#I definitely wanna up the quality if I post more Sims 4 stuff

[nekrophoria]

Some more half assed gameplay shit.

Sims 4 Mel is by far the most miserable excuse for a sim I ever had to deal with.

This guy does not want to be happy. Getting him to a point where he's simply "fine" has proven impossible so far. But eh, I like the challenge.

You know you need to re-evaluate your life when Santa invades your home on Christmas Eve and gives you shit.

(I had Mel fight him for presents but he got his ass beat.)

Mood.

I love you Jester.

I made a bootleg Alev as well so bootleg Mel would have some company that isn't feline.

They're kinda, sorta...not really hitting it off.

I don't know what I'm more baffled by... the fact that it took him almost a day to draw this or that he got 85 simoleons for it.

Not gonna lie I'm kinda having fun though.

[vicekings]

hello everyone. Come let us play video games together. I tried to get a good mix of big and small devs + different types of games I’ve been enjoying recently. These will not be deep cuts for your average hashtag gamer but it’s stuff I like so 🤷‍♂️

Arachnophobia warning for the bonus game recommendation (webbed)

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

With the Witcher 4 trailer dropping awhile back, it made me revisit the Witcher 3. And goddamn is this still so much fun. Story’s fun, characters are fantastic, both major DLCs add a ton of fun extra content.

- the fashion in this game is off the shits. If you’ve ever explored armor mods in Skyrim, you’ll probably recognize a lot of this game’s outfits and armors. Geralt is your beautiful buff Barbie doll and you can dress him up very pretty and cut his hair and beard.

- If you’re a fan of old man yaoi you’ll love Geralt and Regis in the Blood and Wine DLC

- If you like card battlers you’ll love the Gwent minigame. if you don’t like card battlers you can avoid Gwent but honestly it’s worth getting into regardless because the Gwent stuff in this game is surprisingly addictive

- Literally all of the music in the Witcher 3 slaps hard as fuck

- The next gen 4.0 update adds some great quality of life features like fast casting for signs, auto-applications of blade oils, and improved combat controls

- modding community is big and there’s a lot of fun stuff to play with, there’s official an official modding toolset (Witcher REDkit)

- Geralt is genuinely one of my favorite characters from anything ever. This game rec is definitely affected by recency bias bc I just finished my replay of the main story and both DLCs but like I can’t state enough how much love I have for this game

2. Buckshot Roulette

It’s Russian Roulette with a shotgun.

- You can play against the handsome gentleman depicted above called the Dealer, or in a multiplayer lobby with your friends.

- It’s full of pumping euro tech club music set to scary mode.

- If you shoot yourself in the face you will be resuscitated with a wild ass defibrillator.

- You can shotgun a beer.

It’s surprisingly relaxing when you get into the flow of it. It’s like 4$ even when it’s not on sale. Well worth the couple bucks you spend. Also you can get it in a bundle with Inscryption.

3. PowerWash Simulator

Speaking of surprisingly relaxing, powerwash sim is the king of games for when I just wanna chill. The controls are super satisfying, you can unlock super useful upgrades, there’s a batshit insane background story told through text messages, really good game to play while listening to podcasts or catching up on an audiobook.

- You can play alone or with friends.

- There’s a bunch of fun dlcs that add more stuff for you to wash. There’s a Shrek dlc. There’s a SpongeBob dlc.

- You can use the power washer to draw penises.

- you can put it down and pick it up again at any point so it’s great for when you’re going insane at like 1am and need something to do with your hands without getting too overstimulated.

4. Chicken Police - Paint It Red

As mentioned in the screenshot above, Chicken Police is a noir detective visual novel. The aesthetic can best be described as “photorealistic anthropomorphic Sin City.” Genuinely such a uniquely styled game that is a lot of fun to immerse yourself in. I won’t say too much because I don’t want to give away the story, but if you like detective media then you’ll like this.

5. Vampyr

From the developers of Life is Strange, Vampyr is a game about eating rats.

It’s also about being a newly-turned vampire in post-World War 1 London, trying to balance being a good doctor with handling your new dark lust for blood.

For me, that meant eating a lot of rats. For you, that might mean eating a lot of people. Up to you. Vampyr is a game about choices and consequences of those choices. A lot of people shit on it when it first came out, but I love it and I love the story, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good battle of man vs self story.

