#there's only so many i can recreate in minecraft.

[fairyoctopus]

trying to come up with a circus of dragons is fun but also i am running out of carnival games that i can think of

[afterartist]

HELICALTALE MAIN CAST LINEUP!!

(Not ll of the characters but the most important ones to the plot)

‘And now: AU Infodump

BUT BEFORE ANYTHING!!

I will be answering any questions (within reason) any of you have about the au, even if it’s about some random side character only three people have ever heard of before

I live world building and any chance to expand on this world are treasured

I’ll probably answer with fun little doodles as well lol

So ask away :D!!

Basic AU overview:

Helicaltale is NOT a classic based Timeline.

The AU is set in a world where Mt Ebott was destroyed during the war, leaving a desert crater in its place, no protection for the Monsters to retreat and nowhere to seal them underground. In response, the Human mages put a spell on Monster kind, ‘Helios’ Curse’, forcing them to be unable to touch sunlight or else they’d burn (think Vampires or Minecraft Mobs)

The main story takes place 87 years after the war ended and 29 years after friendly communications between the two races begun, with the Monsters settled in a camp like city, made of tents and canvas buildings, around the oasis that formed in the desert that was now known as Ebott crater. Humans and Monsters have achieved peace between the races, regular trading routes and communications set up between the two cities.

Now all that was left was for both Humans and Monsters to find a way to break Helios’ Curse for good.

(None of them can touch Sunlight (minus the humans) but the ones more lightly dressed (Gaster, Alphys, Asgore) all live in the city, with proper buildings not at risk of being blown over at any second so can afford to not be covered up 100% of the time)

Locations:

Ebott City-

The capital city of the country, Ebott is a massive human settlement, overshadowing old ruins left by the war. It’s currently the main base of conferences between human and monster relations.

The Oasis-

The Monster settlement, made from tents and interconnecting canvas sheets, from above it looks like a colourful cluster of a campground, large sheets stretched over the streets. From within it’s only lit by lamps and magic, the sky completely blocked out by tarps and canvas to avoid accidentally getting burned by sunlight, to those not familiar with the city it’s a labyrinth, others, its home.

(A major inspiration for the Oasis is the Kowloon walled city, for those interested in a more accurate visual of the Oasis)

The Great Fence-

While the name conveys grandeur, the fence is a simple chain link fence acting as the border around the entire Oasis, topped with barbed wire and adorned with tarps, it’s designed to protect the residents against wild animals like Coyotes and be a barrier against sandstorms more than it is to keep people out, one of the most regular jobs for the Royal guard other than being general peace keepers is to uphold the fence, often sending patrols out after heavy storms to keep everything in order.

Central Oasis-

A mix between Newhome and Waterfall, it’s the main hub of the town, the Royal family living there along with the majority of schools and recreational areas, most Water based monsters (ie: Shyren, Aaron ect ect) also live in this area, a large lake of water being the centerpiece of the city.

Lights district-

To the west side of the city is the main shopping hub, while much more open than the majority of the Oasis, many stores foregoing walls on their tents entirely, its full of stores and restaurants, the most well known being Grillby’s and Muffets joint restaurant, many visitors to the Oasis come for the night life of the lights district, the monsters that live in that area making the camp around them as flashy and attractive as possible, neon lights and dancing flames lighting up the darkness of the district, the Celebrities Mettaton and Nabstablook have also been alluded to frequent the region and perform for onlookers.

Sandbank-

The Snowden equivalent of the AU, having gotten its name due to its position at the east side of the city, being the least protected by the walls of the crater, Sandbank often gets the brunt of the sandstorms that hit the desert, leading many of the Royal Guards live in this area in case of an emergency during the storms.

Southside (the Black Market)-

Technically not its official name, the Southside of the Oasis is whispered about in the dark of night, rumours telling of an illegal market place and shady monsters working in the south, many a monster wandering in and never coming out. While most likely just old wives tales, its best you keep your distance, just in case.

(Yeah I made the Black Market an actual real marketplace because that will never not be funny to me)

Hotlands-

The north most section of the Oasis is best known as Hotlands, given the name as it’s the highest section of city but also the most shielded by the crater walls, leaving it boiling without any wind to seep out the heat’. There’s been speculation that Hotlands actually sits over an underground chamber of magma, adding to the blistering temperature.

Characters:

The Dreemurrs:

Frisk- (Any Pronouns)

Frisk is an 11 year old kid, a runaway from one of Ebott City’s Orphanages, known for its less than legal treatment of the children. Having joined Chara as the eldest helped them both escape, Frisk followed Chara into the desert, looking for shelter from CPS.

During the trek however Frisk falls sick with an illness, most common in Monsters but able to infect anyone with strong magic, called Icarus syndrome.

With Icarus syndrome being effectively Hyperthermia of the soul, any physical treatment is ineffective, needing a particular medication to have any hope of survival, leaving the crater as not just refuge but possibly their only chance of survival.

Chara- (They/Them)

Chara is 16 and the orchestrator of the escape from the Orphanage with Frisk, after having been in contact online with a kid from the Monster camp that offered assistance. During the escape Frisk fell ill, forcing Chara to locate and purchase the rare medicine. Ending up in the Monster equivalent of the black market, Chara found a monster begrudgingly willing to help, trading a magical glass eye, a prosthetic their grandfather made for both humans and monsters during the war, for a small vial of medicine. The trader warning them to keep out of the black market before dropping the two kids off safely at the center of the Oasis.

Asriel- (He/Him)

Asriel is the firstborn son of the Dreemurrs and heir to the Royal throne, at 16 he made contact and became friends with a kid online, the other telling him of the danger they and their sibling were in at the Orphanage. Quickly offering up his home, knowing both his parents had fostered and cared for many children in the past and wouldn’t turn away two more. Upon meeting them in the Oasis he makes fast friends with both Frisk and Chara, practically adopting them as siblings on the spot.

Toriel- (She/Her)

Queen of the Oasis at 143 years old, Toriel has seen her fair share of bloodshed and peacetime, giving her the knowledge to recognise that protecting young children is the best way to ensure their future, guiding them to Mercy and pragmatic solutions instead of Fighting. One of the first things she did after Monsters had finally settled into the Oasis being starting up a school, becoming the primary teacher for a good few years before other parents eventually began to join her staff. Though, with the two new children her son had brought to her doorstep, she’s begun to realise it’s not just the children of Monster kind that need protection.

Asgore- (He/Him)

King of the Oasis and 146 years old, Asgore grew up at the front lines of the war, the heinous acts shaping him into the pacifist he is today. Currently away from the Oasis, Asgore has turned his sights on communications with the Humans, staying at the city while conferences with the city leaders on trade routes and transportation commence. He is also overseeing the Monster half of the Science team, working closely with the Royal Advisor and Scientists Gaster in developing a cure to Helios’ Curse. He remains in frequent contact with the Oasis, making the trip back every weekend to see his now growing family and make sure Toriel isn’t overwhelmed with responsibilities.

-

The Fonts:

Dr. Gaster- (He/Him)

At 140, Gaster has spent his life developing weapons for war (the Gaster Blaster being his pride and joy) and perseverance for Monster Kind, having a massive distaste for all Humans and most Monsters. The sudden change from war efforts to restoration efforts throwing his life in disarray. Jumping at the chance to use Human equipment on government funded experiments, Gaster didn’t hesitate to leave his sons Sans and Papyrus (9 and 4 at the time) back at the Oasis to move to the city and begin work. He’s had a hand in creating many inventions helping Monster kind (both helping with the medicine for Icarus Syndrome and a magic Sunscreen that can briefly minimise the effects of the sun) and the head of the Selene Project, the project to break the curse.

