#rambling about theories i have about my favourite media is one of my favourite hobbies

[thecrow-king]

ETHICS TOWN SPOILERS UP TO EPISODE "History is written By...Who?"

Turned out longer than I intended and I didn't even add everything I wanted to say.

Romulus (love that choice of name), once he travelled back in time, is just a copy of the Romulus of his current present, placed in the past. So, a clone, you could say.

In his original future, Ethics Town was founded by a Richard, and he waited for a Richard to turn up and do it in the past he placed himself in. There's none. So he, Romulus (now Ryan), founds Ethics Town.

Is this the point were he changed the story or was it once he arrived in that time? Is this past a copy of the other one? Like when you have a word document, which we now call "History" and you save a copy of that document, you have "History Copy 1". Now, on your computer, tablet, phone, whatever, you can change "History Copy 1" into anything you want without altering "History". You all know how word and file saving works. I am sure.

My point is, did Romulus create a copy of the history? He said it himself, Ryan is not Romulus. They aren't one "continued consciousness." Is this what happened to the others? Is this the reason why Ian and Artemis have memories that they seemingly just made up? Because they have the memories and desires of Ian and Artemis from the other history. Is this why they are doomed by the narrative - because it's already written?

I'm pretty sure I am wrong because there are more things worth analysing, like the parallels between Ryan and January (I've read the tags on my other post - they are based on the same guy! That's so cool).

(Is Ian the Remus to Ryan being Romulus? Ian is from a neighbouring town, and Remus hopped over the small wall when they first started building Rome).

Is it ethical to jump back in time to change something? Even if you just want to experience life there, you change history.

Does anything of this post make sense to anyone else besides me?

I love media that lets me analyse and theorise. I know I have a tendency to see clues where there aren't any ("turning it into a mystery that needed solving"), but it's fun nonetheless to see what I can come up with and if anything is true in the end. Anyway, I look forward to more of Ethics Town.

Wait, does that mean the town will be flooded at the end of this podcast?

This is how I feel:

Good gods, I just googled something and found out something else. Why can't I stop?

I should probably reblog this post and continue there.

[balladetto]

colourful munday interview / no longer accepting / @gerudospiriit, @ordonianpumpkin, @sapientiiae, & anonymous

thank you all bunches for sending these in! ♡ had fun answering each one; all under the cut because i am not and will probably never be a concise person, ahaha

[ ruby ] give one random fun fact about yourself.

i can play two instruments! the piano and guitar, though i'd say i'm pretty rusty with both. given the practice, i think i could get back up to par again with the former? i formally learnt both in the sense that i know the rudiments of music theory and can still decently read notation, but that's about where the extent of my knowledge ends...hasn't stopped me from getting absolutely obsessed with the intricacies of instrumental osts when it comes to mechanics, aesthetics, leitmotifs, etc. asflkdsj

[ olive ] what gives you the most inspiration for your muse(s)?

it really depends on which muse i'm writing! in general, i like to revisit their canons (i.e. replaying their games or rewatching their movies) and examine all the details and overarching themes/motifs i can catch in them if i need a boost of the Muse Presence, but sometimes i'll take inspiration from completely unrelated media i've consumed that i feel could be applicable to my interpretations

e.g. i've been taking some tidbits from caine from jw4 for link recently, in that he's someone who knows his "role" in life, is really fucking good at playing it (however much he doesn't want to), and would give almost anything to escape it. even as he's totally settled into it! despite the myth he makes of himself in this one movie he shows up in, he's a ghost in his own world. he goes through the film reluctant to do the things he so easily does anyway, with his hand forced by the high table because he has someone he loves so deeply, yet at the end of it all: he's still afforded some measure of happiness because he was loved by someone so deeply in turn. these two are really not the same type of characters at all, but caine's Vibes are part of the Feel i want to communicate through link's story!

other times, i'll come across a fic (often not even for the same characters or media lskjdf) that gives me the worst brainrot and that'll flavour how i want to frame my writing and what i want readers to Notice for muses. but i otherwise tend to keep it contained to overanalysing canons! honourable mention @ my partner, for being the best sounding board and engaging with me on all my rambling ♡

[ navy ] what do your muse(s) mean to you?