Bonus: Webbed

Webbed is a cute pixel art 2D platformer where you play as an adorable little jumping spider rescuing your peacock spider boyfriend after a fuckass crow kidnaps him. you can shoot lasers. The first ever input you’re taught to do is press Q to dance. Watch the trailer it’s so fucking cute man

[rudhira]

I got tagged by @esotheria-sims - thank you!

1. What’s your favourite sims death?

I don’t think that I really like any of them...? Electrocution, I guess, since it’s the easiest and fastest to do yourself.

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

Maxis Match all the way! Well, most of the way. I guess the hairs I use aren’t really Maxis Match, though they have pretty matte textures.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight?

If anything, I cheat to make them gain weight because it seems to never happen on its own. More often than not I have Sims who need a few Body skill points for promotion and they all get fit instead.

4. Do you use move objects?

Sparingly. I like having it turned off all the time, because I don’t want to accidentally place an item that ends up blocking something or being unusable, and then I just turn it on when I need it.

5. Favourite mod?

Same sex pregnancy.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got?

When I first got the game, I had the Deluxe edition, so Nightlife. I don’t remember what I got after that.

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing?

Like alive.

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

I don’t really make Sims myself, but I guess Naomi, one of my models. She has black hair and tends to wear green, if you wanna look for her in my previews.

9. Have you made a simself?

Yes, but ages ago. Like, a decade and a half ago.

10. What sim traits do you give yourself?

Oh, Sims 3? Right now I would probably give myself vegetarian, neurotic, computer whiz, good sense of humour and clumsy.

11. Which is your favorite EA hair colour?

This is definitely not a Sims 2 question. I like the purple colour that’s available for rpchoppy and shortcute.

12. Favorite EA hair?

longpart for sure, an astounding number of my legacy founders had that.

13. Favorite life stage?

Adults.

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

Gameplay! I avoid building as much as I can, and generally will just download lots or copy floorplans online.

15. Are you a CC creator?

I guess? Not because I really want to create CC, but because there are things I want in my game that nobody else seems to be making.

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad?

Yes!

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4)

Sims 2 easy.

18. Do you have any sims merch?

I have a Sims 3 lanyard that I got from a friend who I think was involved with marketing for the Sims somehow, like a decade ago. I also have a plumbob flash drive that I got for preordering The Sims 3. I used to also have a Sims 3 T-Shirt and some of those rubbery bracelets, but they’re long gone. And some sort of metal container shaped like a house that I think was for storing your games?

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Uh, not really? I have a YouTube channel where I post Sims 2 tutorials, if that counts, but I also post speedrunning content there.

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing?

Like, the style of my Sims or the style of my gameplay? For the former, I’ve gotten more consistent in what I download, but I do kinda miss just downloading whatever and putting it in my game. For the latter, I’ve learned to enjoy just sticking to a neighbourhood and seeing how it plays out.

21. What’s your Origin ID?

No idea! I’m terrified of opening Origin ever again so I don’t really know.

22. Who’s your favourite CC creator?

If I’m picking only one, @serabiet. The quality of their content always exceeds my expectations, and it’s also versatile and usable for many different styles.

23. How long have you had a simblr?

I’ve had this blog itself for like over a decade, but I’ve only used it as a simblr since uh... May 2016?

24. How do you edit your pictures?

I resize and crop them. If I posted more gameplay pictures I might edit them more, but I only really post previews for downloadable content and I really don’t like editing those as I want people to see what the content will look like in game.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next?

Honestly? Something like Sims 3 Aspirations but without the going to work part. I’ve always liked that EP for the tattoos and the laundry, and natively having that in TS2 would be nice.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far?

I honestly don’t know. As a child, I think I was the most excited by Seasons, I still vaguely remembering reading through the booklet while the game was installing and barely being able to wait. I guess probably Nightlife, part of it is because I’ve always had it so I couldn’t imagine playing Sims 2 without it, so it adds a lot of features I take for granted.

[timouke]

I mean I tried xD and I miserably failed

Get to know me tag!

