#that's like “if your player wants to play a detective then give them a mystery to solve” lol

[wizard-loving-wizard]

i really appreciate aabria giving K some people to ship just for fun. probably not plot relevant. just cause it would make erika happy :) delivering some enrichment directly to our enclosure

[angelwood-if]

DEMO (EDITING)

Genres and tropes: urban fantasy, romance, found family, enemies to lovers, exes to lovers, friends to lovers, murder mystery, action

LUNAR CITY: a gritty but bustling city where supernaturals and humans live in (relative) harmony. Humans live alongside Fae, witches and warlocks, vampires, and so many more. It's normal. It's your normal.

When your father died, he left you with one thing: his antiquities/pawn shop. Decades upon decades of collecting and trading bits and bobs from all types of supernatural histories sit right here in Angelwood Antiquities, a staple of Lunar City and the shop you have now inherited.

It was his life's work, and you've done everything in your power to keep it running.

But when someone comes in bloodied and begging for you to take hold of a magical object, you don't know what you're agreeing to. You definitely don't expect him to die at your feet, telling you to take good care of...them.

Them?

Turns out the object is no object at all, but an ancient being that could be the key to stopping a multi-species war that's been brewing right under your nose..and your father may have had something to do with it. And when that being chooses and bonds to you--giving you its power--you are now thrust headfirst into the world of supernatural. The same world you've managed to avoid.

Entangled with a cast of characters who will help you save the world, you are now both human and supernatural, a rare feat. And the most important person in the city. And it will be up to you to save it.

Angelwood is an urban-fantasy inspired by stories by Sarah J. Maass, Cassandra Clare, and Holly Black. It is primarily centered around romance, with a fantasy, murder mystery, and war brewing at its core. The demo is already written and undergoing editing.

FEATURES.

Customize your MC's gender identity, pronouns, appearance, personality.

Navigate a gritty city of supernaturals.

Embark on an adventure to find out what war is brewing in supernatural circles and how to stop it.

Romance a multitude of supernatural and human characters, including a Fae, a Greenwarden, and an entity bonded to you.

Angelwood is a primarily romance and character-driven.

Play in a gritty, supernatural world where not everything is what it seems.

CAST [ROs]

IVAN CROSS (M)(FAE) - Ivan is the cold and distant Detective of the LCPD. He is also a powerful Fae, with a menacing reputation that makes most people scared to cross him. Ivan is not exactly a team player and he seems insistent on railroading this tentative partnership you didn't even want to have with him, but he's also the only one who can make sense of whats happening to you. Seems like you're stuck with him.

It doesn't help that you two aren't on the best of terms considering he closed your father's case without much effort.

FREYA (F)(GREENWARDEN) -- Ivan's second-in-command and your other partner that forms this...odd trio. You expected Greenwardens--powerful sprites that manipulate all things nature--to be smooth talking and caring. Wrong. Freya is snarky and punchy, and determined to get her mission done. Maybe it's because she's half human. Who knows.

DOMINION (DOM)(UNKNOWN) - Dom is the smooth-talking entity that is now in your head and giving you their powers. You...don't really know what to say. They sure are a flirt, at least.

KALEL/KALIS (M/F) (VAMPIRE) - K, once your old friend (and possible ex partner) is now insistent on joining your group considering they seem to have a stake in this too. (pun non intended)

SELINA (F)(SERPENT/HUMAN HYBRID) - Selina the Serpent is the owner of the biggest gambling den in the red light district, and also someone you don't want to cross. Over the years, she's traded with you on all sorts of things people leave behind in exchange for information...and now she wants to join in one the group. Having her around would really help, considering she has eyes everywhere.

QUINN (F/M)(HUMAN) - your best friend and the one you hired for Angelwood. And a human, which seems to be rare these days.

[anim-ttrpgs]

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy Introduction

The world of Eureka is, for the most part, just like our own. Its history is our history. Its people have families, friends, jobs, struggles, and flaws. It is a world that those who inhabit it think they know well, trusting science—or at least headlines about science—to tell them all the answers. We all learned that there were no monsters under the bed when we were six years old, and everyone knows force equals mass times acceleration, right?

Theft, disappearances, murder, conspiracy; in the world of Eureka, there are mysteries to be solved, and investigation will lead to answers–sometimes inexplicable answers, but answers. Perpetrators can be punished, victims can be rescued - but the dangerous and unexplained do not confine themselves to the mystery at hand. There's always another mystery to solve. Perhaps one was at your side the entire time….

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is a role playing game for veterans and newbies alike about mystery-solving detectives (amateur or professional) using their different sets of knowledge, personalities, and unique gameplay mechanics to sleuth their way through a challenging world. Roleplay and mechanics are tightly bound together, supporting rather than resisting each other, and your character’s unique personality and traits will ensure a totally different gameplay experience from your fellow players’. Eureka supports and rewards real-time deduction from the players and gives you the power to build drama, suspense, and excitement around every corner! (You can also get the latest PDF for FREE for a limited time by joining the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club!)

Elegantly designed and thoroughly playtested, Eureka represents the culmination of three years of near-daily work from our team, as well as a lot of our own money. If you’re just now reading this and learning about Eureka for the first time, you missed the crowdfunding window unfortunately, but our Kickstarter page is still the best place to learn more about what Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy actually is, as that is where we have all the fancy art assets, the animated trailer, links to video reviews by podcasts and youtubers, and where we post regular updates on the status of our progress finishing the game and getting it ready for final release.

Beta Copies through the Patreon

If you want more than just status updates, going forward you can download regularly updated playable beta versions of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy and it’s adventure modules by subscribing to our Patreon at the $5 tier or higher. Subscribing to our patreon also grants you access to our patreon discord server where you can talk to us directly and offer valuable feedback on our progress and projects.

The A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club

If you would like to meet the A.N.I.M. team and even have a chance to play Eureka with us, you can join the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club discord server. It’s also just a great place to talk and discuss TTRPGs, so there is no schedule obligation, but the main purpose of it is to nominate, vote on, then read, discuss, and play different indie TTRPGs. We put playgroups together based on scheduling compatibility, so it’s all extremely flexible. This is a free discord server, separate from our patreon exclusive one. https://discord.gg/7jdP8FBPes

Other Stuff

We also have a ko-fi and merchandise if you just wanna give us more money for any reason.

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[zerbu]

Project Squealer BIG REVEAL

Calling all mystery buffs, adventure seekers, and gumshoe wannabes!

I am developing MY OWN INDIE GAME under the working title PROJECT SQUEALER! In this action-packed adventure RPG game, a disease called Laughter Pox has plagued the town, and it's up to three kid detectives to investigate!

These days, I'm mostly known for making mods for The Sims 4, but I've been interested in game development as far back as 2009. In fact, I originally bought The Sims 3 for PC back in 2012 as a tool to plan out characters and worlds, before becoming hooked on the gameplay. For a long time, The Sims was my main creative outlet, but I was still coming up with game ideas in the background.

Skip ahead to mid 2016: while playing with my Go to School mod, I needed to create some child characters to fill the school with. I created two rival teams of kid detectives, and came up backstories and mysteries for them to solve. I ended up liking these characters far more than any other characters I had created. They felt like my creative masterpiece, begging for something bigger than just creations made in a character creator.

That's when "Project Squealer" started brewing in my brain. This indie RPG wasn't just some vague idea; I was developing full-blown stories, environments, and gameplay planned for my kid detectives. I also had the perfect art style in my head. Emphasis on in my head.

Turns out, bringing my dream art style to life was way harder than I thought. So hard, in fact, that I spent the next few years learning how to create art. It took until 2020 to finally have character and environment art that could (almost) pass for pro-level game stuff. Not only that, the project was undergoing what indie devs refer to as scope creep. I kept adding more and more ideas to the design doc, making the game more complex and pushing the release date even further into the future. In 2018, I even decided to move from 2D to 3D, and switched engines from MonoGame to Unity (and later to Unreal Engine 5 in 2023).

Now, it's 2024, and I'm finally, finally ready to announce what I've been working on for the past 6 years!

Project Squealer is the working title for my own indie game about a team of three kid detectives: Orlo (middle), Von (left) and Zoros (right). Together, they go on adventures and solve mysteries… or at least they would, if they weren't constantly having their business stolen by a rival detective team.

In this action-packed adventure game, a mysterious disease known as Laughter Pox has plagued the town, causing people to laugh hysterically. Where is it coming from? How can it be cured? It's up to our detectives to find out! If they can convince others to trust them with such an important mission, that is!

