#D. I. Lobanov

[guster-animations]

i love wishes unlimited (chicory/wandersong/beastieball) for everything it stands for. like yes these are indie devs that are Choosing to stay indie for the sake of their creative work. their games are about extremely important irl topics that are integral to the story but also the already outstanding gameplay. i am certain that these games have SAVED LIVES.

joining the wishes unlimited discord server and being involved with beastieball’s Actual Development has cemented this even more for me. i backed the kickstarter and i only did the art book tier because Money but i had the option to be In The Game as a character or a coach or naming a team. the boss teams of beastieball are going to LITERALLY BE CHOSEN BY INDIVIDUAL FANS.

and the most magical part of it all is messaging feedback or praise in the discord server and get an Actual Response from the devs in Real Time. greg lobanov has @‘d me specifically in a chat. i’ve seen him carry out a back and forth conversation with another person in the beastieball chat. the developers are Right There, talking to people without any exclusive role and listening to feedback. it’s wonderful

[fridge-reviews]

Chicory: A Colourful Tale

Developer: Greg Lobanov, Alexis Dean-Jones Publisher: Finji Rrp: £15.49 (Steam) £14.42 (Humblebundle) Released: 10th June 2021 Available on: Steam and Humblebundle Played Using: Mouse and Keyboard Approximate game length: 11 Hours

Colour is one of those things we take for granted. The sky is blue and grass is green, these are things that we just 'know'. But, imagine that one day all colour everywhere disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving only a world of black and white. Saying that it would be chaos would be considered something of an understatement.

Before I start my review, I want to bring attention to the fact that I backed this game on Kickstarter, so please take that into account when reading.

Chicory is a adventure game that has taken inspiration from games like the original Zelda, although unlike Zelda there are no wandering enemies for you to fight, instead this game likes to confront you with puzzles. The name of this world is Picnic and just like its name the various areas you explore and people you meet are all named after foods or spices, such as the town of Luncheon where the game starts. It should be noted that while Chicory is a character in this game they aren't YOUR character. No, the character you play as is an anthropomorphic dog that gets named after your favourite food.

So what's the call to action in this game? Well for some reason all the colours in the world have all been suddenly wiped away, leaving only black outlines on a white background. Thankfully, you quickly come to the rescue with a magic paintbrush that you have.... 'borrowed'. The magic paint brush allows you to recolour the world again as you see fit. The colours that are available to you are specific to their location or at least they are until fairly late into the game where you can find an ability that will allow you to add a few more colours.

I really found a simple joy in colouring in the world around me as I explored. I think my time with the game would have been much shorter if I hadn't been constantly stopping to fill in the blank world around me. Something that made this all the more satisfying is that sometimes other characters will compliment you on how you've coloured an area, even turning up in odd parts of the map just to see what you've done.

It wouldn't be an adventure game without side quests and general busy work and this game is no different. There are lots of little side quests you can take on from delivering mail to finding treasure. For the most part the reward for doing these quests is a cosmetic item or 'trash'. Thankfully, trash isn't useless, there are quite a few places that take it in trade for cosmetic items. Speaking of cosmetic items, there are 'gifts' both large and small scattered around the world that you can open. The smaller gifts have a cosmetic item where as the larger ones have a 'brush style' that lets you add a bit of added texture to your painting.

As you play through the game you'll gain more skills and abilities as well as brush styles. Much like in Zelda where a specific item becomes useful in earlier areas so too does that apply here.

I have to admit I found the hint system to be both clever and cute. Around the world you'll find phone boxes that you can use to call your parents. It's always your mum that answers the call and she'll give you a vague hint as to what to do next. However, hovering nearby is a hand, desperate to grab the phone from your mum. That hand is your dad who will tell you in extreme detail what to do next but he'll only do so if you allow him to. Getting these hints doesn't affect the game in any way.

I did try to play this game with my control pad but found it to be a bit too imprecise for what I wanted to do. Plus during the boss battles (yes, those are a thing) I found it much easier to control the brush with my mouse and use W,A,S,D to control my character.

Now, I don't want to go into specifics about the story, but I can say that this game has a really heartfelt and touching narrative which covers subjects like self doubt and self expectation. Also, in a way, a story about growing up. I found myself really connecting to several of the characters that I chatted to.

It's clear that this game was a labour of love and it turned out really well. I'm happy I supported it and I'm certain its worth the price that they're asking for it. Actually, I'll put this here because I couldn't find an appropriate place for it within this review, the developers included a choice within the options menu to disable 'wet' sounds, not something I need but I know a few people who would appreciate that.