OOOH THIS TOOK FOREVER

I was tagged by the wonderful and amazing @racingllama! Thanks a lot! This was a lot of fun!

RULES : Post a pic of your simself with your traits and answer the questions!

I think my traits would be: clumsy, dog lover, and geek!

I now tag @sweezlee, @coliemoon4sims4 @chimaerae @nadi-nadi @artemisa02 @newerquality @electricsoftie @caramellet @petitesimss @redyuyu @sailing-simmer @markslatina @blurri-sim-kid @ilovesaramoonkids and anyone who wants to do it!

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Aidee

2. WHAT IS YOUR NICKNAME? Heidi, Pimpo, Bro, Loyis:)

3. BIRTHDAY? February 21!

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? aNY. I love books. I love romance, action, comedy. Anything.

5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS OR GHOSTS? None, but I do believe in alien ghosts.

6. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? I’m gonna get killed for this but... Veronica Roth?

7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION? 99.9 I love Delilah

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ANYTHING? Sweetsweetsweetsweet

9. WHAT WORD WOULD YOU USE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR WONDERFUL? AmazeBALLS :D.

10. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONG? Ehrm... that’s a hard one. Paper Crowns by Alec Benjamin

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? Doggo

12. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO? Paper Crowns by Alec Benjamin xD I’m I too predictable?

13. WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR EVERYBODY TO WATCH? Devilman Crybaby, don’t judge me!

14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WATCH WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN? Nothing with dogs in it, or I cry

15. DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES? Yep! I play Zelda and hORROR RPG’s

16. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? (incoming cliche answer) being forgotten.

17. WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? I can sense when people don’t have good intentions, that’s why I have almost no friends.

18. WHAT IS YOUR WORST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? Read above answer!

19. DO YOU LIKE CATS OR DOGS BETTER? Cats.

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? Winter because of Christmas and my Birthday!

21. ARE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP? I am told to say no.

22. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU MISS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? I could be days without showering without feeling guilty!

23. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? Loyis, but she’s in Germany right now. And I’m not, which is sad.

24. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? Brownish black? Blackish brown?

25. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR? I grabbed one hair and it was black, and I grabbed another one and it was brown, now my life is in shambles..

26. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOVE? LOYISSSS COME BACK TO MEEE

27. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST? EHEM. LOYIS COME BACK TO ME.

28. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? AHHHH *throws myself to the ground* (loyis)

29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT/FOR SOMETHING? Yep! Answering these questions!

30. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST OBSESSION? Sims, anime, my dogs. That’s my laifu.

31. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD? I loved the shows everyone now considers bad, like Johnny Test or Kick Buttowski, but Dragon Ball Z was my childhood.

32. WHO OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING TO, IF ANYONE? I’m not allowed to answer this question or I’ll cry

33. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS? Only if my grandma is present. She makes everyone superstitious, she is a witch, in the good sense.

34. DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL PHOBIAS? I’m afraid of flushing the toilet. Don’t ask! Yes, I do flush the toilet.

35. DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA OR BEHIND IT? Yes.

36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY? Anything in front of a computer.

37. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? The Psychoanalist by I don’t remember who, but his style is a little too slow and descriptive!

38. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Now I’m in love with Newt. He’s mine now.

39. WHAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? None, but my brother is a musical prodigy so that’s something.

40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? Not dogs.

41. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TUMBLR BLOGS THAT YOU FOLLOW? Everyone! Every single person in the sims community is super talented!

42. WHAT SUPERPOWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? I request mind reading.

43. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST AT PEACE? When I sleep, when I’m not thinking.

44. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? My doggos, specially all of them.

45. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? Ice skating but it hurts a ton

46. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? Milk

47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A HAND-WRITTEN LETTER OR NOTE TO SOMEBODY? What’s that, “hand-written” you speak of?

48. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? No, I am heights.

49. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? Stupid people (me)

50. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? Yep, it’s kinda like a tradition in my family to go to one every year!

51. ARE YOU VEGAN/VEGETARIAN? No.

52. WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? A veterinarian, but I couldn’t!

53. WHAT FICTIONAL WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN? Whatever world Bleach is set in. I wanna marry Ichigo Kurosaki.

54. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WORRY ABOUT? Yep, everything everything everything

55. ARE YOU SCARED OF THE DARK? Nope, I am darkness

56. DO YOU LIKE TO SING? Sure, but I can’t, I sing like a sick cat.

57. HAVE YOU EVER SKIPPED SCHOOL? What’s that “school” you speak of?

58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET? My room

59. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? In Japan! Anywhere in Japan! Just in Japan!

60. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? Yep! I have three fake huskies

61. ARE YOU MORE OF AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL? Both. I never sleep. What’s sleep?

62. DO YOU LIKE SUNRISES OR SUNSETS BETTER? Sunsets, I prefer nighttime!

63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? Nope, I honestly should learn.

64. DO YOU PREFER EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES? Earbuds, they’re cute and tiny.

65. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES? Yep, I’m in fact wearing  them right now! How did you know?

66. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? Early 2000′s scene music.

67. WHO IS YOUR HERO? My dad

68. DO YOU READ COMIC BOOKS? Yep. All the time. I am a comic book

69. WHAT MAKES YOU THE MOST ANGRY? NOT FINISHING STUFF. I MUST FINISH THIS THING.

70. DO YOU PREFER TO READ ON AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR WITH A REAL BOOK? A real book! I like to hold them and the smell!

71. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? Recess

72. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS? I have between 1 and 3 brothers

73. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? A snack! It was yummy

74. HOW TALL ARE YOU? 1.55 inches.

75. CAN YOU COOK? Nope, who needs food anyways?

76. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE? My dogs, my life and myself!

77. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU HATE? My dogs, my life and myself!:)

78. DO YOU HAVE MORE FEMALE FRIENDS OR MORE MALE FRIENDS? I don’t know, I haven’t counted them!

79. WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? Who needs labels?

80. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? Juarez, Chihuahua. You’ll never find it.

81. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED? The love of my life!

82. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Right now. I’m crying right now.

83. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBER? Joanna Cedia. I stan.

84. DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE SELFIES? I guess?

85. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE APP? Tumblr!

86. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENT(S) LIKE? I think it’s pretty good!

87. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOREIGN ACCENT? German.

88. WHAT IS A PLACE THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO, BUT YOU WANT TO VISIT? Germany, i’d like to see my grandpa’s home country!

89. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 42. It’s the answer to everything.

90. CAN YOU JUGGLE? Yep. No. Im juggling right now.

91. ARE YOU RELIGIOUS? I guess not.

92. DO YOU FIND OUTER SPACE OF THE DEEP OCEAN TO BE MORE INTERESTING? The ocean. It is a beautiful void.

93. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DAREDEVIL? No, I’m too wholesome for that.

94. ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING? Nope!

95. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? Yes!

96. CAN YOU WIGGLE YOUR EARS? No, but I know someone who can!

97. HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING? I’m never wrong!

98. DO YOU PREFER THE FOREST OR THE BEACH? The forest!

99. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? Never leave things unfinished!

100. ARE YOU A GOOD LIAR? Nope. I can’t do that.

101. WHAT IS YOUR HOGWARTS HOUSE? Hufflepuff. We rock.

102. DO YOU TALK TO YOURSELF? No! Stop exposing me!

103. ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT? I’m definitely an introvert!

104. DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL/DIARY? I have tried! But I’ve never been able to complete one.

105. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES? Yep.

106. IF YOU FOUND A WALLET FULL OF MONEY ON THE GROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? I don’t know. I know I wouldn’t keep it!

107. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE? Definitely.

108. ARE YOU TICKLISH? Yes. A lot. Don’t touch me.

109. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A PLANE? Yep!

110. DO YOU HAVE ANY PIERCINGS? My ears!

111. WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU WISH WAS REAL? Ichigo Kurosaki! Let me marry him!

112. DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? Nope! But I’m planning on getting some!

113. WHAT IS THE BEST DECISION THAT YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE SO FAR? I don’t know, my life isn’t over yet.

114. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? Yep!

115. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? Glasses but you’ll never catch me wearing them!

116. DO YOU WANT CHILDREN? No.

117. WHO IS THE SMARTEST PERSON YOU KNOW? My dad, I think.

118. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY? I’ll not tell you!