Project Squealer uses a hybrid of 2D and 3D graphics to create a 2D cartoon look with full 3D movement. Characters and some organic objects are 2D sprites that move with the camera. Most environments, objects and buildings are 3D, but have texture-based outlines to give it a 2D look.

The game features a variety of different quests, characters, abilities, enemies, locations, weapons and items. In addition to the main storyline, you can help out NPCs by performing "errands" for them, which will unlock cool rewards and even side missions.

Unlike many RPG games, Project Squealer won't include a character level system, because I want the player to be able to progress using their own skill, not by grinding levels. One of the game's main design philosophies is that there are few, if any, permanent upgrades. Weapons will eventually break, status effects that make your stronger will eventually expire, etc.

Project Squealer is still in relatively early development. I plan to post more information, screenshots, and eventually even videos, as it gets closer to release. Follow my Twitter for quicker updates: https://twitter.com/ZerbuTabek

Your support and feedback is welcome, and will help improve the game!

[chaoticgoodthief]

Voices and Video Games

Contrarian should play a game where you can annoy people. Untitled Goose Game, The Stanley Parable, Portal, all that good stuff. I think ones that allow the people to annoy you right back would be the funniest, through. Because he's never actually been in the position of being the one annoyed, and I don't even know how he would react. No matter if ge takes it really well or really horribly, there'd still be a brief whiplash moment and I'd pay to see his face during that mental bluescreen. (I also want to see his reaction over the Real Person ending in STP Ultra Deluxw, because Pain.)

Broken... I don't think he's in a mental state where "having fun" comes easily. But Contrarian taught him how to win the fighting games and it seems to make him slightly less miserable.

Smitten would probably thrive through trashy romance VNs. Sure, he would declare that his true affections lie with the princess, but that won't stop him from wooing each cardboard cutout love interest that digitally smiles at him. But do you know what would be really funny? Giving him a BL. A love interest rivals to lovers and watch him obssess over his "rival", see how quickly genuine intrest in the girl turns into one-uping the other guy. Or give him DDLC if you prefer your chaos with a side of pain. Tehehe...

Cheated deserves a two-player or multiplayer game. Actually winning against his opponents would be good for him. And even when he loses, he still has a chance of winning the next round. And I'll be nice to him and just leave it at that. He deserves nice things.

As I saw in another post (so sorry I didn't save it so I can't credit you but if you see this thank you for sparking this idea), Cold would probably ... can't say enjoy but ... he would be provided enrichment in his enclosure woth Undertale. I completely agree with you, he would deeply relate to Flowey as a character. But I have another thing I want to bring up. The genocide route. A route that Cold would definately at least attempt to see what happens. Would Papyrus's speech affect him? If not stop him, at least make him hesitate? And would he kill Flowey without hesitation? I'm curious. I am so unbelievable curious.

Paranoid should be given the most relaxing games possible. His blood pressure is high enough without the additional stress. Cute farming games, petting puppies, styling hair, just give this poor guy a break. He deserves it.

Stubborn would probably prefer real fighting to the online stuff, but still go to fighting games if there's no way to beat up real people. He would also absolutely suck at them at first, which would be pretty funny to watch. Even funnier if someone managed to teach Broken how to play the game beforehand (wink). I would pay to see Stubborn's face if that happened. He would probably mope for days. He would also probably like the trashy romance games too, but only if they have someone who could beat him up. Managed to start an arguement with Smitten about the better love intrest that quickly decends into a month of warfare between the two.

I... can't really think of anything for Hunted. Even if there was a game the suited him, I'm not sure he would even play it. He would probably be super helpful if there's some kind of trivia game about wildness survival.

Skeptic would love any detective/mystery games. But he either would be brilliant at them or completely hopeless, with absolutely no in between. Multiplayer deduction games with the other voices would be just as fun to watch, the sheer chaos of them being forced into potentially unfamiliar roles. Now I want to write a whole story about the voices playing mafia so badly...

Hero honestly deserves a break from moral dilemas and all the stuff the Narrator forced on his shoulders. Cut and dry good fights evil or no-stakes games. Just let the guy rest. He's dealy with enough world-ending side choosing for one lifetime.

Opportunist would probably lie about his favourite to anyone who asks, but enjoy games where you play as the villian or generally do immoral things and actually get rewarded by the game. I just think those games really cater to his world view. But what would be really interesting is one of the games were you are forced to realise that you are the villian, that what you are doing is wrong. Just for the funzies.

Phew, I really am deeply sucked into this fandom. Don't think I've ever written so many posts about the same thing before. I should do this more often with my other fandoms...

[airacomehome]

Aira Come Home Chapter III Casting Call!!!!

Aira Come Home's final chapter has two characters left to voice act, and we need your help! NO VOICE ACTING EXPERIENCE REQUIRED!

All you need is a mic and Discord! More details under the cut!

Requirements for voice acting:

You have a microphone of any quality. Stand mic, earbuds mic, even your phone's mic will work!

You have Discord, or some other way to contact me. Discord is the easiest as that's where all of the development chat is.

You can get all of your lines done within the span of 3 months. Each character has 11 lines, which are anywhere from 0.5 to 5 seconds long each. I can go all the way up to December 21st, 2024 as a deadline, but no later than that unless the entire game gets pushed back.

(For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I will be masking the identity of both characters, who I will be referring to as Character A and Character B, to everyone except the people who get the roles.)

Character A:

A is a can-do, flamboyant person who plays the role of Y/N's wingman of sorts. They've been observing Y/N from afar for quite some time, and are ready to finally get Y/N to achieve their ultimate dream of... well, that's for the player to decide!

Sample lines for Character A:

[Peppy] “Heeeyyyy~!” [Annoyed] “Girl, bye.” [Inquisitive] “Tell me what you want.”

Character B:

B is just as serious as they are mysterious. They're a no-nonsense detective who's dedicated to their craft more than they are to any person in Enstarrie High. And what's more, Y/N can tell that deep down, they have a grudge they're holding...

Sample lines for Character B:

[Natural] “It’s a pleasure to see you.” [Insistent] “That is top-secret information.” [Revelation] “I’ve got it!”

If you're interested in either, or both, of these roles: great! All you need to do is either join the Discord server, or message me on Discord, @cl0ckworkpuppet!

You can DM me some recordings of the sample lines. You don't have to do all of them if you don't want, I just like giving options, but I selected lines that display the diverse range of each character, so it definitely helps to do all three. The recordings can be any filetype, as long as they are listenable. That's to say, it doesn't matter if it's .mp3, .wav, .m4a, etc. so long as I can open the file and listen to it.

If you have any further questions, feel free to DM me on Discord, or on here. I'll respond to any questions, so long as they aren't spoiler-related.

Thanks for reading, Enstarries, and I hope to hear from you! Aira~bu!

[theresattrpgforthat]

hello! i have been really enjoying your suggestions so far, and i have bookmarked a lot of them to try. thank you for putting them together! i do have a question/request that i didn't find an answer to after searching your blog.

i really like the strategy and worldbuilding aspects of ttrpgs, but to be honest, i think my very favorite parts are the social situations, character-building, and friendship-building. fleshing out characters by having conversations and making decisions as a team, creating vivid stories together, solving puzzles using character or team traits, that sort of thing. i don't know if that's too general of a concept for a ttrpg to focus on, since most games in general have a social aspect, but i figured i'd ask if there were any that do focus on that part, just in case.

anyways, thank you again for all the work you do! <3

THEME: Character Growth and Spotlight.

Hello, thank you so much! I am very excited to get down to this ask. I was thinking about what might scratch this itch here; I have a lot of similar goals when it comes to playing TTRPGs. Watching a character grow over the course of play and learning about who they are is so satisfying, and putting them in situations where they interact with other characters in a meaningful way has created some of the best moments in my games this year. Let’s pull from a couple of different places to see if we can get what we’re looking for.

Spectres of Brocken, by ehronlime.

Spectres of Brocken is a role-playing game about making friends and then years later going to war against them in giant mechs. Make up some young, naive, messy trainee mech pilots. Find out who you are. Find out who you are to each other. Find out what you want in the world. Years later, find each other on the field of battle, each in your own fearsome custom mechs. Find out who you've become. Find out what you've all done to get here. Find out what costs you would pay to get what you want in the world.