they're my best friends, they're my pals, they're my homeboys (gender neutral), my rotten soldiers, my sweet cheeses, my good-time fellas—

they're my blorbos of all time! they mean so, so much to me!! especially the ones that have stuck around for nearly or exactly a decade like link, the zeldas, aidan, and gold; those were some rough (trans)formative years that they carried me through, and i had so much fun with them! i still am!! plus, the friends i make through writing these muses will always leave such an indelible impression on me no matter how many years pass (i am looking directly at people like issie and adri and kris as i say this sldfjdkf still leaves me gratefully gobsmacked that i found you again after so long!) ♡

[ mulberry ] what tips would you give someone with writer's block?

don't force it! try not to agonise over it. come back to it at some other point after you've gone and done something else that might be just as creative in nature (drawing, crafts, etc.). dip into your other hobbies if you have them! read. watch things, play games! consume as much as you've outputted! take care of yourself!!

above all, remind yourself that you're more than whatever writing you can give to anyone!

[ blonde ] what is your favourite type of music? favourite artist? favourite song?

hard to choose, because i don't have a genre i'm super dedicated to? ig if i had to pick based on what i generally listen to a majority of the time, my favourite type would be whatever category osts fall under askdjlf

i think it's also because of that that i tend to steer towards songs i can't understand without translations? if there are words i can pick out, i get a bit too distracted, and half the time my audio processing issues make it so that i only sort of make out most of the words, which distracts me on a different level sdkfjfl following that, my favourite artist(s) in terms of songs with lyrics would probably be yoasobi :) i listen to their pieces the most consistently!

ahhh...literally will never be able to choose a favourite song when i have so many! for the moment...i'll pick rito village, as played by kass and his sweetums!! it's just such a sweet rendition ♡ and i want more people to be reminded of it! lmao you thought me leaving my birdies for a hot second would get rid of the brainrot. absolutely not they've still got a Grip on me sldfksjdl

[ lime ] describe yourself as a character / mix of characters you've always related to the most.

minor npc in the protagonist of the series' life that's like. just a passing face, but has an entire life beyond saving the world that makes actually saving the world all the more meaningful by way of their story coming together with every other npc's to weave this feel of a world that's actually alive.

also! unnoticeable character, perhaps, but the protagonist of their own life :) slfkjfd sorry. zelda might've been a core part of my personality since childhood but mp100 changed my brain chemistry on a molecular level at ~sixteen. hard for me to leave its truisms and themes alone

[ azure ] is there a specific character or type of character you want to write but never have? why?

there are specific characters i've been hankering to write but just don't think my writing style will do them justice in terms of narrative voices OR don't feel very confident in my interpretation of those narrative voices in the first place, yeah! reigen arataka from mp100, kazuha kaedehara from genpact (who wouldn't be affiliated with the rpc at all now that i no longer play the game, which is another hurdle), and link from albw to name a few.

there's also the issue of my time and energy, and other writers' interest in interacting. maybe one day i'll bring one of these to the fold, but it won't be anytime soon sdlfkdjf

[ cherry ] what is one thing you love about yourself?

hmm. i'm very proud of my progress in terms of mental health recovery! dunno if that's something i'd say i love about myself though sflkdjf so maybe how in-depth i can go in terms of character analyses? at least for characters that i feel are really understated or don't often get to shine in fandom communities and such. i do love a majority of my muse interpretations (outside validation's alway nice ofc) — i wouldn't be able to write them otherwise!

[ cerulean ] what is your favorite (type of) character to write?

i know the person who sent this in wants me to say the truth so here it is slfkjdkl i really like writing characters who did not get the resolution or healing they should've gotten from their trauma in their canons. i like exploring what that does to them and what healing might look or not look like for them. i especially loveeee collecting dynamics for them because that's ultimately what heals everyone, isn't it? that outside support and care :) it's cathartic to write, and i hope it's meaningful to read for my writing partners when we really get into the nitty gritty of it!

[ apricot ] what do you think your life will be like in ten years?

happy? happy. i don't tend to mull on the specifics so much. though i'd like to think i'd still be writing, at least! there are some other really personal things i'm not super comfortable with sharing in a public space, but to the one who sent this in: i hope i'll still be with you. i hope we'll get to be together not just in our hearts. i hope we'll have physically built up lives of our own ♡ sorry for getting disgustingly sappy but i love my loveliest lady!! slfkjdl

[ fuchsia ] bonus round: angst or fluff? one-liners or paras? plotting or winging it? memes or starter calls? single muse or multimuse?

i like reading and writing both, with a slightly heavier inclination towards fluff! paras unless it's shenanigans. i vibe with both, but work better with prior plotting! either is good and i do not mind them! i do have a preference for running multimuses now just because it makes it less of a hassle when you've got multiple blorbos bouncing around in your head, though love interacting with both!