Sans- (He/Him)

28 and thriving, Sans has made a name for himself as both the comedic slacker of the Royal guard and the savvy businessman as one of the Black Markets best traders. Having been forced to raise both himself and Papyrus from a young age, Sans became intwined with the black market at the age of 12, after Papyrus caught Icarus Syndrome and receiving no help from Gaster off in the city, Sans was forced to find his own way of getting medication. At the age of 12 he found his way into the black market, ending up trading his right eye, and subsequently some of his shortcut abilities with an underground doctor in exchange for the medicine, to this day he hasn’t told anyone what happened to his eye. From then on he found himself going back and getting into trading as a way of making money as a side job while both he and Papyrus worked to get into the Royal guard, quickly becoming infamous in the criminal world of the Oasis, though he had a rule that no kids were to ever be found trading in the market. A rule that quickly got broken when a young human kid stumbled into his shop, begging for help, offering a magic glass eye as payment. Unable to send the kid off without help (or turn down the irony of selling the meds for an eye) he made the trade before guiding the kid and their sibling to the Oasis center.

-

(Bonus:)

After dropping the kids off, Sans makes an attempt to use the prosthetic eye, yet upon fitting it into his socket, the magic activated and bonded with his soul, causing the eye to become fused with his being, immovable. Along with the eye he’s suddenly able to see things he, by all means, should NOT be able to see, including text bubbles from the creators (similar to error sans)

He also finds, magically in his pocket, a small golden key, only figuring out its use after stumbling across a door in the middle of nowhere, upon using the key on the door he finds himself in an entirely different AU, door closing and disappearing behind him.

This is what leads him to discover the Multiverse and travel between AUs (inconveniently ending up in Nightmares Castle more times than he’d care to count)

-

Papyrus- (He/Him)

The Great Papyrus, second in command of the Royal guard at the younge age of 23 (you may applaud now)

Having grown up with just himself and Sans, Papyrus always wanted to become something great to make his brother proud, despite Sans’ insistence that he’s already proud of him. When he was 13, while Sans was out getting food, Papyrus had been targeted and hunted down by a group of bullies from the Southside of town, the group of teens taking turns in beating him up, eventually escalating to the point where one of them pulled a mirror from their pocket and used it to reflect a beam of sun directly onto his face, leaving a permanent scar,

He was saved however, when a teen he recognised from the Oasis center came charging out from one of the nearby tents, picking up handfuls of sand and hurtling it at the other kids before beating them up with her fists alone. Once over, the girl had turned, helped Papyrus up and took him to see her grandfather, the current head of the Royal Guard, a job she loudly proclaimed she was going to have one day,

Ever since then he attempted and eventually got into the Royal guard, along with Sans and the teen, Undyne.

-

Gersons:

Undyne- (She/Her)

29, Captain of the Royal Guard, Wife of the best woman around, living the high life! Having been raised by her grandfather Gerson for longer than she could remember, she’s always looked up to the Royal Guard, no matter how her Grandfather told her it wasn’t all glory. She’d been sneaking out and training with one of the Royal Guards for 8 years by the time she was 19, stumbling across a fight, six of her classmates beating down on a young skeleton. She’d jumped to defense before she’d even registered it, helping the kid up and getting him patched up where eventually the kids brother, Sans, one of Alphys’ friends found them and thanked her profusely.

The three became fast friends, practically siblings, both of them there at her and Alphys’ wedding and her promotion to Captain of the Royal guard.

Alphys- (She/They)

27 and already one of the best Scientists in the whole country. Alphys’ having grown up in Hotlands would have never dared to dream she’d be working with a whole team of like minded scientists, especially not in the human city, though not being able to see her Wife as often was a dampener. Dr. Gaster was also a bit, overzealous, with the project, it was only a matter of time before the madman created some temporal superflux that blew up half the block, even if she wouldn’t be anywhere near as prestigious without his guidance, despite Sans’ reservations for letting them near him.

(I will be adding more to this AU btw, it’s in my top 3 faves lmao)

Bonus:

Animation I’ve done for Helical Sans to explain how his AU hopping works

[shaunamilfman]

Jackie Taylor with an s/o that plays video games

pre-crash headcanons

Jackie Taylor is for sure a hater of any hobby you have. Why would you want to have a hobby when you could just watch her being pretty?? 

she’d definitely approach this with the intent of getting you to stop playing and pay attention to her at first. she’s laying all over you absolutely astonished that you’re still playing video games while she’s there. You seriously have a pretty girl in your lap and still want to play minecraft?

She’s realizing the error of this plan as you assume she’s interested and start explaining what’s going on in your game. It wasn’t her intention, but she figures at least this way you’re still paying her attention. She’ll get what she can get.

Jackie would end up getting really interested in the story line and would get upset with you if you even thought about playing it without her. she asks you so many dumb questions about game mechanics and makes you go through every single dialog option that it takes you like 40 hours to finish a 20 hour game

Jackie would get really into competitive games on your behalf. like she'd sitting there cheering you on like she's watching a fucking soccer game. Jackie buys you headphones with a mic so she can start shit talking people you play against. she gets really into the spirit of the competition man. 

Jackie talking about you embarrassing her after she shit talked everyone and you died like 3 minutes in lmao. all “how could you do this to me 😔” and shit. i just know Jackie Taylor would be an absolute menace on a mic regardless of if you had the skill to back it up

it's even funnier because she'd be so so bad at it herself. Jackie blows herself up with her own grenade like every time because she hits the wrong button. pouts and gives up after one round. isn't she dreamy?? 🥰🥰

Jackie trying to get into playing games but it's just her running around frolicking in the tall grass and handing you the controller whenever she had to fight someone

speaking of which I just know she went out and bought the pink controller. your black controller was not cute enough for her 

Jackie looks up guides for you whenever you get stuck on something. you think it's sweet but she just gets bored easily

Playing Minecraft with Jackie but all she does is build the house and accidently screw you over. Jackie moves the bed while your gone and completely fucks your spawn point up. Jackie's just like “i wanted to put carpet there 😔” Jackie also dies from falling off the house at some point and is at spawn getting farmed by mobs till you come get her. 

Jackie has you off in the mines for days because she wants an iron block accent wall. she only ever wants the expensive blocks I just know it. she's building your house out of the wood block instead of the planks, and she'll be damned if she's gathering those resources herself

Jackie taking your diamond armor to wear while she builds the house because “it's prettier than iron 🥰🥰.”

You come back from a long day of mining and Jackie wants to show you the heart shaped leaves on the trees that took her an hour to do. 

Jackie's house gets blown up by a creeper and she's beside herself over it I just know it

you make the mistake of showing Jackie the Sims because you think she might like it. she's obsessed immediately. 

she plays it on her regular laptop and it sounds like an airplane taking off 

Jackie has a painstakingly perfect recreation of your place with you guys in it, and she will make this your problem

sim you cheats on sim Jackie and she won't speak to you for days. she texts you a picture of the notification like “wowwwwwww. okay.” it does not matter to her that it was a video game lmaoo

catching Jackie recreating a girl who flirted with you so she can lock her in the pool to drown

Jackie picking your outfit out one day and you're just staring at her suspiciously

"what? 😁" / "these kind of look like the outfits you put us in your game" / "pffff. whattttt?”

you'll fall asleep to Jackie playing it and wake up and she's still there. it gets so bad you and Shauna have to stage an intervention. 

Jackie gets pissed whenever your character can marry/date another character. She found out you married Haley in Stardew Valley and still glares at you whenever she sees a coconut. “why don't you go tell your WIFE 🙄.” my petty queen. 

trying to get Jackie to play a resident evil game but she cries like ten minutes in because she's so stressed/scared from the background noises. three creek floor noises and she's gone. hasn't even gotten in the house yet 

Jackie grows to really love the fact that you have a hobby she can also enjoy/participate in with you. Jackie loves to spend all her time and energy with you, even if you aren't giving her your full attention like she'd prefer. 