I was clued into this game by @monsterfactoryfanfic's video about the two phases of play replicate the transition from high school to real life, and the strain it can place on your relationships. In Spectres of Brocken, your characters are experiencing that in the context of a large war, with the possibility that they are fighting on opposing sides. This game gives you character advancement, but it’s not like the other games on this list: advancement is a phase of the game that brings you from one half to the next. The most powerful move gives your character the ability to heal from wounds from the past; it gives this game a sense of hope, and I think is perfectly reflective of the character growth that you’re looking for.

The Uncanny Adventures of Holmes and Watson, by Martian Machinery. (Requires Good Society to play)

The Uncanny Adventures of Holmes & Watson is a role-playing game about a crime-fighting, mystery-solving team. Players can roleplay their own take on the famous partnership, taking the roles of Holmes and Watson and putting their own spin on the story, or they can create original investigators and navigate either the Holmes casebook or cases of their own design.

Explore a Partnership. While the characters are tasked with solving mysteries, the partnership itself is the focus of Holmes & Watson. Is it a smoothly efficient operation, or does it buzz with chaotic energy? Are the partners the best of friends or do they just barely put up with one another? The cases they undertake together will test their relationship; it may draw them closer together or push them apart.

Good Society has a unique mechanic in its Reputation tracker that can wax or wane throughout play, and I think it might replicate the character growth that you’re looking for. What Holmes and Watson brings to this game is the intrigue and action of a murder mystery - and the teamwork built into running a detective agency. A Holmes and Watson campaign includes slowly uncovering your arch-enemy, a nemesis who is a true master of crime.

The Watch, by Ash Kreider.

…your people were semi-nomadic, living in clans with an ever-shifting network of alliances and enmities. Although one people, the clans were diverse in tradition, outlook, and custom. Those along the old border were traders, prosperous and widely traveled. Those living in the central plains were gatherers and trappers. And those living furthest from the outside world were mountain herders, solitary and secretive. And then the Shadow came.

Powered by the Apocalypse games are known for the complex relationships between characters and the moves that make your social connections a treasured resource. The Watch takes these relationships and strains them by placing the player characters into a world tainted by a chaotic, toxic force that has stoked rivalry and feud. The Shadow is a thinly veiled metaphor for patriarchy, so expect some heavy moments in this game. Your characters will be disappointed. That being said, this feels like a game where each character will have a moment to shine, using moves to evoke really powerful moments.

If you want to hear The Watch in action, you can check out the actual play podcast Trials of the Apocalypse, which has a short series of The Watch in their feed.

Alchemistresses, by Gal Pal Games.

Alchemistresses is a tabletop roleplaying game designed to let you play out a season of a magical girl anime. Players will take on the role of everyday teens going to high school and dealing with all of the shenanigans that ensue. But there is something very special about these particular teens. They are the reincarnations of very powerful magical beings from the ancient past. They are the Mistresses of the five elements - the Alchemistresses. 

The Alchemistresses have forgotten who they were and what they could do. But when the world needs them again, their magic starts to return, along with tantalizing glimpses of their past lives. 

Play Alchemistresses to find out: who were you then? Who are you now? What will you give to save the world? And by the way, who are you going to ask to prom?

Another game about self-actualization, Alchemistresses combines the cycle of high school with legendary adventures of mythical beings. You’ll have moments where you’re stressing over classes and crushing on a classmate, but you’ll also have moments when you’re fighting the forces of evil and wielding great magical powers.

Neon Black, by NotWriting.

Neon Black is a role-playing game about a community of poor people fighting back against tyrannical corporations and the indifference of the rich, as well as surviving in a dystopian city state. It’s like real life, but in this world you can kill the CEO’s, rob banks to pay rent, and help your friends do the same. You'll help your community, go on dangerous heists, explore artificial realities, and encounter friendly and nefarious machines. We play to find out if the community can survive amidst warring corporations, an unforgiving climate, and the negligence of the extravagantly wealthy.

Forged in the Dark games’ biggest strength is the ability to build something as you play. In Neon Black, the thing you build is a community. Your community is under threat, usually from a large corporate power, and you’ll be crafting missions to get your community necessary supplies, dealing devastating blows to corporate threats, looking for allies and in general trying to make life better for your neighbours. As a cyberpunk game, this goal is going to be a struggle, and death is looming in the background. I think that this game has a lot of potential to watch something that is bigger than your characters grow, and your characters will undeniably be changed in the process.

Additionally, there are a number of other Forged in the Dark games that will give you a chance to really revel in your character's cool abilities and the building of something great. I'm going to list a number of other games I've recommended in the past below.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Moth-Light, by Justin Ford.

Bump in the Dark, by JexJThomas.

Brinkwood: Blood of Tyrants, by Far Horizons Co-Op.

Slugblaster, by Mikey Hamm.

Songs For the Dusk, by Kavita Poduri.

[kermwrites]

Video Games that I would show each of the demon brothers:

Lucifer: I don’t know if I would give him any games for him to play himself, but I think he would enjoy watching you play something with an interesting story. He enjoys theatre a lot, so a game where the focus is more on the story would be more his thing. Games where choices matter, or maybe even visual novels (not dating simulators or anything like that). If we were to get more specific, my favourite story in any video game is Yakuza 0, though I would probably have him sit and watch you play it instead. Other games could be the Dark Pictures Anthology games (or any games by the same devs), or the Telltale games.

Mammon: Hear me out… The Sims. Why? Well, if you show him the Sims on PC, he can mod the game and get a bunch of cool clothes or hairstyles. I also think it would be good for him to scratch that itch of wanting money or expensive things. Show him the motherlode cheat. He’d probably have a lot of fun with it. (He’d totally have a secret save file where he and MC fall in love and get married). Also, make him watch you play a horror game.

Levi: Levi would like just about anything. I have been playing a lot of Taiko no Tatsujin lately, and I would love to see him get into those games. It’s hard to get specific with him when he’s already a gamer. Maybe show him some really cool indie games that he might not be able to get in the Devildom. Also, Dead by Daylight. (I know for a fact they made a reference to Dead by Daylight in an event at one point, I cannot remember which one it was. It might not have even been an event, actually. Regardless, he was the one who brought it up.)

Satan: I can think of so many games that Satan would love. Firstly, Professor Layton. It’s a mystery game full of puzzles. It’s his dream game. Plus, a DS is smaller than a book, and it would be something nice to do besides reading. There are a ton of other mystery games out there for him to play and take on the role of detective. I have not finished this game myself yet, but Judgement (from the Yakuza devs) is another detective game that I think he would really enjoy. Plus, there’s a mechanic in the game where you look around and search for stuff, and you get a little bonus if you find any nearby cats! Also, just like Lucifer, show him games with a really good, dramatic story.

Asmo: Style Savvy. It’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s perfect for him. You get to dress up your own character, run a boutique and give your customers a make over and give them clothes based on their style and what they ask for. He would play for hours. I would also give him the Sims as well. Mostly for the dress up aspect of it. I also think he’d be really into Just Dance.

Beel: DO NOT GIVE HIM COOKING GAMES. You may think that you’d give him something like Cooking Mama. DO NOT. HE WILL EAT THE CONTROLLER OR THE TV. I do have a hard time thinking of what Beel would like in a video game. Maybe he would just like something like Pokemon? I’m not sure why. I don’t play sports games, but I know he likes sports. Maybe one of those? Beel just isn’t a gamer to me, like Lucifer. He could always just be your player two. Wii Sports.

Belphie: Horror games. This boy will fall asleep if it’s anything else. Horror games might be good enough to keep him awake. Loud noises, unsettling atmospheres and sound design. If you give him a cozy game, he’s not staying awake. Give him Outlast, Resident Evil, Amnesia. Anything that could scare him. If not a horror game, something fast where his hands will always be busy, like a rhythm game. Not to bring up Taiko again, but Taiko no Tatsujin. 

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 9

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “How do you think this all works? By being big and being bad.”

Number 9 is…Bigby Wolf, from The Wolf Among Us.

“The Wolf Among Us” is a video game made by the now-defunct developers Telltale Games. The game was based on the comic series “Fables.” I’m going to come right out and say it: I have never read the comics, and I have basically no real knowledge of them or how the characters and lore in them may differ from the established points in “The Wolf Among Us.” HOWEVER, very thankfully, the game is able to stand up on its own two feet regardless, and so are its characters, so even someone who has basically no knowledge of the source material can still enjoy it.

