#so i decided to put him beside the figma

[mymp3]

[ryan21gaas-blog]

Week 13: Traction and MVP

The tasks for Week 13 were a lot to process. Considering that it has series of activities such as creating the type of software you'd like to have, as well as designing its profile page, dashboard, log-in, sign-up screen, and other designs. Aside from that, we have to use a bullseye framework to manage the top three types of traction channels. In this task, Anthony wanted to exchange roles and have him be the interim designer together while I hustle and lead. We divided the tasks equitably as usual, and Xandra and I proceeded on identifying the remaining variables to be ranked accordingly.

As far as development goes, we decided to used FIGMA, a vector graphics editor and largely web-based prototype tool, as our instrument for creating High Fidelity Wireframe. We then created a landing page that was similar to what we imagined our application would be, and we were pleased with the effort that we put into it; we spent roughly 3-4 hours doing the work, and we had each other to view it especially when a certain screen is already done with design. Indeed, our Most Viable Product (MVP) served as our foundation to outline the features of our app, and grateful as well to FIGMA as our tool in realizing our app’s design.

On my part, like other than helping on the inputs and edits, I worked closely with Xandra and we concentrated on determining the traction channels through the use of bullseye framework while Anthony and Kennah focused on handling and doing the design of our application. Along with our deliverables, we didn't have so much questions since the moment a certain page is done, I then suggest right away to help my team on which one is to change. Following agreement on who would take on specific duties, the decisions that followed were met with less argument and hassles.

Additionally, through the use of Pinterest and Google, the design team which temporarily headed by Anthony together with Kennah, they had a variety of options or choices to select when making the profile, dashboard, log-in, and sign-up screens. In most aspects, the resources they have gathered helped them a lot. Further, as a team, other than sticking to what we have visualized, we further checked at how other applications were structured, and by then we modified our version by envisioning a unique way to illustrate our application. Consequently, the design team followed the required icons to make the application familiar and easy to use for our end users.

All in all, after working this week's task, we’ve learned that there are different channels which we can consider when launching and sustaining our application or our business. Besides, we learned that both clients and professionals would like to have an interface that is familiar to them, which we get an inspiration with, like getting a frame of certain apps that are usually utilized by most of the social media users such as Instagram and Upwork. In addition, when making the landing page design, we thought of our MVP and possible features to include so that it will be user-friendly for both the regular clients and the enthusiasts. Other than these learnings, I found this activity interesting and valuable since this is the time when we fully shifted roles to really work things out and finished our activity.

[bwprowl]

It’s east vs west, Marvel vs DC, and expensive vs cheap tonight, as I roll up lowdowns on red-hot new video game figma, ridiculous new movie toys, and more unexpected entries into our aisles. I’ve also got a quick run-through of some of the newer-wave Titan Transformers I finally managed to find. Hope you enjoy these Tuesday Night Toys!

New Stuff: Red Son

Those DC movies are still happening, and for obvious reasons just don’t carry with them the same anticipatory excitement as the Marvel movies they’re trying to emulate. I mean of course I know everyone’s saying Wonder Woman is good and I do need to see it, but that’s one win out of, like, the last four? Look, I know this is a toy blog not a movie blog, but I don’t think I’m out of line in saying that I’m not really looking forward to a Justice League movie carrying on from the setup from friggin’ Batman v Superman.

Fortunately Mattel’s toys for these things at least look pretty cool, as always! Ol’ Matty’s really stepped up their game with the varied Multiverse line in recent years, and these will be falling under that banner, as usual for the movies. That great Wonder Woman design is in there again, of course, and we get looks at the new Cyborg and Flash. Looks like this will be a decently affordable, easy way to build your League, if you feel so compelled.

But the big shot of adrenaline for me is the new Batmobile they’ll be releasing here as well! This is a huge, ambitious, electronic statement of a thing. It’s basically a big remote control car you control with an app on your phone, and it’s got lights and sound effects and *actual damn smoke* that comes out of the exhaust (do you have to…refill it somehow?) and basically AR effects that you watch through the cockpit on your phone while you’re playing with it. It truly feels like an absurd next-generation play pattern for toys like this, and as someone who’s watched others worry that toys were losing so much ground to electronics and smartphones, seeing them blended together for an ultra-modern take like this is incredibly exciting. This Batmobile is bound to be ridiculously expensive, but I’ll be tempted to go in on it purely for next-level novelty. This is like a new, super-powerful videogame console to someone like me.

Also in the DC corner of things, statue-maker Tweeterhead will be offering a properly tiny displayable version of the Bottled City of Kandor as an SDCC exclusive. This mainstay minipolis from the Superman lore is a great idea for a piece like this. It's even got an actual glass dome! Kinda disappointing it'll only be an exclusive, but at least they're offering people an option to order it non-attendee after the con.

