#the wild robot artbook

[alanaartdream]

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Drawing attempts for fanart for @talefoundryshow @talefoundry and The Wild robot movie 🍿

Also the wild robot art book for the movie is sooo pretty highly recommended getting it if you LOVED the movie

[sofibeth-arts]

I've been too busy figuring out Roz anatomy.

[sofibeth]

A friend shared his Wild Robot artbook he just got and I am not okay with these storyboard sequences.

[taylor-titmouse]

I'm Taylor Titmouse, I write and illustrate queer erotica featuring freaks and monsters. I also draw a lot of porn that I can't post here, so those will be posted as crops with links to my various uncensored locations.

You can find my illustrated novellas and artbooks on Itchio. I've published a Lot of them. If you don't know where to start, I recommend the Dragon Double Feature series or Roger Crenshaw, or Spring with the Unicorns--that one's free!

Some of my latest releases, try The Long Road if you like gender-based worldbuilding!

You can find the most complete collection of my uncensored art on Patreon and Subscribestar (both are equally served.) I post high resolution art regularly, and everything is neatly organized going back to 2022 (that's longer than I've been posting here!) $5 patrons get access to over 180 exclusive illustrations, and can vote in monthly polls from suggestions made by the $10 tier--who can also commission me at any time with a 10% discount!

Just .05% of the exclusives you unlock by subscribing!

You can also follow me on Twitter or Bluesky, where I post my art uncensored. Below the cut is a list of story tags, which will link you to art and posts about those stories, and provides some context to what they're about. Thanks for checking out my work!

TT Art: my art tag TT Talks Drawing: my tag for talking about the art-making process TT Talks Writing: my tag for talking about the writing process TT Testimonials: my tag for asks reviewing how good my books are :^) TT Asks: my tag for answering asks

Story Tags Barnyard Bound: F/M, human/furry, bondage, breeding kink, Harvest Moon also for some reason. Cherry Brilliant Ryder: M/F, aliens and medical play (The Xenosexuality Conference) Brilliant, Dr. Lindon, Dr. Odonata, Dr. Pinkie, Dr. Menura, Councilman Somato, Zeal-and-Duty Chique: NB/Various, fantasy monsters, elves, nudism, catch/fuck (The Sunken City, The Wild Woods) Chique, Lien, Lutin, Fuck-elves The Dragon Double Feature: M/F, M/M, M/M/F, dragon/human, oni/human, plus size. Fantasy princess/dragon CNC, Edo era Japan (The Dragon Double Feature, The Dragon Double Feature 2) Eveline, Gundrid, Wakatake/Taki, Kenta, Mrs. Arakawa, Jerund Eternella 7: M/M/M, Gundam-inspired space opera erotica. (Eternella 7 Parts 1-3) Risk, Turn, Engel House Gerhardt: F/F/M, vampires, trans women, femdom, male humiliation, 1800s. Lady Cygnet, Countess Gerhardt, Conrad House of the Risen King: M/F, old god, exhibitionism/nudism, sex cult. (House of the Risen King) Vee, Zihbeh Knight of Thorns: M/F, giant faceless knight/petite princess forced marriage. Rosaline, Knight of Thorns Laurestine: Trans unicorns, monsters, bondage/stuck in situations, catch/fuck (Spring with the Unicorns) Laurestine, Barberry, Mazereon, Edelweiss The Leylic Sea: M/M, historical fantasy, pirates, university wizards (The Captain of the Tybaltine, The Boy from Karkutt) Mr. Todd, Oliver Bullock, Lucas, Mirza The Long Road: Goblins, dwarves, bandits, a princess and a knight. Gangbangs, rope bondage, CNC (The Long Road) Tourmaline, Angre, Vanesse, Samwell, Georgie and Markie (the Twins), Jarett, Bingo, Goblina. Lover Rescue: F/F/Genderfluid, magical girls, monsters, plus size, cam girling. Lover Pink (Momoka), Lover Gold (Hikari), Lover Blue (Aozora), Lord Heteracuto (Hiroto) The Masson Circle: M/M, M/F, 1970s crime romance, multiple ships, femdom, trans male character (The Masson Circle) Ezra, Tessa, Leonard, Lionel/Nell, Jean, Mathieu Max and Mortis: M/F, exhibitionism, naturalism, photography, nudism. Max, Mortis/Daisy Monsterfuck Mountain: Fantasy monsters, WIP erotic CYOA (You're A Mage on Monsterfuck Mountain) The Mage, Trolls The Night Guest: M/F, young man/older woman, oni/human (The Night Guest) Mrs. Arakawa, Tōru Objects of Affection: M/F, F/F, robot girls and people being weird about them. Touma, Shima, Mari-ko, Ratna, Mari Mouse, Samart, Marinette Season's Breedings: Gnomes, Imps, and probably other critters, and their biology/breeding habits. Applecore. The Sleeping Garden: M/Agender, alien, science. Dr. Arbor, The Flower Starbuster: M/M, a WIP novel-length superhero romance. Mitsuo, Tom, Starbuster Roger Crenshaw: Trans M/M, monsters, occultism, early 1900s (The Vampires of New Haven, The Wolves of the West, The Shadow in the Shelves, The Dogs at Duskfall) Roger Crenshaw, Professor Reed, Grigori, Mateo, Johnny, Sweet Nate, Jackie-Ralph, Cam Ellis, George Adler, Combe Hooper. Romick: Evil wizards, obedient doll, magical sex, experimentation kink, dungeon bondage, monster sex (The Tenebrous Tower) Romick, The Doll, Cadogan, Madog, Osmund, Vester

[genesis-sabre]

Xenoblade 4 hint from Monolith Soft Recruitment page?

So Monolith Soft announced their RPG recruitment for a while back, and I'm surprised NOBODY has brought this up because I feel this RPG recruitment by Takahashi might give a hint about the project he's actually working on, and especially about the future of the Xenoblade series.

As you can see from the picture, there's a background with a simple gradient color. At first glance, it might not mean anything, right? BUT when you notice the colors of the gradient, they are strikingly similar to the Trinity Processor's color-coding. There's red (Ontos), green (Pneuma), and dark purple (Logos). There's also a hint of dark blue, but I'll elaborate on that later.

First, let’s start with the striking red. The red gradient bears a strong resemblance to Ontos’s core! The palette and gradient feel nearly identical, featuring that distinctive scarlet red with an orange-ish glow.

Next, we have the green, which closely matches Pneuma’s core. The shade leans toward a vibrant emerald green, making the similarity hard to ignore.

Finally, there’s Logos. This one is a bit trickier to spot because the purple is very dark, blending into the dark background and almost camouflaging itself. However, upon closer inspection, the hue is undeniably close to a deep purple, resembling Logos’s core.

Based on this picture, we can speculate that the "RPG" game Takahashi is developing might be Xenoblade 4. Could it focus on the Trinity Processor? It seems plausible, especially considering Takahashi’s comment in the XB3 artbook ~Aionios Moment~, where he mentioned that "he couldn't explain why Malos is in N's sword yet."

Among the Trinity Processor members in the Xenoblade trilogy, Logos is the only one who hasn’t had a game centered around him. Even Xenoblade 3 leaned heavily on Ontos and Pneuma’s stories.

There's also interesting color in the picture that you can see below, there's tiny hint of blue light

I wonder what this could mean. It might not be anything, but let’s take a wild guess.

From Monolith Soft’s 25th Anniversary video and the pictures of their office shared on Twitter, it’s strange how prominently they placed KOS-MOS in the spotlight. Sure, it could just be an homage to their first games, like Xenosaga, but it’s odd that they include KOS-MOS only and not other IPs.

I’m not suggesting we’ll get a Xenosaga remake or Episode 4. Given how Bandai Namco operates these days, that feels like a pipe dream. Contrary to what the fandom thinks, I don’t buy into the theory that Nintendo will buy the IP or fund remakes. That’s not how Nintendo typically operates, especially in their current situation. Plus, Xenosaga has blatant religious references (it literally has actual Jesus as a character & character recites freakin' bible scripture) no way Nintendo would touch that (as evidenced by how some religious references were omitted in Xenoblade 2 localization).

Now, back to the topic. I speculate that this “blue” connection might tie into the blue light falling to Earth in the ending of Future Redeemed (FR). I have a strong feeling that in XB4, we might see a character reminiscent of KOS-MOS 2.0 (basically akin to Saber face in Fates series), Monolith Soft might introduce a female character with blue hair, robotic traits, or a story/personality that nods to KOS-MOS. Alternatively, it could involve remnants of KOS-MOS, like her core or programming, reimagined as a weapon, relic, or machine central to the XB4 story.