The game is a sort of choose-your-own-adventure sort of deal; a point-and-click adventure where the player’s choices every step of the way affect how the story plays out, the kinds of relationships you form with other characters, and so on. Some choices are more important than others, but virtually every choice of note is worth pondering. The plot is a combo of film noir crime story and dark fantasy: it takes place in a world where various characters from the world of fiction, after their universe was mysteriously destroyed, have fled to the “real” world in order to seek refuge. They’ve established their own city, called “Fabletown,” where real world problems combine with fantastical adventures, as they struggle to build new lives and survive in this different universe, and hide their identities from the “normies” who exist beyond the borders of the city.

The main character is Sheriff Bigby Wolf. Bigby, as you may have guessed from his name and the title, is the Big Bad Wolf of fairy-tale infamy himself. In the world of the game, Bigby is a werewolf, who can transform from a human to increasingly more wolf-like forms, his true and ultimate form being a GIGANTIC feral beast bigger than elephant, able to create hurricane-force winds with his breath alone, and more than capable of swallowing a person whole. Needless to say, with this kind of setup, and his reputation as one of the greatest, most archetypal villains in history, Bigby isn’t exactly a popular Sheriff. Many fear or distrust him, and those that don’t typically still keep their distance for one reason or another.

Because of the playstyle of Telltale games, Bigby’s exact personality can shift depending on the choices the player makes: he can be sort of a gentle giant, who looks rugged and tough but really isn’t that bad. In contrast, he can be much more morally and ethically dubious, an anti-hero closer to Dirty Harry, who walks a very fine line between a man and a monster. However, regardless of the choices you make, a few things remain constant: Bigby’s general demeanor is that of an almost stereotypical noir-style detective. He’s gruff, grumpy, coarse, and can’t seem to go five seconds without having a cigarette. He’s often cynical and sarcastic, very much the sardonic hard-boiled sleuth. The character is voiced by Adam Harrington, and he does a phenomenal job giving Bigby the airs of such a great archetype, while also injecting vulnerability and sympathy into his portrayal.

The most notable constant of all, however, is Bigby’s motivations: even if you make him especially nasty, it’s usually pretty clear that this Big Bad Wolf is racked with guilt over his past. He knows the stigma that hangs over him is VERY well-deserved, and he legitimately wants to try and help people and make things better. Even when he makes questionable decisions, the majority of them are still justifiable in some fashion or another. He doesn’t want to be seen as the bad guy anymore, he wants to try and start a new life. It’s up to the player to determine if Bigby is truly able to put away the vicious, cruel, beastly sides of his personality and turn over a new leaf, or if his efforts and desires are all in vain.

Even though Telltale officially closed down in 2018, the first game was so popular that it was eventually revived for an upcoming sequel, made by the remnants of the Telltale staff with help from AdHoc Studios. The new game is set to release sometime this year, though no official release date has been given. Whenever it arrives, I look forward to seeing how Bigby’s story continues, and what new paths and new cases will await him in the future.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 8!

CLUE: “Just one more thing…”

[violivs]

NMTDaily: We Are The Watch and The Game is Afoot(ball)

- Doing the first two Dogberry & Verges episodes in one post. They’re always the characters I care about the least in any version of Much Ado, but these two are so cute I can’t help but love them.

- I totally forgot their videos are all posted on Ursula’s Watch Projects channel! I definitely somehow developed the incorrect memory of them having their own channel because they have orange borders on their thumbnails and every other new thumbnail color so far has heralded a new channel.

- Someone in the comments called Dogberry & Verges “Sherlock and Brittany S. Pierce,” and I will never recover from the sheer brilliance of that call. Verges definitely has Brittany energy.

- They’re very cute, arguing about what kinds of cases they’ll take. Do we ever find out whose cat Tibbles is? I bet she’s Dogberry’s cat and she got out when he left the door open too long.

- The malapropisms and exaggerated speech are so perfect though. It takes skill to write (and act!) two characters who are so wrong in every big fancy word choice and yet so convinced they’re right, who take their detective work SO seriously even though no one else does. And making them two kids playing at a detective agency. What great adaptations of these characters from the play.

- I think we already got the famous line “my mom says I have to wear the suspenders to keep the Devil from infiltrating me” in Vox Pops if I’m not mistaken, but I forgot to talk about it. Do we think Verges’ mom is crazy religious so Verges hides out at Dogberry’s house to get away from her? I love their friendship but the idea of Verges feeling unsafe at home makes me sad.

- “We are The Watch. And we are Watching!” *staring awkwardly*

- The kazoo Sherlock theme!!!! I genuinely almost forgot about that. Comedy gold. I love it. And I love that D&v definitely recorded that together (with Ursula’s help). I was wondering whether the Kazoo player was Dogberry and then the accompaniment of the second kazoo started and I cracked up imagining Verges very seriously chiming in to play her part. On kazoo. Amazing.

- “The ginger nuts you will find in your bag are from us” Perfect unhinged yet thoughtful energy. I know this video description is addressed to Ursula, but I have a strange urge to check my own bag, as though D&v have reached across ten years and thousands of miles to somehow leave ME ginger nuts. Mysterious.

- Starting “The Game is Afoot(ball)” now. I love how many angles we get on this same scene at the game. Reminds me of a future scene we get multiple angles on, except that scene we get D&v scrambled footage first and are left to frantically piece together what’s happening…

- Okay, I had to pause the video to die a little at Verges saying “masturbation” instead of “mastication” when talking about the muffins. I cannot believe they snuck that in lol. I want to cover Verges’ ears even though she doesn’t know what she’s saying! Cringing so hard for her right now.

- “We are going to interview civilizations!” Love that line lol

- So the first game of the season is a rematch with the team Messina was forced to forfeit last year’s championship or whatever to because the fire alarm was mysteriously pulled. Wild how Dogberry & Verges are actually giving us Important Backstory here.

- “what does that have to do with soccer” GASP! Why did that girl say “soccer”? She’s not American! Huh??? (This may be copy editor brain wondering whether I try really hard to get terminology right in my fanfics for nothing…)

- Does Pedro/Peter know that John pulled the fire alarm? It seems like everyone else does. It makes you wonder why he’s so surprised that John hates him enough to do what he does later on. I guess he’s just in denial of how bad things really are between them.

- We get shown exactly how bad things are between the Donaldsons with Pedro’s snippy “HALF-brother” comment and the way he slaps the car keys into John’s hand in that little moment we see between them. All is not well in the house of Donaldson. And at this point, we only know that because of Dogberry and Verges’ videos. It’s amazing how everything is important in its own way in this show.

- Pedro must be so eager to publicly distance himself from John with the half-brother comment both because he begrudged John’s arrival making his family life tough for a while, but also because other kids at school think John’s weird and Pedro, however unconsciously, doesn’t want him to tarnish his image. At least he does seem to feel bad about the little tiff over the keys.

- You also have to feel for John, because Pedro making comments like that publicly means that the whole community knows all of John’s personal business and probably whispers about his parentage, and he knows that they all know. It has to be very lonely to be John. And Pedro is doing the opposite of making things easier for him. It all must have been hard on Pedro too, their family being so talked about, and he’s also just a kid, but it’s still a huge dick move on his part to treat John that way.

- “John owned up to it” says Claudio, so everyone does know, so Pedro must know that John sabotaged the game. He just doesn’t understand it as an act of sabotage against him specifically, which is clearly what it was. He picked the most important game of the season because it would hurt Pedro most to have ruined, more than any other game. (And Robbie helps John pull the fire alarm because *he*, Robbie, wants revenge against Claudio for ‘stealing’ his spot as goalie, so he ruins Claudio’s first ever game).

- Ooh Ben is walking away with the group and does not have his green uniform shirt with him, so he did leave it on the ground in front of Beatrice! Do we think she really took it home to give back to him at school? Or did it end up in the lost and found? Not that we ever see another game, but he would need it back. Oh, maybe Bea gave it to Leo to give back to Ben, without telling him who left it there so he and Hero wouldn’t have more ammo to tease her about Ben. Analyzing incredibly minor details is fun!

- I also adore that Benedick apparently named this video by making a “the game is afoot-ball” pun when talking to Dogberry and Verges. Interesting that there’s so little footage of Ben in this video- did they interview him in this scene at all? Or did he name the video when he and D&V were all over at Ursula’s house getting editing help with their new vlogs? Either way, love this random little Ben-related detail.

- Also, you hear a lot of Ben being described as all limbs, but watching him walk away in the background here? Jesus, the boy is TRULY all limbs. Look at him! Flailing around. Playing catch with Balth, establishing them as friends. I am… like, still ALARMINGLY obsessed with this character, my god. I was just trying to see if we could hear what the group walking away were saying, I swear, lol.