[opalsiren]

W.I.T.C.H. Reboot! W.I.T.C.H. Reboot! W.I.T.C.H. Reboot!

hi love! so, with the plethora of reboots kicking around mainstream media these days, its no surprise that the question of a w.i.t.c.h reboot has been broached by its fans. i have so, so, so many thoughts and this, but ill divide them into three categories for the purpose of brevity: firstly, general thoughts on what i would like to see if a w.i.t.c.h reboot is on the cards; secondly, what i would like to see in a live-action w.i.t.c.h reboot; and finally, what a decent animated reboot of w.i.t.c.h might entail. this is not an exhaustive list so please feel free to add onto this if youve any more thoughts! without further ado because jesus, we might be here a while….

general thoughts:

a w.i.t.c.h live action reboot should largely use the comics are source material. while the cartoons are beloved by many including myself, i reckon the good parts of each should be combined to be thematically consistent, fix plot holes etc. but the comics should be the bible here

the target demographic of younger women and girls would need to be established early on by the producers (personally i would love to see a slightly more mature, w.i.t.c.h college AU where the target demographic could be teens/young adult women and girls, but more on that later). this isnt to say that young men and boys would be absolutely excluded as an audience, but misogyny is alive and well in 2019, and our voices as women need to be uplifted. this is exemplified by the fact that caleb was given far, far, far too much screentime in the cartoon so that the show could reach a young, male audience, and his characters was mangled by chauvinistic tendencies. thank u, next.

i have my own preferences wrt to ships, but i think we can all agree that introducing male characters as mere plot devices for drama/conflict only to put them ‘on a bus’ when theyre no longer useful is just plain bad writing. this is a critique levelled both at the cartoon and comics, but largely the comics (see: Eric)(rip in peace).

i also believe that sticking to the conventions of a particular genre, or hybrid genre, would be preferable if a w.i.t.c.h reboot were to take place. some shows get it right, but I’ve seen a ton of shows go off the rails when they try to be a fantasy/comedy/crime/drama/horror/sci-fi/occult/soap-opera extravaganza all in one. i reckon a YA fantasy drama with comedic moments, something with a similar vibe to Shadowhunters or The Shannara Chronicles, could work really well. if we’re talking animated reboot, something with a similar tonal atmosphere to The Dragon Prince or Into the Spiderverse, would also be great

this shouldnt even need to be said but please, for the love of god, no musical episodes (heres looking at you, Riverdale).

i think i speak on everyones behalf when i say that, irrespective of the age demographic of the show, LGBT rep in w.i.t.c.h would be amazing. irma/cornelia have always been a practically canon fan favourite, but cassidy and nerissa’s relationship is definitely more than strictly platonic, so that could be developed upon too. trans/nonbinary!will is also a popular headcanon that could work. once there are lgbt heroes, and not just lgbt villains, i think we’ll all be happy.

similarly, seeing some neurodivergency in the characters could also be great: elyon dealing with pts after the fallout with phobos; irma struggling with adhd in school or college; hay lin and taranee also exhibit some traits of anxiety in canon. autistic!will would also work, and someone else in the squad is bound to be affected by depression given its pervasive nature these days.

much and all as i adore the guardian outfits, i think there would need to be a few changes made. the midriff-and-leg-baring get-ups, though very cute, become very jarring when you realise the characters are meant to range in age from 12 to 14. i dont have any specific thoughts on how improvements could be made, but lengthening hemlines could be a start. if anyone has any more thoughts, i’d love to hear them!

of course, there needs to be women in the writers room, lgbt people in the writers room, poc in the writers room, people with neurodivergencies in the writers room, etc. we all know what happens when writers rooms lack diversity, and it sure as hell aint pretty.

body diversity was something that was tentatively approached in the comics (irma is curvier than the others, at least in her mundane form), but eschewed almost entirely in the cartoon, with all the girls maintaining similar heights and waifish proportions. it would be worthwhile, not to mention realistic, for the girls to go through some body-image hang ups. maybe will is insecure about her ‘underdeveloped’ body, or maybe taranee longs to have the same curvaceous figures as other dancers her age. i think if they were to go for a message of body positivity, irma, loud and brash with no fucks to give, should love every inch of her fat body and encourage the girls to adopt her 'devil-may-care’ attitude. the patriarchy be damned.