If the leaks about Monolith Soft’s new game codenamed ''Project Legacy'' are true, this idea might fit perfectly with the potential XB4 theme: exploring the “legacy” of Klaus and his world. While the Klaus saga might be over, parts of his legacy—like the Trinity Processor and Origin—are still around. Origin especially feels like a magnet for conflict, practically begging for villains to emerge. Someone definitely want to control it.

Reminder FR hinted at space faring humans still existing in Klaus’s world—there are space colonies out there. In the Xeno series, the existence of Earth (a.k.a. Lost Jerusalem) has always been incredibly significant. The FR radio scene essentially confirms that XB’s world is connected to Lost Jerusalem, and the fact that it alludes to space faring humans is pretty important.

“What could this mean?” The next game might delve into the importance of the Conduit (I doubt the Conduit/Zohar is completely gone), space faring humans (!!!), and the Saviorite—artificial humans mentioned in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and FR (in Xenosaga, it's Realian). The Trinity Processor, Origin, and the mysterious blue light could all play major roles.

So many questions, but these things will definitely be highlights in the next game. I predict the villain might be from space—now that Earth is back, the humans in space might discover it sooner or later.

I’m also sure that Malos/Logos will play an important role! Logos is the only member of the Trinity Processor who hasn’t had his own game or a "human" partner to unlock his potential. The idea of seeing a Logos Ascended form a la Pneuma, possibly an alter ego for Logos/Malos and a Trinity Processor reunion? Gosh, it’s so exciting!  

Personally, I hope Xenoblade 4 is set thousands of years after the events of XB3. Frankly, I’d prefer that Mythra’s child doesn’t become the protagonist or even a relevant character, as it might undermine the message of XB3, IMO. Instead, they could establish Mythra’s child as a historical or influential figure—someone whose legacy or actions significantly impact the central conflict in XB4.

I think it would be more interesting if the protagonist of XB4 came from outer space rather than Earth. This could offer a fresh perspective on space faring human society, including their politics, culture, and way of life—something we know very little about. It would also be fascinating to see a protagonist experiencing cultural clashes or value conflicts with the people of Earth. Of course, Malos/Logos should play an important role, perhaps as the protagonist’s “Blade” or companion.

As for the protagonist's gender, I don't bother with it. If it’s a girl, I’d like her to be stoic—different from someone like Shion Xenosaga. Maybe she could be a researcher or an artificial human soldier. If it’s a boy, same with a girl but he's more mentally broken or menhera, to occurring joke that how Malos/Logos is always drawn to edgy, broken men in Japanese meme LOL.

I also want to see Pneuma as a potential antagonist or hostile entity. We’ve already seen other Trinity Processor members (Ontos-Alpha and Logos-Malos) become villain, but Pneuma has yet to take on an evil or antagonistic role. It would be intriguing to explore this side of her, especially since her philosophy and what she represents could make her the most cunning villain among her siblings—something akin to Miang from Xenogears.

Ultimately, I hope this game allows Takahashi to tell the story he’s been envisioning, maybe the ''imagined'' of Perfect Works Episode 6 or Xenosaga Episode 4. And hope we get chaos expy too!

Anyway, thanks for reading my ramblings! Please remember, this is just my analysis and speculation—none of it should be taken as fact. Regardless of what this project turns out to be, I’ll always be excited for Monolith Soft’s games!

[rawliverandgoronspice]

I love totk, love it with all my heart. But even I feel a bit disappointed with a lot of the aspects.

The one that gets me the most is just, the Zonai in general?

When I think back to botw, I remember all the wild and exciting theories and thoughts about what the Zonai could be.

I remember theories that they were some iteration of the Kokiri because the spiral symbols were similar, and a lot of the structures were in forests. I remember everyone being so sure that they were a warlike race because the Barbarian Set were found exclusively in the Lomei Labyrinths. Everyone was wondering what the owls, boars and dragons meant to them.

Then we actually get to see the Zonai, the big mystery of botw and there's just.

Nothing.

All we learn is: there’s 2 of them, they had advanced tech, and they had magical macguffins.

It feels so hollow knowing there was so much potential for another race to be introduced to the Zelda universe and we essentially get Sheikah 2.0 with some Mesoamerican vibes.

We don't even learn anything about them as a race, like where the rest of them went or how they were accepted so easily as rulers or why they're called "Secret Stones" when it seems like everyone knows what they are.

The only real upside to this total lack of info is that it lets people with actual creativity create headcanons and fits without having to worry about being canon compliant.

Just rings hollow.

Yeah, I absolutely feel that. I think the Zelda theorists, and I both include myself and say this with all the love in the world, tend to overhype the specificity of things that tend to remain vague in Zelda (and sometimes that vagueness is great, because it's exactly what fuels us next!), but.... I have to agree that Zonais really didn't deliver on that aspect for me either.

To be frank, I was never super into Zonai lore (because I was never super into BotW lore, but it's really on me and not at all a criticism or anything, the community and I missed each other on the hyperfocus moment), but I got super interested to see the Mesoamerican vibes going on in this game to the point where, when Nintendo dropped the Gameplay trailer and I got... honestly pretty underwhelmed (like design wise that sounded great and fun but it kind of cemented the sort of playground direction they were going with, and it got me pretty worried about other aspects, namely the story :) ), I decided to spoil myself with the leaked artbook just to give me... something to latch onto I guess? Because I really wanted to get excited! And the Mesoamerican vibes did the trick: I got super curious about what that could mean, what the Zonais would bring to the table culture-wise, what sort of cool legends involving them would be investigated, etc... Also it just wasn't a kind of setting that Zelda ever really explored (and still has not, in my humble opinion), so it kind of quieted down my worries of having a game that looked so similar to BotW in terms of artistic direction, to the point where I became afraid it wouldn't have anything different to say (which... ended up kind of being my final opinion, unfortunately).

I think the Zonais both lost a lot of their mystery while not really clarifying anything? I kind of would have loved them to remain otherwordly figures, almost? Or maybe to just have hints of a culture that would be very different to Hyrule's, instead of basically the same thing but with robots and things fly around also --I would have loved deeper implementation of Mesoamerican mythos or cultural elements, instead of it remaining.... kind of a costume, honestly? Like, what even is zonai culture, beyond the automation (which was already kind of the Sheikah's thing anyway?) Where do the stones come from? Where are the other zonais? I'm not asking for direct answers, but just enough vagueness, murals, legends, ancient spirits to set the theorists' brain on fire. The Depths would have been amazing to hint at more (and doubly so for the Sky Islands), but right now, in spite of having spoken to two different live (kind of) Zonais, I still have zero idea what their deal is. They could have been hylians and nothing would have really changed.

So, yeah! Agreed! And sorry for the late ask aaa

[st-just]

134

134. unreccomend any book you like!

So it's more a 'not for me' thing, but I'm growing even less fond of Psalm For the Wild Built with a bit of distance.

Not even really the lack of conflict and the fact that the whole thing's basically a prose version of a solarpunk artbook, so much as how didactic it is.

I just truly am not a fan of any book aimed for anyone above age 12 where a character that might as well be named THE CORRECT ONE engages in morally uplifting dialogue with the POV character. The fact that they opened with 'and that's why we all chose to die of old age despite having no need to'* didn't help either, and it just really didn't have anything else to grab me with.

*The logistics of the whole robot civilization bother me deeply also, but that's clearly not the level of engagement the book's looking for

[kaibutsushidousha]

Artbook Data - Writer Team Interview

I really saved the best for last with this one. This interview was a wild ride, with at least two big pieces of fandom common knowledge being proven wrong.

Interviewees:

Yoshinori Terasawa: The producer for the Danganronpa series. Tasked with the challange of organizing this ragtag band of weirdoes while fighting schedule and budget. This time his title on the credits changed.

Kazutaka Kodaka: The writer, and one of the series’ creators. He created this game in paralell with writing scripts for the anime. Also experienced in writing novels and manga.

Takayuki Sugawara: Involved with the series’ development since the first game. For V3, aside from giving the order for the game to happen and offering many ideas, he also wrote all the secret lie routes for the Class Trial.

Shun Sasaki: This game’s director. Kodaka’s right-hand man, with the important role of transmitting Kodaka’s thoughts to the staff. The many bonus modes were all made at Sasaki’s idea. 

The inital theme was going to be Psychoamerican, with the game being set on a desert!?

Interviewer: It has been a month since the game was released (interview recorded in February 23, 2017), so how much have your thoughts changed since the game’s release?

Kazutaka Kodaka: Not much.

I: Then it must mean everything, including the fan reactions, was just as expected.

KK: Yeah. I was wishing for an unexpected reaction, but everything went just as expected, for better or for worse.

I: How about you, Terasawa?

YT: Kodaka says “just as expected”, but I was thinking the game would be a little bit more well received. You know, when I look at the timeline, I see more critical opinions than I imagined I would.