Jackie makes you pick all the nice dialog lines because she'll get upset if your character is mean. She has such strong opinions about dialog choices that she'll argue with you for like ten minutes over why you should pick a certain choice even though it has absolutely no impact on the story

Jackie definitely cheats at choice games and knows all the possible consequences for every single choice. you go to steal a candy bar or something and she's like “NOOO!”

slightly unrelated but Jackie would totally pick bae>bay without hesitation. Everyone in the town is dead? small price to pay for lesbians

going feral over the idea Jackie Taylor sitting across your lap scrolling on Pinterest while you have your arms around her holding the controller as you play

[bread-squid-uwu]

Rewrite Map

Completed 🌟

Some information -

Gal'Ruk was once much bigger, with more islands scattered behind their main one. Over time, those have vanished.

Tu'La is filled with peach, yellow, and orange sands and deserts on one side, and vibrant red orange forests and thick areas of flowers on the other, alongside gorgeous beaches compared to paradise. The large stone Kings castle has sadly killed off an area of the forestry.

Starlight is an area of land not belonging to any of the regions, despite being associated with Irene of Ru'aun.

O'Khasis has been separated from the Ru'aun region since the war against Tu'la and many places within Ru'aun, this makes O'Khasis the only separated village, and technically labeling itself as it's own region entirely.

The Lycan Islands and the surrounding dead land have a shared ownership between Ru'aun and Gal'Ruk, as the Divine and mythologies associated with the land have strong connections to the Warlocks Forest, and the lesser known Falcon Claw.

Sun Beach in Tu'la is more commonly known as the very popular Love~Love Paradise resort, and has over time become more accommodating to tourists and visitors than its own people and culture.

Feel free to send asks about any locations!

[ feedback is very appreciated, I tried to lay this out like a real minecraft world, so I can recreate it in minecraft in the future, but I'm not entirely sure on that decision!! ]

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 19/04/2024

i love(d) you

Season 6 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume FF Also on: Now That's What I Call Quality! 3

Ripped by vvsvlogs

Requested by oetaboy and an anonymous reader! @oetaboy (Ask Box)

I'm sure this rip's been a long time coming for many - I know it has for me. I've had i love(d) you sitting in my drafts as far back as in March, but truthfully it's...daunting, to write about. Requested by two readers. Close to 200 thousand views on YouTube, and recently featured prominently in popular Clone Hero YouTuber Acai's "The Quality of SiIvaGunner" series. And the rip itself being an emotional gutpunch in a season filled with them, from a ripper who's already gutpunched me plenty with Wham! Into Dreams and The Paragoomba and the Wiggler. vvsvlogs, Vivi, I ask this with the most sincere gratitude possible - why must you do this to me?

Minecraft as a game has its emotional hooks in at least two generations of people - that much I think we're all aware of. A sandbox filled with endless possibilities, community, friends, individual stories of survival or of great creative endeavors, all wrapped in C418's hauntingly beautiful score, one I've discussed many times before with Fell From a High Place (Reprise), M-O-O-G City and Every Mob Wants To Rule My World. All of these rips are beautiful, yet they're all aiming to play with Minecraft's sound in some way - the former two rips are arrangement of its music with other games' instrumentation, and the latter rip is a melodyswap playing Everybody Wants To Rule The World. They all play on my senses in their own ways, they're all rightfully impressive - but nothing hits quite the same as Minecraft's own music, on its own terms. i love(d) you isn't aiming to impress or amaze - but it lands a full-on critical hit on one's heart through leveraging everything that's kept Subwoofer Lullaby alive for so many years.

I've talked plenty about my musical illiteracy, and so I hope it doesn't come as a surprise that I've never really listened to world-renowed singer Billie Eilish. She's been on the radio, I've heard Bad Guy, but it was never a name I gave much more thought beyond seeing her discussed online from time to time. You can imagine the absolute awe I was in when I clicked on i love(d) you when it first went up, already expecting an emotional hit due to the Minecraft song used, only to get goosebumps from Eilish's vocals alone. i love you is the penultimate song from Eilish's debut studio album, the very same that Bad Guy was featured on - yet compared to that track's bass-heavy, almost seductive energy, i love you feels remarkably personal, with little more than an acoustic guitar and piano accompanying the openly emotional vocal performance. It's sincere in a way I don't hear enough music be, as if a diary translated into song, much the same emotion that Because I Love You conveyed yet with even greater magnitude due to the vocals in play.

i love(d) you, uploaded for 2022's valentines day, wields both of these forms of love - the connections many of us have to one of the most impactful games ever made, and the unfiltered emotion of i love you - to create something unabashedly beautiful. Mashups aren't a novel concept, mashups are nothing new - yet one glance at the comments tells me that I'm not alone in finding this rip in particular to have struck an incredibly sensitive nerve. Because there's a beauty to Minecraft that I think many of us oft forget about. It's a game that we all cherish, yet also one that's very easy to have left behind: we have adult responsibilities, we have school, we have other, shorter, more concise games, we have social media, we have friends, we have blogs...the solemn beauty of playing the game itself is, for many viewers like myself, not much more than a memory, something that can feel ever so difficult to recreate without feeling as if something's wrong.

We...I'm...not a kid anymore.

There was nothing about i love(d) you's concept that necessitated it to be more than just the mashup. There rip had no need for visuals that'd help convey the edit like with Plantasia 2 or Luna, mi Amor, no need to tickle the funnybone like with SUNGORE or the hundreds of other YTPMV rips on the channel. Yet, halfway through the rip, to the tune of Eilish's soothingly reverberating vocals, the background begins to change, not to a bit, not to a reference nor easter egg...but to Minecraft. To where all of this attachment began - to a far-off view of the game's beautiful landscapes as the sun begins to rises. That digital world that looks different for every player, yet the same in everyone's hearts - that place that, no matter how many years pass, how long its been since we last played, we all love. Its impact different to everyone, yet the feeling unanimous. It drives home how well the mashup works not just as a mixture of two deeply emotional songs, but as music tied to a shared experience: all of our Minecraft worlds looked different, all of our personal lives look different, but we've all played the game, and we've all had affection for it.

Every moment I spend thinking about this rip aches in some way. It's been well past two years since it was first uploaded, yet it continues to follow me as the years go on, my mouse drawn to it any time it reappears in my recommendations. In being featured on 2024's Now That's What I Call Quality! 3, I think the team holds much the same sentiment - even as the months pass, i love(d) you is the kind of rip that'll never fall out of favor, never stop meaning things to people. And realizing that it was made by vvsvlogs, the very same vvsvlogs who's already made me far too emotionally vulnerable on here twice before, has only made it mean that extra bit more to me.

I'm not a kid anymore. I know that. But I'll always be grateful to SiIvaGunner, the people behind it, and those who follow it along with me, for being able to bring me back to that state of mind when I least expect it.

Thank you.

[sirwow]

I need to get out my bleeding heart for minecraft because man this game basically created the foundation and growth of my brain however rocky and I need to tell the world because I said so.

This game is a canvas. Not a empty one mind you but a canvas nonetheless. The one presented to all to begin being a world in which they’re left to learn and discover and build or destroy all on their own. Or maybe with a friend, or many. Someone’s first experience with Minecraft likely isn’t picking it up randomly but rather being told tales by others of what they weaved with the canvas they were given.

Weather that person was as quaint to just add a few additions to the canvas; a small wooden house situated inside a cool looking cave with some silly story about a creeper and a fire. Or if this person was someone you don’t really know but they put themselves out there to show their work to the world. A completely blank canvas with only one block? Why not? A downright ridiculous looking building with the sole goal of getting melons? Sure.

These stories and art is what makes this game so special. Something so stupid and mundane like a bunch of 1 block jumps with a goofy voice over and sound effects can still be such a great and beautiful thing with heart and care. We can’t understand every work but damnit I have respect for every last aspect and one. The depths of this game truly allowing everyone have some place, from leisure to mastery. I can not mention everyone but I will cover the broad strokes and their wonders.

Firstly to the builders of Minecraft. You are the forefront and most clear of your art. It is art within the most literal sense of the word, weather it is a building with intricate detail in every crevice and corner thought out meticulously. Or those of the larger then ourselves works. Organic mythical works of dragons, people, animals and more. Builds only made to be viewed once at one angle akin to a real painting. The recreations or creations of yours dreams and hopes. Or even just the humble home and village to create a story of as you survive. Creative, builders tools, survival, challenge play throughs. You’re all artists.

