts every few weeks. Well, the stuff in the background will be bubbling up to the surface soon, and it's time to share what we've been doing, and how you can help make sure we keep creating content for those who love our obscure narrative beats. Let's talk about the fun stuff we're cooking up!

Women of Xal: ???

Recognize her? You absolutely do! It's a draft of an in-game Xjena! But this isn't in the visual novel. Why is it being commissioned? What's it for? Is there excitement to be had?! The Patreon would love~ to give an update on that in due time! (Pixel Art by newcomer: Ramon Kalachuchi / Animation by the talented @boxyheadbry)

The People We Are: Episode 1

"The People We Are" is a series of (very) short conversations that chiefly focuses on the very human interactions normal, non-magical people have in reality. Each of these conversations will feel extremely specific and not exactly universal messages or something that can apply to a general audience. But, perhaps, just like with Clanice from our last visual novel, the very personal moments in this story will still make one person feel seen. Episode 1 of this visual novel will drop in August on our Patreon, with future episodes happening ideally monthly. (Art by @nekojirou, artist for Women of Xal~!)

PT's Dollmaker App

Did you know we have over 5000 assets for this app? And putting it together will be a programming nightmare for the programmer we inevitably hire? That's been the key reason why there's no beta! No funds! The three characters on the banner are literally a fraction of the combinations you can make on this app. With countless afro-styles you can mix and match! And of course, once we get the app up and running, your support will see more assets updated! (Artist: Newcomer Jean Maniclang)

Mesto Accelerando: Encore

We'll be releasing chapters in order leading up to "Mesto Accelerando: Encore's" Kickstarter, where we hope the stretch goals will allow us to illustrate or even animate fan-favorite scenes from the book. (Decided via vote from readers) You can be notified when the Kickstarter launches here. (Artist: Alexelle Lee)

Custom Original Music For You!

Have cash to spare every month and want to spend it on our Patreon? Well that's certainly one way to get original music for your personal use or even commercially! I specialize in orchestra and ambiance, so bear that in mind! Everything else is a gamble. Music is expected to be finished by the end of each month.

The Patreon's Trajectory

So this is an Indie studio Patreon. What are the goals? What does the cash fund? How often can you expect to see updates? How on Earth are we juggling all of this on a shoestring budget and full time jobs? Why that last question was a punch in the heart for being too real a thing to ask me, but let's dig in!

The goal is to allow the creatives in PlotTwist Studios create content full time. Right now the head works full time at Walmart Automotive, and that is absolute murder on focusing on getting all this content out faster. (Although it is doing the heavy lifting in funding what I can.)

Funds that go into Patreon will be used to hire artists and programmers on a monthly basis to push our projects forward.

Updates will be based on how many supporters we have and how much we make a month, as you all directly drive the creation of this content.

I can commission people because I'm using my own commission money, my job money, and paying for assets one baby step at a time. No, this is not sustainable on my income, and

By supporting our Patreon, you'll be slowly but surely funding our smaller projects, that will pave the path in getting us a bigger following to support our grander ambitions. (Like our mobile apps!) Please consider supporting us and getting this show on the road!

[hello-im-not-a-possum]

If there's one thing i can say good about jimmy from mouthwashing is that he's effective cautionary character about "some people don't deserve a chance." He's a good reminder that some people are utterly horrible and cause nothing but harm if you try to help them

Mouthwashing is great because literally everyone in there (except Daisuke) is an antagonist.

Jimmy is very much his own worst enemy and even though he is the protagonist in that he's the guy the story is about, he's also creating his own obstacles in his story with his actions in a Man vs. Self way.

Polle is the face of the incorporeal antagonist; the opposing force of the capitalistic hellscape the Mouthwashing crew live under. Every problem the crew faces that is not directly Jimmy's fault, from supply shortages in the Tulpar, to the lackluster quality of the vessel, to everything being a 'dog and pony show' as Swansea put it, is because higher ups wanted to cut corners and cut corners they did.

Curly is the sloth antagonist, not a villain because of what he's done, but because of what he *hasn't* done. He was Jimmy's friend instead of his boss, he hadn't spoken up against management despite the fact that as the captain of the ship he really should not lie there and take it when human rights are being violated (lack of locks on bedrooms, the 'one celebration only' rule, pretty much every rule shown on the posters, four cryopods and five crew members, etc...), and he admitted that while he'd 'go crazy looking for the dead pixel', he elected to ignore it the second it meant something more, ignore it in favor of the big picture, the second it was a much more serious issue than he thought it was. I have a strong feeling that one of the reasons why his life is one he wants to escape is because he's not an active player in his own life but a passive entity that just keeps chugging along the same tracks laid out for him no matter how rusty and broken they are.

Swansea is the Red herring antagonist, he's a grumpy asshole, however, he's only really a villain through the very biased eyes of Jimmy who sees the worst out of him because Jimmy is projecting what he would do in Swansea's shoes onto Swansea. As opposed to being a protagonist's shadow antagonist, he's the 'good clone', he's a man who isn't the best, but he did get his act together when he knew he was on a dark path. Swansea is brave enough to admit when he's gone too far and needs to take it back while Jimmy remains a coward who lies to himself til his last breath.

Anya is the sympathetic antagonist in that she's an opposing force against the protagonist (Jimmy) simply by existing and clawing her agency and personhood out of the narrative despite the fact her story is shown to us through the eyes of her tormentor and the man passive to her torment. The devil works hard to make her look like a pathetic damsel in distress, but Anya works harder; keeping Curly alive despite all odds, managing to do the hardest thing she could do and call for help twice (Once to Curly, the second time to Swansea) despite it being futile, and took matters into her own hands only when there was clearly no other option for her. Anya has two giant flaws against herself: her kind heart (trying over and over to get into medical school despite the glass ceiling (there's no way in hell there's not a glass ceiling in her case, SHE KEPT A FUCKING SKINLESS MAN ALIVE WITH SHITTY FIRST AID KITS), and telling fucking JIMMY 'I don't think our worst moments make us monsters'.) and her horrifically bad luck (See.. the entire game).

[kuramirocket]

Hey I’ve seen your post from a couple while where you called out a couple antis for harassment (and who were drawing proshippers getting killed)

these people banded together to create an anti proship confession blog. The owner of it revealed that they’re 14, the majority of their “friends” are in that age range or slightly older (with the exception of rainbow star heart)

what’s super concerning is that they talk a lot about kink, sex, rape and nsfw of real children and fictional characters who are underage. They’re still stalking other proship blogs, especially if someone sent them asks about the situation

I’m also concerned about your-dead-girl-forever because they’re a minor who is relying on a complete stranger to be their online “parent”. Their friends said something like “‘it’s’it’s just pixels bro!’ yeah and these pixels are forming something that looks like a child with their tits out” which is really weird to say??

I’ve tried reporting all posts which talk about the aforementioned topics but tumblr really doesn’t care, meanwhile they’re going around calling a person with WWII OC’s a Nazi despite them explaining they aren’t one

Yeah, I have seen that anti proship confession blog and everything going on between rainbowstarheart and your-dead-girl-forever.

It's definitely concerning because your-dead-girl-forever seems to be mentally unwell and should not be engaging in 'discourse' at all. Especially not with people they think are "pedophiles." Seriously, idk why some antis, especially minor antis, think it's okay or even safe to go yell at people they think are dangerous. For all they know the person they are harrassing or talking to are legitimate offending pedophiles or just people who will not hesitate to doxx/harm them.

If they really hate proshippers that much then they should just block and move on to not see proshippers or the content they post anymore. And to keep doing that no matter how many times they have to or how annoying it is to constantly have to do so. There's no point in responding to any and all hate they receive.