I: That said, I’m getting the impression that we’re getting more and more positive reviews, compared to how it was immediately after launch.

YT: We’re feeling this too. I’m very thankful that one month after launch, the positive opinion have been getting gradually more vocal.

I: How about you, Sasaki?

SS: Same as Kodaka, no big changes. I'm just still stunned that it’s over.

TS: I’m the opposite of Sasaki. We’ve always finished Danganronpa on the edge of the deadline, but this one we were REALLY improving everywhere we could until the very last second. I feel like the production is still not over even now. Maybe we’re all lying when we said we made it in time (laughs).

I: Was V3 really this hard? When did the project start?

KK: It was late into Ultra Despair Girls’ production. Sugawara called me about a new project and ...

I: So it was Sugawara, not Terasawa.

KK: For some reason, he never calls me directly. Always has someone relaying his message to me. Then me and Sugawara started coming up with some content and wrote the project pitch. It was completely different from what’s now.

YT: It was going to be set in a desert.

I: A desert!? Do deserts have schools?

KK: The design theme at the time was Psychoamerican, so we thought it should be in a desert.

YT: If I recall right, it was going to be a desert where a Future Foundation was stranded...

KK: And so we made the project pitch with loads of American-ish stuff, like Vegas neon lights. I can’t remember much of the details.

YT: But even back then, Kodaka already had the game’s direction and that ending in mind.

I: So the ending idea stayed the same through the how development cycle. Was it Terasawa or Sugawara who asked you to make the V3 project?

KK: It was more the company itself than Terasawa. 

YT: Yeah. I was the one who directly asked for it, but the very company was pointing out that it was about time for a new number Danganronpa sequel. At the time, the DR:AE development cycle was approaching its climax, so everyone was at the mood of “What are making next?” and the next cycle started very naturally.

I: I see. Then, was moving away from the Kibougamine series also decide from the beginning?

KK: Yes. No one ever considered continuing the Kibougamine series with V3.

TS: The Future Foundation ship I mentioned earlier would be set up as the ship from the DR2 ending for a twist of “haha, it was a different ship all along”. It was a red herring planned to draw the fans’ interest. 

I: And why did you change settings?

KK: We all know DR1 and 2 follow each other chronologically as the Kibougamine series, but at first I never said they did. When I say from the start that it’s a sequel, the fans start expecting characters from the previous games. But personally I’m not a fan of having a previous survivor in the killing game, having to experience the murders, investigations and Class Trials all over again. I thought that when I made the next numbered title I should reboot the setting and characters.

I: Let me get this right, all you had defined back at the project pitch stage was doing a reboot and the story’s ending. Yes?

TS: Yeah. We didn’t have a concrete idea of how we would present the ending, but it we were settled on the direction that it was something that would make the player part of the plot. 

I: And how exactly did lies, one of the game’s main themes, entered the stage?

TS: We had decided from the start that we would have the lie mechanic. Lying was actually a gimmick I came up with for DR2 and I really wanted the chance to include it for real in a next game.

I: Any other elements decided from the start?

KK: I think we decided the true meaning of “V3” in our first discussion. Did we? I vaguely recall we see saying it would be clever if V3 actually meant 53.

I: I agree, I was impressed when I played it!

KK: It’s just the part that the first game were also fictional in-universe and that V3 was the 53rd Danganronpa game that we came up with later. At the time we just though of the initial clever curveball. This was back before we had the idea to make the DR3 anime. We went with the name V3 just for this joke, then later we thought “If this is DRV3, the anime should be DR3”.

I: The game was decided first, huh. And how exactly did the “New” and the “Everyone’s Killing Game New Semester” came about?

KK: When we had to present the game for the Sony Press Conference (September 15th, 2015), we thought we should add something before the title, like the Super in Super Danganronpa 2. So we went with “New”.

YT: But for the first logo we wrote “NEW” in English letters.

I: And you already had the subtitle back then.

KK: The subtitle was also put together on a rush for the Sony Press Conference. We basically just added the “Everyone’s” there because the ending was pretty much completely planned at that point.

YT: We need to have these big presentations like the Sony Press Conference, because otherwise we never settle on a title (pained laughter).

The design theme changes to Psychocool! The production finally starts for real.

I: Now I have several questions about the contents of the game. We know you have the decided on the title, then presented the game under the final design theme of “Psychocool”. For what reason did you decide against the “Psychoamerican” theme?

KK: To be honest with you, Psychoamerican was never a design theme I was really serious about...

TS: We just needed something to pitch a project with.

YT: Every good project pitch has a few bluffs on it. 

KK: At the time I was busy with Ultra Despair Girls, so I decided to leave the theme decisions for later. But after watching Sugawara’s presentation at the project meeting, I may have regretted neglecting the subject (pained laughter).

TS: That’s because my project file on the meeting as a blank piece of paper (laughs).

I: (laughs) Suguwara, did you really explain the entire project with a blank paper?

TS: No, each page had a head title. “Scrum Debate” was one, for example. And did the explanations with just that. Judging by the participants’ reaction, the overall tone of the meeting was “What the heck is going on here...?” (pained laughter).

I: And after all these hardships, you settled on the Psychocool theme. What was the deciding factor here?

KK: We started putting some actual thought into it, notice how hard it would be to deal with a desert setting, and decided the American part wouldn’t work. At the time I was considering given a more adult image to it, so we decided on Psychostylish. But we didn’t go very far with this theme, did we?

SS: I don’t think we did.

KK: So, the players who experienced DR1′s Psychopop in their teens grew into adulthood with DR2′s Psychotropical, and now cooled down after their growth... That’s why V3′s theme became Psychocool.

I: So it had a more mature image.

YT: But us changing themes 2 or 3 times before made things hell for the graphics team, since we wouldn’t settle on a direction already.

SS: Because before we decided on the Psychocool theme, the designers had already started working with no design concept. Kodaka already some ideas in mind for a ruined school with growing vegetation and some machines in it, but without any concrete direction, they had to redo their work multiple times.

I: I’ll ask about the design concept in more detail in the designer team interview. The next question is about the story. Is “what could be a lie” something you think about in the earlier plot planning stages?

KK: Include some lie elements back in the plot planning, but there’s nothing that was always meant to be interpreted as a lie. It all started in a project meeting where Sugawara said “I want to use lies”, but without any concrete idea of would that be implemented into gameplay. Later, when I started planning the plot, I was looking back at the project file and the discussion notes, scavenging for content I could use and found that I could use lies to fill the gaps in my plot. And so was born my liar character, Kokichi Ouma.

I: Usually the characters make the plot, but sometimes the plot can make a character.

KK: They are just robots instead of characters, but the same goes for the Exisals. They came from a joke idea told in the project meeting.

TS: We mentioned the Exisal as a mascot replacement for Monokuma. “Next mascot should be a monkey” (laughs).

KK: But not having Monokuma as the mascot feels wrong to me. Yeah, we were rebooting the characters and the setting, but I think changing too much does more harm than good, so I decided to keep Monokuma as the mascot without a second thought.

I: About what you just mentioned about Ouma, did you create all the characters as you were planning the plot?

KK: Yes. I thought 16 was the perfect number of students, as it was in DR2. Before I had any plot, I asked Komatsuzaki for some designs based on his impressions. I was planning the plot as I was receiving the designs and came up with the details along the way, I think.

I: At what point did you decide on the dual protagonist scheme with Kaede Akamatsu and Shuuichi Saihara?

KK: I can’t remember when exactly I decided that it was doable, but I’ve been wanting to do it from very early on. I was thinking that if I could do it, it would make for an awesome chapter 1.

I: The Ikebukuro Namjatown had a poll to guess who would survive. Harukawa was first, Saihara was second and Akamatsu was third, so I thought the fans saw it coming.

KK: I was also weirded out by how high Saihara was, but then I heard about the unfortunate hatless Saihara sprite visible in the PV. Since the ahoge is the symbol of the Danganronpa protagonist, I’m pretty sure this spoiled the twist.

YT: You didn’t notice it when the PV came out?

KK: I didn’t. Sasaki told me about it later and I was like “Oh no, really...?” (laughs).

YT: I see, because it very early on in the video.

SS: It was. What a shame...

KK: That said, a lot of characters were predicted wrong. Our survivor Himiko Yumeno got the very last place.

YT: She reestablished balance.

I: Yeah. Just look at our presented protagonist Akamatsu. While there were a lot of people thinking she was safe because she’s the protagonist, there were also a lot suspecting even the protagonist could die.

KK: I think the majority was predicting Akamatsu would die. But I think that as they watched the PVs and play the demo, a lot of them noticed how we made all the Class Trial assets for her and started thinking “Yeah, of course she wouldn’t die”. At very least, I think not many people predicted she would be executed as the culprit in the Class Trial.