Redstoners. Though siblings of builders, your work lays in numbers, timing, mechanical works. Fixing issues you created for yourself when trying to achieve a goal. It may just be making the fastest door, or the largest and you’d still manage to break so many boundaries with time. Or it is those beyond my personal comprehension. You make machines capable of manipulating the behavior of the game itself by going through the cracks found over the decade of redstone. As much as it is wizardry to myself I wish someday to learn this as well if I ever choose to go down such a path. However as of now my eyes are set on another unexpected and undermined path that is next.

PVP. One much loathed by those outside it and I am guilty of such for almost a decade but as now Iv become knee deep in the waters of it myself I also see how it’s an art. Maybe more in the martial sense as obvious but it’s still very impressive what I see and understand in it now. The functions beyond “swing sword good”; a much deeper phycological game aspect to it then seen outside and understanding the intricacies of mechanics you generally give little thought to playing normally. Just how much health does each weapon do- crit or not. How fast can a crossbow reload, watch your sprint or you might just lose. On and on. Iv gained a lot of respect for it.

Parkour. Get your parkour civilization jokes out of the way- this is probably the MOST fundamental part of the game and I find it downright magical what can be done with it. I realize I’m saying that a lot but it’s 1 am shh. Anywho it’s got all its ins and outs. The ice parkour, neos, fences, drip leaf, combined redstone and timing, trapdoors and more. I’m missing about 50 here but that just goes to show how deep it is.

Off of parkour comes our good friend Speedrunning!!! Dedication and time in its most raw. Triangulation for college? Wrong! Block game. It’s a mental load to take on and the aspect of random chance and taking everything on your shoulders is persistence and patience.

And the best part of all of this? They all come together in their own ways for hundreds nay thousands of ways to play. All without touching on the deep deep well that is servers. Skyblock players, pvpers, ice boaters, niche specialists games (Cops v Crims, Bedwars, party games, tower defense, MMORPGs, one in the quiver for my old chums out there, ect) you all have my undying interest and respect in the details and depths of what you love.

So now you have the little canvas before you. Make what you wish no matter how bad. No one will create something identical to what you choose and it’s your story to paint- no matter how lame, small, boring, bad, or ugly you might claim it to be. I want it to still be made and for you to explore whatever depths you choose. Weather that be the simple literal ones, finding a neat cave or what have you, or finding a passion buried under the rubble.

And me? I guess I’ll keep doing my thing of watching and learning about all the silly little corners this game has and mastering what I can even if that takes another decade to do. The universe loves me and it loves you too, go and create.

[pip-n-chips]

how (some) DoL characters play Minecraft

Robin

Mainly sticks with the easy difficulty

Likes building things in survival mode instead of creative for the extra challenge

Has keep inventory on + mob griefing off

Plays multiplayer a lot (sometimes with local orphans, sometimes online), and can get quite competitive during minigames

Parkour is the bane of their existence

Has like 46 dogs in their main survival world

Scared of Herobrine (they know he's fake, but...)

Has thought about streaming their gameplay, but they need some encouragement from you in order for them to go through with it

The peaceful music from the game paired with Robin's commentary is calming, you might take a nap...

Whitney

Griefs your base with TNT and lava buckets, initially

Starts getting more creative with ways to fuck with your shit, you'd be impressed if you weren't so pissed

Got a friend of theirs to help them use cheats, but brags about it + takes the credit for themself

Has been banned from a handful of online servers, takes pride in the ever growing list

Builds,,, questionable sculptures

"lmao get good bro"

Basically a big troll lmfao

Throws their controller/hits their keyboard when raging (they strike me more as a console type of person, though)

Has a dog/cat/horse they name the same thing every single time (perhaps in remembrance of an old pet or stray)

Mickey

Almost exclusively* plays modded singleplayer

* Maybe they used to play with Robin or other orphans (before life got so much more complicated, anyway,,)

Has made their own mods + add-ons but hasn't posted any online

Fond of mods that add RPG + fantasy elements to the game (especially DRAGONS!)

Pretty good with redstone, they like making weird contraptions

Has a complicated + organized base

Sets up traps, hidden compartments + other secrets in their base even though they're the only one who'll see it

Tries to get all the achievements (vanilla + any that mods add) + collects and frames special items

Has a lot of commands memorized + knows how to use command blocks

Sydney

You introduce them to the game and they like it a lot!

It's funny watching them learn more about the game and what to do/what not to do

Punched a bee once and fell off a cliff trying to run from it

Dies a lot tbh, and you see death messages you've never seen before because of that lol

Corrupt!Sydney makes their character twerk (crouch, un-crouch, repeat), laughs at it every time

Surprisingly good at building, recreates locations from their favorite books

Only really plays it when you guys play together, though

If you're gaming together at their house, Sirris pops in to check in on you guys at some point and pauses to smile at the heartwarming sight (as embarrassing as it may be for Sydney)

Kylar

"What if I put my Minecraft bed next to yours? haha jk... unless?"

Has the most OVERKILL gaming PC setup you've seen (way too many screens, everything has lights, etc etc. looks pretty dope tbh)

Likes designing Minecraft skins! (there's like 10 separate skins of you in different outfits)

Plays heavily modded Minecraft, but will play vanilla or lighter mod packs with you

Definitely tried that one Girlfriend mod at some point

Has attempted a few speedruns (in the Top 10s for some of them!)

Gets SO excited when you tell them that you like Minecraft too (but it's not like they didn't know that already)

Alex

Doesn't have much time to play with their current workload

When they do, the most they do is play it as a farming sim (???) (you get them to explore more options to do in the game)

Becomes a BIG fan of parkour!

Downloads parkour + adventure maps so they can play it offline (farm WiFi can be unreliable)

Learns some basic redstone, mainly to improve their (in-game) farms

Automatic farms + mob grinders, though they still like the experience of doing it themself

Builds a Minecraft version of their real farm, excitedly shows it to you

Names some in-game farm animals after their siblings as a joke

Gwylan

Only plays offline because they live in The Forest ™️

Loves potion brewing! (they don't have an internet guide so they experiment with different combos all by themself, gets quite good at it)

Hoarder. Has so many items scattered across their chests, they forget what they do and don't have

Aesthetic matters to them a lot when choosing where to put their base + building it

Went to the End + defeated the dragon just to get the blocks there + the egg for decoration

1.17 (first part of the Caves And Cliffs update) is their favorite yet, all the new blocks and cave biomes make them go aaaaaaaaa

Felt so bad when they had to kill animals for food in the beginning, has a good farm system now though

Definitely keeps mobs you can't tame as pets

[imbecominggayer]

Part 1 Writing Advice: Sexual Trauma As Justice And As A Lesson

Tw: This post is specifically dedicated to SA(sexual assault). This is a highly sensitive topic that I will do my best to present accurately and thoroughly.

This is a somber occasion where I will do my utmost to treat this serious and highly personalized experience with the best grace I can muster. I apologize but this is a serious topic that deserves to be talked about in a "everyday way" and not in a stuffy "fake sad" way because sexual trauma happens everyday.

For important hotlines relating to this issue, check out: https://rainn.org/resources

This is a very sensitive topic which personally relates to my family so I obviously need to be the most detailed I can be.

Again, to reiterate, this post will cover highly serious topics involving sexual violence, the threat of sexual violence, and prison rape in both media and in the real world. Don't pressure yourself to read this. Your mental health is more important then some person's thoughts.

So, let's get started!

Why Did You Need This?

Before we continue, I need to ask for your reasoning when including representation of victims/survivors of sexual abuse/trauma.

If it's something that can be "not included" and won't change your plot at all then I highly implore you to not include it.

You won't believe how many "rom-coms" or romance-based media decides to include an assault scene for the sake of a dramatic rescue. It's not fun. It's not romantic. And it's not necessary!