We also found out through pre-order listings that McFarlane Toys will be doing toys based off Stranger Things. There's just mock-ups for now, but at least Eleven and Chief Hopper are due out in November, so if you, like about a zillion people (including myself) are a fan of that show, this'll be worth keeping an eye on.

For the more traditional type of new-stuff hype, figma Red was formally revealed and just put up for pre-order! The original Pokemon trainer (specifically in his FireRed/LeafGreen design) has topped figma wishlists for quite some time now, so seeing Good Smile finally deliver is welcome. Less welcome is the usual odd restrictions with import Pokemon products: Getting Red direct from Good Smile (with the bonus Pikachu) is impossible outside of Asia. The good news is that more universal exporters like AmiAmi seem all too happy to take pre-orders to ship Red anywhere, and he’s discounted decently there besides. Yeah, you miss out on the Pikachu, but at least the option is there.

Now we start demanding Green and Blue

Wishlist: More Heroes

Yes, figma Tracer was revealed last week and yes, she looks great, and yes, you were going to buy her regardless of if I mentioned her or not. Look guys, I’m in the same boat. The day she was put up for pre-order I went in for three: one for me, and one each for a couple of my friends to split shipping with because we all knew we had to have her. Overwatch is a rightfully stupidly popular game, and Tracer is the exceedingly likable, delightfully well-designed face of that game, and Max Factory’s team has brought her to life as well as you expect from the figma line at this point. I don’t even *play* Tracer, but I like her and I want to let MF and GSC know that I’ll go in for more figma of these characters. Guys, I will drop $150+ on a D.va figma with her MEKA.

Also start placing your bets for which alternate skin she gets recolored into first. I’m hoping for Posh, myself

On the complete opposite end of things, I spotted this in Target the other day: A Titan Heroes Scarlet Spider. And not the most recent, genuinely awesome, I-wish-he-was-voiced-by-Crispin-Freeman Kaine version of Scarlet Spider, but the original, 90’s as hell, wearing-a-hoodie-over-a-red-leotard Scarlet Spider! It is frankly ridiculous to see something buried in as much, at this point, niche comic history as OG Scarlet Spider getting an entry in the cheapo directly-kid-targeted toyline like this, and that’s already plenty of amusement value to me (oh my god and I just realized he’s sharing shelf space with the Marvel Legends toy of the god-danged Jackal). As someone with a special place in his heart for Scarlet (and 90’s Spider-nonsense in general), at less than ten bucks I might just grab this dumb thing for myself.

Show this toy to your parents and watch their eyes glaze over with a knowing weariness

Oh, and if you’ve been needing an officially-produced role/cos-play version of Joker’s mask from that popular little Persona game, you can pre-order one now…for way too damn much.

On Desk: Titans Return returns

Stupid Walgreens wave. These newest Titans Return Transformers first, for whatever reason, dropped at the drug-store chain rather than the usual retail spots like Target and Wal-Mart, where they cost even more and were pretty hard to find. I never even saw a trace of them in my local area, and the one I did find at a Walgreens, Krok, I did while I was out of town. So I was pretty glad to find the other two I was looking forward to at Target finally last week.

I was happy to pay too much while I was on vacation for Krok, though. I liked the Skullsmasher mold quite a bit originally, and this version renders it in gorgeous colors, and he’s got a sweet new headsculpt, and he’s a remade Action Master! Oh and he’s a popular guy in those popular current comics so I guess people will like him cause of that too. Really though, it’s just his looks that do it for me. Krok’s original bio was that he was a former cyber-football player, and these colors rather do look like they’d be at home on some sort of sports uniform. Going with the footballer theme, Krok’s old Action Master partner was named Gatoraider (geddit? geddit?), but Hasbro *for some reason* decided that name wouldn’t pass legal now, so his new Titan Master pal is given the even more stupidly awesome moniker of ‘Gatorface’. I love him.

I also love Topspin. Here’s a guy I at least knew I was going to get regardless just to fill out my Wreckers team, but Hasbro sprung a surprise on everyone and made new Topspin a really cool toy! He’s solid and chunky, fitting his root look well while still being dynamic and posable, and his transformation is in-goddamned-sane, especially given that his old version was just a ‘fold in half’ deal. There is so much clever unfolding and compressing going on in this toy. It actually took me a second to figure out how to fold the arms in on their elbows because that is a trick I have legit never seen on a Transformer before! Getting a toy of this level of a guy like *Topspin* in this day and age is, frankly, unbelievable! He’s an outstanding addition to the lineup and I cannot wait for him to be remolded into Twin Twist.

And then there’s Perceptor. Look, Perceptor would have a hard enough time measuring up to the strong starts of Krok and Topspin already, but he’s just kind of an okay toy on his own. I mean, he’s probably better as a toy and as a Perceptor than the *last* Perceptor from Reveal the Shield, but again, not a hard bar to clear. This guy’s just kinda small and gangly and his knee swivels are too loose and the joint his scope slides on is too tight. It is cool that we get the ol’ dumb microscope mode back, as well as the half-assed tank mode (more full-assed here with dedicated parts to transform into it and everything), plus a sniper rifle for good All Hail Megatron homage action. But there’s just too many little niggles that make him not feel as cool as the other guys I got from this wave. Neat, but I really wish he could have been better.