Which btw, any proshipper who is engaging in harrassment should not call themselves a proshipper and should not even be in the community. Proshipping is ship and let ship, but also anti harrassment.

And also like you said, minors should not be taking about sex or anything underage, fictional or not, with complete strangers, especially not with adults. I mean, with their same age friend group, okay, I get minors are curious, but still if it's with someone you only know online, you need to be safe and careful. Especially, cause you know some people may be lying about who they are and their age.

Which is why, as I've always said, education about internet safety and real red flags is so important, not the angry fear mongering that antis do calling everyone pedophiles for transgressive and sexual fictional works involving 'minor' characters or not.

This is why I made this post with the resources and links where I got the information at the bottom of said post.

And honestly, I wouldn't trust someone who claims and acts like a 'parent' to minors. For one, I seriously doubt rainbowstarheart is even a professional mental health expert with years of education and experience. It's one thing to try to help and give advise to someone, but rainbowstarheart is probably not even qualified to help a mentally unwell minor who seems to also self harm. Your-dead-girl-forever needs actual professional help if they want to get better and what they're doing of screaming at proshippers and others online will not help them in the least. They're just surrounding themselves with more toxicity.

Anyways, at this point. Idk what can be done. Reporting these accounts is good, but the fact is they'll probably just make more accounts anyway. Plus, even if a person tries to genuinely reach out, their group will just scream and laugh at the attempt anyway. They'll likely just ignore anyone that's not an anti or part of their group. Human beings are social creatures that just react like this and who want to be with people with the same mindset, sometimes without even realizing it.

The best thing that can be done, I think, is 1) DO NOT harrass them and 2) maybe just send links and information to studies and research by professionals that will help them be safe online and recognize actual red flags and warning signs. At least this way they will be informed and hopefully be safe.

Though, you should keep in mind they may disregard this information, regardless. I know I've seen antis sneer at professional information and tips regarding online safety shared by proshippers because it's "proship propaganda."

Unfortunately, you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped or is unwilling to recognize that they are unwell. They have to make the descion for themselves.

Also, please don't beat yourselves up over this situation. If you didn't partake in these people's harrassment, then you have nothing to feel guilty over. Just remember, we have so much resources, links, research and studies by mental health and sex experts that prove engaging in fiction involving taboo topics and all sorts of fcked up sht in fiction is not a crime or will somehow turn you into an evil monster. That's not how any of it works.

Also, go through my proship resources and information tag to see a list of these studies that prove what I am saying and what proshippers have always stated from the start.

Coping through fiction (drawing, writing, etc.) IS helpful to victims. It may not be for everyone and may actually be triggering to some people, but again, this is why professionals will work with their patients to find what works best for them in order to heal. If a coping mechanism is shown to actually be doing more harm than good to an individual then yes, any good mental health professional will look for something better. Again, coping via fiction can be very helpful while for others it may not be good for them. It all depends on the individual.

As for posting this type of content online. A person has every right to do so if they want to. The important thing is to tag appropriately and put clear warnings for said content so people may avoid any triggering and uncomfortable topics.

You should create whatever fictional content you want.

Don't let antis convince or intimidate you otherwise.

[sobredunia]

tell me about Fez, please, im looking through your blog and like, i am intrigued

please click read more for an unskippable cutscene

ALRIGHT SO.

FEZ is an indie game created by a (now hated on the internet) guy called Phil Fish. If you wanna find out why he's hated do your own research this isn't about him it's about his videogame

It came out on april 13th of 2012 (yes. homestuck day. i know), and it sold over a million copies by the end of 2013. I've tried finding how many copies have been sold up to this day in total but didn't find anything, but the general gist is that it was pretty much an instant hit, and people absolutely loved it, working together to solve its intricate puzzles even to this day. Yes, there are mysteries hidden in here that an entire community of dedicated fans still hasn't found the solution to 11 years later

(tiny warning here, do not play this game if you have motion sickness or are severely affected by rapidly changing images, there are whole areas that are a doozy to play through. Please stay safe!)

Gameplay

Fez has a singular core mechanic that remains unchanging throughout the entire course of the game, and that is the ability to change perspectives

this is what the game looks like, a 2d pixelated landscape with tons of beautiful colors

but.

this is what the game also looks like

that's right, baby, this shit's actually in 3d

you use this change of perspective nonstop throughout your adventure, to cross gaps like demonstrated in the gif, or to simply access places you couldn't in that current perspective. There are other tiny mechanics that get added, like invisible platforms, crates and buttons, bombs, timed platforms that disappear... they add a bit of flavor, but the main mechanic is always there

There's also a really big emphasis on puzzles towards the latter half of the game, but I'll get more into it later

Story motivations

Your name is Gomez, you are a tiny little guy living in a cozy 2d village that you have never ever left. One day, an old man named Geezer sends you a letter asking you to climb to the top of the village. There, a giant fucking cube appears outta nowhere, teleports you to a satanic ritual, then to the vaccum of space, speaks to you in a strange language you cannot understand, and gives you a free hat. Oh and also he explodes or something

After you're given the hat, the fez, you discover that the world is actually in 3d, and you can now change perspectives. You unlock the core mechanic

After that, you wake up in your room with the fez still on your head, and a being in 4d called Dot is sent from who knows where to tell you that the cube that gave you the hat is called Hexahedron, is actually technically kinda god, and you fucking killed him. Now, your mission is to pick up its 64 pieces and reconstruct him

You see all those tiny golden cubes? You have to collect 8 of them to make a bigger cube, and you need to collect 32 of those

Now hold on, I hear you ask, didn't you just say that you need to collect 64 pieces? Why are you changing your mind and saying 32?

Because, my dear friend, there is another type of cube that you have to also collect

These are called anticubes. Y'know, "a negative for every positive" type of stuff. You have to also collect 32 of those

The main difference between an anticube and a normal cube is that they aren't broken into 8 pieces, when you find one it'll be whole. You can also sometimes encounter full golden cubes btw, but they're rarer than its normal tiny pieces that you collect. Another main difference is that these cubes are much, much harder to find, and I'll go into detail in the next section

There's also this one hub area, with four doors that will only open once you have enough cubes (anticubes also count)

Once you open the door with 16 cubes, you'll enter this one town filled with people that aren't quite like you. In there there's yet another door that will open when you get 32 cubes, so get to gathering motherfucker, you got a long way ahead of you

Puzzles (anticube edition)

When you collect that first anti cube, there is no going back. The floodgates have opened and you are now too deep in. You know too much. You must see this to the very end, for better and especially for the worse

The puzzles in fez are actually surprisingly varied when it comes to difficulty and accessibility. Most likely, the first anticube you'll find will be in this one room. You'll scan the qr code and do the instructions it says, and then the horror of your new life will begin

But this is just the tip of the iceberg, because BOY OH BOY are anticubes convoluted to find in some cases

Sometimes you'll get them by solving relatively easy puzzles, like this one

others will require a bit more thinking, like this one

and then we have the hardest ones where you'll have to learn how to read words, numbers, and commands in the FEZ language

and these arent even the hardest bullshit puzzles the game will pull at you. it gets worse. it gets so much worse

Game ending

Surprisingly enough, you can get a game ending with just 32 cubes. In fact, it is literally impossible to get the 64 cube ending without the 32 cube one unless you have outside help, you know the answer to all puzzles, or you somehow get extremely lucky in a very specific number of rooms

Behind the 32 cube door there's a giant gate that, and I shit you not, teleports you into fucking space

Aliens are canon in the fez lore and they look like squids

Once you reach the top of the alien temple fucking thing, you enter an eye(?) and there you meet the shell of god, the Hexahedron. Since you haven't gathered all 64 cubes, it fails to reconstruct, and it breaks down. This part is pretty dangerous for people with epilepsy, by the way, as there's rapidly changing black and white colors. The 64 cube ending is a bit easier in the eyes, but yeah, just a heads up

In the 32 cube ending, you get sent back home, and you see how the town gets more and more pixelated. Then you see a weird sequence that's like those videos of people really zooming in into things and you see the particles and microscopic stuff?? idk. and then you see Gomez playing the drums :D

After that, you wake up in your room, still with your Fez, and the same sequence at the start of the game plays out. You go to the top of the village, Geezer summons a giant fucking cube, you meet god, but instead of getting another fez, you get cool glasses, that allow you to finally solve a batch of puzzles you couldn't see before and you can finally gather the last anticubes

In the 64 cube ending, the Hexahedron reforms correctly, and instead of zooming in, it zooms out. You see that your world is a tiny cube next to many tiny cubes, and then those tiny cubes form a 4d entity that looks just like Dot, and then those many Dots next to eachother zoom out until they're nothing but static, and then it looks like a tv is turned off, and then the credits roll

They're both very strange endings, and definitely not what a lot of players expected or wanted, but what can you do

Puzzles (hell edition)

NOW.