This is how the 16 students watching the new Class Trial were born

I: In this interview for Danganronpa 2, you mentioned that Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu was supposed to die along the way, but as you were finishing your plot he became a survivor. Did V3 also have a character like Kuzuryuu?

SS: I’m pretty sure no character was changed. Though I vaguely recall we changing the order in which they died as the murder tricks demanded.

TS: When Kodaka was thinking of the murder trick for chapter 1, he asked me “What SHSL should we kill off?”. I answered “Killing the detective would be a shocker”.

KK: For context, I wasn’t too sure if it was ok for Saihara to be the Super High School Level Detective. Because Detective Saihara would mean a protagonist title ripping off Kyouko Kirigiri’s. But I ultimately accepted the idea of him being a detective.

I: I see. So this didn’t have any big changes like DR2 had. Was there any student talent or character trait that you decided on based on their murder tricks?

KK: I always plan the characters and the tricks at the same time. And this time I planned part of the tricks along with Kitayama. Whenever we discussed, I just told him “This is the culprit, this is the victim and this is the type of case I want” and he would come up with the details for me. Otherwise none of us would know what to do with his murder tricks.

I: If any other character had their characterization changed along the way, like you said Ouma did, tell us about it.

KK: I changed Harukawa’s title after seeing the finished desing. I kept her title as Super High School Level Child Caregiver, but made her actually an assassin.

SS: I remember you going with Bounty Hunter Harukawa before you changed it to Assassin.

KK: You’re right. She looked so out of the ordinary in that illustration that I thought she would work out as assassin and changed it, if I recall right. I tend to change my plot points a lot, so that’s why it’s always better to do all part of my work at the same time.

I: Is Kodaka always this nonchalant when talking about major plot changes?

SS: Yeah, he just comes out of nowhere and “I made Harukawa an assassin”.

TS: The script still wasn’t finished at the time, so even I didn’t know the reason for the change, I could say is “Really?” (laughs).

SS: Though I like her a little better as an assassin than as a bounty hunter.

I: Yeah, that’s not a situation where you can say “no” for no reason (pained laughter). By the way, Ouma and Harukawa are super popular. Did you expect them to this many fans?

KK: Sure, Harukawa got a lot of attention on the first teaser visual, and she’s a tsundere character very easy to understand, so I thought she would be popular. And Ouma is remarkably “Danganronpa”. When he is doing so much work to get things his way and getting many big scenes in the process, it’s no surprise he would get popular.

I: I think Kaito Momota got even more big scenes than he did. Not to mention his story role was pretty important.

KK: Momota was a character I was much more unoptimistically hoping to be popular. Because in the previous games I never had any characters as super friendly as him and Gonta Gokuhara. When I was writing the script, Sugawara or Sasaki told “This cast is our tightest group of friends so far”. Now that I think about it, I guess this strongly influenced my decision to put Momota as the leader. Byakuya Togami from DR1 would be constantly on the edge if he was there.

I: He sure would (laughs). Opposite question now, what character did you think was less popular than you thought they would be?

YT: Less than expected? I guess Ryouma Hoshi? Just my personal opinion though, I understand it’s because he died too soon.

KK: A lot of people I know love Hoshi. 

TS: I know lot of Hoshi fans too.

KK: To me, the most unexpectedly unpopular character was Korekiyo Shinguuji, not Hoshi. I mean, his uniform is awesome and his unstable relationship with his sister feels like a classic underground movie. Shinguuji is one of my personal favorites and I thought he would be popular. But the people playing the game called him “gross” (pained laughter).

I: Shinguuji, one-of-a-kind as he is, he’s really not for everyone.

KK: Meh, whatever, I don’t wriite characters trying to make them popular. Be it for Momota or for Shinguuji, I was thinking I would personally love if they became popular but that was not the goal. In fact, the only character I wrote with the popularity polls in mind was Miu Iruma, and the goal there was to get her the last place! I think this gave her strong character quirks, not mention that trying to make everyone popular makes the cast weird and lacking in variety. 

I: I see. Speaking of Shinguuji, I felt that while his motive was quite unrelatable, most of the other students had sympathetic motives. Was that on purpose?

KK: For the motives, I was just trying to avoid a repeat of what happened with Mikan Tsumiki. Yeah, I know Shinguuji’s was close. But this time most of the motives were based on their murder tricks. The first thing I did was give a definite theme for each murder trick: chapter 1 is the protagonist being the culprit, chapter 2 was a fusion of murder trick and magic trick, chapter 3 was a new death during the investigation, chapter 4 was the culprit not knowing that he is the culprit, and chapter 5 was the culprit and the victim working together. That makes chapter 2 the only outlier. I just really wanted to use the twist that Kirumi Toujou was the Prime Minister. I also absolutely wanted to have piranhas in my story (laughs). 

I: (laughs) Another big difference I notice is that I couldn’t predict the culprits based on the murder tricks.

KK: That part was very intentional. I really didn’t want any moments of “I don’t know the trick, but the culprit is this guy” the best I could. Chapter 3 was easy to figure out, but I think chapter 2′s clever hooks did a lot better.

Kodaka is Barack Obama!? The personality felt by Megumi Hayashibara.

I: Sayaka Kanda voicing Akamatsu was a highly discussed topic. How exactly did you decide that?

KK: The initial was to have (non-voice) actors playing the role of the two protagonists. After many twists and tuns, we had only Kanda voicing Akamatsu.

YT: She had a great performance as Junko Enoshima in Danganronpa THE STAGE. I invited her to the Akamatsu with high expectations, not only because she obviously a very talented actress, but also because she is so associated with Junko Enoshima that it would give the fans a lot to speculate about. 

I: Another big surprise was the other protagonist Saihara being Megumi Hayashibara. Hayashibara is not someone most people would imagine voicing a boy...

KK: Hayashibara was my personal request. It looked difficult at first, but ultimately she accepted it. She might have been initially wary but then felt it was okay because she shares a lot of history with Ogata and Takayama, who voiced the previous protagonist.

I: I see. Not that you mention it, in a previous interview Hayashibara made a comment about you: “He’s like President Obama”. She didn’t elaborate on that, so please tell us why!

KK: When we were recording chapter 6, Hayashibara asked me “Does Danganronpa always ends like this?”. I answered “It’s not always like this.” and the conversation continued from there. After I created Danganronpa, many other stories with death games started appearing. I know death games are exciting and easy to employ, but so many of them didn’t think their endings through or were just the using the game as a sadistic system to kill characters. Then, as I was analyzing what it means to “truly escape the death game”, I reached the conclusion that it’s the characters upsetting the death game itself. As I explained to her how I made that ending because I had to take responsibility for creating Danganronpa, Hayashibara said “Wonderful!”...

I: And where does President Obama come in? 

KK: Hayashibara talked about one time when President Obama dismantle bomb facilities in the US to say “It’s important to take responsibility for what you make”, so I answered “Then I’m Obama?” (laughs).

I: (laughs) What a conversation.

KK: Hayashibara seemed to be very convinced by this explation, seeing how she put even more power into her chapter 6 performance.

I: Saihara’s chapter 6 voice acting was indeed on fire. Speaking of chapter 6, I was really surprised by the twist of having the DR1 and 2 characters there. Was that decided from the start?

KK: I didn’t even considered it when I was planning the plot. The idea came to me only when I started writting chapter 6′s script.

YT: That’s pretty late into the process.

KK: I was thinking that just Tsumugi Shirogane’s cosplays would be too weak to express the mastermind’s threat level. As I was thinking on how could I make her a character on par with Enoshima, since the ending was going to be that, I had my epiphany: “She should cosplay every character before her!”. And if I want a perfect cosplay, I would need the real voices. When I talked to Terasawa about how awesome she would be if she could cosplay even voices, and how much of a visual punch it would be to have all previous characters, his reaction was “Wait a minute...”.

I: I can see how he wouldn’t be ready for that.

KK: I was doing the recordings for the DR3 anime at the time, so I was naive enough to believe asking for just a couple additional lines would be enough.

YT: Life is not that easy (laughs).

I: (laughs) But everything worked at the end.

KK: I have to admit, I did some emotional blackmail there. Saying “I already started the script, I can’t go with any other twist now”. I had already resigned to the fact that we couldn’t have everyone, but in the end, the entire cast came to the recordings.

I: Impressive work, Terasawa.

YT: After Kodaka’s blackmail, I had to do my part, too. The result was splendid and very meaningful to the game, but we can’t use that in promotional material, so, from a cost efficiency standpoint, it was really bad (pained laughter).

KK: But one problem I would want to fix if I had a chance is how this made her total dialogue really long. I could have made it all a lot more concise, but you know, leaving one character with only two lines who be such a waste.