one flaw with the comics AND the cartoons are that they dont really explore the worldbuilding a lot. we do spend some time on meridian in the comics and the cartoon, but largely from the perspective of either elyon, or caleb and the rebels. i wonder what a day on meridian would look like for the average meridianite peasant? what do meridianites do for fun? what language(s) do they speak? what are their religious/spiritual belief(s)? what are the styles of dress dictated by? meridian is based on medieval societies, and a caste system is suggested, but i would have loved to see the social hierarchies expanded on a little more. does the matriarchal nature of meridian rule value women and their labour? what about LGBT people on meridian? people with disabilities and neurodivergencies? is there any discrimination against the different species on meridian? in fact, i dont know if it was ever explicitly outlined to us the different species of peoples on meridian, in the cartoon or the comics. honestly id be happy to see a filler, AtLA Tales of Ba Sing Se-esque episode on meridian to cover all of these bases

one thing i loved from the comics that didnt translate as well in the cartoon were the girls’ passions and interests. will is obsessed with frogs, she rides her bike to her job at pet store, she swims, stresses over math homework. irma loves music and talking to her pet turtle, leafy; i could totally see her doing a stint at the college radio station or working part time at a record store. cornelia loves ice skating and has received tons of awards and accolades for her achievements on the ice. taranee is an avid photographer and dancer, but i could totally see her spending her spare time at rallies and protests too. hay lin is a proficient artist, making her own clothes and poring over paintings between shifts at the silver dragon. all of these things and more are what make these characters so well-rounded, relatable, likeable. their hobbies need to be weaved into the fabric of the show (not just brought up once for a silly plot device in cornelia’s case, or never brought up at all in taranee’s, as seen in the cartoon) in order for it to work

live action reboot thoughts:

this should go out without saying, but a live action w.i.t.c.h reboot should cast actors of colour to play characters of colour. hay lin, and by extension her family, need to be played by Chinese actors, while taranee needs to be played by a black actor, preferably one of east asian descent, etc. if they add a little more diversity to the cast i would be totally pleased. latina!irma is a popular headcanon that i ascribe to, and will has always been kinda ambiguously brown, so adding less ambiguous representation for poc to the cast would really be excellent

of course, age-appropriate casting is a must. more specifically, there should not be any 25-30 year olds playing characters in their mid-late teens, unless ofc they could actually pass for the age they are trying to play. shows like The OA and The End of the Fucking World really get this right (most other teen/YA dramas, not so much. less of the chiseled abs and rock hard pecs on teens, please)

this one might be tricky to get right, particularly with budget constraints, but i think a really good CGI/visual effects team is necessary for a w.i.t.c.h reboot to work. unless an adequate amount of the budget is spent on making sure the magic looks realistic, almost plausible, it will make everything else look cheap by comparison

also, this is more of a personal preference, but i’d love to see someone with a really beautiful visual aesthetic and scope of cinematography. i’m talking Sense8-esque levels of cinematographic beauty

i’m really rambling now but, similarly, it’d be so cool to see someone who could use lighting/colour theory in very particular ways. in Marvel’s Netflix Originals, each character has their own theme colour; in Jessica Jones, for example, all of the scenes are very blue and almost leeched of warmth, while in Luke Cage there seems to be a warm yellow filter over everything. how cool would it be if all Taranee-centric scenes had a slight gold hue? or if all of cornelia’s scenes were lit with green? maybe all of the colours could combine in the a subtle yet effective way when all of the guardians are together to show their unity and combined strength.

thoughts on an animated reboot:

i know very little about animation so these thoughts will be brief, but an art and animation style something like that of Into the Spiderverse would be really gorgeous. it is fluid, dynamic, beautiful to look at and, most importantly, reflects the comic format in a moving image perfectly. alternatively, the animation studio behind The Legend of Korra could also be wonderful. the visual effects used for magic would look absolutely incredible

one thing i have to praise the Jetix cartoon for is their choice of voice actors, which were, in many cases, spot on. while cornelia’s VA was annoying and shrill, the actors playing characters of colour were themselves people of colour. if an animated reboot was on the cards, i think it could be a great opportunity to once again include some diversity to the cast, namely hiring actors of colour to play characters of colour

please let no one who worked on voltron near a w.i.t.c.h animated reboot with a ten foot pole. no i will not elaborate

tl;dr at the risk of sounding like an entitled millennial, a w.i.t.c.h reboot should be less about creating something entirely new for a brand new audience, and more about building on what the longtime fans of w.i.t.c.h already love and bringing it forward for the older generation. all on all, we grew up with w.i.t.c.h, so it’s time for us to have our reboot. thanks for coming to my TED talk!