You thought that was the end?

You thought you could simply walk away scot free?

You thought that this game had no more last "fuck you"s up in its arse?

You thought fucking wrong

Because you know that something's not right

Because you're in too deep

You've played this far. You've scrolled this far.

You have to see how this ends

You have to tie up the last loose ends

You see this? This is the game's map. It actually has a really clever design! Not only are the icons for the areas cubes, but you can also change perspectives like how you do in-game! Pretty cool, right? There are also some small indicators you can see on the bottom left. They mark if you've left any cubes, bits, treasures, or locked doors. They also mark any secrets you might have left! And they turn golden once you've found everything there is in that room, including secrets

If you were normal (let's imagine that for a bit, okay?) and you got the 64 cube ending, that's it, right? You've gathered every cube, you've gathered every map (you need them to get all cubes), you've gotten every key and opened every locked door, that should be it, right? You have everything the game asked you to have, so the whole map should be golden, right?

...right?

No! :D you fucking fool, you poor summer child

In fact, there are three rooms left. Three rooms left with a secret symbol next to them, and one other special room

First, we'll talk about the special room

Once you gather 64 cubes, you'll be able to open a door hidden on an unsuspecting island and access this one special room

kinda weird, right? It has a tileset that appears nowhere else in the game, same with its background. There's also a strange transparent heart over it? Strange

Now, the three ungolden rooms

First, the observatory, the room with the easiest puzzle, at least in comparison with the other two

Second, you have whatever the fuck this is. In order to solve this one, you HAVE to know the Fez language, no ifs or buts. Not only that, but there's a high chance that you were reading the language the wrong way, so in order to have the remote chance to solve this mf you'll have to git gud and realise the error of your ways

And last, but definitely not least

The most infamous room in the entire game aside from maybe the heart room previously shown

This cunt

These three are the hardest challenges the game has to offer, no exaggeration. And also, the first two rooms can be solved at any point of your adventure, but for the third one you HAVE to have completed the 32 cube ending, no workarounds

Now, how to solve them?

If you go to the observatory at night, you'll notice two red blinking stars in the corner. They're speaking in binary code, with one being 1 and the other being 0. Then, that binary has to be translated into a buncha diff languages to be decoded, and once you're done you'll be left with a set of commands that you'll enter in the observatory to get a special red cube that not even Dot, the motherfucker in 4 dimensions that knows things beyond our comprehension, knows what it is

For the second room in fez language, you'll need to answer a question with the cubes provided to you. It's a weird thing where you have to mix this word with the name of the company who made the game, I don't know man. Once you've answered you'll get the second red cube

And now, the third room

Commonly denominated the black monolith room

Why is there no black monolith?

Because you have to make it appear

First, you have to get this burnt map

Behind it, there's a string of code that translates into commands

You need to get into the room, and use the special ability given to you in the 32 cube ending: first perspective mode

You'll have to stand in the tiny square inside this infinity symbol thing that doesn't have a line in it (basically, not the one the screenshot is looking at lol), and then you'll have to do the commands

Once you do it, the black monolith will appear

Okay, you did it

You put the code correctly

Now what?

This isn't a collectable. This isn't a red cube. This doesn't do anything. What is this? How do I solve this puzzle

You wanna know the answer?

Who fucking knows

No one knows the answer to this. No one knows how to solve this. The community solved this a week after launch by bruteforcing it. I shit you not they made a bot that spewed random fez inputs and people just tried them until they got the correct solution

No one knows how it's meant to be solved. To this day, people still go on the r/fez subreddit to give their theories on what the intended solution was meant to be

They have tried everything

The position of the candles, the boiler room, some other random ass rooms that look remotely similar to the black monolith room, a random shower room, it somehow being on a book in the game that's just filled with haikus??, some bullshittery mobius strip mental gymnastics, the other half of the code being in an abandoned airport in Arizona...

...whatever the fuck this is...

by far the most known theory was the release date theory

but that got disproven by one of the devs a few years ago

but anyways, we've already gone through insanity for long enough, it's time to be normal now

Once you've gathered all of the red pieces, they will appear in the heart room

that's it

we're done

.

..

...

....almost

there's a secret code

one that was actually intended to be datamined for once lmao

If you look at certain artifacts in the menu and you rotate them a certain way in a certain order, the heart will vanish and the screen will turn white

you'll be sent back to the menu, and if you load that save file and go back into the temple...

there will be nothing waiting for you there

that, my friend, is the true end of Fez

You wanted to know too much, you wanted to learn everything, to the point of wanting to tear open a creation that took blood, sweat, tears, and five years to complete. And now there is nothing. You ignored the game's boundaries of only wanting to let you know this much, and now the game is empty, the love is gone, and there is nothing left for you here

You can leave now, I hope you're satisfied

[gaast]

As I did this time last year, I wanna take some time to go through all the games I played this year, do little write-ups about them, and move on.

For context, if you're not following the link, a couple years ago I decided to play only one game at a time, and play it to completion before starting a new one. I have been pretty bad at keeping that promise, but it has definitely helped me work through more games.

With that, let's get into late 2023-late 2024:

But first! An update.

I quit Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. I got literally everything you can get on the map and just didn't care enough to play anymore.

FlipWitch - Forbidden Sex Hex, December 6-December 8

A fun pixel-platformer with lewd elements. It hasn't stuck in my head because it didn't really do anything new or memorable, I guess. I remember thinking it was cute, though, and if a lewdgame can leave that kind of impression on me then that means the art was good.

ForumWarz, sometime in December-January 1

This game was made in the late Bush era and it shows. It takes as its entire genetic template the cesspit that was that decade's Internet culture, and amplifies it all to absurd degrees. The game is racist, ableist, homophobic, transphobic--you name it, it's got it.

At its height it had hundreds of concurrent users. I remember sitting in INCIT lobbies just making the most rancid jokes because it was awesome. It grabbed random images from Flickr or something, and tasked players with making a demotivational poster out of them. People would then vote on the funniest one. Meanwhile, you're all in a chat together. Despite how offensive the game tried to be, I remember the users actually being pretty tolerable. It was like if the /b/ of the time were way smaller and moderated.

INCIT doesn't work anymore. The last ForumBuildr forum was created in April 2023. Evil Trout keeps the ForumWarz servers running because it was something he made with his friends, regardless of whether he stands by it--and hosting it is so cheap.

I got so many scoops just because I was the only one playing.

This is a dead game that also serves as a time capsule of an Internet that is no more. It's funny, you can see so many prescient anxieties about Web 2.0 technologies, the ubiquity of search engines, conspiracy theories, and so much stuff that would end up being so deleterious to the Internet's overall health.

And it's still fun.