I: That said, I think the result was splendid. Just as you wanted, it made Shirogane a lot more awesome, in my opinion. On the topic of Shirogane, was making Super High School Level Cosplayer the mastermind talent decided from the start?

KK: Yes. The mastermind being a cosplayer came first from that ending punchline where she asserts that their entire world is part of her cosplay. Also because I really wanted to have a cosplayer character somewhere.

The Love Hotel was born from a cancelled game mechanic!?

I: Our next topic will be the setting and the special scenes. Starting from how the Kibougamine Academy was rebooted into the Saishuu Academy. Tell us how the academy was created.

KK: I think didn’t put any school name on the project pitch. The thing is, V3 is a project initiated under the idea of being something of a culmination of the series, of putting an end into everything, so we went with the name Saishuu, which carries the nuances of both “final” and “talents being locked up”. Another neat detail I only noticed now is that it’s kanji form is pretty easy to write (才囚).

I: You’re praising yourself too much (laughs).

KK: I love Saishuu Academy’s name, but I like its emblem just as much. The design includes a subtle prisoner aesthetic and a Monokuma. Though I wonder, how will the localization handle this? (pained laughter).

I: That’s a good question (laughs). Then, how was the academy’s design decided?

KK: I only asked them to make the wall. The wall was my utmost priority.

TS: I remember that this wall got its birdcage style because I suggested to include a jail or birdcage motif. V3′s school has a prison atmosphere, but prisons still have sports grounds and whatnot, you know? Because of this, we decided to make the Saishuu Academy with explorable areas outside the school building.

I: The Saishuu Academy has a lot of strange areas. A casino is already bad enough, but it has even a love hotel...

KK: Whose idea was the love hotel again?

SS: It was based on Sugawara’s idea of nighttime raids, from the project pitch.

TS: Oh yeah, at the time we had a set rule where you could only solve the academy’s mysteries at nighttime. The idea was to explore the academy at night and investigate the mysteries, but you could also peek into the students’ rooms.

YT: Yeah, I was thinking of making an investigation game like this. 

KK: The problem was that this was going to make the game too lenghty, so we left the parts where you enter the students’ for dialogue as the Love Hotel.

SS: Yeah, and since we thought it would be nice to have an element where you can flirt with the characters, they became those erotic scenes...

I: I see (laughs). Did you write the Love Hotel scenes, Kodaka?

KK: I gave the Love Hotel scenes to a substitute writer. Except their version were really not acceptable, so I had to rewrite them myself (pained laughter).

I: What an interaction to have. Enough about character scenes. We also had many new secret routes in the Class Trials.How exactly were these secret routes created?

SS: The secret routes exist because we wanted to incorporate the Lie Bullet into the story, not only the gameplay. But lying is something we kind of needed to convince most players to do. You know, we needed to add moments where the player would want to lie. And all thanks to Sugawara, we could do it.

I: You wrote the secret routes, didn’t you, Sugawara?

KK: I was too busy with everything else. Since already had semi-done scripts for the proper route, I let Sugawara have his ideas based on that.

TS: That said, I was also piled up with other jobs, so I had other developers do some bits, like pointing me out where I could lie. Some pointers I followed straight, while others I had to rethink. I tried to include as many secret routes as I could, but this was a work I couldn’t get done in time for the voice recordings.

I: I think making secret routes is hard even when the proper route script is complete...

TS: It was relatively easy to make the new content for the secret routes. The difficult is how to get back to the original route.

KK: I tried not to touch on Sugawara’s scripts too much, but I did edit some character word choices or some parts where the topic got too long.

I: How did the fans react to the secret routes?

KK: I didn’t hear much about it.

YT: I often check Twitter for fan opinions, but that’s never really tweeted about.

TS: I think a lot of people don’t notice where they can lie to get a secret route. I did make them change the song for the Debate where you can do Perjury, but that’s not listed or hinted in any tutorial, so...

KK: Not to mention it’s a really minor change, so I find it pretty difficult to notice on your first go.

The mystery novelist Kitayama adds even more well polished murder tricks

I: Since we are talking about Class Trials, I would like to ask about the murder tricks. First, tell me how Kitayama joined the party.

KK: Once I knew I would have to work on this and the DR3 anime at the same time, I thought I would have to ask someone for help, since the time I would have on the scripts would shorten. I thought that if I could smoothly get all the murder tricks decided, I could handle both scripts just fine, but unfortunately the discussion went for much longer than I expected. In the end I didn’t gain any time from all this, but thanks to Kitayama joining me, we boast higher quality.

I: How was your work?

KK: I told Kitayama the trick themes for each chapter and had him come up with the howdunnit. With that, Sugawara and Sasaki’s developer team can plot out the trick, then I check it all and put it together as the script. 

I: Was there anything big you had to fix?

KK: Depends on the chapter. For chapter 1 I pretty much used Kitayama’s idea exactly as it was. Even the “I tossed away what I was holding” descriptor was left exactly as Kitayama wrote it. On the other hand, chapter 2 was very different from the initial draft. 

SS: The chapter 2 trick was the water slider instead of the ropeway using the floating tube, right?

KK: Yeah, that one. Lining up a lot of floating tube to make the corpse slide on them. Then she would only have to cut the rope connecting them and that would leave just countless floating tubes on the pool. I fought finding the tubes during the investigation would be a fun idea, but when it came the time to script it, I got a lot questions. “Is this really enough water pressure to make a corpse silde?”. “Won’t she get wet from the water on the gaps between tubes?”. “Are sure the corpse can enter the fish tank?”.

YT: I’m a physics major, so this bothers me a lot. One little detail like this can ruin the whole case for me, so I made sure to comment everything I noticed.

KK: Yeah, so I had to change to the whole water slider trick into a ropeway trick. Sasaki, you’re the one who argued the most against this, weren’t you?

SS: I was (laughs). I had to plot the trick for chapter 2. So when Kodaka told me “The water slide won’t work”, I was like “Really...?”.

I: The script is where you start to notice the problems.

KK: More exactly, the plotting stage doesn’t put all that attention to detail. Because the workload for plotting a trick as a lot bigger than it sounds. And we’re definitely not gaining any time if I happen to see plans before they’re ready...So, the issues only start showing up when I’m doing the script.

SS: In chapter 2, even my idea to gather all the students together, the Insect Meet-and-Greet, caused some back-and-forth.

KK: Yes, I let the developer come up with the finer details, like for example the reason why all students gathered together. So, for this one I was like “What’s an Insect Meet-and-Greet even supposed to be?”.  Then he explained to me that the group would be assembled to look at Gonta’s insects, but I still had no idea why they would do that. I still wanted to do it, it was a fun idea, so I implemented Gonta’s Insect Meet-and-Greet on the form of Gonta kidnapping the students under Ouma’s orders.

I: Do you have any other case of struggles to connect a trick’s dots?

KK: Chapter 3, handled by Sugawara, also took a lot of time.

TS: I used Kitayama’s idea for the main trick using the seesaw, but we needed to change all the steps that lead to the crime, and that was the time consuming part. 

KK: Oh yeah, we changed the seance ritual.

TS: At first, the trick was that the students would all hold hands and sing Kagome Kagome together, while the culprit would stomp the floorboard. But if that were the case, when the culprit stomped the floorboard, the people holding his hands would feel the movement, you see...

I: And that’s why you had to edit. Next is chapter 4, how was it?

KK: Chapter 4 also had a murder trick by Kitayama, but it was a trick using a rope. Since we changed chapter 2 into the ropeway, that would make chapter 4′s a repeat. While we were thinking of how to make a ropeless trick, one the developers gave the looping world idea, so I created the trick using the loop.

I: Chapter 4′s trick was an idea that made a really good use out of the game world. Was there any reason to change the characters’ visual into the chibi models?

KK: I was born because we wanted to make a game inside a game. At first, we wanted to make a fully 3D world.

YT: You were calling it “VR”, weren’t you?

TS: But then its main gimmick became the loop trick, so we had to give up because a loop would be too hard and far too costly to portray in 3D. 

SS: We also considered using the bonus modes’ 8-bit sprites, but the consesus what that those were too visually unimpressive, so we made new ones, if I recall correctly.

KK: Also because to make the trick work we need to make the game in 2.5D, not 2D. Most of us thought it would be difficult to use the 8-bit sprites under that circumstances.

I: And for the chapter 5 trick, the twist where the victim and the culprit were in cahoots was very original, and I honestly couldn’t tell which of them was the culprit until the very end.

YT: That one is the hardest to figure out.

KK: I’m glad I could put the Exisal to good use in the 5th trick, with the victim and the culprit switching places. Also, I loaded chapter 5 with a large amount of information to distract you from the truth, so you being confused about it is exactly what we wanted.

The feelings imbued in the shocking finale. And an intriguing plan for the future!?

