#ragnar’s storytime

[the-kittylorian-writes]

✨ Ragnar’s Creature Feature Adventure✨

Hello everybody! Meet Ragnar! He is Paz Vizsla’s son. Maybe he’s a foundling too, just like Grogu.

He’s got a helmet on because he just swore the Creed. But when he was just about done with the ceremony on his induction day, a DINOSAUR TURTLE nearly grabbed him with its huge jaws!!

Good thing Uncle Din and Grogu saved the day!

But things weren’t always sunshine and daisies with Uncle Din and Grogu. One day, Ragnar was faced with darts training with Grogu! It seemed like Uncle Din wanted to teach him a lesson. What’s worse, when he lost to Grogu (he JUMPS!!!! But he’s so LITTLE!!!), his dad Paz thought that Ragnar needed the lesson as well. What a bummer. So Ragnar decided to mope a little but when all of a sudden…

He got snatched up by a RAPTOR who was going to feed him to her Raptor babies!

What a nightmare!!! Ragnar had to stay in the Raptor mom’s food pouch for a night! EWWWW! But then, Ragnar heard his Dad Paz’s voice just when he thought he was going to be Raptor lunch! DAD RESCUED HIM!!

Actually, it was more of Uncle Din and Aunt Bo-Katan and some of dad’s cool friends, but the point was: Ragnar was back home with Dad!

Then stuff happened.

✨✨✨✨ time passes harp music✨✨✨✨✨

A few weeks later, it turned out that Dad and Uncle Din and all the other tough soldier grown-ups had fought a real awesome battle on a planet called Nevarro, and as payment, they have a new home back on Nevarro! Well, Dad said they lived on Nevarro before but it was a real sucky experience. There was decent plumbing, at least.

Anyway, now that the Covert would probably be an Overt (???) since they’ll be able to live out in the open (Uncle Din said so), what new adventures await?

Grandpa Greef mentioned about a…

Uh-oh.

Is that a REPTAVIAN?!

Goodness gracious!! Is there no place safe anymore??

Well, Dad said it was the Outer Rim so safety is like… non-existent. But some places can be safer than others, Ragnar guessed.

Grandpa Greef even had a totally cool and thrilling story to tell about how a Reptavian took a swipe at him and he nearly died! But guess what? Grogu had saved his life! He’s a magic baby! ✨✨✨

Ragnar thought Grandpa Greef was exaggerating. At least the magic baby part.

There’s NO WAY Ragnar would cross paths with a Reptavian! Why does he attract disaster? Dad says it’s all part of being Mandalorian. Ragnar loves his Dad so he doesn’t argue.

Sigh.

And then time passes again!!

✨✨✨✨✨✨ time lapse take back Mandalore on speedrun ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

UH-OH.

NOT AGAIN!!!

Is that a MYTHOSAUR?!?!

Dad told Ragnar that Mythosaurs are just… well, myths! But it turns out that the Mythosaur is real!!! Ragnar thinks that they should just rename it REALOSAUR. Why all this false advertising? Sigh again.

All that Ragnar could think of was this:

All these CREATURES! Ragnar thought again. Are there going to be any more by the time this is over? Dad said: Well, they’ll just have to tough it out. Because that’s what Mandalorians do!

This is the Way! ✨✨✨✨✨

[eljackinton]

The Longest Journey Series Retrospective – Part Three: Dreamfall Chapters (2016)

This is a multi-part series retrospective on Ragnar Tørnquist's Longest Journey Series, made up of The Longest Journey, Dreamfall and Dreamfall Chapters. Part One is here. Part Two is here. You can also read this article over on my main blog.

It took seven years for The Longest Journey to see a sequel, and when Dreamfall arrived the gaming landscape had come a long way. It would take another ten years for Dreamfall's follow up to arrive, and when it did the gaming landscape had moved even further.

Where TLJ was a standard point-and-click affair, and Dreamfall a third-person action-adventure, Chapters would instead present itself as a full blown episodic drama, a format popularized by Telltale's The Walking Dead and Dontnod's Life is Strange. The adventure game, long thought dead, had now been resurrected in a new form, and it seems fitting that The Longest Journey would see a revival along with it.

Chapters is in many ways the biggest departure from the series so far. Like the contemporaries that influenced it, game-play is paired down to a bare minimum, with character interaction and dialogue taking on a a greater focus. It would also be the first in the series to give the player binary choices that would impact the plot of the game. One of the neat tricks it does is trigger a message stating 'The Balance Has Shifted' upon an important decision being made. In any other game this would be a simple reminder to the player, but in a series that has constantly framed 'The Balance' as a critical, world shaping power, this gives your decisions real weight.