I blew through it in a couple of days (notwithstanding the above dates; I returned to it after a delay) thanks to buying the forum visits cheat. I don't regret it. It made me feel sad. I was nostalgic for an era of Web gaming that just doesn't exist anymore. I was nostalgic for the anxieties we used to have about what is now our reality.

I'd honestly still recommend that you try this game out. It's indefensible. But it has something to say that I don't think it did back in 2008. If nothing else, it's the most engaging way I've yet to see a game take place on the Internet.

Buckshot Roulette, January 12

Well worth it. Fantastic atmosphere and gameplay and graphics. Deserves the hype.

The Other Side, January 12

Really cool, well-executed short horror experience.

Cuphead, January 15

This was my second foray into Cuphead; my first had come many years earlier.

The date is a bit misleading. I started late in the night of January 11 (so it was the morning of the 15th) and I finished it later that day.

It's good! It's really fun! It's very snappy, and it always feels like it's your decisions or execution that caused you to lose.

But, like... I thought it was supposed to be difficult? Everyone always said that it's difficult. It's pretty easy.

Ah well. Still worth it.

Myst III: Exile, January 14-January 16

The "one game" policy apparently failed me a little more than a month after my first roundup post, I see.

For me, this was revisiting a classic. Exile isn't my favorite of the original trilogy, but it's still an awesome game, and it has an emotional payoff, even if you're not a fan of Saavedro.

It's the peak of the original trilogy, imo, in gameplay and visuals (though some of the puzzles are... not the best). If it had a better, more engaging story like a certain one of its predecessors, it'd be so much better...

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley, Chapters 1 and 2, January 20

This game is shaping up to be fantastic. Honestly. It has all the makings of a modern horror classic. I'm super excited to see where the remainder of the game goes. If it can ride the momentum it built in the first chapters, it'll be a fantastic success.

Neotrogla, January

This one stuck with me. It's a short Twine about swarms and being trans and working class. And dead bodies.

Play it if you're okay with the thought of becoming a hive. Otherwise, stay away.

Drain Mansion, January 27-January 28

Another lewd platformer! In the style of lewd platformers I enjoy!

Sadly this one didn't stick with me. It was more fun to play, I think, than others of its ilk, but a bit less enjoyable overall. The constrained setting doesn't actually do it any favors.

Cover Me In Leaves, January 28

...I'm so sorry, I don't remember this one at all.

Darkest Dungeon, December-February 1

I wanted something that played like Dohna Dohna and this sure counted. More of a -core game than the porn one, though.

It's fun, it's really fun, and I liked it a lot, but I personally wasn't compelled by it. I'd get the sequel just to play more of its gameplay, but not because I'm invested.

Sonic Forces, December 27-February 2

This game sucks.

What a fresh take on a bad game, I know, but its crime isn't just that it's bad. It's that it's boring. It is a boring game. Liam O'Brien's voice work is maybe the only thing in it that excites.

But it's real crime is that it isn't awful in a spectacular way. It's just mid. Mid, with horrible controls.

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus, February 2-February 17

I'd been wanting to "get into" Warhammer for a little while. I saw this game was on sale for cheap on Steam so I got it. Around the same time, I was like, "I wanna play an XCOMlike. This was the first game that came up in a search for that.

Gotta say, this game rules. Maybe it's a bit repetitive, but the combat always feels engaging, the music is fantastic, the visuals are great, and the writing (despite grammatical issues that I just cannot let slide) is very, very fun.

Looking forward to the sequel.

In Stars and Time, February 18-February 25

Sometimes a game just gets it. Gets you. Nails your internal monologue. Replicates your fears.

Scenes from this game still haunt me.

Better yet, it's a mostly-lighthearted adventure RPG. It's heavily dialogue-focused, which is great because the five main characters are such a joy to spend time with. It's even better watching it all break down thanks to the desperate, painful, terrified actions of but one of them.

It sucks, you know.

I'm so glad this game came to my attention. I'm so glad it's getting so much recognition. It deserves it, it really does.

I can't recommend it enough. Also, the instruction manual comes with a recipe for cookies, which I baked and were pretty good!

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, February 25-March 5

I wanted to play a robot game and I had never played any of From's offerings outside of its Soulslikes. So I gave it a shot.

The game's good. The graphics are great. The characters are fun.

That's about it, though. I found it to be frustrating, and it hasn't really stuck with me. It was just another game I've played. Which is a shame.

Boyfriend Dungeon, March 8-March 15

I enjoyed it enough to get all of the achievements, but I wouldn't call it a standout game or anything. It's good--it works, it's fun, it keeps you engaged--but it didn't have nearly the depth I wanted from it.

It's an indie offering so I can't really knock it too much for lacking depth, but I think it promised more than it should have. A smaller roster to start with that expanded through updates might have been a better call. I don't know.

Not to say I'm down on Boyfriend Dungeon. I like it a lot and definitely recommend it. Just go in with tamer expectations than I did.

Death of a Wish, March 15-March 17

Ah, the sequel to one of my favorite games ever, Lucah: Born of a Dream. It lives up to its promise. The action is just as intense, if not more so thanks to the awesome parry system, and the visuals remain stark, unique, and bleak.

The world itself is much less abstract, viewed through Christian's eyes, but it's still just as fucked. If anything, it's even more fucked, with little to oppose the forces that be, apart from some children who can't get their acts together because one of them just can't get along correctly.

And that's what I like about this game so much. Christian's failing is that he takes too much onto his shoulders at once and in the process tramples over his friends without meaning to. By figuring out how to work together with them, that's when the world starts changing.

Something we should all remember, I think.

Cassette Beasts, March 18-March 30

This game knows what it is, and it makes sure you know that it's its own thing. It's fun, with great designs, awesome setpiece fights, fun music, and great twists on the gameplay. It also looks really pretty.

You should play this game.

In Other Waters, April 4-April 8

This is a very interesting game that is just too railroaded to rise above itself. Also, the grammar is kind of unforgivable.

Still worth playing, but...

Dangan Ronpa: Ultra Despair Girls, April 9-April 13

A continuation of my goal to engage with the whole series. Ultra Despair Girls is really easy but it's also really fun. I enjoyed it a lot.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX HD, April 27-May 5

I've never played the original, and when I remembered that I had downloaded this before Nintendo could nuke it.

It's fantastic! The team behind this remake did an amazing job making everything look good, feel good, and work good. It really does feel just like playing a GBC game that... keeps going.

And Link's Awakening itself is a classic for a reason. It's really good.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, May-May 26

I'd played both these games when I was a kid, and going through Link's Awakening made me wanna replay them. I'm not upset that I did. They're still as great as I remembered they were.

I know that people who've played these titles kind of evangelize about them but they really are the underappreciated gems of this series.

Loop Hero, May 26-June 9

I finally managed to finish this game. I'd been playing on and off for years but never managed to get too far because I didn't quite understand how resource-gathering worked and also I didn't take big enough risks.

So, Loop Hero is fantastic. It's dismal, bleak, and grimy. It's got great art, even better music, and stressful, engaging gameplay. Don't pass it up.

Tales of Hearts R, April 16-June 23

The last Tales game I played was Zestiria around when it came out, and it was so bad that I stopped playing any Tales games at all. And I had had a dream of playing all of them!

But I wanted to use my Vita and I had already bought Hearts R. So I figured I'd give it a shot.

I fell in love. It's a Tales game so it's never astounding, but man, it's really fun, with actually multifaceted characters, great music, and fun battles. It's everything you'd want from a Tales game.

The dream is back.

Riven (2024), June 26-June 28

Riven: The Sequel to Myst is one of my favorite games, so learning that they'd released a faithful yet updated version of it meant I had to try it immediately.