The reason that sexual trauma is treated with more "delicate sensibilities" is not because physical trauma and emotional trauma are not serious or deserving of respect. It's because sexual trauma is often not treated with the respect that physical abuse and mental abuse is.

If you are planning to use sexual trauma/harrassment/rape/prison rape/anything involving assault into:

A comedic punchline which will never be brought up

A highly inspirational hypersexualized revenge flick about a hot badass woman being badass

Another "don't drop the fucking soap" joke

An insult for a character's masculinity/desirability

A transphobic/racist/homophobic example of danger

A meaningless drivel with vague messages about "forgiveness for others"

I will throw you out of my minecraft server! And account! But, if you are sure that you need sexual trauma to be in your stories, let's continue.

2. Sexual Trauma Is Not Justice

What do all of these movies/shows have in common?

Iron Man 2(2010)

The Powerpuff Girls(2000)

Wedding Crashers(2005)

Cop Out(2010)

Without A Trace(2006)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer(1998)

Deadpool 2 (2018)

They all utilize rape as a form of karmic punishment from Tony Stark's "don't drop the soap" line which is meant to allude to prison rape to Deadpool 2's usage of an electrical cable on Juggernaut to sexually assault them.

Of course, most of these movies/shows "only" use punchlines about anal rape although in the case of Wedding Crashers there is a huge reliance on rape so be aware!

A common uniting theme behind these instances of sexual violence is the fact that the audience is meant to react to these scenes with a satisfied snicker about how the bad guy is suffering.

Let me reiterate, these "jokes" and "funny sexual assault" scenes are said by "funny", "sympathetic" women and men who are threatening sexual violence against "unsympathetic" bad people.

There are multiple problems with this so let's start!

Rape is never okay.

When these scenes have "loveable" characters either threatening/utilizing/physically raping "undesirables" you have just recreated a system where rape is acceptable when it's done to bad people. Sometimes these bad people are too sexually positive, too chauvinistic, or just too bad.

And it's this belief of "punishing sinners" which allows the systematic use of prison rape as a way of controlling prisoners to flourish.

There is no such thing as "justifiable rape"

This Isn't Justice

This is revenge. Rape and the threat of it can nevver be used as a form of justice. The goal of justice is ultimately redemption.

Sexual violence, as a form of revenge, could never be used to positively benefit society.

Prison Rape Is Not Inevitable

Prison Rape can be prevented. It's the powers that control the prison system that consciously allow prison rape to happen.

This is because prison rape is a widely sanctioned way to punish "undesirable" prisoners such as transgender and mentally disabled prisoners.

Again, it's that mention of "undesirable" which demonstrates how promoting the positive usage of sexual violence in Media effects the real world

There are solutions to the prison rape epidemic such as mass deincarceration through actual justice-orientated redemption,

Conclusion: I desperately wanted to talk about how sexual violence and the threat of sexual violence is highly influencial in mass media and how this representation impacts the world that you and I inhabit.

Every single repetition of "sexual assault as a justice-orientated lesson" tortures the hundreds of thoudsands of people in justice system who are brutalized by rape and who never recover.

[cadybear420]

Evie x Aiden gaming headcanons

As requested by @inlocusmads, here are some of my gaming related headcanons for Evie and Aiden. Many of these are actually some of my oldest headcanons, back from when I first got into Choices. Here's what I've got as of now:

Evie:

Evie is more of a casual gamer, but she does have a lot of games she enjoys. Minecraft, Super Mario 64 DS, Mario Kart DS, and Among Us are some of her biggest favorites. And also a couple of oddly satisfying mobile games. And whatever the Choices universe equivalent to Choices and HSS Prime is.

Evie was also a major frequenter of sites like CoolMath during 4th-6th grade and she still enjoys them. Some of her favorites includes Sushi Cat, Papa's Pizzaria/Taco Mia/Burgeria/etc., Bloons + Bloons Tower Defense, and Fireboy and Watergirl. Luckily she does get a chance to show them to Aiden before the end of Adobe Flash.

Aiden:

Aiden is utter crap at computer games. The only ones he's good at are stuff like Smule Magic Piano (which Evie would struggle with more) and Minecraft creative mode.

And 75% of Aiden's Minecraft-playing is composing or recreating songs with the note blocks.

He sometimes does Minecraft Survival mode but the only way he can really last is if Evie's in the world with him and they're working together.

He barely manages Mario Kart, but can't drift for shit.

He openly insults Fortnite.

Sometimes he'll go into a game like Mario Party thinking it'll be easy, only to be absolute dogshit at it.

Yes, Aiden is even crap at Tetris. His screen legit looked like this on his first attempt at the game.

He is not a fan of Among Us (despite that he willingly played "Mafia" on the boat in after-prom). To him, it's just people "running around and blaming each other". He especially hates being the imposter because, in his own words from the Mafia game, "I can't lie to save my life".

Actually I think Aiden would be pretty good at stuff like Interactive Story games like Evie does too.

Myra is always teasing him about how bad he is at most video games and often likes to mention his least favorites to annoy him.

Evie: "Aiden you're usually very dexterous when it comes to instruments, but you're bad at video games?" Aiden: "Playing the piano and playing on a gaming console are two completely different things."

Both of them:

Evie and Aiden regularly have double dates with Nishan and Sakura where they play 2-on-2 video games, usually battlegrounds-style games. Their rounds are of course very short-lived because Aiden is crap at the games, but they're still fun nonetheless.

I haven't played it myself yet but I can totally see the two of them getting into Fall Guys. Evie likes the cute fall guy avatars.

Evie (with some minimal help from Aiden) trying to design a sort of a big fancy "dream house" for them in Minecraft.

Something something they squee over Minecraft cats together a lot

Evie would try to teach Aiden a lot of the video games she's good at. He'd slowly improve at most of them.

The two of them totally obsess over video games with awesome soundtracks, even if they haven't played the games themselves. But it sometimes may lead them to getting into the games. Eg. Evie loves the soundtracks for the Super Mario Galaxy games, she'd show it to Aiden and they'd obsess over them, and at one point or another, they'd feel compelled to buy the games.

I think a habit both of them would also have in certain video games is: they start a game, but if the soundtrack is really good, they'll just make their character do nothing or run around aimlessly in it so that they can keep the music + sound effects going on because they don't want it to stop. They do this a LOT with Mecha Bowser battle in Super Mario Galaxy 1.

I think they'd sometimes use app versions of classic board games (chess, checkers, etc).

They'd definitely enjoy puzzle games like minesweeper. They're each pretty good at the puzzle games on their own, but it's extra fun to work on them together. Also Aiden sitting in Evie's lap while they play the games.

[hypoxic-bean]

I keep hearing "there is no sequel to the DSMP" but I still hold that the QSMP is very much its successor, purposefully made to be Different and Better.

Evil all controlling authority? Establish it from the beginning.

Inconsistent streaming? Come every day or your precious child will die.

Item anarchy despite political plotlines? Securitycraft mod.

Hire staff to be the npcs, work behind the scenes, keep things running.

Keep backstories, powers, etc consistent so as to keep some kind of semblance of canon.

And now, the election: fair, well thought out, no cheating.

There weren't enough good builders on the DSMP, but between the mods and the new roster, that's not a problem on the QSMP.

They weren't going to recreate the 6-months-into-quarantine, shocking new form of storytelling vibe that made the DSMP such a phenomenon, but they CAN do something else groundbreaking: language barrier breaking.

The only decision I disagree with is some of the mods: specifically Create and whatever is giving them magical armor and weapons. Too many possibilities, too much unfamiliarity, not enough of that Minecraft spirit of making something that shouldn't be possible; and the armor and stuff has really bad power creep which led to the weirdness of the AI Binary Monster plot element

[faenemy]

Another Sillie had been added :D

process thoughts below cut- (WARNING- they long lol)

Has this barely changed from the wip I posted earlier????

not really but i need to talk about character design for I am FERAL so L moment i guess

SO my personal favorite brand of character design has been, for as long as i remember, drawing more complex designs from simplified mediums. Think Minecraft or roblox skins, and some chibi avatars. Hand me something that is blurry and up to interpretation and i will simply go buck-wild. Mark is of course the only character to truly appear on camera. We see both his drawing of himself and his [puppet?] form. Now you only ever see donovan and cupcake monster as drawings, which leaves their appearance more up to interpretation.