119. HAVE YOU EVER PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER? I never sleep. I always pull all-nighters.

120. WHAT COLOR ARE MOST OF YOU CLOTHES? Void.

121. DO YOU LIKE ADVENTURES? YEP! Let’s go on one right now!

122. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV? I guess, even accidentally. Maybe everyone has been on TV.

123. HOW OLD ARE YOU? 18

124. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE? “What if it doesn’t work out? Ah, but what if it does?”

125. DO YOU PREFER SWEET OR SAVORY FOODS? What is savory? I onLY KNOW SWEET!

[jobsystem-blog]

possibilities for pc agency in choice of games romances

long post under the cut about my feelings about romance in games, particularly choice of games (along with stuff like genderflipping characters based on the pc’s gender and sexuality), basically just wanna vent + organize my thoughts on this! [cw for sex mentions + a single assault mention]

i’ve been playing and thinking about a lot of choice of games recently. i’ve always been drawn to them because nearly every one features lgbt characters and romances, but as much fun as i’ve had with the format, as well as the individual settings and characters, that romance aspect that had me so drawn always fell just a little bit flat. a lack of individuality and character in romantic options. they generally weren’t defined, and were customizable to the point of being boring. even now, even when they have their own personalities to some degree, none of the intimate moments between your characters ever feel real or special, because they are either the same across different romance options (choice of the deathless is a sore spot for me lol), or the moments aren’t integrated into the plot and don’t have any sort of emotional basis (i.e. they’re just tacked on)

i remember my first cog that wasn’t just the basic choice of dragons, romance, etc., heroes rise. you only got one love interest, who looked just like a specific celebrity you chose at the beginning of the game. in the next game, you literally choose another love interest’s name for them. of course, genderflipped chars tend to have this issue worse than characters with established genders, not because of that inherently, but because the lack of characterization and high customizability shows even more blatantly. that being said, even non-genderflipped characters can feel cookie cutter and boring after the first playthrough (again....choice of the deathless*)

over the course of the heroes rise series, you do actually get the chance to have romances with established characters, which really intrigued me. i never actually finished those romances (particularly not jury, which REQUIRED you to nonconsensually kiss him to begin the romance, but that’s a whole nother thing), but i remember being really excited realizing you actually could have a relationship with jenny, jury, and prodigal. especially since they felt like they each had their own sexualities, rather than just being bi for convenience, or straight/gay based on your sexuality**

there was something about those romances that felt, to me, much more integrated in the plot. like i was actually having a real romantic subplot in some superhero movie, instead of it just being tacked on and empty the way some of the romances felt***

over time, choice of games have definitely focused more on character development than their predecessors, with a much higher volume of characters with set genders and sexualities. the problem is....it hasn’t been nearly enough

i get that not every game is going to have romance be a big deal. my issue with this is that if you’re going to include romance, it should feel like it’s part of the story, not just some random aside. if writers aren’t going to give as much attention to romance as other parts of their story, why even bother including it? i think cog authors need to start understanding that there doesn’t need to be romance in their games for people to enjoy them, and boring romances don’t do anything for the quality of their stories

i’ve been quietly frustrated about this for a while now, but after playing heart of the house, with its relatively well-developed romances (and surprisingly detailed sex scenes lmao), my issues with how choice of games typically handle romance have become clearer in my head. i’m realizing now that the level with which heart of the house incorporated romance into the story should be the bare minimum that a game that markets itself as having a romance element should. even the one genderflipped character had a fleshed out personality, and good romantic/intimate scenes.

that being said

heart of the house still falls into some of the same traps that virtually all other choice of games do:

1. “pick this one specific flirty option to begin the romance”

this isn’t specific to choice of games, pretty much any game with romance that’s not a dating sim does this. it’s frustrating, because it only really works with certain pc’s personalities. i wanted to romance bastian in heart of the house with a weird occult nerd who doesn’t quite understand social conventions, but finds himself falling for bastian over time. i eventually had to break character if i wanted anything to happen, because apparently in the world of choice of games, characters can only understand love/flirting if it’s in the form of a saucy pickup line, which again, works for some characters (like the one i romanced dev with in another playthrough), but not for others.