Dreamfall had finished on a cliffhanger, leaving many plot threads unfinished. I can't imagine what it must have been like, waiting ten years, not knowing if Zoë would even come out of that coma. Indeed, the series was in a precarious position, and it was only the changing landscape of crowdfunding that gave it new life. Tørnquist and new developer Red Thread seem to have been very aware of this, and go to great pains to truly bring together a satisfying conclusion.

Like Dreamfall, Chapters is less of a self contained story and more an installment of a larger series. Going from Dreamfall to Chapters feels natural, and the two clearly compliment each other as part one and part two of the same plot.

The story picks up almost immediately where we left off with Zoë in a coma, Kian imprisoned and April dead. It doesn't take long to get the plot moving however, with Zoë finally awaking and moving to a new city, Europolis, and Kian escaping to an uneasy alliance with the Marcurian rebellion. It also introduces a new character, Saga, who's life we play through gradually, and who's importance does not appear to be immediately apparent.

If you thought the politics would stop with Dreamfall then you'd be very much mistaken. In many ways Chapters itself becomes more overtly political in telling an allegory for the current climate. In Europolis, we see a crisis unfold around the coming election, as the two main parties are represented by a right-wing fascistic bully and a morally compromised centrist, while the far left struggles to make a diffidence due to constant infighting. Kudos to Tørnquist for so succinctly framing the problems that continue to plague western politics.

In Marcuria, the Iraq War allegory mostly gives way to a focus on nationalism and xenophobia. Onor Hilloriss, a minor villain, is clearly a stand in for many right-wing European politicians, and definitely influenced by one from the UK in particular. Through Kian we see more of the Azadi's compromised occupation and how it was intended as a mostly benevolent campaign that was, instead, prolonged and manipulated by the powerful few for their own ends. A clear representation of how many feel about the never-ending War on Terror.

Chapters weaves these stories intrinsically into each other, showing that both Zoë and Kian's struggle to find a place in the world is absolutely tied to mankind's self destructive impulses. The political chaos in Europolis and Marcuria is caused by the exact same longing that the characters suffer from, and sticking with the themes of the earlier games, the only cure is to move forward. The past can never be regained.

And it's these themes that are so wonderfully brought to a head in Chapters in bizarre and wonderful ways. Not only does the game draw back to characters and storylines from the first entry in the series, but it expands the scope even furthers, from The Balance, to The Dreaming, to Storytime itself.

It's fitting, in a way, that each entry in the series has evolved in tandem with the adventure genre. The Longest Journey couldn't have stayed a point-and-click adventure game, it had to evolve with updated technology and changing audience tastes. Just like the characters, you can't stay in the same place forever, you just can't, you have to keep moving. It's how you stay alive.

Thus, over the course of three games, we see old lives put to bed and new ones embraced.  Zoë finally finds her place in the world, Kian brings an end to the Azadi occupation and April finally realizes her destiny through reincarnation as Saga, becoming the old lady in the comfy chair that was recalling the tale all the way back in The Longest Journey.

On it's own, Dreamfall Chapters is a fine and inventive episodic drama. As the final entry in the series, it ties everything together to make them all greater than the sum of their parts. The stories and lives we witness are universal, but what's even more wonderful is just how broad the scope is.

This isn't a story about mighty warriors or powerful space marines. It's a story about artists, farmers, mechanics, bar owners and computer programmers. It's a story about the dispossessed, the persecuted and the downtrodden. It's not a power fantasy, it doesn't offer any easy answers, but it's comforting too. It lets the player into the lives of it's characters and shows that we aren't the only ones who struggle to find our place in the world.

This is only reinforced by the diversity of it's characters. Back when I was talking about The Longest Journey I already mentioned that the cast was pretty diverse to begin with, but the decision to put LGBT and POC characters front and center brings it's themes of belonging right to the forefront. A less diverse game would have been unquestionably a weaker one.

Gripes? I have a couple. The change in Kian's voice actor between games is pretty jarring, particularly how he goes from soft spoken in Dreamfall to deep and gravelly in Chapters. His redesign also looks lighter skinned, so take that as you will. The game also struggles to shake it's predecessors obtuse puzzles every now and again, in contrast to it's contemporaries more straightforward solutions. Still, these are all minor, and the freedom to choose the path of the story, and explore Marcuira in full for the very first time, more than makes up for it.