[neo-aristocrats]

OLDEST KNOWN WOODEN SCULPTURE IN THE WORLDThe Shigir Idol is the oldest known wooden sculpture in the world made during the Mesolithic period, shortly after the end of the last Ice Age. The wood it was carved from is approximately 12,000 years old.It is displayed in the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Yekaterinburg, Russia.The sculpture was discovered on January 24, 1890 at a depth of 4 m (13 ft) in the peat bog of Shigir, on the eastern slope of the Middle Urals, near the village of Kalata (modern Kirovgrad) and approximately 100 km (62 mi) from Yekaterinburg. Investigations in this area had begun 40 years earlier, after the discovery of a variety of prehistoric objects in an open-cast gold mine.It was extracted in ten parts. Professor D. I. Lobanov combined the main fragments to reconstitute a sculpture 2.8 m (9.2 ft) high.In 1914, archaeologist Vladimir Tolmachev proposed a variant of this reconstruction by integrating the unused fragments. His reconstruction suggested that the original height of the statue was 5.3 m (17.4 ft).The sculpture is carved from larch. As identified from the annual rings, the tree was at least 159 years old. Stone tools were used for carving the markings. The top portion is a head with a face with eyes, nose, and mouth. The body is flat and rectangular. Geometrical motifs decorate its surface, including zigzag lines and depictions of human faces and hands. Horizontal lines at the level of the thorax may represent ribs, and lines broken in chevrons cover the rest of what often is described as the body; however, along with the face at the top, several faces are visible at various points along the sculpture. The arrangement resembles a totem pole.Scholars have proposed various theories about the carvings' meaning. Svetlana Savchenko, a researcher at the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum, suggested that the decoration tells the creation myth those who carved it believed in. Other researchers at the museum have suggested that the markings could have served as a navigational aid or map. Professor Mikhail Zhilin, an archaeologist at the Institute of Archaeology in Moscow, guessed that the statue could depict mythological creatures such as forest spirits. Archeologist Peter Vang Peterson, of the National Museum of Denmark, speculated that the idol could serve as a warning not to enter a dangerous area.

[memolands]

The Shigir idol - The oldest known wooden sculpture in the world is being exhibited in Yekaterinburg

The Shigir idol – The oldest known wooden sculpture in the world is being exhibited in Yekaterinburg

The sculpture was discovered on January 24, 1894 at a depth of 4 meter in the peat bog of Shigir, on the eastern slope of the Middle Urals. Made during the Mesolithic period, shortly after the end of the last Ice Age. The wood it was carved from is approximately 11,500 years old.

The Shigir idol displayed in the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Yekaterinburg, Russia / Image: Ura.ru,…

[strichka-closer-blog]

On May 20th, 2017, Closer will host the fourth annual Strichka electronic music festival. Strichka (a Ukrainian word for "ribbon") will bond the hearts and minds of people of different ages, colors, sexes and races in their mutual appreciation of electronic music with the festival taking place on the grounds of the former ribbon weaving factory in the center of Kyiv. The festival represents a simple, modest approach to life while encouraging and celebrating experimentation and non-conformity. Following participants will be playing live: AUX88, Plaid & the Bee, Monolake VLSI Surround, Electric Indigo, Melchior Productions Ltd, Maayan Nidam, and local producers Lobanov K. and Voin Oruwu. Other named actss, such as Special Request, Superpitcher, Lil Louis, Yone-Ko and Tama Sumo & Lakuti will play their dj-sets along with Closer’s own residents to be revealed soon. House music legend Lil Louis is also in scheduled to showcase his new album at Strichka, presenting new tracks off it and speaking with fans about its making at the separate event. Nastia, one of the brightest members of the international techno scene and Ukrainian born co-founder of the festival will play her set at Strichka. Among the permanent members of the line-up are Abelle - founder of the famous ARMA17 club, along with its’ resident Ranishe Niyaak. The festival will be opened in the courtyard of the main building of the factory, where the guests will have a chance to attend an open air party to celebrate the start of the event,  and a light and sound  show. to be remembered for life. Closer; 3-d Floor; Mezzanine, and Otel’ dance floors will open at midnight, with Lesnoy Prichal (Russian for “forest pier”) summer terrace opening in the morning for an all-day continuation of the party, also launching the summer season at Closer, and as anyone who has been knows, this is a euphoric time of year. The grounds of the factory will host 6 spaces in total, each dedicated to a certain musical genre, and you’ll be free to find the one that suits you. A food court, additional lounges inside the building, bars and personal storage spaces will be provided for the convenience of the visitors. Also, additional entrance and exit points will be prepared to ensure safety and improve navigation between dance floors.   Follow the event’s Facebook page for updates and full line-up: https://www.facebook.com/pg/strichkafestiva Purchase advance electronic tickets here: https://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?924079 Where to find us: Kyiv, 31 Nizhneyurkovskaya Str. Additional promotional materials: Poster in HQ: https://yadi.sk/i/14UU585V3Eu6s9 Strichka 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNQL2HpPd5QPhotos: https://yadi.sk/d/jq330tj33FBZYC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1918958264990630/ Closer: https://www.facebook.com/closerkiev/