the solution: give players multiple ways of starting a romance that can suit a variety of personality types. allow multiple ways to flirt, allow ways to subtly indicate your interest to your prospective love interest for people who wanna make shy, passive characters, and give multiple points at which a romance can start throughout the story so that people can experience their characters gradually falling in love instead of having to miss out on their chance to romance a character because they didn’t imply they wanted to fuck within the first five minutes of meeting them

2. linear romance

despite giving you a bunch of other personality stats and traits for every other part of the game, romances generally tend to play out in the same linear ways across playthroughs. somehow all these things affect every other part of the story....except for romantic + intimate scenes. it really breaks me out any immersion, especially when my character has to act out of character to even access any romances in the first place.

the solution: give players more agency during romantic + intimate scenes. let them take the lead, or allow the love interest to. let them direct the flow of the scene, just like any other non-romantic scene in the game.

3. genderflipping and perspective

genderflipping is controversial among the cog player base, with the majority of people relaying a single criticism of it: accusing the author of writing a character as a specific gender (male or female), and then just switching pronouns. another related complaint, is that of authors writing love interests for specific genders of pc (for instance, the way the sex scene with dev is written makes me think it was primarily written for a female pc, particularly with the way your male pc’s sexual preferences are basically decided for him). it’s true that many games do give off this vibe. however, many of the complaints strike me as strangely essentialist, as if a character should have a completely different personality if they’re male than if they were female, it’s true, gender has a huge impact on people, but this essentialism denies the reality that we are all human, we are all suggestible and influenced by our environments (which imo, largely account for gender differences in personality trends), and there is no one personality trait that every woman has that every man does not, and vice versa. i think we can criticize heteronormativity, homophobia, and misogyny without reifying the concept that men and women are intrinsically different on an emotional and personal level. imo, this very essentialism, where characters whose genders are variable across playthroughs (both love interests and the pc) are written from a specific gendered perspective, is what causes people to be alienated during romances, one way or another

the solution: again, this is where player agency comes in. allowing players to define their own narrative based on their own idea of their character will help players feel connected to their character. additionally, having a strong idea of what a character is like is key. rather than defaulting to heteronormative assumptions of how romance and sex must play out for male love interests vs. female love interests, take a minute to actually think through the personality of your character and what their preferences would be like. this is what i loved about bastian in heart of the house, because though he was a genderflipped character, what he was doing in the sex scene felt very in line with who he was, regardless of gender. meanwhile, dev’s sex scene was...well-written, but didn’t really speak much to dev’s character, in my opinion. in some ways, it almost felt out of character, and it was certainly very ooc for my pc, who was an outgoing flirt who liked to take charge. if you have a strong handle on what kind of person your characters are, they’ll seem genuine regardless of anything else.

4. integrating romance with the story

oftentimes, you can tell right away when a romance scene is going to be happening in a cog. the story suddenly gets diverted from w/e you’ve been focusing on until now, onto either some circumstance that has very little plot relevance, but is contrived to bring you and another character together, or a circumstance that does have plot relevance, usually with a brief diversion focusing on your chosen romance, followed up by the consummation of your relationship shortly after. even when you’re romancing a major character, during plot-important scenes, their dialogue with you often does not change, regardless of the level of relationship they have with you (enemies, friends, lovers, etc., it’s often all the same). the fact that you’re in a relationship with any given person generally doesn’t affect the overarching plot (except for choice of romance, ofc), and romances often feel tacked on for extra flavor. i don’t think i’ve seen a game that combines all these issues in one (except like....choice of the dragon but i dont think that counts lol), but most games have at least one element of this. in heart of the house, the first and only intimate/sex scene you have with your love interest always happens during the ball, and at no other time. in dinoknights, you may as well not have had a romance at all, except during a few brief asides.

the solution: this one is more complicated than the others, but even if you don’t want the player’s relationships to directly affect the main story, romantic + intimate scenes often feel much more integrated when they aren’t mainly segregated to defined “romance portions” of the game. a better way of approaching it is letting the story happen as it will, making sure love interests are interesting, well-defined, and relevant to the story, and considering how a romance might affect events as they play out. in my own game concept, there is a choice you can make that determines whether a certain character lives or dies. if that character lives, the aftermath of the danger that threatened them results in a vulnerable moment for them, and is the first point at which you can start a romance with them. this event would happen in the story regardless, but the way it proceeds would change based on your relationship with and reaction to them and the event, making a pivotal part of the story a similarly pivotal part of the development of your relationship.