- The blond guy who was standing with Balthazar in Balth’s clip in this video: Surf-Lifesaving Tony? Other Tony? Damien???

- “Exit stage right!” “It’s left, you moron!” Adieu for now, readers!

💖🦩🥭

[plopspoodle]

10 Game Recommendations

Bonjour~ As someone who has a lot of free time, I like to populate that time with various activities: reading, crafts, watching TV, language learning (mainly Duolingo) and playing games. Whilst I mainly like mystery/puzzle games, there are other genres I get involved in so hopefully this list will be varied enough!

Nancy Drew Her Interactive

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Point and Click Mystery 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: Join teenage sleuth Nancy Drew in various mysteries by exploring various environments, finding clues and interviewing suspects. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series - my favourites are Ghost of Thornton Hall, Blackmoor Manor and Sea of Darkness 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Offline 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Varies on each game, most games you can choose "Junior" (easy) or "Senior" (hard) Detective, but it's common and acceptable to use online walkthroughs if you get stuck. There are also hint systems within the games. 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): PC, a couple are on the Wii, Mobile and DS but PC is a vastly superior experience. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 10/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: This is my favourite game series and a special interest of mine since I was 8. It has wonderful music, well thought out environments and an atmosphere that always gives me happiness. I own every game available on Steam and usually replay all of them every year!

League of Legends Riot Games

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: MOBA 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: It features a team-based competitive game mode based on strategy and outplaying opponents. Players work with their team to break the enemy Nexus before the enemy team breaks theirs. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series - League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra (Card game) Wild Rift. 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Both (predominantly online but there are AI modes, LOR has offline modes) 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Pretty hard, it takes people a while to get it properly and to be honest is quite hard to get into if you don't have anyone to learn with/help you learn. 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): PC, Mobile 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 7/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: I, like most people, have a difficult relationship with LOL. Whilst I generally enjoy the game, I like a lot of the skins and the music + Arcane are amazing, the game itself is quite hard (the only MOBA I have ever played) and the community is kinda awful. You are almost guaranteed to experience toxicity every single game, regardless of the mode, and even if you are in Blind mode (you must reach Level 10 for Draft where you choose your role and Level 30 for Ranked), and are clearly new, you will likely be with people who already play the game but are on new accounts (called Smurfs). You can mute people (best method is typing /mute all in the chat) but it's annoying when you have to deal with it rather than people just be civil. If you do get a team that are nice, then great! The game is fun! Unfortunately, I really do exercise caution with this game, as I have known absolutely no one who has played without quitting or taking breaks (including myself).

What Remains of Edith Finch Giant Sparrow

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Exploration Narrative (some describe it as a horror game with no jumpscares (bar 2)) 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: You play as Edith Finch revisiting her old family home - you explore the house and the surrounding area and read the old stories written by the elder of the family. You try to uncover the "family curse" before time runs out (figuratively, you can spend as long as you'd like on the game, there is no actual time limit). 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Single game (there is a parallel game if you want to continue the vibe) 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Offline 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Easy, no prior experience required 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): PS4, PS5, Switch, XBOX One, XBOX Series X + S, iOs, PC (what I played it on) 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 10/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: Whilst Nancy Drew is my favourite series, What Remains of Edith Finch (WREF) is hands down my favourite game of all time. It is, admittedly, very very depressing, and I think if you're not feeling too great mentally it isn't a good idea to play. I first played it at a time where I was doing okay, so now when I revisit it (regardless of mood) it brings comfort. Because of the previously reinforced comfort, if I'm not in a good mood and I play it, it makes me feel very creative. The way the game works honestly feels like therapy, how every story is different. I don't think I'll ever find another game like it, and that is why it is so precious to me.

Animal Crossing Nintendo

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Life/Social/Farming Sim 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: You play as a human visiting a land of talking animals! Help rejuvenate the community, make friends and have your dream house. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series, most recent is Animal Crossing: New Horizons (NH) 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Both, you primarily play offline but it has online features and you can play with up to 8 others in NH 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Easy, very chill 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): depends on the game but includes Gamecube, DS, 3DS, Wii, Nintendo Switch 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 9/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: Animal Crossing has been a consistent series throughout my life and is a very good comfort game. I've never tried Stardew Valley as I don't particularly like the farming elements of the game, so AC is better for my tastes. Whilst I do love the series, it isn't a 10 because I, and many people, find you can only play in motivation spikes. It generally means means you'll play for a month straight then take 6 months off. It's not exactly a problem, just means if you're looking for a consistent gaming experience, you may experience AC burnout!

The Room Fireproof Studios

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Mystery/Puzzle Solving 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: You find yourself in front of a box on a table. You must open it and discover the history of secrets inside. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series, most recent game is The Room VR: Dark Matter 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Offline 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Medium-Hard, has hint systems but can sometimes be very difficult and require looking at a walkthrough 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): iOS, Android, PC, Nintendo Switch 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 9/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: The Room, of which I first played the mobile versions, is one of the most beautiful mobile games I have ever seen. I don't know how Fireproof managed to make the graphics so amazing, but they did! I love puzzle games, and I wish I could actually have a box to solve puzzles from. That being said, the paranormal elements aren't something I'd like to have to experience in real life! Only isn't a 10 because I don't have VR headset so I can't play the latest game and that makes me sad.

Assassin's Creed Ubisoft

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Stealth Action Historical / Open World RPG 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: The fight between the Assassins and the Templars has spanned across history, and each game allows you to play as someone on either side in a period of historical significance. There is combat, stealth, economy and a whole lot more. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series, my favourites are AC2, AC4 and AC Syndicate (as I am from the UK) 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Both, primarily offline but online multiplayer is available in most games (if Ubisoft hasn't shut down the servers) 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Varied, they usually begin pretty easy but get harder as you go along, AC2 I found I could mash buttons and beat anyone :) 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): Pretty much every platform, I have played on XBOX 360, PC and Nintendo Switch 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 10/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: I love this series. I love history, first of all, so the prospect of getting to play in various time periods is incredibly appealing! I've given a 10/10 because, even though I don't think every game is a 10/10, the amount of fun I had in the 5 games I've completed is enough to pull up the ones I don't like. Because of the (expected) quality of each game, some aren't as great (e.g. Unity had one of the most infamous bad launches in gaming history and I still can't play it properly due to bugs and poor user interface) but some are amazing. I personally think AC2 is the best one to start with, but fair warning: you will fall in love with Ezio.

The Forest Endnight Games

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Survival Horror 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: In this first person game you, Eric Leblanc, must survive The Forest after having already survived a plane crash. Either plan an escape or go deeper into The Forest to find your son Timmy. The question is: how deep can you go? 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series (The Forest / Sons of The Forest) 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Both 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Medium-Hard 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): PS4, PC 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 9/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: If you play it right, The Forest is essentially horror, adult Minecraft. You can choose the difficulty but I still find it hard even on easy (I am not very good at games). Whilst I cannot give story spoilers, I was truly enamoured in the lore of the game (and now series) when I first found out about The Forest. But, importantly, it is scary. No matter how many people you play it with, it's still scary. I've only been able to play it with male friends, but they have never sounded less manly than when they've played this game. There is a sequel called Sons of The Forest (as seen in the gif below), but it is currently in testing so whilst I have access to it, I wouldn't consider it a full game yet and therefore I don't want to make any ill-made judgements. The Forest is honestly very beautiful and, if you're like me, you can always make it less scary by using console commands and making yourself invincible.

Do Not Feed the Monkeys Fictiorama Studios and Others

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Digital Voyeur Simulator (not in a NSFW way) 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: You essentially work as a spy with access to security cameras in various places, usually places of residence. You can report to your bosses through emails, you can simply watch, you can even interact with the people you see. But you probably shouldn't do that last part. Unless you want to. Or not. All you truly know is that repeated phrase: Do Not Feed The Monkeys. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Offline 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Easy-Medium 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, Android, PS4, XBOX One, XBOX Series X & S, PC 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 8/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: I bought this game after having previously enjoyed Papers, Please (I may feature this game if I do a second part), and it is very fun if you like time management. Every single camera (or room) has a schedule, and in these schedules they will talk and give important information highlighted in yellow. It's a very fun game because you don't necessarily have to follow the rules you're given. Even though it's a management simulator, it also tests your morals (and you can see how good your morals are through a plant you get gifted). If you struggle with the main mode, Peeper Mode makes it significantly easier and the only drawback is you can't unlock achievements.