This is probably the version of Riven I'd tell new players to start with. It's got a lot of features that make it easier to get into, and some of the more egregious puzzles have been changed to be less, you know, bullshit. But in the transition from still-based point-and-click to real-time (which works very well) was lost some of the charming parts of the original, especially the FMV portions that really, really sold the original trilogy.

Weirdly, this version adds some tedium, with a bit of extra backtracking, and more of the village on Jungle Island to "explore," except it's a lot of ladders to climb very slowly and get lost in while trying to figure out some of the more intricate large-scale puzzles, including the new ones. I managed to lose track of the submersible for a while even though that really shouldn't happen?

But at its core, it's still Riven, and this update was made with clear, intense love for the original. If the original was exactly the same but they replaced the sound-number elements with what they did in 2024 (for accessibility), plus adding in the free exploration, it'd be the perfect Riven.

Even if you've played the original Riven, play this one, too, because it's really fascinating to see what changes they made for 2024 and how they stayed faithful to its source material.

But if it's your first time playing a Myst game, start here. And then play the original Riven.

Another Crab's Treasure, August 3-August 10

I love this game. It is what it is and it knows what it is. You'll either like that or you won't.

Fear & Hunger, May 7-August 15

I could write essays about this game.

I'll just say that I love it and it's fantastic.

Mother 3, finished August 30

Another game to write essays about. I fucking love this game. It's not new to say it's incredible. But it really is one of the best RPGs I've ever played. Please play it.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, August 10-September 15

Super fun and incredibly well-executed FPS. Love it.

milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk, September 15

Oof (positive).

Persona 5 Tactica and Repaint Your Heart, September 20-October 19

I wanted a strategy game and I got a strategy game.

I actually really love this game. It's good. Really good. Because it takes place after Persona 5, the Phantom Thieves already know each other and get to be cute and together for the whole time.

The new main characters added for Tactica are adorable and I love them. The DLC also adds even more great character designs. And the music overall is great.

It's hard to recommend if you don't know Persona 5 and you're not already predisposed to liking the battle system. But man. It's really good. And nowhere near the amount of people will play it as it deserves.

Daemonologie, October 27

Oof (positive).

The visuals are astounding.

Mouthwashing, October 27

Not gonna talk about this one. I love it, though.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, October 13-October 28

It's fantastic. It's everything you want. It looks so fucking good.

That's all.

Fuga: Melodies of Steel, October 28-November 14

I love it!! It's so much fun!!! The designs are so good!!!!! Play it!!!!!!!

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, November 9-November 17

A bit crusty, but it's still good.

Fire Emblem: Engage, November 15-December 1

It's okay. It's very okay! And that's fine.

It's fine. The art is fine. The maps are fine. The combat is fine. The music is fine. It's all fine. Nothing too good, nothing too bad.

It's a shame, because Fire Emblem as a series promises so much. But it has severe limitations that I'll talk about some other time.

Anyway, I like Engage.

Celeste, December 2-December 4

It's pretty good! I don't think it's as great as people made it sound to be, but it's fun and snappy and works. If you want to play a game like Celeste then play Celeste.

[rhyme-draws-stuff]

Fantrolls introduction + Artdump

I made these guys all the way back in October 2023, when I was a bit less than halfway through the comic. They were originally made for a roleplay server but I got too burnt out from school to actually join, and my anxiety was acting up. They're moirails, and wear each other's colors to show that :D

✨a bunch more art and rambling below cut!✨

Name: Iridia Rimian Pronouns: she/they Gender: demigirl Age: 8 sweeps Height: 5'4 Blood: Teal Classpect: Maid of Heart Derse Dreamer

Iridia's the first fantroll I've ever made, she's not exactly supposed to be a trollsona but she kind of started out that way and I did pour all of the anxieties I had at the time into her when I created her, and also gave her my love of cardigans and drawing, her outfit is modeled after one of mine, and we have the same pronouns. So we have some similarities!

Iridia is incredibly scared of the future, she's constantly burnt out and all she wants to do is stay home and draw forever. She struggles to make meaningful connections with people, and is pretty sure she won't live longer than 10 sweeps. Luckily she's not completely alone in the world, she has her moirail and her lussus!

Typing quirk example:

Your Trolltag is iridescentMelody, and you … pause a lot because . you can.t always . think of the right words … … and sometimes you trail off and forget …

… what you were going to say . … you don.t have any variety to your . punctuation . so you have a collection of emoticons to . convey expressions with .^. ^.^   .-.   .^.   .0.   .u.   .o.   .v.   ._.   .~.  .'.  .×. … … … and … … … … … … when you.re … overwhelmed … talking gets … even harder … … … … and you may use just ._. emoticons to express .~. your feelings .×. … but at other times you can be . a bit long winded . you want to make sure that you.re understood correctly . and all of your points . get conveyed .

Name: Galani Darmor Pronouns: alright with any, but especially likes he/her (specifically in those tenses), ae/aer, and shine/shines Gender: Hero Age: 8.3 sweeps Height: 4'5 Blood: Violet Classpect: Knight of Hope Prospit Dreamer

I made Galani because I realized that Iridia would simply not survive alone in the world, and then as I fleshed aer out to contrast to her I got really attached. A lot of parts of her are also inspired by parts of myself! But maybe a bit less

her deal is basically that he has a huge hero complex. He carries herself with a lot of confidence, which he mostly feels, but he gets very upset if he doesn't feel he's living up to the standard of being "heroic" that he's set up for herself.

Galani can get pretty in shines head about issues of morality.

Typing quirk example:

Your Trolltag is mechaHero, and ✨you talk with a lot of ENTHUSIASM and EMPHASIS!✨ ✨and you like to let people know when you APPROVE 👍 or DISAPPROVE 👎✨

✨if you-were-to-get DISTRESSED you would-start-to-talk MUCH FASTER which-thankfully-never happens because HEROES DONT GET DISTRESSED 👎👎👎✨

Here's some more art of both of them!

This is one of the first Iridia concept arts I made, ft. her lussus!

Here's some early Galani concepts, and me realizing he should be short actually.

sketches of them together!

Pixels arts of them being adorable and in love :D

Also, here's a little chatlog I wrote for them, in their typing quirks:

MH: ✨ hey IRIDIA! 👍✨

MH: ✨ how was WORK today? ✨

IM: … hello . galani ^.^...

IM: … it was . fine …

IM: … mostly -.-

MH: ✨ something happen? 👎✨

IM: … i mean . not really …

IM: … i don.t know ….

IM: … i don't know how . to explain . it was . pretty normal …

IM: … which . might be part of the problem -.-

IM: … but . i think i.d rather talk about something . else …

MH: ✨OK! 👍✨

MH: ✨ want to hear about MECH FIGHTS? ✨

IM: … okay . sure .^.

[shiroi---kumo]

okay guys, opinion time.

I LIKE sharing progress of my WIP pieces because it keeps me motivated to finish things because I do not work fast. (faster than I used to but still not instant). Since I hand paint everything, some times coloring and lighting and toning and all that jazz takes me a long time, so posting progress keeps my brain engaged because I know people are interested in what I'm doing.

commentary keeps me motivated and engaged.

The piece I am currently working on is big as hell and I literally have the specs on this thing cranked crazy high so when I post it, it doesn't pixelate and as I previously mentioned, I stuck sword dragon in it so now it's gunna take extra long because I need to render everything.

that being said, I have sort of been feeling lately like posting said progress is taking away from the punch of the final piece being done. I personally think seeing how something was made and seeing it go from lines to finished adds that impact but I feel like it's just getting taken from the impact I guess?