Nerd

So thanks for indulging me in all that everyone! Now you go and have fun, and I’ll see you next time!

[mysticdragon3md3]

well, I’m hopeless...vs spending $ on Nendoroids

I’m just venting.  Too many cute Nendoroids, not enough money.  You know how it is.

So 5 days ago, I finally decided to restrain myself, save my wallet, and not add Nendoroid Tomo Kunagisa and Nendoroid Ii-chan, to my Figma Joker preorder.  Time was ticking on Figma Joker's preorder window, and as indecisive as I was with Tomo and Ii-chan, I saw Ii-chan's later preorder closing date, and thought, that would give me more time to think about those 2.  But then I realized that Tomo has an earlier closing date than Ii-chan.  The same as Figma Joker.  So now her preorders are closed and I missed out on her.  But that's ok.  I only really wanted Ii-chan's vesatile outfit for my other Nendoroids.  Tomo was just a bonus since I'm a sucker for pastel hair, cool/blue-ish colors, and cute loli shojos.  As much of a completionist as I am to not get one without the other, I could use that to my advantage and reinforce the idea that because I missed out on Tomo, I couldn't get Ii-chan either.  My wallet would be saved.  I could finally save my dwindling budget for all the other figures announced during WonFes2017 summer AND winter, as well as all the other preorders that have yet to come in.  

But then today, I saw this beautiful fan-art of Arthur Pendragon (http://tran-sistor.tumblr.com/post/164723941975), and now I feel bad about putting his Nendoroid on my "like, but should not get" list.  His prototype shown during WonFes2017summer was unpainted, so maybe that made it easier for me to convince myself to refrain from throwing away my money at him.  But he's really pretty.  x~x;;;  He wouldn't be the first Western-armored swordsman, from a series I don't know, for me to add to my collection anyway.  I tried to watch Queen's Blade Rebellion, just to justify buying Annelotte.  Barely worked.  But I got her anyway.  She's too pretty.  Damn it.  And if my display case of Touken Ranbu Nendoroids prove anything, it's that I already have a solid history of buying good character design, regardless of my rule about avoiding "characters I don't know from series I don't watch/read".  I never have been able to follow that rule.  X______________X;;;;;;;;;;

So if getting Nendoroids like Arthur Pendragon is so inevitable for me, then I feel even WORSE about missing out on Nendoroid Tomo Kunagisa!  ;o;  She's was soooooooooooo pretty and CUTE!  And blue!  DIFFERENT SHADES OF BLUE!  With greens and indigos!  ;O;!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I worked really hard to convince myself not waste my money by adding add more to my display case of purely beauty pieces:  Annelotte, Saber Bride, Kuroyukihime, Remo, Aoba Naruko, Tina...  I SHOULD NOT BE THROWING MY MONEY AWAY ON CHARACTERS I DON'T KNOW!!!!!!!  ~o~;  ...Tomo's pastel blueish hair would have looked nice with all my lavender-haired Nendoroid girls...  ;~;  

But I'm an idiot.  I'm weak.  And I'm dumb for thinking I could be strong against the power of Cute.  ....But I also really can't spend all this money.  I'm beginning, for the first time in a decade, to not afford it.  So, it's good that I didn't get Tomo, and I shouldn't get Ii-chan.  And, I shouldn't get Arthur Pendragon either.  

...But Pendragon's hair would look really good on my Nendoroid Yamanbagiri Kunihiro....The one thing I wanted from that Nendoroid was an awakened form with his hood off.  If I use Arthur Pendragon's hair I could have that...  Or, I could wait for the inevitable Awakened Version Nendoroid Co-de Yamanbagiri.  They already made an Awakened Version Nendoroid Co-de Mikazuki Munechika.  There's no reason to think Good Smile Company wouldn't do the same with all the Touken Ranbu characters.  It's easy money.  ...Unless that Awakened Mikazuki didn't sell well.  I certainly didn't buy it.  It was virtually the same as the original Mikazuki.  But even if an Awakened, hoodless, Nendoroid Co-de Yamanbagiri was announced today, that still wouldn't get me all of Arthur Pendragon's awesome armor character design.  

Damn it.  I'm probably going to have to get Nendoroid Kasen Kanesada for his character design too.  And that pastel hair.  Damn it!  I told myself, no more Touken Danshi besides the Dategumi!!!  >O<!  Ug!  I really am hopeless with my figure collecting budget..... x~x;;;;;;;;;;;;;

And I was just in the middle of feeling good, for a whole several months, that I finally didn't have a figure, I'd have to hunt down at partner shops and conventions, because I missed out on the GSC preorder.  ~o~;  So I guess I'll be looking for Nendoroid Tomo Kunagisa.  x_x;