[not-poignant]

hi Pia, hope you're having a beautiful day! can I ask how you got into writing? sorry if it's already been asked/answered, but did you start it as a hobby? when did you realise that was something you wanted to dedicate yourself to? did you get swept up in it or did you slowly reach the point where it was like 'huh, this is something that's happening'? Pia/Writing is my fave pairing, please tell us more

I mostly got into writing as a form of childhood escapism - and that started through ‘reading as a form of childhood escapism.’ :D

I had devoured most of the books in our primary school library early, which also left me out of stories until I discovered the public library, so making up stories, and writing them down, seemed a pretty natural step?

I flipped back and forth between wanting to be a writer, an artist, a scientist, etc. I didn’t pursue writing seriously at all though in highschool. I focused on art. In my spare time I sometimes wrote things. I don’t think I thought much of having a 60,000 word science fiction story by the age of about 13 (just as my Mum didn’t think much of throwing it away, which was the only copy I had, lol). I just liked to ramble a lot. As...everyone knows. e.e

I don’t think I really started to get serious about writing until university, where I started taking Creative Writing electives (and was publishing very tame Harry Potter fanfiction on the side, at sites like Schnoogle) at university, and then Scriptwriting electives when I seemed to do well at the Creative Writing stuff. Tbh even at university, I was more serious about poetry and scriptwriting, than I was about creative writing like short story or novels. I didn’t really think it was a future, like ‘oh that’s nice but no one makes any money off that unless you’re a complete outlier.’

Idk why I was being so judgemental given my main degree was Media Studies and Mass Communications and boyo let me tell you that there is SHIT money in that, unless you teach it or go work on a censorship board, lol. Wtf was I thinking, for reals.

Also my first writing group was me, a surfer dude who was unexpectedly ripped and really quite nice to look at, and an ultra-Christian Mormon, and another person who never turned up. We all rocked up at the Brass Monkey (a well-known pub in Northbridge, near our city), we got our respective drinks (back then I used to drink, and so I used to mainly drink Guinness) and nachos or chips, and then we kicked back and read the most pretentious poetry on the planet to each other.

It was kickass.

No, Elliott’s backstory in The Wind that Cuts the Night is not remotely autobiographical I have no idea where you got that idea...

And even then I still didn’t really pay much attention to it. I wrote a novel called Every Day Awake (which I need to edit but may actually publish one day, it’s a queer literature love story and one of the characters is demisexual before I knew that existed as a term, the other character was sex addicted, but my sad gay/bi boys got a happy ending) and I wrote one Misfits fanfic and one Mysterious Skin fanfic, and a bunch of really bad Glee fanfics... (*hangs head*) but I still didn’t really take it seriously until I got majorly burned out on my professional art career, quit unexpectedly, took two months off where I thought ‘my life is stupid what am I going to do,’ and then unexpectedly (really fucking unexpectedly) poured all of that bullshit into a fanfic called From the Darkness We Rise.

After that, I’ve been taking it really seriously. :D Though I didn’t start thinking ‘huh this is something that’s happening’ until people actually really seemed to like my writing, because that was weird. Game Theory was probably the first time I ever thought I could do something with my writing. Before that, I’d won a few short story / poetry awards, but a person cannot live off poetry and short story awards.

(Also, reading and writing are still my two favourite forms of escapism, lol).

[jamesbyerj]