The Longest Journey series was intend to have one more entry, The Longest Journey Home, a sort of interquel set between TLJ and Dreamfall that would have followed April and gone back to the series roots as a classic point-and-click. It was set as a stretch goal for Chapters' funding, but the goal was never met, forcing Tørnquist to put the project on ice. In a way, I'm glad that this happened. I don't think it would be in the series best interest to see a sequel so immediate or nostalgic. I'd much rather see Tørnquist come back to it in another ten years time, when the gaming industry, and the world in general, has once again moved on.

All things considered, Chapters is a worthy conclusion, and elevates the series to that lofty status of high art. The worlds of Arcadia and Stark closely mirror our own, and gently warn of the pitfalls of historic reverence, and encourages us to take hold of our own destiny. I can't recommend the series enough. If you've never played them before, you have to check them out, and if you're a long time fan, they are absolutely worth a revisit.

[efficientc-blog1]

Dreamfall Chapters Trophies Published, PS4 Pro Support a Painless Process

The PlayStation 4 release of Dreamfall Chapters finally comes out today and the list of Trophies for the game have been published online. The five-episode adventure, which are compiled in the PS4 release, features a total of 46 Trophies for players to obtain.

The folks at Wccftech also recently spoke to Dreamfall Chapters Director Ragnar Tørnquist about PS4 Pro support for the game and Tørnquist said that working on providing support for the PS4 Pro, which included increasing the frame rate and resolution, was a “surprisingly painless process.”

Here is the list of Trophies for Dreamfall Chapters:

Platinum

Balance Restored – Earn all Dreamfall Chapters Trophies.

Gold

Balance is restored – Our story comes full circle as the past meets the future.

The Girl Who Walks Between Worlds – Saga is walking the Songlines.

Silver

The Longest Journey Home – Best friends reunited, setting out on their final journey together.

Not So Dirty Dancing – So You Think You Can Dance: Marcuria Edition.

Prophecies – Out of the mouths of babes, the future is foretold.

Portrait of a Necromancer – You found the Necromancer King’s secret chamber.

A Man of Notes – You found the well-hidden note.

Up, up and away! – Completed Book Three.

Tool Time – You returned the maintenance worker’s tools.

Eggspert – You made the best scrambled eggs in the history of mankind. Kudos!

Wait, what? – Completed Book Two. Completely confused.

The Right Mans – Identify the right Azadi collaborator.

Paying respects – Arn Stont’s message to his wife Gerdi was delivered.

Saga – The Balance has been rattled.

Bronze

The beginning of the end – Zoë left Storytime and was reborn.

The cold, cold sea – Kian escaped Friar’s Keep and was reborn.

Choice & consequence – Delivered the boyfriend’s lunch.

Wel-ding! – Completed work at the Pandemonium.

She’s so cute! – Completed work at the lab.

Makoya! – Finished today’s volunteer work.

Let the World Burn – Kian rejected the rebels and doomed reality to destruction. Good job!

Honour & Humanity – Listen to the entire National Front speech by Onor Hileriss.

The Test – Kian’s first mission completed.

Lost girls – Zoë completes Queenie’s mission.

Data decisions – But did you make the right decision?

Feeding the young – Kian gave Bip his sand-witch.

Dead ends – Zoë receives a recorded message from Baruti.

Stop the presses! – Zoë learns the truth from Sully.

The First Shift – Saga has left the House of All Worlds for the first time.

Enu-time – You bonded with Enu.

Likho-time – You bonded with Likho.

Total Recall – You have finally embraced your memories.

A farewell to Shitbot – From now on, it’s Awesomebot.

A farewell to Kidbot – She was a good kid.

A Whole New World – Zoë has crossed the Divide into Arcadia.

Sleepover! – Got to know Enu properly and said your goodbyes.

TMI – Sharing is caring, except when you do it for your own selfish reasons.

Shady business – What was Jakai doing in that room?

Bad Boys – You survived Ge’en with Likho’s help.

Single mans – You survived Ge’en on your own.

The Watilla is a lie – Wonkers will live again.

The Red Pill – WHAT IN THE ACTUAL F**K

TONIGHT WE FIGHT LIKE DRAGONS – A thimbleful of powerful liquor awakens the beast.

Never forget – Wine, water and liquor? That’s going to hurt in the morning.

The Bloodless King – Kian’s future has been decided for him

As previously mentioned, Dreamfall Chapters for the PS4 is now available in both physical and digital versions. Dreamfall Chapters is the third entry into The Longest Journey Saga. It is developed by Red Thread Games and published by Deep Silver. Check out the launch trailer above and our review here.

[Source: Exophase, Wccftech, Deep Silver (YouTube)]

The post Dreamfall Chapters Trophies Published, PS4 Pro Support a Painless Process appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

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