Journey Thatgamecompany

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Indie Adventure Game 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: The player plays as a robed person journeying towards a distant mountain through a sandy desert. The game has a multiplayer component, in which players can interact on their journey and assist each other. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Single Game 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Both 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Easy 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): PS3, PS4, iOS, PC 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 7/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: Journey is one of the most beautiful games I've ever played. Even if you have just a laptop, like me (at this moment in time), it still looks stunning. The multiplayer element is fascinating, as it's not entirely clear that you're playing with people. A lot of people aren't even sure if you always play with other people or if they are bots, but it doesn't really matter. You go on this Journey, and you're not alone. Now, you may be wondering, if it's so lovely, why is it only a 7/10? This is because, as much as I'd like to be one, I am not a cosy gamer. I like very stimulating games and Journey is lovely for if I want a calm gaming experience, but I rarely feel like that, so it just sits in my Steam library for months before I get the motivation again. It's by no means the fault of the game, just my own personal preference.

The Sims EA & Maxis

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Life Simulator 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: The player creates virtual people called "Sims", places them in houses, and helps direct their moods and satisfy their desires. Players can either place their Sims in pre-constructed homes or build them themselves. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series (most recent is The Sims 4) 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Technically both (usually offline but you can install mods to make it online) 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Easy 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): Basically everything 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 8/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: The Sims was probably one of the first games I ever played (bar a Garfield game I had on my DS). My cousin had the Sims 2 on DS, and I actually bought it recently to relive that time. I, unfortunately, did not realise how much she had already completed, so I lost the motivation for that one. However, I currently regularly play the Sims 4 on my laptop, and have quite a lot of mods and have all the packs (Anadius, IYKYK). I've remodelled my room recently, and the Sims meant I could plan it all out and I am very thankful for that. There are also so many options for building, customisation and traits. It is, however, not a 10, as the packs are way too expensive and morally I think it's kind of extortionate to make players pay hundreds of £/$ just to get a proper gaming experience. I have lots of mods to make it more fun and more full, but I don't feel I should have to do that. The only other game I've ever modded is Minecraft, and that's because I've been playing that since I was a child. The Sims is great, but it does get kinda boring at times.

And those are all the games I'm covering today! I may make another part in the future since there are obviously many many games in existence, so if there are any genres you would like covered, leave a comment~ <3

[goron-king-darunia]

Annon-Guy: What do you think of the four Team Theme songs from Sonic Heroes?

They're all really stellar for their teams! "We Can" focuses in on a lot of the stylings of Sonic's usual themes, especially with the guitar riffs, and the lyrics focus on teamwork sells the major gimmick of the Sonic Heroes game while emphasizing the synergy that Team Heroes can manage when they all have the same goals in mind. "This Machine" has the most interesting vocal arrangement, in my opinion, but coming off the tail of Sonic Adventure 2 and being the bridge between SA 2 and Battle, right before Shadow the Hedgehog, it falls just a little short of really driving home the core of what Team Dark is up to. Considering the absolute bop that Waking Up from Shadow the Hedgehog is, it's a shame. But the vagueness of the lyrics seems intentional since Waking Up also isn't necessarily about diegetic or literal lyrics. It does get pretty stuck in with the individual team members motivations, though, and in a way, I do think that's pretty directly what Team Dark is about. They all have different goals and are working together for convenience and because they've all worked with each other in a way. I will say that the chorus goes so extra hard with "we all danced in fire/ trapped in this machine" Makes the little emo/scene kid in me so fucking happy. Metal as fuck.

My personal pick was the Team Rose theme. While Amy's previous theme slapped and Big's original theme was a guilty pleasure of mine growing up, I think leaning big on Amy here serves the whole team. The lyrics are most heavily from her perspective, but Team Rose at its heart is a bunch of characters working together because they care about each other and, more importantly, they all have others that they want to protect. They have a vested interest in keeping each other safe because they're friends, yes, but they also have a shared belief that their care toward others is what makes them strong. And they're absolutely correct. Like, for the context of gameplay, they are very much the cute soft team directed toward the little sisters of the main audience. They are the team "for girls." But in spite of being a pretty open stereotype of "this is the cute and girly stuff team for when your baby sister wants to play" the same way Tails in orignal appearances was very much a "hand your baby brother the player 2 controller and he'll stop pestering you to play" deal, I am still very much that bitch that thinks love as a driving force and love as strength is super underrated, even with how very many games and movies and books, especially for kids, are very patently about it. "Follow Me" Expertly serves as a natural improvement on Amy's theme, but also includes Cream, Cheese, and Big as well, as they're all characters whose main arcs center around how their devotion to their friends gives them the strength and courage to keep moving forward. I'm never not going to be soft for that sort of thing.

Team Chaotics has technically been around since the Knuckes Spinoffs, but Heroes has been their big debut as far as I'm concerned. They really started being fully incoorporated into games starting with their spotlight here. Their eponymous themesong does very literally tell you it's their theme song, which is an interesting choice, if a little goofy. But the Synth and the chorus of cheers does definitely set them up with the very literal lyrics. They're detectives. They're here to find out what the hell is going on in this massively mysterious and disjointed series of events in this wacky game. It's a far cry from the more lore-heavy entry of SA2, but there's still stuff to piece together to at least give you a reason the characters are back at it again on top of just the vague paint by numbers standard of "Eggman is up to stuff again." Because, like, yes he is. But the Chaotix being involved at all already sets this up as something that, like, characters outside Sonic and Friends care about. There are other Freedom Fighters besides Sonic and friends that care that Eggman is running amok. Sonic Heroes is very much a gameplay-forward game, but the fact that there's any lore in it at all is mostly due to Team Dark and Team Chaotix. A very efficient themesong. While it does lack the core synergy of "We Can" or "Follow Me" it balances out because it follows the same pattern of telling you what the individual team members are about as the theme of Team Dark did. Which I think works well since it's been a while since the Chaotix have been involved, so it introduces them to a bunch of players that might just now be meeting them for the first time. And I just think they're neat.

[whyitfucks]

Why it Fucks: City of Mist's Themebooks

lateral character progression rules!

For those who don't know:

City of Mist is a 2017 Powered by the Apocalypse game from Son of Oak Games. Described as "set in a modern city where legends are real people. Heroes, tricksters, and monsters are reborn inside ordinary people, regular Joes and Janes, who gain supernatural powers connected to their legendary alter-egos."

The game focuses on telling stories that merge the fantastical with the grounded. Okay, if not grounded "lower altitude". It's the structure that you'd find any on detective/police/superhero procedural on TV. A detective game, even if those detectives are also embodiments of legends like Red Riding Hood or the Goddess Artemis.

One of the delightful things about it, and the reason behind this post. Is its use of what it calls themebooks. Every character at any given time is host to 4 themebooks. These can be powers tied to the myth you represent (Mythos) or some part of your mundane life (Logos). A Thor based character could have a "Relic" mythos for his hammer, and a "Defining Relationship" Logos with his old dad he cares for. They provide benefits to rolls when needed, have unique weaknesses and so on. Most importantly they have a mystery (for the mythos) and identity (for the logos) that tell us why we care or give little hooks. These themes get discarded and picked up throughout the game as you use them. Letting characters change without worrying about balancing difficulty.

As an example, let's look at one of the characters from the quick start, Salamander, tied to the myth of, well, the Salamander

One of his 4 playbooks is based on his job as a city water worker. We can see it has the identity "I need my job to survive" this tells us why it's important to him. I won't go in to much of the rest about power tags and such, instead looking back up to Attention and Crack.

Attention is like an XP track for that aspect of your character. There are a couple ways of gaining it like invoking your weakness tag for a penalty for example. You evolve it, expanding out the power/importance of the theme.

Whenever you take an action that goes against or would cause conflict with one of your themes it takes on a crack. Maybe Salamander has to leave his shift to go fight some bad guys, angering his boss. When the crack track is full, Salamander will lose that theme and trade it for another. Broadly, the themebook creation rules are written very generously. You can come in with a loose concept and they'll help you solidify it into something usable

Why It Fucks:

SO. What we have here are characters with 4 individual aspects that serve as side plots, mysteries or recurring beats that each have two directions they can go to (focus or conflict) that are, for the most part, entirely player directed as to which way they're going. Some MCs might twist arms for hard choices but at the right table that's just good drama baby.