That's why I'm here to see if it's just me. SO that being said -

aka I would like to post progress of this but I dont want it to lose its "wow factor" if you will because this one has a lot going on but at the same time my brain yelled at me for a week that it hated it until i added stuff today and now i sell my soul to finish it

[skinsort]

Hello, I've been thinking about code and selling code and sharing code in the rpc because someone posed the question to me of what I'd want to happen if someone was heavily editing a skin I sold, and to be honest, my first instinct was 'take my name off it'. That was met with some surprise, but let me explain why.

Code, to me, is a largely democratic landscape. If you want to learn, hundreds of thousands of people and websites have come together to teach you. Masses of people share open source work on codepen, stack overflow etc. Code as a skill is like assembling an especially abstract puzzle where you can only think about the pieces, not really see them. But most puzzles have similar strategies to solve- start with the corner pieces, then the edges, then the most recognizable patterns etc etc etc working your way down to the more and more difficult details. Most of code- most of my job writing code- involves minimizing the amount of time working on those shared strategies so we can have more time to work on the the interesting bits, the hard bits. the bits that make the site we're working on unique and useful. Frankly, jcink is the easy part of code, by and large. Your data is already structured and provided to you in a very particular way. It is inefficiently, but largely documented. Many other people have solved all the problems you are likely to have trying to build a skin. Skinning is html and css for the vast majority of items. It is the easy stuff. If I sell code, that code is now the property of the person I sold it to. It is not shareable or redistributable. You can't take my code and resell it as your own, but as far as I'm concerned you can do whatever you want with it. If I solved problems that might otherwise feel difficult (accessibility and responsiveness come to mind) cool. You can solve the easy ones, like styling and colors and fonts you like. You can add or subtract things that vibe with what you want that code to do. Once it is sold, it is yours to do with what you like when it comes to personal use. This is true of almost all coding contracts that exist in the entire world. If it weren't, no one would ever hire external contractors to do any work for their company, and I can tell you now, even companies which could fully afford to do all their tech in house absolutely do not in 99% of cases if their business isn't selling their own tech. The rule is generally- you may do anything you like with this, except resell it to someone else. So why take my name off it? I don't endorse how other people code. Even in my professional life, I've taken projects off my portfolio because the client took a project I worked on and broke it (imo), often with other professional developers doing the breaking. If a prospective employer were to go look at it, I'd be embarrassed by what it looks like today. Tell me why I (and my team) created a website that was fully responsive, and they went back to make it adaptive in the year of our lord 2022 because they preferred to have pixel perfect views at 3 specific breakpoints rather than a responsive site. I don't know, it's infuriating. I can't cite that project as an example of my work anymore, because it isn't. I would never leave a site in that state.

So, my first instinct with the idea of people using a skin i sell them as a base is 'take my name off it.' I don't want to be associated if responsive/accessible features are lost due to others working on a skin I wrote. But at the same time, where is the line between using something as a base, and editing a few small features? I certainly don't want to be an arbiter of that, or have to field questions or navigate feelings about it. In fact, personally I would not feel upset at all if someone used a paid for skin as a base, and inviting that kind of discussion is the only way I possibly could get upset since people have weird attitudes about a lot of this stuff. So I think the more practical standard is just to put credit, but make it explicit that the work has been heavily altered. Don't resell or redistribute, and you're golden, imo. Anyway, those are my feelings as someone who writes code for a living. I'm interested to hear counterpoints - constructively of course.

[sweetofsin]

sometimes i have a lot of faith in humanity until i come online and i see the way that people so easily can assume and see the absolute worst in each other, and it feels like a complete mindfuck. like bruh. we have so much work to do.

i was looking at this apology that this celebrity put out, and soooo many people were dragging her, saying it was passive-aggressive, shady, throwing jabs, etc. and i went to go look back at it again because i was like wait... was it? and i'm reading it over and over again and to me, it was just like... a normal fine apology

i understand people oftentimes dehumanize celebrities and i'm not against critiquing or criticizing people within the public eye (rightfully so) but there's a difference between criticism and accountability vs. literally trying to read between imaginary lines and creating a different emotional reality than what really occurred so you can feel justified to be angry at someone

it's like, is this person genuinely being passive-aggressive? or are you projecting that onto them because 1. it's online 2. they're a celebrity or 3. you are so used to seeing people be hateful or respond in hateful ways that it has literally skewed your perception of seeing normal interactions of people and it leads to you thinking someone is attacking someone when they are just trying to communicate

it's a big over generalization (although i think there's a lot of truth to it) but i think this can occur when people spend more time online reading and interacting with a digital reality of people being really mean, hurtful, unkind, and not balancing it out with the reality of people genuinely being kind, listening to each other, hearing each other out, etc.

and i understand why because we do live in a world where people can be really freaking mean and cruel and hurtful. and celebrities often can either get a pass for being really mean, or people don't see them as humans so they expect them to act in ways that wouldn't be satisfactory to anyone anyway

BUT at a certain point it's like, what's more important? trying to force the world to be skewed and adapt to our emotional reality of the world that leaves little to no room for other emotional perspectives? or leaving room for there to be multiple emotional perspectives and trying to give people the benefit of the doubt instead of presuming that the person is trying to be a villain?

it's not just online culture where this happens either, although it does make it easier for people to just project emotional realities onto people or situations (as well as celebrity culture) and forget that we are not just digital pixels but Human Beings. like... complex human beings. and we can all be capable of harm and what-not, and she very well could have been being passive-aggressive. my reality doesn't have to be the sole truth. but i do think these things just remind me of how much the digital world is intentionally doing it's job (as well as the outside world) to divide and isolate people by showing you the worst in people, and then it makes you feel like you have to presume most people are that way

i know trauma influences these things too and definitely doesn't help either. it's not easy for sure. the behaviors and habits i'm describing in this post, i'm capable of doing at times and i was way more capable of doing it a couple years ago. it's a protective defense mechanism, as well as something that the higher ups enjoy and want us to do. cause how could we really come together and liberate one another if we out here assuming people are trying to be the worst with little to no context

[govindhtech]

NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition, Balatro+ To Apple Arcade Games

Apple Arcade

Eight titles, including NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition and Balatro+, are added to Apple Arcade. Apple Arcade is expanding its library of over 200 entertaining games with eight new additions. With no in-app purchases or advertisements, the newest collection of games provides something for the whole family, from thrilling deck-building games to competitive sports titles.

Three new games have been added to the service today: Puzzle Sculpt, an Apple Vision Pro spatial puzzle, Monster Train+, and NFL Retro Bowl ’25, the first NFL-licensed game available on the platform.

Every month, the service is updated with new games and material. Starting on September 26th, users will have the opportunity to construct their dream deck and take on challenging tasks with the 2024 deck-building phenomenon Balatro+. Playable on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro, Balatro+ will be part of the Arcade subscription service.

NBA 2K returns on October 3rd, promising players another thrilling season as they step up their game in NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition. This year, 2K enthusiasts may check out the redesigned Greatest Mode and The Neighborhood. In addition, subscribers may operate their own cat café in Furistas Cat café+, cook up a good time with some adorable furry companions in Food Truck Pup+, and smash their way through realms beyond their wildest dreams in Smash Hit+.

A family of up to six people may enjoy unlimited access to every game in the Apple Arcade library with just one membership, so you can all play these fantastic games together.

Playstack and LocalThunk’s Balatro+

LocalThunk, a lone developer, produced this hypnotically delightful roguelike deck builder with a focus on poker, which Playstack released. Joker cards and poker hands are combined by players to create a variety of builds and synergies, each with their own special powers. The objective is to find secret bonus hands and decks while gathering enough chips to defeat cunning blinds. In Balatro+’s unique psychedelic environment, defeat the boss blind, uphold the last stand, and win all set to a surreal and retro-futuristic synthwave music.

NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition

Image Credit To Apple

NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition is where legends are built, as The Neighborhood makes its mobile premiere. Unlock side missions, meet the top players in the league, and compete against friends in one-on-one or three-on-three games on Game Center. As they advance in their professions and refine their talents via competitive play, Apple Arcade players have access to a brand-new space that blends indoor and outdoor streetball courts and businesses thanks to this completely navigable hoop culture paradise.

Not only will they rule the court, but The Neighborhood as well. New character customization options, upgrades to My career and The Association, and a redesigned Greatest Mode that lets players relive some of their favorite ballers’ career-defining moments are all included in the game.

GAME START’s Food Truck Pup+

With the top canine chefs in town, players can cook up a fantastic time. With the bright pixel visuals of the game, work hard to build a delicious worldwide crêpe company from the bottom up and see it come to life. In this heartwarming game, players may also take pleasure in creating their own stores, choosing fashionable clothing, and even employing other dogs as part-timers to support the growth of their companies.

Cat Cafe+ Furistas by Runaway Play

Image Credit To Apple

Gamers may add more cats to their collection by matching adorable kittens with the perfect foster parents and providing them with happiness. Because every café may be customized from top to bottom, gamers can let their imaginations run wild and create unique and welcoming environments. These adorable kittens will win over gamers’ hearts with every endearing exchange they have.

Smash Hit+ by Mediocre AB

Smash Hit+ is a game that uses force, concentration, and pure willpower to take players on immersive adventures where they must move in time with the music and discover new methods to use destructive physics. The game’s 50 distinct chambers and 11 graphic styles provide an unmatched visual experience that motivates players to commit to overcoming the difficult challenges that lie ahead of them.

Apple Arcade Games

Image Credit To Apple

Players may anticipate significant improvements to popular arcade games like Wylde Flowers, Sonic Dream Team, Outlanders 2: Second Nature, Hello Kitty Island Adventure, and many more in addition to new games.

Wylde Flowers by Studio Drydock: In today’s highly anticipated mystical Creatures update, players will endeavor to uncover the mystical mysteries concealed under Fairhaven’s lighthouse and restore it to its former splendor.

Sonic Dream Team by SEGA HARDlight: On September 12, players may get 16 new abilities, such as stomp and air slice, by running and jumping into new objectives and locations in the Tails Challenge. Jukebox mode, which enables users to unlock and gather music songs from all across the Dream World, is also included in this version.

Pomelo Games’ Outlanders 2: Second Nature: On September 17, players will get to know Jelena, the tenacious mayor of a little village in the Winterlands at the foot of a massive mountain. Together with three new levels with brand-new structures and crops, Jelena also delivers a fresh narrative.

The island adventure Hello Kitty by Sunblink and Sanrio: Players may reach the new City Town area on a separate island on September 18, when a mystery boat emerges off the coast of Friendship Island. There, a new character is ready to show everyone around.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[rabbitcruiser]

World Book Day

Some people like to read the biographies of the most influential people in history, like Martin Luther King or Mahatma Ghandi. Some people like novels that send chills down their spines, from goth horror novels like Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” to Stephen King’s epistolary novel, “Carrie”. Some prefer the classics, like “Pride and Prejudice” or the “Old Man and the Sea”.

But regardless of the kind of books you like the most, the indisputable truth is that the world would not be the same without books. Books have been educating and inspiring us for thousands of years, so it should go without saying that World Book Day is a more than a well-deserved holiday.

Books are more than simple pieces of paper with words on them (or, in the case of digital books, a bunch of pixels on a screen). They’re a door into another world, whether that’s one full of fiction and imagination or a factual world that teaches you incredible new things. World Book Day is all about celebrating the wonderful power of books and the joy of reading. It’s especially meant to help encourage a love of reading in children, but people of all ages can recognize and celebrate the day.

World Book Day has a strong connection with schools, and it’s used worldwide to allow school children to engage with reading and their favorite books. It’s not just a day to indulge a love of books, but also a day where children and young people can gain access to books.

History of World Book Day

Books did not always look the way they do today, with their glossy covers and creamy pages. When writing systems were invented in ancient civilizations thousands of years ago, clay tablets were used. Later, humanity moved on to using papyrus. In the 3rd century, the Chinese were the first to make something that resembled today’s books in that they consisted of numerous thick, bamboo pages sewn together. Then, in the mid-15th century, Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press brought books into the industrial age, making them readily available to anyone who wanted to read them. It is thanks to than ingenious invention that we are all able to enjoy the works of Shakespeare, Tolstoy and many others in the comfort of our own homes today.

World Book Day was created on April 23rd, 1995, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The connection between that date and books, however, was made in Spain in 1923, as it is the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, prominent Spanish Chronicler.

There were a few ideas for the day of the year that World Book Day should be held. Originally, Vicente Clavel Andrés, a Valencian writer, suggested that the day should be on a day that honored the author Miguel de Cervantes. This would be either his birthday, October 7, or his death date, April 23. The latter date is the one that was chosen because it was also the date that William Shakespeare died and when Inca Garcilaso de la Vega died too. In fact, several other prominent authors have also died on April 23 – perhaps authors should be wary of this date!

In some countries, World Book Day actually takes place on other days of the year, despite the fact that the international event was created by UNESCO. For example, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Ireland all celebrate their own World Book Day events on a different day. However, the international day has been held on the same day each year since it began in 1995.

World Book Day Timeline

4000 BC

While history is unclear about the exact timing, scrolls are used by well-educated people and act as the predecessors to books.

1st Century AD

More compact and durable than scrolls, codices are developed to make papers easier to handle and travel with, especially when assembled of parchment paper with covers created from wood.

1430s Printing Press is Invented

The earliest mention of a printing press in historical records in Strasbourg, Germany in relation to Johannes Gutenburg.

1582 First Dictionary is Printed

The first English Dictionary is created by Richard Mulcaster.

1923 Booksellers in Spain Celebrate Cervantes

In a nod to Miguel de Cervantes, booksellers in Catalonia instigate a book exchange on April 23, in honor of the famous author’s death.

1971 Books are First Digitized

The first supplier of electronic books, Project Gutenberg begins at the University of Illinois when Michael Hart transcribes a copy of the Declaration of Independence at the University of Illinois in the US. The project continues as a free online library of more than 60,000 eBooks.

1995 World Book Day Inaugural Celebration

The United Nations makes a push toward literacy with World Book Day (also called World Book and Copyright Day). Since Catalonia traditionally celebrates on April 23, the United Nations keeps this date. Incidentally, the day coincides with what is celebrated as the anniversary of the birth and death of William Shakespeare.

March 6, 1997 World Book Day Celebrated in UK and Ireland

While most countries celebrate Book Day in April, the UK and Ireland have a tradition of celebrating on the first Thursday in March. It began as Children’s book day, but has continued to foster reading for people of all ages.

2000 World Book Capital City Initiative Starts

This initiative seeks to motivate countries throughout the world to take part. Each year a capital city is chosen to maintain the drive of World Book Day all throughout the year, creating a deeper connection with literacy and publishing. World Book Capital for 2021 is Tbilisi, Georgia.

2011 World Book Night Begins

In an effort to move celebrations of reading into the evening and focus more on adults instead of children, World Book Night starts in the UK.

How to celebrate World Book Day

Passionate book lovers can celebrate World Book Day in a number of ways, and spread the positive ways reading can affect your life. It’s the day when you can put some thought into how to encourage others to read more too, especially if you’re a parent or you work with students. You can read a favorite book and even read it out loud to children, young people, or perhaps some older people who would appreciate someone reading to them.

The absolute best way to celebrate this day would be to find the time to do some reading. Do you have a book you just can’t get around to finishing? Today’s the time to curl up on the couch or a blanket outside with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy every last page.