When i first translated Marks design, i tried to stay as accurate as possible. The second iteration is more of my own twist on it, elongating the body, trimming down the fluff for a clearer shape,and adjusting facial proportions slightly. Note: this isn't to throw shade at marks original design. He's a puppet irl and he looks like one, i just suck at making puppets look like they have any life behind their eyes, so design tweaks it is. Mark is adorable and its a me problem that i struggle to recreate that.

Now my Mark design is obviously based off of the puppet, (his actual self,) as opposed to the way Mark draws himself. In the drawing, there is a bit less fluff on his body, compared to the real thing. This is important as it affects some of the decisions I made for Donovan.

Donovan caused a few hurdles when i tried to work on a design for him. First, I'm working with very little information, so creative license time. Since I don't have much to go off of, I started with a real simple drawing, similar to the one from the drawing in the show, just to try and capture the vibe. The most notable things about Donovan from this first doodle, was that he had a slightly smaller nose than Mark and that it was triangular and that his eyes were slanted. This gives me two prominent facial features to work with.

Following this, i started on a more detailed design. I began by plotting his proportions out similar to marks. To make him more cat like, I tried to make him a little taller and thinner[better for slipping out of cages], so that he had an elongated appearance, and to capture that sly you-cant-contain-me- cat energy that meow meows have. I wasn't sure how cat i wanted to go originally, but then i gave him paws....

I went full anthro cat on Donovan, adding in whiskers and a tail [still questioning that decision] even though they weren't present in my reference. Now is a good time to note that all these designs are pre-Billy, so no scars or anything. I bring this up because I gave Donovan claws, and I image Billy would have at least tried to declaw Donovan.

The next problem came with Donovans eye. So Donovans eyes are two slanted lines, very simple. Since these are one of Donovans few unique canon features, I wanted to keep them. I wasn't sure how to keep them simple yet still allow emotion. Playing around with this idea, i felt i could effectively convey emotion just by changing the relative direction of the eyes. However, I changed the eyes to be more tear-drop shape as well, partially to add more interest to the face, but also so i could add more detail to the iris of the eye if desired.

Finally, all my Mark and Friends designs have the characters wearing clothes, because I work at a clothing store and see too many damn clothes every day. [everything i know about fashion is against my own will] So since this canonically takes place in 1997, my designs are based roughly off of children's clothes at the time. For the monsters clothes, I want them to all have a somewhat fun shape, flare outs, wrinkles, cuffed sleeves and pants etc.

This is where i really struggled. Not so much with the actual design of the clothes, but with colors. As you can probably tell my this illustration as compared to the reference image, I am allergic to bright colors [they hurt my eyes :,(] So i shifted most characters to a more muted/pastel pallette. Now i really wanted each of the three friends, Mark, Donovan, and Cupcake Monster, to have the others "colors" per see, present in their outfits. Mark is obviously Green coded (lol), Donovan is orang, but outlined in red, so my boy gets a red association cause primaries of light. This leaves Cupcake Monster with Blue, the color they are outlined in.

I really wanted three designs to flow together, and though i haven't finished Cupcake Monster yet, I think the first two go nicely together. By giving each character a main color, I let them stand out from each other, but by adding bits of those colors back into the others outfits, it lets them flow together better in group images and keeps anyone character's pallette from feeling out of place.

Marks outfit is mostly cream, but with accents of Blue, and Red. Donovan's is about 1/3 cream 1/3 blue and a 1/3 blue. I struggled with the color distribution on donovan, as the reddish orange and blueish green i had chosen contrasted a lot more than i wanted. The light blue and cream worked as a nice base though, and making only the stripes green [the shirt is specifically cream with green stripes] it lets the green not overpower Donovan, which was another problem I was facing.

But yeah, this are my current designs for the sillies, if you read all this thank you! have some pie :]

[awesome-power-cat]

Minecraft: Fade to Black Transition Using Resource Packs!

I've always been so fascinated by Minecraft server plugins and their ability to push the boundaries of what's possible in the game; some servers go even further with the use of custom resource packs. I find the most amazing thing about server resource packs are the creative techniques utilized to go beyond the limits of the game. Common examples of such techniques are custom GUIs, HUDs, shaders, entities using models, and cosmetics.

One technique that completely baffled my mind, was the Minecraft Championship's (MCC) fade to black transition effect. I had never seen such a smooth transition and was extremely curious about how they achieved it. I considered and attempted many different approaches: custom models, animated textures, potion effects, and shaders, but none came close to the same smooth transition.

I wondered if there was a way to do it with packets. Perhaps Minecraft already had some fade to black transition that I could trigger. I searched for the word "fade" on the Minecraft Protocol wiki, and instantly realized how it was done. Titles already have a built fade-in and fade-out feature, so utilizing my previous knowledge of custom GUIs using fonts. I was able to recreate the same smooth fade to black transition, and this is how I did it.

You are going to need your custom resource pack. If you don't already know how to make a custom resource pack you can find more information here.

You are only going to need two files to achieve this effect, a texture and font json. The font file will tell Minecraft to render a specific character with our custom texture. This is how we'll display a fully black image as a title.

The texture file ("black.png") will be a 256x256 fully black image placed somewhere in your pack's texture folder. I put mine in a subfolder named "font"

assets/minecraft/textures/font/black.png

Now for the font file. It's important to know that Minecraft text components allow you specify a font path, so the name of your font json file is important.

You DO NOT want to override minecraft's default font json. If you override the 'default.json' font by adding your custom black character, technical players will be able to exploit your transition and spam the chat with black boxes. We can avoid this problem by creating our own font file with a custom name as opposed to overriding an already existing one. I'm going to name mine "fade.json"

We're going to place the font file ("fade.json") in the font folder directly under the namespace, which is Minecraft in this case.

assets/minecraft/font/fade.json

The contents of the font json will be simple.

We're going to create a new bitmap type font using our black texture.

{     "providers": [         {             "file": "font/black.png",             "type": "bitmap"         }     ] }

Now we still have to specify our character. In theory, you can use any character you want because we control the context in which this font is used. BUT it's probably best to use a blank unicode character just to be safe.

I'm going to use this blank character "" the unicode is "\uE01F"

Note: Characters can be inserted directly or as their hex unicode value prefixed with "\u" You can learn more about how resource pack fonts work here

{     "providers": [         {             "file": "font/black.png",             "chars": [                 "\uE01F"             ],             "type": "bitmap"         }     ] }

Lastly we need to set a height and ascent. The height value is important because if it's too small, our black character won't fill the screen of high resolution displays or people who play on small GUI scale. This will break the transition effect.

I'm using 1024 for the height. I did some tests and I think this value should be good enough.

You can try higher values if you're worried, but keep in mind I'm not sure what the limit is and going too high will likely cause problems.

As for the ascent value, I'd recommend using half the height. This will center our black character and assure it fully covers the screen.

{     "providers": [         {             "file": "font/black.png",             "chars": [                 "\uE01F"             ],             "height": 1024,             "ascent": 512,             "type": "bitmap"         }     ] }

Now our fade transition is done, and you'll need to run the title command in order to trigger it.

The title text will be your chosen black character, and it's important that you remember to specify your font name.

/title @p title {"text":"","font":"minecraft:fade"}

You can change the duration of the fade by using the title timings command. Here's the command for a one second fade in, two second stay, and one second fade out.

/title @p times 20 40 20

Finally, thank you for reading. I hope you learned something new. I'm so surprised at how easy it was to acheieve. I find it interesting how simple solutions can sometimes take so much thought.