I: From this part on, I will be asking about the controversial chapter 6 and your plans for the future. I was told that when you were writting the chapter 6 script you added many extra animations and cutscenes of the school being destroyed. 

KK: At the plot planning stage, the only thing I had planned for chapter 6 was the endgame. Only when I actually reached that part in the script that I saw I didn’t know how lead the path to that. In DR2 I prepared some surprises to thrill the fans, like Kibougamine Academy appearing and whatnot. I wanted this game to have an element like this. And that’s when I arranged a meeting with all of Sasaki’s developers. I said “I put Kibougamine in DR2′s finale, so now I want V3 to have a set up as good as that”.

SS: Everyone agreed we should have one, of course.

KK: And that’s where I suggested we should explode Saishuu Academy. With Ki-bo appearing to help us around at the tightest moments, fighting the Exisals and all that. I talked with Sasaki’s team to ask if they could do it, they said “I think we can” and I answered “Nice” (laughs).

I: (laughs) That said, I think that was hard on who was managing the budget and schedule...

YT: You get me. There was suddenly a lot more to make.

KK: But we weren’t behind on the deadlines, were we?

SS: That’s right, we weren’t.

YT: That’s not how it works! (laughs)

Everyone: (laughs)

I: Chapter 6 had a lot more animated cutscenes too, hadn’t it?

KK: I wasn’t expecting that. You know that scene where Ki-bo first appears, flying to the glass? I was think that was going to be just some CG, not a fully animated cutscene. So it was a good surprise, like “Are you really making him this cool? Thank you!”.

YT: And his cutscene was quite a long one, at that.

SS: A CG would be too weak and unconvicing for this. We decided we should have this animated to give it the impact it deserved.

I: And I assume the same goes for all the add cutscene. Was the idea of slapping away the block-pathing debris conceived and added for the same reason? 

SS: It was. Honestly, there was so much more we wanted to do but didn’t have time to...

KK: To be completely honest, I was thinking chapter 6 was going to be a lot more visually simplistic than that. But once we started we didn’t want to stop. I’m glad the finished version is this much better than I imagined.

I: Speaking of chapter 6, can I ask Kodaka to explain the ending? 

KK: I went with that ending because I wanted to change where the player stands in V3. In 1 and 2 the player was an outside observer to the killing game. But in V3 I wanted the player to experience the same shock as Saihara and take part in the debate from the same position as him. Then, as Saihara is shocked to learn “This world was fictional. The Akamatsu and Momota I believed in were all fiction”, the player would also be hit with the fact “Everything I played so far is fictional”. But it’s a fact that everything you played so far still resonated with you and you gained a lot from it, so I was hoping you could synchro yourself with Saihara and take his side in the argument after he gets back in his feet. I was thinking that it if the player and the characters could outgrow this fiction, it could even create a new relationship between player and game.

I: I see. So that’s what you were thinking.

KK: I prepared a lot of tricks to make it easier for the player to sync up with Saihara, like Ki-bo’s “Do you want to save?”. Just empathizing with the characters was not enough for chapter 6, I want to share their point of view. That why, to make it harder to insert and emphatize in one specific person, I shuffled the POV with everyone.

I: I think the finale intentionally avoids stating what’s the truth and what is a lie. Do all of you in the production staff share the same answer to this mystery?

YT: Kodaka might have the answer on his mind, but I think we don’t need to know. We don’t even know if we can take everything Kodaka says as correct. See, the real right answer is the answer you came up with yourself.

I: You mean you just want everyone to think of the answer with their own personal interpretations?

YT: Also, I want to take this moments to tell all the fans that we never had the slightest intent to tarnish or insult the past games. We still think of Danganronpa 1 and 2 as our very beloved children. We love all 3 games from the bottom of our hearts.

I: Kodaka said before that V3 is a culmination and an end to everything, but will the Danganronpa series continue?

YT: Like with the first two games, we are completely burned out after finishing it, so, honestly, we don’t have any solid plans for a next game yet. However, as a producer, I want to answer to the fans’ support and expectations. I need to think long and hard about the future of Danganronpa.

I: What could this future be holding for us...?

YT: Who knows. DR1-2 Reload and Ultra Despair Girls will be ported to the PS4 this year, so I think we’ll get many new fans. If something in this trend incites Kodaka’s desire to write, we could be having a new game. Or at least that’s what I expect. I hope our fans expect the same.

I: I’ll be looking forward to it. Now, one message from all of you to the fans.

KK: Thank you for buying this artbook. How about replaying once more now that you know the game better? Or even better, buy another copy of the game and the book!

TS: I think there’s always something of value, be it good or bad, in someone playing a videogame for the first time. So the words I want to say here are the same words of gratitude said since the old days: THANK YOU FOR PLAYING.

SS: I saw a lot of intense critical commentary both for and against this game, so I’m very happy that this game managed to make this many people feel something about it. I believe leaving you wanting to talk about of you felt is one of the more characteristic traits of Danganronpa, so I love that you can enjoy exchanging your opinions.

[rockmiyabideusexmachina]

2019 Megaman Valentine’s Day Contest Rules Post

It’s year number 12 of lovey dovey-buku contest art, and I’m back at it again. No secret categories, no surprise themes. These are just the two options you all voted on the most, this time around. Let’s do it!

Two categories, in which you are allowed to submit one entry for each category, if you would like. If you place in one category, you will be automatically disqualified from the other, for reasons of fairness, and to give other people a chance to win a prize.

CATEGORY 1:  The Way To A Mega Man’s Heart Is Through His Stomach (Talent)

Content Requirements:

        * A pinup category focusing on Mega Man characters who are cooking, baking, eating, feeding their partner, lounging on or around supersized pieces of food,  or creatively wearing clothing that appears to be made out of aesthetically appealing food products. Basically, some sort of delectable food must be drawn along with at least one character.

        * As this is the talent category, judging will be based primarily on the overall composition of your piece and your artistic skills. How well can you bring delicious, appetizing food to life, along with your delicious, appetizing character(s)?

Who says robots can’t enjoy food? Certainly not Fully Charged Guts Man. XD

A popular proverb has long held that one can often fall deeper in love due to their partner preparing their favorite food or sharing a romantic meal with one another. There have been many instances of Mega Man characters who would likely operate in a similar fashion, due to their love for their fave dishes. Netto has his insatiable craving for curry, while his papa Yuuichirou’s palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, as he holds his fork waiting for mama’s spaghetti. Megaman Volnutt wants his sweets so badly, he’d kick a vending machine to pieces to get them, or bug the lady at Jetlag Bakery for those yummy confectioneries. Kelvin Stelar went a more healthy route and loved carrots as much as his wife’s homemade carrot gratin. And don’t forget the delicious cake waiting for Ashe or Grey in the fridge of Hunter’s Camp 4.

So, your task for this category is to draw the Mega Man character(s) of your choice tempting their Valentine with some delicious food. Some sweets for their sweetie, if you will. But the character you draw can be pretty tempting themselves, to go along with their treats. Create a tastefully seductive combo meal that will leave our mouths watering for more!

Now remember, as much as some of you out there might have first thoughts to draw some melons, bananas and glazed honey buns, this category is not meant to get explicit. No frontal nudity is allowed. So please follow tumblr brand censorship guidelines™ when creating your art, or it will be flagged, hidden from the public and not included in the competition. ;p

CATEGORY 2: Princess Sigmia Returns (Humor)

Content Requirements:

           * A Megaman character who takes the primary form of another, opposite gender Megaman character due to a magical crown/mystery tank/navigator’s headset/biometal/battle chip/etc. This character is looking for love this Valentine’s Day. How they attempt to obtain a date/partner is up to you.

           * As this is the humor category, judging will be based primarily on how funny your piece is. Consideration will also be given to a lesser degree on your creativity in combining your characters into a hybrid, and your overall design for them. But the point of this category is to make us laugh!

Following 2018’s hottest videogame art trend, that of the genderbent transformation of Bowser and crew into Princess Peach-looking alternate forms of themselves, it’s time to continue that spin with more Mega Man characters.

Looking to clean up real nice in the ultimate battle body for a night of love and romance, Princess Sigmia is ready to hit the club/restaurant/park/etc., and this time she’s brought friends.

Your goal for this category is to create the funniest romantic scenario this hybrid character can get into on Valentine’s Day. What made them use this magical, transformative item? What are the reactions of other characters to this newly made up character, who resembles someone they thought they knew? Let your imagination run wild, and draw most hilarious creation you can come up with!

There are no restrictions on what characters you merge, and no, you don’t have to stick with my combination of Sigma and Alia. You can base your transformations off of heroes or villains, minor enemies or main characters. It just has to follow the similar format of gaining the appearance of a familiar character of the opposite gender, while still retaining some characteristics of the original character. So, whether you create Mistress Ashebert, Mega Man VolBonne, Rainbow Cieldevil, Prince Praika, or Crimson Akane, the combinations are all up to you!