One with the Force - Kingo64

In the feature, we're chatting with Kingo64, the creator of the most popular mod for Blade & Sorcery - The Outer Rim. Being a bit of a Star Wars geek myself, this is a mod I've been following for a long time.  [b]Thank you for joining me Alex ([url=https://www.nexusmods.com/bladeandsorcery/users/470810]Kingo64[/url]), we'll start as we always do, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?  [/b] Hey! My name is Alex, I’m a full-time software developer and a fairly recognisable member of the Blade & Sorcery Discord server. I’ve been modding the game Blade & Sorcery for a bit over a year now and have obliterated any notion of ‘free time’ I once had since starting [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/bladeandsorcery/mods/528]The Outer Rim[/url]. It’s been said that I have ‘a bit of a personality’, and I’ve been blessed with many friends from modding communities over the years, notably from a now-defunct forum called Facepunch. I’ve been pretty fortunate and grew up with computers and video games from a young age. Without the internet you kinda needed to figure things out on your own, stumbling around through game files, seeing what you could change, trying to make the villains of the game bark like a dog for your own amusement. Modding was always one of the big appeal factors when it came to games for me since it essentially meant that the games were never ‘done’ as long as people remained interested it’s like an endless sunset. I’m still not sure if I’d ever want to work full-time in the video game industry but I suppose there’s always a possibility if I change my mind? There are always opportunities out there. [b]What are your favourite games of all time and what do you love about them?  [/b] Ha, I’m not too good at picking favourites. I suppose I’ve always enjoyed first-person shooters the most; along with role-playing games. I think I’ll just throw out a fly fishing line and reel off a big list of names and see if we get any bites. [u]Multiplayer games[/u] [list] [*]Unreal Tournament ‘99 [*]Quake 3 Arena [*]Battlefield 1942 & 2 [*]Halo: Combat Evolved [*]Garry’s Mod [*]Worms Armageddon [/list][u] Single-player games[/u] [list] [*]Half-Life 1 & 2, Opposing Force, Blue Shift, Black Mesa [*]S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series [*]The Elderscrolls III: Morrowind [*]Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series [*]The Witcher 2 & 3 [*]Id Tech 3 classics such as: Jedi Knight series, Call of Duty + United Offensive, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Soldier of Fortune 2: Double Helix [*]Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory [/list] Without turning this into a TEDx Talk (call me TEDx if you want rambling subjective opinions on games), it mainly boils down to either enjoying the gameplay, the story, or the atmosphere/world building. All of these games have left me with long term memories, unique experiences, and wield some kind of spark that just makes me want to hope for a rainy day or a good excuse to dive back into them. I’d encourage those who haven’t played some of these games to check them out, they’re pretty fun. [b]Before we start talking about your mods, I'm guessing you're a huge Star Wars fan. There are tonnes of games, movies and other media in the franchise. What are your favourites?  [/b] Fun fact, I wasn’t much of a Star Wars turbo nerd when I first started the project but I have had to do a fair amount of research into the lore, wikis, and books in order to create [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/bladeandsorcery/mods/528]The Outer Rim[/url] in a way that respects both the Star Wars Expanded Universe / Legends and the canon. Fact-checkers are welcome. For those of you who have not watched the TV series ‘The Clone Wars’, do yourself a favour and watch that. Specifically with the ‘Ultimate Episode Order’ (you can find that online) which restructures it chronologically. It masterfully fleshes out the Star Wars universe and gives a plasteel backbone to the characters in the prequels and what they should be remembered for. This TV series in its totality is arguably better than the movies. As I’ve mentioned earlier with the games, I highly recommend Jedi Outcast / Jedi Academy from the Jedi Knight series along with the Knights of the Old Republic series. They are the primary inspirations for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/bladeandsorcery/mods/528]The Outer Rim[/url] when it comes to gameplay design. [b]The sequel trilogy had a fairly mixed reception from Star Wars fans, what are your feelings about it?  [/b] The sequel trilogy really garners a lot of mixed feelings from everyone. For younger audiences, this will likely be their introduction to the Star Wars universe on the big screen - bright-eyed without prior conceptions of what to expect, who they’ll see or what may happen. It’s all new to them and it’s all fantastic. They’ll grow up and look back fondly at the time they saw Star Wars Episode 7 in the cinema when the older generations were audibly grumbling at the thought of it. The same thing happened when The Phantom Menace came out and the same thing will happen again when the re-animated corpse of Darth Plagueis rears his head 15 years from now when another trilogy is announced for the next generation of kids. Personally, I thought the sequels were incredibly lack-lustre, disappointing, and almost a deliberate betrayal to the Star Wars ecosystem they’ve built up over the years. It’s no surprise some people prefer to stick their head in the sand and just pretend they never happened. All of the characters were either unlikeable or forgettable; excusing Kylo Ren - a pale imitation of Revan. The story was poorly developed, ham-fisted, and mostly surmounted to nothing (Last Jedi particularly). There was a very clear agenda on ‘throwing away the past / wiping the slate clean’ to absolve themselves of the original trilogy and