If you have children, this could be the perfect day to teach them about the joys of reading. In today’s world, we are so flooded with images and videos that we run a very real risk of abandoning reading entirely–why bother if we can just watch a movie? Imagination is a child’s best friend, so make sure you contribute to keeping that little imagination as active as possible. Pick a topic your child is interested in, and spend part of this day exploring the magical world of literature together!

Yet another way to go about celebrating this day would be to get together with some friends for a reading of a book you all love. Hearing someone read aloud sentences you have only ever murmured to yourself could cause you to see them in a whole new way by adding feeling or emphasis of some certain elements. Furthermore, varied interpretations of a book could make for animated discussions about who did what and why they did it.

Whichever way you choose to celebrate World Book Day, make sure it’s an educational experience for you and those you care about. As acclaimed author Alan Bennett once said: “A book is a device to ignite the imagination.” World Book Day is a registered UK charity on a mission to give every child and young person a book of their own. It’s also a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and (most importantly) it’s a celebration of reading. In fact, it’s the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world.

Unlike some other days started by the UN, there are no themes for World Book Day, so you’re free to think up anything you like to celebrate. You can find various materials and inspiration from UNESCO each year, which will help to inspire you and encourage you to think of some creative ways to celebrate the day. You don’t need to be a teacher or someone who works with children to make this day a fun one, although it is a fantastic way to encourage children to read.

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[websurfingspider]

I've been working on some pixel art for a tileset and it's the first time in a while that I've focused on drawing something inanimate rather than people. Drawing people is incredibly stressful for me, partly because I feel like I'm not where I want to be in terms of skill and I'm really struggling to get any better at it. Because of that, I tend to try to rush through it and "get it over with" which makes it come out worse and also kind of puts me in a mindset where I'm anticipating being frustrated before it even happens.

But when I draw things that are inanimate, it feels more meditative. There's so much focus in art resources on drawing people "correctly" which I think increases the pressure, but drawing architecture or nature puts me in the mindset of an explorer or a scientist, studying things out and fitting together a puzzle that becomes increasingly clear as I collect more pieces of it. I feel like I had kind of an epiphany. The more time I spend on this piece and the more care I put into it, the more "personality" it develops. In a sense it feels like the architecture I'm drawing is a character itself, and I'm not so much creating it as getting to know it. Like, when people talk about having a conversation with art I think this might be what they mean. Or maybe not and I'm just weird, idk.

Part of this also is because it's a memorial piece, so I went into it already having strong feelings about it. The building that I'm basing this part of the tileset on is one of the oldest historical buildings in my hometown, which burned down a couple weeks ago with the owner still inside. I didn't know the person but I knew that building, it was a landmark in this city which is so dear to my heart. I'm grieving for it, knowing that whenever I pass by that street again, there will be an emptiness there like a missing tooth.

[toskarin]

I'm bad at explaining broad processes, so this is going to be very... stream of consciousness. that being said, I'll try to explain a little bit of it!

also for disclosure's sake, this alt was actually earlier in the process than the final monochrome version, and I tend to destructively edit as I go without remembering to save different project files, so what I'm gonna explain here bounces around a bit

okay so, unfortunately, going through my layers raises more questions than answers without context lmao

when I'm doing inkwork-heavy pieces like this one, I usually work entirely in black and white, smearing the shapes together with a bleed-heavy pen and a slightly less bleedy brush

in general, I'm a firm believer in not fighting the texture of the brush you're using. if you need to a lot to get wispy shapes from your brush, you need to use a wispier brush

if it seems weird that I use a bleed-heavy pen but not a bleed-heavy brush, I think that's weird, too! the best way I can explain it is that I've always found it frustrating when my paints bled in unexpected ways, but associated an overbleeding pen with one that wasn't running out of ink

... not entirely rational, I'll concede.

but anyway, why black and white? why not use a slightly tinted dark tone, like shows up a lot in my finished pieces?

there's a lot of reasons I can make up for why I do that, but the most straightforward and (unfortunately) revealing one is that I do it because, if I'm drawing entirely in black and white, I never have to layer-hunt to erase

... I just make a new layer on top and paint white over the old one

this is also why I like using mspaint when I'm not really up for doing anything particularly advanced. layers are great and I love them dearly, but sometimes it feels like they're more annoying than helpful

so in general, my method for actually blocking things out can be roughly described as "start drawing it and don't stop until it's done, and if you don't like it, your wip is now a reference layer and it's time to use it to redraw the entire piece"

not... entirely good as advice

in fact, I'd strongly advise you don't internalise that. looks pretty cool, though, sometimes. maybe explaining myself here is a bad idea, because it's going to give other people my deeply unwell habits.

anyway.

when framing a piece, I'm usually just fucking with things by eye until they look about interesting enough to me. in general, I'm a big proponent of leaving tools around that can be generally described by "things you can fuck around with"

effects like this are achieved mostly by duplicating the image, filtering the duplicated layer, possibly gradient mapping it to get some colours, and then using that as a mask of some kind. this often entails deleting chunks of the new layer when things start overlapping in unpleasant ways

if you're willing to keep a folder of textures around, you can actually use posterisation + gradient mapping + blending modes to work your textures into some really weird setups

if I'm planning on using a really colourful background or frame for whatever reason, I find that one way to create a pseudo-depth effect is to duplicate the linework, mosaic it, layer the mosaic below your actual lines, and then erase all of the chunky pixels inside of the subject proper

in the process of making the final version of a piece I post, it's really not uncommon for me to have up to nine versions of the linework layered on top of each other, set to darkening different portions of the art

as for framing proper... sometimes it's literally just throwing things on the edge of the image until it looks balanced to my eye, then ctrl+a, then shrink selection [X] pixels until I get a border that looks nice

hope there was at least something of value in that! admittedly, it seems like it was mostly just a reveal of how messy my desk is

referenced from A Polish Nobleman (1637)

[this-nightmare-doesnt-exist-yet]

If SONW / PSP ever gets to a point where it exists off the confines of paper it would probably be uniquely frustrating.

Example being that around half the time when a magic monster explodes there’s this mist of pixel artifacting junk that if seen irl it would be a shit ton of large grit glitter or sequins being launched in all directions under a bright spotlight.

Also the fact that the setting of the stories are very overwhelming with stimuli by design. I have no idea if it still counts as horror at this point but it still feels upsettingly too much of a lot.

 I guess that is to be expected given how I myself am constantly overwhelmed by normal things, and use a lot of built up and unspent emotions in these stories. Point being though, it would be translating a specific kind of destress in a way that I have no idea if other people would be prepared to handle. Like not scary in theory but in practice could be maddening.

I would feel absolutely awful if it were a Grinch suit situation. Other versions of the world might have worked but the current one, while fun to imagine as live action, should probably avoid that.

It’s hard to explain without dragging out examples but it would be a really specific kind of hell that I would not want anyone to have to go through.

not that it can’t be done in a good and comfortable way, just that nobody would have the time nor the money to do it right and it would taint the entire thing as a result.

Like don’t go creating the torment nexus, but unfortunately the future probably doesn’t give a damn about what I have to say about it if things ever got to that point.

Sometimes I legitimately get caught up in the ethics of what kinds of effects art can have and how can it be done to minimize potential problems. It shouldn’t be something that I dwell on but I still find myself thinking about it. Not even from the angle production, mainly how people tend to process information and how to make a villain the most universally understood villain in a way that nobody idolizes them by the end of it. Which I do find fun but also nerve wracking because there are a near infinite amount of factors to consider at any given moment.

I probably going to have several seasons of my puppet show done before this series is even half finished. The main thing holding back the puppet show right now is that I am still putting together puppets. 

The puppets don’t have larger ethical issues tied to them.

If the puppets ever do, I swear to god I am going to kill whoever is responsible for it. /J