PRIZES:

It’s the usual, ‘get-what-you want’ option, for the top 3 artists in each category. As always, if you prefer a cash prize through Paypal, and just need the money, that’s typically the easiest and quickest option to get your reward.

But like normal, I will be flexible and work with the winners to purchase Megaman-related prizes, if there’s something you’ve really had your eye on and would like ordered. Be it a Roll Caskett 4-inch Nel, Fully Charged figures, artbook re-releases, Mastermix issues, or some other trinket. If I can find it within your prize price range and order it to be shipped straight to you, I will do all I can to make it happen!

The winners for both the Talent and Humor categories will receive the following:

          *1st Place: $100 USD or an item(s) up to that value.

          *2nd Place: $50 USD or an item(s) up to that value.

          *3rd Place: $25 USD or an item(s) up to that value.

PARTICIPATION PRIZE RAFFLE:

Since they have gone pretty well in the past, I once again will be offering participation prizes. Some might say a few of these are quite X-cellent prizes, in honor of X’s 25th anniversary this year. In order to be eligible for the participation prizes, all you need to do is enter a pic for either the Talent or Humor Category!

Like previous years, if there is a prize here you are NOT interested in, please note that when you send in your submission(s) to me. Otherwise, you will be automatically entered in the raffle for a chance at each of these items.

If you draw a pic for both the Humor and the Talent Categories, you can double your chances to win! (Odds of course, depending on how many others enter and also draw two pics.) You will be able to add your name into the drawing a second time for just 1 of these prizes.

Raffle Prize #1 – Rockman 8 Anime Cel (with Genga)

Name a more iconic Duo. I’ll wait. This cel of Duo is a tight headshot from the midgame cutscene. After waking up, Duo sees the vial of Evil Energy by Doctor Light’s computer, crushes it, and proceeds to say “HE STILL LIVES!” before screaming in this frame and blasting off through the ceiling of Light Labs.

This is almost quite certainly your last chance to win a Rockman 8 cel from me, so best of luck to all who want to take it home!

Thanks to a generous donation from @silentally, there are also 3 other pairs of raffle prizes (*pictures to be edited in and added soon):

Raffle Prize #2 – Set of Mega Man X Official Complete Works Artbook and a beaded Zero keychain

Raffle Prize #3 – Set of a framed 3D sprite art piece of X’s iconic Vile battle, as Zero comes to the rescue, and a handmade Zero plush

Raffle Prize #4 – Set of Tamashii Buddies Zero figure and a Zero emblem wristband

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

When you submit, I would prefer you to include the following information in this format, along with your entry:

•   (Your name/preferred alias) – As much as I usually know who you are, there’s always someone new or somebody who has a different preference from what their email name says.

•   (Category this entry is for) – You can either say 1 or 2, or Talent/Humor

•   (Participation Prize Eligibility) – Just write “All” if you are interested in the chance to win anything. Write: “Exclude from # __” if you do not have interest in winning a particular participation prize.

In the event you are submitting your second entry, please specify which prize # you would like your bonus chance in the raffle to be put towards.

Only submit your own work, as usual. Any character, major or minor, from any series is allowed. Pairing characters from different series is totally allowed. Same-gender pairings are completely fine. OCs are allowed, as long as your art contains at least one canon Megaman character.

As always, participants are allowed to submit from all over the world. It’s easier for me to get prizes to US entrants, because international shipping is complicated and pricey, but I’ll do what I can for you guys who aren’t in the States.

Paypal is still the preferred method for cash prize payouts. Please have a valid account to receive your winnings.

Youngin's, get your parents permission before entering.

Entries do not need to be colored, but it is preferred. The more effort put into things as always, the better chance you have!

Entries can either be e-mailed to me at rock2125[at]hotmail[dot]com, or you can just PM/note me a link to your pic.

DO NOT post your pics in this journal, your dA galleries, Twitter, tumblr blogs, other sites, etc. until the contest is over. This is the fairest way for competitive reasons. I prefer to keep them all secret until the deadline has passed.

I'll edit a confirmed entry list in this thread when I receive them. So you won't be in the dark about whether or not I've received your entry.

DEADLINE:

The deadline for this contest will be Tuesday, February 12th, 2019 by 11:59PM CST. *EXTENDED!* New deadline is Wednesday, February 27th, 2019. This gives you a little more than 5 weeks to finish your entry!

MISCELLANEOUS INFO:

As usual, If you don't plan to enter, but would like to help me judge, please let me know through DM or mention so here. Never hurts to have extra opinions on all the entries.

Bug me with questions if you have any. Please join in, and good luck to everyone who enters!

CONFIRMED ENTRIES:

Cat. 1 (Talent) - @prar-draws, @larytello, @drewblossom, @bracedshark, subzeroiceskater, @irischroma, @papillonthepirate, SockMonkii

Cat. 2 (Humor) - @drewblossom (x2), @bracedshark, subzeroiceskater, 

[joshdachu]

I obtained Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild Creating a Champion, Detroit Become Human, & God of War! 📦 - I 💖 LoZ BotW artworks so much! It must have artbook. Yay it's happening as released recently! I got it from Book Depository for $40 while +$60 everywhere! It has +300 pages! Looking forward to read 'em all! 🤺 - DBH & GoW for $29 each from Amazon AU! I was waiting for DBH & GoW goes on EPIC sale. Black Friday sale is happening all this week. Both PS4 games launched early this year. Average exclusive first party hard PS4 games drop prices 6-12 months later. Looking forward to being a robot with limit time decisions, & being a BOY! 🤖👨‍👧 - #legendofzelda #breathofthewild #lozbotw #legendofzeldabreathofthewild #detroitbecomehuman #godofwar #godofwarps4 #videogame #videogames https://www.instagram.com/p/BqbVdocjmyx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1lg5j6ghi3im7

[alanaartdream]

I ended getting the wild robot art book (waiting for the books to arrive) I need to find time to watch the movie but it’s all over the TikTok fyp so I’ve seen clips and loving what I am seeing so drawn some attempts at drawing Roz the wild robot herself

[extraneousdominomask]

Y’know, back when H&H first started, I went a whole four weeks where I updated every Saturday without fail. The only thing that broke that streak was exams. To this day I’m kinda amazed by that.

I wanted to at least try to do these things weekly, as a testament to that initial regularity. I immediately failed. That says a lot, I think. But let’s waste no more time; on to

Chapter 2: “Clods & Curators”

“I'm just not a fan of this guy's attitude. He's a real menace to nice young policewomen.” “There it is,” said Bentley flatly. “Mystery solved. There's a policewoman.” hue hue Ah yes, the first seeds of heretical romance being sown. I had a lot of fun teasing these ships, even if I never intended to push things too far (I don’t write romance and I especially don’t write love triangles). My one regret? Not enough Sly/Nick and Judy/Carmelita. Followers of this blog will know how I’ve since tried to correct this.

Setting two high-level characters against each other can be a challenge. You don’t want either one to outsmart the other by too much. One of my all-time favourite MCU moments, for example, is when Loki catches Hawkeye’s arrow and smirks... only for it to explode in his face. That’s efficient. They both look badass, even if one “wins”. Point being, I felt I had to have Tai Lung notice he was being followed, even if Sly proves too stealthy for him overall.

rip in peace Alfonso Wilde, 2016-2016 (he was not real)

here comes a special (and erudite and sophisticated) man specifically Black goddamn Panther hi Black Panther So. You may be wondering: why in god’s name is Black Panther in this story? I’ll tell you why. Because I wanted him. Because I needed someone appropriately intelligent to guard a diamond against two master-class criminal gangs at once. And because Black Panther is awesome. Next question. The next question is: where does the surname “Okonkwo” come from? T’Challa seems to just be named that - “T’Challa”. (#royalty) His surname is an alias he once used for some time, itself a reference to the protagonist of Things Fall Apart, which is a very good book I recommend if any of you want to read something that isn’t fanfiction

Notably absent from this chapter? The leader of Okonkwo’s new guards. Very much a sign that I was writing this on the fly; that character was a late addition because I hadn’t yet plumbed the depths of that obsession I’d say it was lucky I chose wolves anyway, but of course I chose wolves. I always choose wolves!