[postal-ech]

Eyy this will probably be the first post I ever make on this site, but I've been reminded of something as of recent

Call it late night nostalgia, but Chet Falisek, a former writer of many of my childhood games posted a couple of videos on TF2 talking about how Meet your Match really changed TF2 for the worst, and I'll post it at the end of this thread here of course.

TF2 has always been my childhood game, probably my first game I ever played on an old shittly Lenovo Laptop my dad let me borrow as a kid, before I was ever able to access stuff like minecraft and gmod and all those other old games from back then but it's been with me for decades, moreso than even Undertale which I've only ever recently gotten back into thanks to Deltarune. I've met my best friend on there, as well as other friends that have come and gone, I've seen a lot of cool and wacky maps and servers - from my old home server that constantly hosted an honestly impressive recreation of Majora's Mask's Clock town and Termina Field, to Mario_Kart and the weird community servers like Slender Fortress, Saxton Hale and its sister game mode Freak Fortress (who the hell still remembers those TF2 OCs eh?) And the likes

But after Gun Mettle and Meet your Match, something definitely changed in TF2, and it was especially the case with Meet your Match

Nowadays community servers aren't so much the forefront of tf2, more so its valve's official casual servers, I don't even think competitive mode is even alive, and if it is I'm betting it gets the same number of players as current day Mann vs Machine, but I feel like a good chunk of that community was lost after Meet your Match that not a lot of people talk about (well, barring other important matters of course like the never ending bot crisis)

There was a magic to logging onto TF2 back in 2013, 2014 when you can just go to your favorite community server, log on and see the people you've been banting and shitposting with since the day you first got on that server, bunnyhop from one end of the map to the other while shooting at each other while micspamming YouTube poops and rolling the dice for weird and wacky effects.

That server is long gone now, less because of Meet your Match and more because people have moved on

But I suppose in this long winded ramble of a post here on Tumblr the message is:

There is value in a community, no matter what it is. It could be Undertale, TF2, could be that small GMod server you ran with a while back, could be that one romhacking group doing stuff with your favorite Nintendo game, but there is value to it.

Granted TF2 is uh, still edgy as all shit as it was before, it's just now got a wide mixture of people from far and wide, but even as the boomer I make myself out to be, there's still people making Source Filmmaker animations with these characters, there's still people playing the game the way they want to, and these people and more are still making memories on this nearly 2 decade old game.

Dont let anyone say otherwise to ya. There's a value in having a community for that game, for all the fan projects they've made, it will always have its ups and downs, definitely some downs you may never forget, but chances are you've met some of your best friends and gotten to see some cool shit along the way, and hopefully that sticks with you long enough to take inspiration from it in the long run.

Guess that's it for my first post here, bar reblogs, wonder where this will go next.

Here's that link, by the by. Go and give Chet a sub too, he brings in some very good insights on a lot of things if you ask me, at least when it comes to his time at Valve and his creative work with the games that were there

[44gamez]

6 Realistic Gaming Predictions for 2024

Predictions made from a whole business are virtually at all times fallacious and are a waste of time — however they’re very enjoyable should you don’t take them too significantly. That’s what that is. A enjoyable, consequence-free prognostication that, like Babe Ruth pointing on the stands from the batter’s field, can be full of daring and really particular called-shots, most of which gained’t come to cross.

2024: Life like Gaming Predictions

However you by no means know, particularly since I’ll be making gaming predictions that aren’t so fanciful; predictions that don’t really feel too far out of the realm of risk; and predictions that possibly actually have a sense of inevitability. There’s simply one thing very 2024 about predictions like… The Nintendo Change successor makes its debut

Picture: Nintendo The Nintendo Change will flip seven years previous this coming March. It’s already felt like an ageing console for not less than a number of of these years. Nintendo consoles are by no means technical powerhouses, however in an period when gaming tech feels prefer it has one other breakthrough each few months, the Change feels prefer it’s woefully behind the occasions. That each one modifications in 2024. That is the yr that Nintendo, as they typically do, decides to be the primary of the foremost console producers to announce all-new {hardware}, a successor to the Nintendo Change. A successor that places portability first however with a beefier set of chips and doodads that carry the Change 2 (or no matter they find yourself calling it) on par with hand-held PCs just like the Steam Deck and the ROG Ally, simply two of the hand-held consoles that discovered success within the current moveable gaming gold rush. The Change was a novel idea when it got here out. It’ll be fascinating to see how Nintendo reacts to a market that has imitated and iterated on its concepts. A a lot quieter yr for large sport releases

Picture: Bethesda Video games Studio 2023 was an onslaught of large sport releases. Some all of us assumed could be hits on some degree (Tears of the Kingdom) and others that took the gaming world without warning (Baldur’s Gate 3). Trying forward at 2024’s slate of video games, there aren’t as many big-name titles that may for positive dominate the cultural dialog, not less than not that I can see from again right here in 2023. That’s to not say the schedule is devoid of attention-grabbing video games. Each month has one thing for everybody, and 2024 feels just like the yr Silksong may lastly drop. However, utilizing the 2023 Recreation Awards nominees as an imperfect indicator of launch schedule power, 2024 doesn’t really feel like a yr when each sport nominated for Recreation of the Yr might have been the undisputed GOTY in every other yr. 2024 may have its huge releases. It’ll have surprises that take the gaming world by storm. However, I predict, most likely incorrectly, that 2024 can be a whole calendar yr that allows you to catch your breath somewhat, and possibly even present simply sufficient room to clear that 2023 backlog. Extra video games which might be each sport

Picture: Roblox Company Roblox created a mannequin that different main builders and publishers will certainly comply with. One of many largest already is. Epic Video games took observe of how Roblox constructed its wild success off the thought of being a hub for different video games…after which simply determined to do this. Why launch a complete sport with all of the advertising and marketing fanfare that comes with it when you may launch a smaller, less complicated, extra polished model of an concept as only one small half of a bigger suite of video games? You may play Fortnite in Fortnite, however now you may as well play a racing sport in Fortnite. And a Rockband-style rhythm sport. And a Minecraft-inspired survival sport. Fortnite isn’t only one sport anymore — it’s each sport, similar to how Roblox isn’t one sport, it’s a hub for each sort of sport. Simply because the reside service sport grew to become a pattern that each main writer needed to get their arms on, the Hub-style sport will really seize the business in 2024. Simply consider it: in 2024, we might see Activision toss a Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater-inspired mode into Name of Obligation. We might see Ubisoft use the Murderer’s Creed traversal mechanics to make a parkour racing sport or a online game model of these skilled tag clips you see floating across the web. Prepare to listen to the phrase “hub” far more than you ever thought attainable. Netflix will safe the publishing rights to a serious sport

Picture: PC Invasion Netflix’s foothold within the gaming business has been steadily rising yr by yr. Simply a few weeks earlier than this text was revealed, Netflix made it attainable to play the remasters of all three PlayStation 2-era Grand Theft Auto video games in your telephone as a part of your Netflix subscription. This was after a yr of snatching up a sequence of high-profile indie darlings to beef up their gaming choices, an inventory that now contains Immortality, Into the Breach, Loss of life’s Door, Lifeless Cells, Earlier than Your Eyes, Kentucky Route Zero, Oxenfree, Oxenfree 2, and several other others. Netflix took Microsoft’s threats of turning into the “Netflix of gaming” fairly significantly and mentioned, “No, truly, Netflix could be the Netflix of gaming.” This not solely gained’t cease in 2024 however I wouldn’t be stunned if a big-name sport from a big-name developer is introduced as a Netflix unique. The fabled Bloodborne remake will solely be playable in the identical app you utilize to look at Seinfeld. Perhaps you’ll unwind after a irritating Silksong boss combat with a few Nice British Baking Present episodes. Netflix desires to be taken significantly as a gaming outlet, so it’s solely a matter of time earlier than it pulls the set off on an enormous transfer that establishes its place within the higher echelons of gaming locations.  The acquisition wars will rage on