This is a game that frequently references television procedurals or detective stories as big touch stones. What they've done here is empower not only the MC but the players to thread together their episodic adventures in a way that can also reflect consequence without making that player less "powerful" in game terms. Facilitating really dramatic change.

City of Mist is a game I'm quite fond of, it has it's issues but design like this is why I want to start writing these posts. Whatever I think about the game, this single little bit is SO! juicy to me.

[anim-ttrpgs]

A new video about Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy!

Curtesy of @talenlee!

This video isn’t so much a review of Eureka’s mechanics as it is an overview and analysis of some of Eureka’s goals, such as how Eureka differs from many other RPGs in that it isn’t just a story about detectives solving a mystery, it’s a story about detectives confronting the unique challenge of solving a mystery which has a set solution. The culprit doesn’t change in reaction to who the players thing it is, which goes against a lot of conventional GMing advice.

Which brings us to a related point he made, which is that the default state of a Eureka mystery is “failed,” and that is very much true. If the PCs simply do nothing and wait for the solution to fall into their lap, they will fail, every time. The party must take initiative and work to overcome this puzzle, and how the characters and players react to the challenge of overcoming this puzzle is something Eureka is there to study.

Also, he likes the Wealth mechanic.

To turn this post into something additive that creates an actual discussion, however, we’d like to address one of @talenlee's criticisms of Eureka. Namely, that character creation is the second chapter, while most of the core rules are the first chapter.

@talenlee argues that character creation rules should come as early as possible in a rulebook, which helps a reader get hooked in, because it puts all the rules that come after in the context of “this is what your character can do.” You can watch the video above, and some of his other videos, for a better and deeper explanation.

That may be true for some people, but we argue that putting the character creation rules after the core rules leads to a smoother gameplay and character creation experience, which is why we structured the book the way we did.

Even though character creation in Eureka has been praised quite a lot for being very easy, there are quite a lot of choices to be made, all of which are very impactful. There is almost zero randomization as well, meaning every choice in character creation is one that you must manually make yourself.

But an uninformed decision is not a decision at all. Anyone who has played an old CRPG from the 90s will know what I’m talking about. Those are famous for giving you detailed character creation right there in the first 2 minutes after you launch the game, before you know how to play or really what any of the numbers mean. It will say things like “Strength dictates how much damage you do with melee weapons, how much inventory you can carry, and how much heavy armor you can wear.” Okay, well, how much damage do I need to do with melee weapons to be able to kill the rats in the first area of the game? How thick does my armor need to be for me to survive in mandatory battles, and how much Strength do I need to wear that armor?

“Accuracy determines how likely you are to hit an enemy?” Okay, how much Accuracy do I need to hit my enemies? I can select Accuracy 1-10, but without knowing how much Dodge an average enemy has, or how a Hit is calculated, this knowledge is useless. You have to play the game first to learn any of that, and then start over to make a new character. That’s no fun.

While it is very difficult to accidentally make a totally unviable PC in Eureka, it is very possible to end up making a character whose stats and traits do not represent exactly who you want them to be if you don’t know what the numbers mean, and who your character is is very important in Eureka.

And that’s why we tell you all the core rules before we tell you to start making a character. That isn’t to say that the other way around is wrong, just that that’s how we prefer it.

Comment below if you have any more insight on this! Discussion is great!

And don't forget, we are in the last week of the kickstarter! The Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy kickstarter ends at 2:00PM CST on Friday May 10th! Get in and support it before it's too late to get custom artwork in the rulebook and the option to write your own entry in one of the tables that determines who playable monsters will have the opportunity to eat!

If you want to try before you buy, you can download a free demo of the prerelease version from our website or our itch.io page!

If you’re interested in a more updated and improved version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy than the free demo you got from our website, subscribe to our Patreon where we frequently roll our new updates for the prerelease version!

You can also support us on Ko-fi, or by checking out our merchandise!

Join our TTRPG Book Club At the time of writng this, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is the current game being played in the book club, and anyone who wants to participate in discussion, but can’t afford to make a contribution, will be given the most updated prerelease version for free! Plus it’s just a great place to discuss and play new TTRPGs you might not be able to otherwise!

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[cathalbravecog]

since you have a lot of thoughts of whats out there in the toontown universe i wanna throw my 2 sents: so "toons" is short for carTOONS, the much is obvious. but as you & i both know cartoons can be so much more than your typical loonytunes slapstick humor. so i like to think there are other islands out there which represents a different genre, such as: a fantasy adventure land, a sci-fi land, a western land, a horror thriller land, a rom-com land, a detective mystery land, a preschool land. so on so forth. with all their own unique animation styles. with the only consistent thing is that all the land's inhabitants are anthropomorphic animals (GOLLY sorry if this is long)

OHOHOO. you caught me in a rambly day, so prepare for a long one, lol!! (i JUST talked about some world building for my deltarune AU in private) (and i just spent my whole day listening to video essays)

this MAY be ttcc specific but aside from some ttcc details, this could apply to just... toontown in general. but i am a ttcc blog and that's my hyperfixation so that's what i'll talk about.

-----

i love that idea! honestly, something like that is what i've had in mind, too! maybe not everything being placed on island - but a majority of them being. (perhaps similar themes being on bigger islands or just masses of land with some wilderness and such between?)

i already have my idea for a prehistoric toon land, but it's also still based on your looney tunes type cartoon - just populated completely by dinosaurs! it's where my OC, archie archaeopteryx comes from.

an idea like this in general would allow for a lot of interesting places to be made, stories to be told, characters to be made... all that could eventually get into toontown and interact with our typical toons and interact together in interesting ways and have jokes and themes based around their different animation styles and genres.

it would also let the toons to be expanded upon even more, since, in my opinion at least, ttcc can lack that a little bit in some ways. (but going out of my way to look at toons a bit more rather than just the cogs does bring some small interesting things into the light, even if just singular pieces of dialogue, lol. sadly, i don't have examples on my mind right now.) i'm a big cog fan and all, but i wanna see more from the toons! but then again, we play in the role of the toons - so i suppose that's our stories to tell! :]

I also like the idea of everything being anthro animals (ignore the fact i'm a furry for a second) it just allows for more fun, diversity, and just consistency. human-ness being reserved for cogs is what makes this work more in my opinion, but even with that not even all cogs are humanoid. (i am so glad ttcc brought us more robotic cog designs!!)

but the sheer contrast of a human-like robot interacting with ANY cartoon animal is what works in it's favor, y'know? makes the division more clear - even if there's a lot of stories and themes of these lines being blurried more. (like cog and toon friendship -> william and rain, misty in general, whatever dave has for the player toon, thomas warming up to the toons...) which i really like! gives more ideas for stories to be told and explored, and question the laws and logic of the world.

i guess this could also explain art style changes and design choices - like, for example, i don't exactly like the way flesh colored snouts look, it just doesn't fit my art style and so i leave them out. obviously, that's for all toons i draw - and honestly all art styles for just our regular toons are to be loved and celebrated. but y'know, this doesn't have to be! just a little idea i wanted to throw on the table as well.

one thing that could be interesting would just be different medias - i know toontown is a 3d game based on traditionally animated cartoons - but imagine the mixing you could do in art and in story telling! a classic cartoon coming across a pixar-esque cgi animated cartoon and them interacting, both baffled by one another - but still connected by their tooniness deep down!

it's a really interesting idea i like, thank you for sharing this with me and letting me ramble a bit! now, i'm going to list some genres or artstyles that i would like to see! based VERY OBVIOUSLY on my personal interests.

old kids edutainment game, i'm talking 90s - early 2000s. the jankier animation, bit-crushed voice acting, pretty off-model art... but all just very jolly and meaning to educate a young audience! could mix in cgi elements as well, since old games like this would have this. and y'know, some of these would be based on pre-existing thing.

honestly, just old games like that in general... the type of ones you don't see a lot, especially when spoken about online between more mainstream gaming places... but games you probably owned! games of mysterious origins, with very good charm tied to them despite their obvious lower production value... but maybe also something like pf magic petz! oh i'd die i'd love to see petz toons running around - except perhaps more anthro, but still four-legged since there are cartoons of non bipedal animals living more human-like lives.

just... digital in general? perhaps low poly cgi... listen i just like old games and their vibe. but we could do modern animated cartoon toons! both things from studios - but also indie things!