I love the idea of using “primitive” characters in a modern, urban setting. Specifically as a biker gang. They’re wearing denim jackets because leather would raise worrisome questions. (Fun fact from the Zoop artbook: Judy’s uniform is a mixture of neoprene and kevlar for the same reason!) I also re-used the hyenas’ iconic and incredibly awkward means of introducing each others’ names to the audiences, because of course I did

here comes a special (and neurotic, and loud) girl specifically goddamn Peridot hello Peridot!!!!!! So. Why in god’s name is Peridot in this story?! Black Panther is at least, nominally, a panther. Peri’s a holographic space lesbian whose only connection to any animal is that sometimes her face does this

Why is she here?! Well, the same reason anyone else is: I love her, and I wanted to write for her. Plus, she was the perfect fit. I needed someone who could match Bentley’s skills, but would crave approval from her boss. That’s Peridot to a T. The initial pick for the enemy hacker, for about three minutes, was actually Rocket. Yeah, as in Bradley Cooper. But he’s far too crass and volatile to work for this ~mysterious mastermind~ Final note: lynxes actually aren’t all that small. I decided that whatever makes Bellwether so smol compared to other sheep is also going on here

I know I (repeatedly) say I wrote this story from the Zoop side, but one of the primary goals was to write a true crossover; something that feels like a Zootopia story and a Sly Cooper story. So here we see Sly sneak past a(n unobservant) mook, get to a high position, and start takin’ recon photos with his Binocucom.  Also - “Binocucom” never looks right no matter how carefully I spell it

“Most likely a voice modulator, but Sly wasn't prepared to rule out a giant robot.”   I had so much fun with lines like these, which are just references if you know the context and make Sly sound fucking insane if you don’t. The potential for different audience reactions was a unique joy of this story

You know me, I’m a villains guy. I like ‘em ostentatious and visible. But Zootopia kept its antagonist secret for a reason - in this setting, with its Actual Police Force, villains need to either run or hide. I thought having Scar be present while keeping ~the mastermind~ technically a mystery was a nice balance. It’s not much of a secret, but the characters can’t move against him without proof

“Silence! Silence, all of you! I will not tolerate this insubordination!”  sometimes you yourself don’t know what phrases will become important

“Oh, jeez,” he said. “Is he okay?” Tai Lung leapt to his feet suddenly, cold fury in his eyes. “Oh,” said Murray. “Guess so.” Ramming somebody with his van to save his little buddy, but then expressing genuine concern over the person he hit. Just Murray things.

“Just one of those nights, y'know?” added Murray. “One of those, 'Sly might get himself killed 'cause he met a lady' nights...” just Sly things

Man, there was a lot to talk about this chapter. I love Black Panther! And Peridot! And you, for listening to me ramble! Thank you and goodnight!

[ben10-lostandfound]

“Ben 10″ (Original Series) - Villain Art from Comic Con 06 Artbook by Dave Johnson

Full Color Images of Vilgax, Sixsix, Kraab, and Dr. Animo from the episode “Dr. Animo and the Mutant Ray”.

Sketches of Clancy, Wild Vulpimancer, Dr. Doomacus, Null Guardian, The Big Tick, Alien Enforcer, Underwater Robots, Slix Vigma, Slix’s Guards. 

[blogdottv]

Seit heute ist „Horizon Zero Dawn“ exklusiv für PlayStation®4 erhältlich. Mit ihrem jüngsten Werk erschaffen die Guerrilla Games, die Macher der Killzone-Spielereihe, eine ebenso faszinierende wie plausible Zukunftswelt. Und die hat gleich drei Stars: Eine atemberaubende Natur, bedrohliche Maschinenwesen und die rothaarige Kriegerin Aloy.

Die Apokalypse regt seit jeher die Phantasie des Menschen an, der Zusammenbruch der Zivilisation – ausgelöst durch Krieg, Umweltzerstörung, Götter oder Außerirdische – ist ein stets wiederkehrendes Sujet von Filmen, Büchern und Spielen. Gemessen an der Beliebtheit der Thematik ist die Darstellung der Postapokalypse überraschend eindimensional: Verdunkelter Himmel, verdorrte Landstriche, verheerte Städte. Die Farben der Zukunft sind gewöhnlich grau und braun.

Die Vision, die das niederländische Entwicklerstudio Guerrilla Games beim neuesten Werk, dem PlayStation 4-exklusiven Horizon Zero Dawn, verfolgt, ist eine vollkommen und erfrischend andere. Die Welt nach dem Ende der bekannten Zivilisation ist bezaubernd schön. Schließlich hat sich die Natur das Land zurückerobert, die Städte und Fabriken, die Äcker und Straßen. Die Menschen, welche die Katastrophe überlebt haben, sind einfach und naturverbunden, leben in Stämmen von und mit der Welt, die sie umgibt.

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Doch das Idyll trügt, wie der Spieler in der Rolle der jungen Kriegerin Aloy schnell feststellen muss. Denn auch wenn ein großer Teil der menschlichen Errungenschaften das Ende der modernen Zivilisation nicht überlebt hat, so gelang dies offenbar vielen Maschinen. Autonome Roboter, in Gestalt und Verhalten an wilde Tiere erinnernd, beherrschen die Erde, machen die Welt außerhalb der Menschensiedlungen zu einem lebensgefährlichen Ort. In Horizon Zero Dawn erkundet der Spieler dieses ungewöhnliche, nicht selten überwältigende Szenario und seine Geheimnisse. Mit Heldin Aloy erlernt er die Jagd auf die bedrohlichen Robotortiere und Maschinenwesen. Er entwickelt verschiedene Fertigkeiten und seinen eigenen Spielstil, um Horizon Zero Dawn auf ganz individuelle Weise zu erleben. Und wegen der schieren Größe, dem Detailgrad und der Einzigartigkeit des Schauplatzes wird er viele unvergessliche Stunden in dieser schönen neuen Welt von Guerrilla Games verbringen.

Horizon Zero Dawn im Überblick:

Das jüngste Werk der holländischen Entwickler Guerrilla Games, bei Millionen Spielern bekannt durch ihre preisgekrönte Science Fiction-Shooter-Serie Killzone.

Über sechs Jahre Arbeit wurden in die Entwicklung einer vollkommen neuen Spielemarke gesteckt, die sich in Story, Präsentation und Spielmechanik komplett von den früheren Arbeiten des Studios unterscheidet.

Der Spieler lenkt Heldin Aloy in Third-Person-Perspektive durch die Welt, nutzt die facettenreiche Flora und Fauna und kämpft gegen gewaltige Maschinenwesen.

Statt auf reiner Action liegen die Schwerpunkte des Spiels auf der Erkundung der Welt, überlegtem, oft heimlichem Vorgehen, Rollenspielaspekten, welche die Heldin individuell weiterentwickeln lassen, sowie dem Ergründen einer klug konstruierten und packend erzählten Hintergrundgeschichte.

Die offene Welt darf weitgehend frei bereist werden und bietet neben der Hauptstory zahlreiche abwechslungsreiche Aufgaben und Missionen.

Horizon Zero Dawn nutzt die zusätzliche Leistungsfähigkeit der PlayStation 4 Pro für eine noch eindrucksvollere grafische Gestaltung.

Das Spiel ist in folgenden Editionen erhältlich:​

Standard –  in Standard PS4-Box oder als Download im PlayStation Store

Limited Edition –  im Pappschuber als Steelbook mit 48-seitigem Artbook, PS4-Theme und Ingame-Boni

Collectors Edition –  in großer Box als Steelbook, mit 23cm Statue, 48-seitigem Artbook, PS4-Theme und Ingame-Boni

Standard Digital –  die Standard Version als digitaler Download aus dem PlayStation Store

Digital Deluxe Edition – digitaler Download aus dem PlayStation Store, inklusive umfangreicher Ingame-Boni wie Outfits mit extra Schutzfunktionen, sowie zusätzlichen Ressourcen

Horizon Zero Dawn wurde von der USK mit dem Alterskennzeichen “Freigegeben ab 12 Jahren” versehen und erscheint am 1. März 2017 exklusiv für die PlayStation 4. 

Horizon Zero Dawn ab heute erhältlich

[alanaartdream]

Soo with love of the wild robot 🤖 movie and just had the books arrived so I can read them (also the movie artbook is soo pretty)

I sided to draw Sanrio’s Chococat reading the 1st book and then had to do something with my fairy Timmy au where I believe if Timmy was to be turned into a fairy and fully adopted into Wanda Cosmo’s family to be raised fully with Peri/ baby poof they’d get books for Timmy to read that’ll spark more to his interests into reading more like the wild robot books 📚 and being as Timmy such a good big brother to peri/poof would more than likely read them to peri/poof (who knows maybe the nicktoons unite gang would love the books too)

Then when Timmy & Peru have grown up they’re going to watch the movie 🍿 together so had to draw that idea down

(( also I feel like these fandoms would enjoy the wild robot books & movie too))

Closer look at Chococat reading the book drawing

And then closer look at fairy Timmy reading the books to toddler Poof/Peri

Then them both going to see the movie together when they’re both adult fairies 🧚‍♂️