Picture: Microsoft I’m not going to say to know a factor about company economics. If rates of interest drop in 2024, and inflation subsides consequently (if that’s even the way it works), will sport builders/studios be much less keen to promote themselves to large companies, a la Microsoft’s takeover of Activision/Blizzard? Uh, possibly? I don’t know. All that stuff’s approach over my head. However one factor that gained’t be subsiding anytime quickly is Microsoft and Sony’s jockeying for place in no matter the way forward for gaming finally ends up wanting like. PlayStation is making an attempt to promote {hardware} whereas Xbox is making an attempt to promote a service in Recreation Cross. Each want glitzy unique video games to promote their wares to potential consumers. For those who thought it was nuts that Sony now owns Bungie which was once owned by Microsoft, and that Microsoft now owns the Warcraft and Name of Obligation individuals, then begin mentally getting ready your self for different main acquisition information in 2024. Each firms are waiting for the following console era, nevertheless that takes form, and are angling to be the corporate with one of the best video games that may solely be discovered on a PlayStation console or a platform with Recreation Cross on it. Extra and Greater video games from Roblox creators

Picture: Zeekerss I’ve already talked somewhat about Roblox’s potential affect on the way forward for the business, however there’s one other approach the gaming hub will change the business in 2024 and past. Let’s use Deadly Firm for instance. The scary co-op sport took everybody without warning when it grew to become a late-2023 hit. Individuals have been impressed that this enjoyable and wildly standard little sport that got here out of nowhere was made by only one particular person, an indie developer who calls themselves Zeekerss. Properly, should you had been part of the Roblox scene for the previous decade, you wouldn’t have been too stunned by Zeekerss success, as they'd been creating video games for Roblox (and itch.io) for practically a decade earlier than the large success of Deadly Firm. Roblox, for as a lot because it exploits the onerous work of its person base, stays a spot the place blossoming sport builders get of their fabled 10,000 hours of unseen expertise earlier than they’re able to hit it huge. It’s a coaching floor, and the fruits of its tutelage are solely simply beginning to blossom. I believe 2024 would be the yr when the kids of Roblox will escape throughout each style and platform within the gaming world. Source link Read the full article

[mihhkael]

Yk...lately I feel mentally overwhelmed. not that this is from a few days or weeks ago. It's been a long time since I've been satisfied with my art style or my painting. you can see this with my constant changing of little things in the drawings. some have more details than others. the painting changes frequently...I can't do something that makes me comfortable and that keeps me at it for a long time.

I feel like I need to change what is not good at my eyes. Whenever I finish a drawing and a little time passes, when I go back to look at it again, it's not as good as it was when I was still working on it. I wanted to change that...

I try to improve everything in my own way. adding little things here and there that I think are cute or sexy[???] but in the end it's not enough.

I wanted my painting to be as beautiful as Kawanocy's. I am inspired by the paintings in his drawings to create my own.

I wanted my lineart to be impeccable like that of many artists out there. but it never turns out perfectly the way I want. It seems like I'm always so close to achieving perfection but at the same time I'm so far away...

I don't know if I'm taking this "perfection" too high to the point that it's impossible for me to reach it at the level I'm at now or if it's because I really don't have the capacity to reach it.

In fact, I don't know if this is perfectionism or obsession...

I know it's a bit complicated to compare how much I know today with how much Kawanocy knows. all the years of study he needed to achieve the style he has today and everything. but it's so difficult not to compare myself... and I feel like I need to do that. I don't know why but I FEEL like I need to compare myself and be inspired by him and other artists so that, one day, I can leave where I am now.

but, why everything I study, all my effort. In the end, isn't enough?

I want to reach his level one day. I want to learn with him. learn with my mistakes and successes. with the mistakes and successes of others peoples too.

Something that really complicates me is that I want to do this in a short period of time. I know it's practically almost impossible to achieve something like this. even for someone who learns reasonably quickly like me and several other people who are also in this strange dilemma like me now.

I've been thinking about this for so long. I can't do something new. my creativity is acceptable. (To a certain point, I think?) You know... the slightly disturbed ideas I have sometimes. sometimes I think they are good. but they're not enough.

Perfection is something that's kind of difficult to talk about because the concept of perfection is individual and I think I have my own. but I can't verbalize or recreate anything that comes close to that perfection. the only thing I can do is feel whether or not I'm close to reaching it. this distorted thing that leaves me in a bad mood because I can't reach it lol.

But why do I only see that a drawing is "perfect" when I'm about to finish it but after a few hours the drawing is no longer "perfect"? It seems like a weird illusion. like those potion effects in Minecraft. All the magic you feel when you taste it disappears when the time is up. I feel like a child unable to make and enjoy something unique that they made themselves.

This feeling is strange... I make a sketch that, sometimes, is initially impeccable. but when I go to do the painting, rendering, those things. It's not as good as I expected. I know, I know that maybe I'm pushing myself too hard. that I shouldn't be... I don't know... creating too many expectations? but I can't. it's confuse.

Sorry for my strange way of expressing myself. communication is not one of my strong points :p

ugh... Anyway, this is just some weird girl's rant. ;3

I don't intend to give up on improving. of course. as much as I often wanted to.

In fact, I want to reach a level that I don't yet have the capacity to reach! I want to improve more every day. I want to get my basic skills to their maximum level!

I'm not going to give up on this so easily. I've already come so far...

Drawing is one of the only things I'm "good at". I just hope that my future self doesn't change the way I think today. I hope my future self isn't disappointed.

I just hope that all the effort I make today to learn and evolve, one day in the near or distant future, will not be all in vain...

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 16/08/2023

Fell From a High Place (Reprise)

Season 6 Featured on: SiIvaCraft - Volume Alpha Version & Beta Mix

Ripped by Madinstance, Sarvéproductions

Requested by @pumpkineater6913! (YouTube)

The beauty of the Minecraft Volume Alpha and Volume Beta day is one that really still sits with me, even after having covered it before with M-O-O-G City. As described back then, its a brilliant combination of Minecraft being such a collectively nostalgic video game for people in the gaming community, whilst also being filled with emotionally resonant music. The event was filled with a lot of extremely interesting and impressive renditions and takes on C418's music, yet it feels as it Fell From a High Place (Reprise) was what it was all culminating to. I think its fair to claim that, if Minecraft sits at first place as the most universally loved and fondly, nostalgically remembered piece of art in video game history, then Undertale can't be far off from the Top 5.

What Madinstance and Sarvéproductions have made here, as a dynamic duo of expert arrangers, is recreate the entirety of Alpha - Minecraft's credits theme of over 8 minutes - into the style of several themes from the Undertale soundtrack. With Alpha itself already being somewhat of a medley of previous songs from the Minecraft soundtrack, it turns the rip into an absolute explosion of emotional impact, melancholic yet always moving from one sound and one melody to the next. Many of the channel's more emotionally resonant moments are in videos with added visuals, yet here it feels ever so perfect to be left purely to audio. Everyone's experience with Minecraft was different, everyone's experience with Undertale was different, everyone's experience with video game music was different - you may have only experienced these games through their soundtracks, or only experienced bits and pieces of the games. Lest you've never made contact with either game represented here, the rip is emotionally resonant to a degree where its bound to strike a chord with you eventually.

The escalation in rips is oft something I praise for its ability to elevate a joke, but its of course ridiculous to act as if that's all it can be used for. SiIvaGunner, too, is also not a channel here purely to enjoy jokes with a community of shitposters - its a celebration of the video games we love, and the culture of creative minds they've spawned. And though Season 6 was filled with much sorrow, its a season that inspired us all to keep pushing through no matter what.

Just like with Undertale and Minecraft, everyone's experience with SiIvaGunner is different. And there's so much beauty in that fact, that this rip has touched so many hearts whilst having passed so many others by. Its nowhere close to the most viewed video on the channel, which means there's many people who're yet to hear Fell From a High Place (Reprise) for the first time - and likewise, that there are several hundred rips of a similarly unbelievable quality out there that I'm still unaware of.