FLASH ANIMATED

eastern european slav cartoon toons - hey, that's where i am from! i grew up with a lot of cartoons from here (czechia), russia and poland! (these being the most notable obviously) and... the themes, animation styles and vibes are very different to anything anywhere else in the world! i would love to see that! obviously, this is hinted at older cartoons - but newer modern ones could apply, too! i'm just unfamiliar with those.

a bit more on the previous topic, since my country has a big history of this type of animation... stopmotion and/or claymation!!

i'm NOT a comic book person, but oh my god would comic book toons be interesting to see! i don't even mean super hero - just comic book style in general! comes from someone who's only comics they read and own were like... my little pony, astérix and obélix, tom and jerry, smurfs and some ducktales. very toony things!

now, most of these relate to art mediums and art styles... i think those are a bit more interesting than genres, since after all art is an art medium, and genres come second. soo many possibilities. thought there are some genres i think would be interesting to see!

detective/noir type toon world? a mysterious place filled with crimes and mysteries to be solved! could make call-backs to things like scooby-doo, too!

kid's cartoon, like you've said! something cute, fluffy, there to entertain the whole family and teach the kids a valuable lesson. not to be a bluey enjoyer on main here but... bluey toons. that would be very very cute, i think.

on that note, one could argue there could be an adult animated cartoon place, but considering a place like toontown we probably want to keep things pg 13... maybe not! but it's still a possibility - as long as you take inspiration from good animation made for adults. i will not be naming any names here...!

okay, this one is MORE an art genre/style thing but... illustrated children's book type thing? maybe not for VERY young kids, but still filled with fun stories and anthro cartoon animals regardless! could appear as 2d cutouts.

medieval toons, but in the art style of medieval styled drawings...! based on old tales and fables! could also mix with some fantasy elements, of course!

SPAAAAAAACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE (space core portal 2 voice) (BUT LIKE... ALIEN TOONS. NOT JUST SPACESHIP TYPE STUFF THATS BORING TO ME I WAND INVADER ZIM TYPE SOMETHING RAAAA...!)

just anime. toon beastars. shoutout to that one louis fan-toon i saw some time ago

and honestly...im out of ideas for this here! i don't really look at genres too often to be honest! they kind of fly over my head, so i'd probably want these to reference specific types of stories that could be told in one of these, but not enough to base a whole place on. anyways, running a bit low on steam here, and i'd repeat myself on possible video game genre based toon worlds, so...! that's it from me! hope you had fun reading this... and my many callbacks to other medias for reference.

(also, your ask is not long! just long enough to be a delight to read! just look at my own responses here :,] )

also, question- should i get a tag for big rambles like this relating to like... world building and ideas in general? both for the cogs and the toons! would make it a bit easier to navigate, even if i am a little bit shy about people reading back through these, especially as my opinions may change. looking at you old thomas and robert ramble...

[pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer]

[Games in 2023: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective]

I was pleasantly surprised when the Switch port of Ghost Trick was announced: under-appreciated DS games are kinda my thing, this game’s stylized look conveyed a real sense of personality, and I’ve only ever heard good things from people who have played it.  “Why have I never played this before??” I asked myself, wracking my brain for the answer.  Then I played the demo and remembered “Oh yeah, I suck at puzzle games.”  But despite that, I still really wanted to see where things went, and boy am I glad I did!

Spoiler-free tl;dr: Ghost Trick is a wonderfully engrossing story about whacky characters uncovering insane plot twists that all build towards a satisfying and heartfelt conclusion.  I would recommend going in as blind as possible, but even without shock, the game is easily clever and fun enough to be a fantastic experience.

(Also content warning for animal death; the game is all about undoing deaths so it’s not permanent, but it can still be distressing to see it happen.)

The premise of Ghost Trick is simple yet creative: you play as a newly-dead ghost who has completely lost his memory, and must use your ability to possess and manipulate objects to solve this mystery and save the lives of the many characters you meet along the way.  The full narrative is anything but simple by the end, but I felt it was a steady, easy-to-follow escalation—though I have been told I have a high tolerance for plots involving time travel, so a grain of salt might be in order.  In my opinion it’s not especially hard to keep track of the game’s time shenanigans since you only ever go back 4 minutes before a person’s death to influence the situation in a way to avert their fate…until the very end, where you do learn a lot in a short time, and I could see a player struggling with that.

The style of the game really is impeccable.  Characters have very unique designs with bright colors and expressive actions, making it hard to mix anyone up despite how many people you meet over the course of the game.  Everybody makes a strong impression, and it’s easy to care about them and want to save their lives and find out how they tie back to the overall plot.  The connections between various characters are a bit tighter than you might expect going in, and it’s so much fun to steadily piece things together, each answer leading to only more questions.  There’s a point about halfway from which plot twists start to come one after the other, but instead of piling up, they come together, all building towards the same goal in a masterful manner.  It’s a very hard game to put down.

So, those puzzles!  I have to admit I was hesitant after struggling for the better part of an hour on one in chapter 2, but in the end I was able to solve all of them without looking up any answers!  It came real close a few times, and there was definitely an occasion or two where I stumbled into the right answer without realizing it, but hey, it counts.  The hints provided do a good job of leading you to the solution without just stating it, and can easily be ignored by players who don’t want their process interfered with.  I feel like I started to do a lot better once I started expecting I wouldn’t get everything right first try—don’t be afraid to do some trial and error.  The mechanics are sound: an item will clearly tell you how you can manipulate it if you can, and what items can be possessed are all easily identifiable whenever you enter the ghost world.  The trick (heh) most often is in getting the timing right, as you have a very limited range to “jump” between objects and can miss your chance completely if you don’t act fast while objects are in motion.  You’re explicitly taught this very early on, of course—the tutorial is very nicely structured, giving you all the information you need while a puzzle is unfolding around you with all the moving parts and tension you can expect all throughout the game.  The prison escape sequence stands out as a one-off with unique mechanics; it can be frustrating, as escort missions tend to be, but if you take it one step at a time it’s not too bad.  The only major addition to the basic structure is towards the end of the game where you gain a second ghost who can reach much farther, but in lieu of manipulating objects, he instead swaps the position of objects with the same shape.  It may only affect a handful of puzzles, but I think there’s a benefit to giving the player time to fully master the core mechanics before adding this new layer to things, and the possibilities it opens are well-utilized when they do come into play.  What tripped me up most often was needing to move each ghost to different objects out of each other’s way, since they can’t inhabit the same object; a minor annoyance, and quite possibly a skill issue on my part.

That’s essentially all there is to say on a mechanical level, so let’s talk more about the narrative.  The tone is largely playful but not afraid to be serious when it needs to be—you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be aghast in horror, etc.  Again, the plot is continually escalating and building more and more tension, quickly becoming too fascinating to put down, and the fact that it manages to stick the landing is no small feat.  It seems to me the moral of the story is selflessness: every character is shown to be in the wrong when only serving their own interest, yet when they do something with others in mind, the narrative consistently rewards them.  Sissel says his only real goal is finding his own memory, but what makes him the hero of this story is his willingness to use his abilities to solve others’ problems.  Cabanela is painted in a villainous light when it seems he cares only about his career ambitions, but when we find out this was a means to the end of helping Jowd, he’s presented as unequivocally a good guy.  Jowd may say he’s so eager to take the fall for Kamila’s sake, but when Sissel calls his methods out as ultimately selfish, he changes course and takes on an active role in resolving the night’s many mysteries.  Yomiel obviously embodies the selfishness the story is speaking against, but in the end, he makes the choice to do something selfless, and the narrative rewards him with a second chance. (More than that, the game wouldn’t have happened at all had he not brought Sissel with him to the junkyard; while perhaps not entirely selfless, I think it’s important to note that Yomiel’s path to a better future began with his desire to not leave his only friend all alone.)  It’s really cool to see this theme reflected in so many different ways across the cast!  And of course, the one who embodies the virtue of selflessness above all else is the top Pomeranian himself, Missile!  The very first time we meet him, he basically ignores the fact that he’s dead and instead prioritizes saving Kamila.  After he develops his powers, he makes the decision to remain dead so that he can use those powers to help Kamila and Lynne.  And at the very end we learn that he went back in time 10 years, and while waiting faithfully that entire time, he devised a brilliant and complex strategy to ensure Sissel’s cooperation in saving his family once and for all.  “Because that’s what doggies do!”  This whole wild ride that ends up saving so many lives was all possible purely due to the awesome, selfless love of a dog.  That’s beautiful.

It’s hard to think of any major criticism.  Ghost Trick is just really, really good.  It may be a few years overdue, but I’m really glad I finally got to experience this game!