prequels. I understand that their intention was to create a fresh footing to tell new stories on but it ultimately backfired on them pretty hard, unfortunately. Red Letter Media, in particular, gave a pretty good summation on the recent movies that mostly match my opinions for those looking for a meaty analysis. Rogue One was fantastic though, congrats. [center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1597753699-614768287.jpeg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1597753704-1234122797.jpeg[/img][/center] [b]Talking about mods now, you started out modding back in the height of the Oblivion days with a few small compatibility patches, have you done much modding between then and when you discovered Blade & Sorcery? [/b] Well, to be frank, I’ve been modding games since the dark ages before stable internet connections and when we used to get games on discs in magazines. It made sense to me to try and create new content for yourself where possible, whether it is custom maps/campaigns, gameplay tweaks, asset modification, rather than waiting for the next game. Games were often released as a final distributable copy rather than the evergreen update cycle we expect today and often did not receive patches outside of expansion packs.  Generally, when I make a mod it’s for personal use and may be shared with my friends at most. More often than not because the mod is an opinion piece on gameplay tweaking, or a compilation of other mods, or simply not worth uploading. Another big factor would be the fact that it was only within the last couple of years have I ever had an upload speed that could transfer information faster than a person flapping a blanket over a smokey fire. Between the Oblivion days and now, the most prominent mods I’ve released would be the shader packages for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky, known as [url=https://sites.google.com/site/kingo64ssite/Home/optimised-game-shaders/stalker-shaders-max]STALKER Shaders MAX[/url], which primarily focused on improving performance and improving graphics - a necessity for my low-end 7300GT and mid-range 9600GT that I had back in the day which struggled to play the game. But yeah, mostly was just kicking back, enjoying everyone else’s mods until the creative itch started to kick in. It’s difficult to manage time with social life, work, family, friends, hobbies. [b]How did you discover Blade & Sorcery and what is it about the game that keeps you coming back? [/b] I bought it on a whim whilst growing out my VR library and was surprised by how polished and enjoyable the melee combat was, easily the defining feature of the game. The fluidity and believability of the melee combat have really set it apart from other games that have attempted it such as Boneworks and those not courageous enough to try such as Half-Life: Alyx. Even though it’s still currently a sandbox game, I’ve found it to be much more replayable than any other VR title I’ve played. I think it’s really setting the precedent on how good melee combat and item interaction should be achieved. In the VR FPS space, Pavlov VR has potential but it’s still stuck in its Counter-Strike mindset and Hot dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades (H3VR) still has controls that make QWOP look like a walk in the park. Personally, I’m not really looking for online matchmaking when I want to play VR games, I kinda just want to pick it up and do my own thing - play however I want. That’s something that I’ve been able to do with Blade & Sorcery and the replayability I’d like to see in non-story driven VR titles. Each major update for the game has given us a glimpse of what to expect in the released version. The roadmap is really promising and I can’t wait to see what it develops into after it leaves early access. After many conversations with the lead developer over the past year, it’s pretty comforting to know that he shares the same opinions on gameplay design, decisions and direction as I do and I feel confident in saying that the game’s in good hands. The mod support for the game is incredible. I’m surprised by how large the modding community has become given the niche nature of the game. It’s a testament to how building a game with a positive attitude and public SDK only strengthens the community and widens the appeal, ultimately serving a more diverse and enjoyable experience for everyone. [center][youtube]fcyU6sE7rBo[/youtube][/center] [b]For anyone who hasn't played it yet, can you tell us about your biggest mod - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/bladeandsorcery/mods/528]The Outer Rim[/url]? [/b] The Outer Rim (TOR) is a Star Wars total conversion mod for Blade & Sorcery which adds a humongous amount of content. There are 100+ lightsabers along with many blasters and other items to boot. The mod also includes custom maps, an optional player home, custom NPCs, and arena waves. It’s actively being developed and still has plenty of content planned and yet to be released. It is without a doubt, the largest mod available for the game with a focus on attention to detail.  If you like Star Wars, get it. If you don’t like Star Wars, try it out anyway. If you don’t have the game but have a VR setup, get the game then try this mod. It’s worth it. If you don’t have a VR setup, sorry - play it at a friend’s place? [b]The Outer Rim has been a huge success. When you initially started working on it did you imagine it would be as popular as it is?  [/b] It was pretty evident on the Blade & Sorcery Discord server that [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/bladeandsorcery/mods/528]The Outer Rim[/url] was going to be a big hit when it eventually came out. The prototype weapons I released when I was still learning the SDK and Unity, [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/bladeandsorcery/mods/280]Lightsabers U6[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/bladeandsorcery/mods/246]E-11 Blaster Rifle[/url], were a hint of what was to come. Those mods were largely successful on their own, given that the innovation and quality of scripted weapons were not like what we have today bar a few exceptions, notably MulleDK19’s Mjolnir among others. What I didn’t expect was for my peers in real life to recognise the mod and realise I was the creator, or how wide of a reach it would have - driven by gameplay footage uploaded to sites such as Reddit. It’s pretty surreal to see yourself directly influencing your own Youtube feed when Youtubers decide to play ‘that Star Wars VR mod’. [b]Do you work alone on the project or do you collaborate with other authors? [/b] I primarily work alone on the project. There’s something cathartic in knowing that if something in the mod doesn’t meet my expectations I only have myself to blame, improve, and resolve. It’s not difficult to manage large projects such as this with many moving parts, it’s just a very time-consuming process with a large learning curve. I’ve branched out to others who I feel could do a much better job than I, namely 3D modelling and texturing. One long term collaborator of the mod is Plasma, a prominent modder from the Jedi Knight community, who has created models for the majority of the lightsaber hilts among other unreleased items from the next major version. Other authors who have contributed assets to the mod include Sakhado, uiojkl09 (Butters), Vale-X and Spongy. [b]There are a lot of mods made by others that extend The Outer Rim or add new Star Wars related stuff. Do you have any favourites? [/b] I hope I don’t get crucified for this but I haven’t actually played any of the other Star Wars mods so I can’t really answer that question well. In fact, I haven’t really had much time to play the base game as is or even my own mod outside of dev/testing. [b]Now that U8 has been released, are you planning to add any cool new force powers using the magic system?  [/b] Yep, that’s all been planned since the beginning over a year ago - with the intentions of being deeply tied into the skills tree proposed for the future version of the game, U9. There won’t be any force powers in the next major version of the mod, TOR 3, which is focused on blasters, but when I get around to it it’ll be worth it. The big backlog of stuff I have planned is daunting for me to say the least and exciting for anyone else. If you want an idea of what is to come in regards to force powers just play the Jedi Knight and KOTOR series and you’ll know what to expect. [center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1597753345-139005324.jpeg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1597753352-264767641.jpeg[/img][/center] [b]What is the status of a U8 update for The Outer Rim, I know a whole load of people are waiting on it? [/b] The next major expansion pack for the mod, Clone Reinforcements, is mostly complete in respects to content and features however the magnitude of changes presented by U8 essentially forced me to remake the mod, virtually every file needed to be modified on some level to be made compatible, no stone left unturned. The mod got nuked essentially. There have been many challenges and issues to face with the mod that still exist today directly due to what U8 has given and what it has taken away that prevent the mod from being fully playable or meeting my expectations. I’ve been in contact with the lead developer of the game throughout U8’s release and have been trying to report and resolve issues where possible to expedite the process. I’m hoping U8.4 should be the one to fix it. Ultimately, I don’t know how big of a change U8.4 will be, what it will add, what it will do, how much it’ll break, how much it will solve. But if it turns out to be big, it might set me back a few months, who knows? It’s a big game of “are we there yet?” but the car is misfiring and billowing smoke but the kids in the back just want to get to Disneyland. [b]Do you have any advice for authors who want to create mods for Blade & Sorcery?  [/b] If you have an idea for a mod, just go out and try to make it yourself. Take it as a challenge. Yes it’ll take time, yes you’ll have difficulties, but if you put in the effort you’ll be surprised by what you can achieve and how easy it is to learn and improve. There is a vast amount of tutorials and learning material out there on Unity and modding. Specifically to B&S modding, you can find information and example mods in the [url=https://github.com/KospY/BasSDK]Official SDK[/url] and on the [url=https://discord.gg/Yq4k2S]Blade & Sorcery Discord server[/url] in the #modding-howto and #mod-help sections. [b]Is there anything else you'd like to say to the community? [/b] It’s pretty thrilling to see how the VR community has continued to expand over the last few years as the games have become more compelling and the hardware more affordable. I encourage those with a VR setup to give the game a go, it’s a lot of fun, highly replayable, and a great place to flex those modding muscles. We’re welcoming new modders all the time and you know what they say; the more the merrier. A big thank you to those who have supported my work, whether it be leaving a nice comment, contributing their time to help others, leaving a donation, or who have shared it with their friends and loved ones. It’s a passion project with the intention of sharing good times, good memories, and hopefully inspiring people in one way or another. And also if you are wondering, yes I do read all the messages - I just don’t have the time to reply to everyone. Your comments have not fallen on deaf ears when you share your ideas, criticisms, and compliments. [line] A big thank you to Kingo64 for taking the time to talk to us! If there's an author or mod project you'd like to know more about, send your suggestions to [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url][/b] or [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url][/b].  Published first at One with the Force - Kingo64