i don’t know if this is all i want to say on the subject, but i wanted to get my thoughts out and down, for reference and also to help me think through the subject

congrats if you managed to read and stay interested in all of this lol

*ironically, the genderflipped character in deathless was the most interesting romance, iirc **i don’t actually think this is inherently a bad thing, but having characters with a variety of sexualities makes every other character’s sexuality feel more fleshed out, imo ***that being said.....i really did love lucky when the hero project first came out djshkjhs ****i’m referring to bastian with he pronouns, because that’s what he was in my playthroughs, and i don’t actually know what the female version of his character is named

[sophygurl]

I love the question memes and my fave kind is the kind @pixiedane​ just tagged me in (thank you!). [Also sidenote: ILU @theawkwardterrier​ for always tagging me in the tagging memes but JSYK I won’t be doing the latest one because I’m just not really a picture person so I don’t really have a lot of pictures saved and the idea of trying to use whatever weird random stuff I might have saved to describe myself would just not work. But you’re the best and I’ll catch ya on the next one!]

The rules:

Post the rules

Answer the questions given to you by the tagger

Write 11 questions of your own

And tag 11 people

1. What’s the meaning of your name? Does it suit you?

Rosemary doesn’t seem to have a specific meaning, although of course it’s an herb, and Rosemary is for remembrance, which is hilarious given my memory problems. Mary means bitter, so some name meaning sites say the meaning of my name is “bitter rose” which I guess is a nice combo of sweet and sad, which I would not really classify myself as. So, no, the various meanings of my name do not suit me.

The name itself? Does. I love my name, and while most people can’t be bothered with a 3 syllable name in casual conversation, my preference is to be called Rosemary and not Rose. Rose does not feel like me.

2. What’s a movie you never get tired of?

A lot of movies fit under this category, but the movie I have probably seen the most amount of times and can still watch either in full or in chunks and still enjoy every single second of no matter what is Dirty Dancing. 

3. Your favourite movie soundtrack?

Are we talking soundtrack as in collection of songs used in the movie and put into an album, or as in score for the movie, or?

Because nothing but nothing beats the Star Wars scores for me. Well, original and prequels and TFA anyway - the last two have diverged quite a bit which has felt odd to me but whatever. [Second place would be the scores for the 70/s80s Superman movies - also John Williams of course]

If collection of songs - then we’re back to Dirty Dancing.

Although if we’re considering soundtracks of musicals, then I’m gonna be reduced to flailing and just naming half a dozen or so, so we’ll just pretend that’s not part of the question. 

4. How would you describe your personal style?

Accidental? I pretty much just buy things that I find interesting, and then put things together that seem interesting to me, and then end up with some pretty ... interesting outfits. One of my roommates actually described my look yesterday as “crazy” if that tells you anything.

Think colors that don’t quite match, conflicting patterns, stripey socks, chunky jewelry, and then at times like now at the end of winter when I haven’t shaved my head in awhile - short floppy hair that is sticking up in all directions that I swear I tried to tame but it just doesn’t take. 

5. Name a fictional crush.

Spike from Buffy. Also Buffy from Buffy. And put them together? Double crush. 

6. What’s your motto?

I don’t really have a motto, per se, but I do have a mantra, which is: love, peace, joy, hope. Those are the qualities I try to embody, embrace, spread, whatever. All four are of equal importance to me. 

7. Are you a gamer?

If by gamer, you mean obsessively playing the Sims, then yes. But most people who consider themselves gamers would probably say no.

8. Would you rather spend time on a secluded beach or at a fancy cocktail party?

How about a fancy cocktail party on a secluded beach? Too much sand in the drinks, never mind.

Ah, these are both problematic for me. I don’t do so well with being completely alone, especially without some kind of distraction or diversion. I guess if I had a book with me on the beach, I’d be okay for a little while, but I’d also get uncomfortable super fast if there wasn’t, like, a comfy sofa or something to recline on. 

And I also don’t do well with fancy, or come to think of it with cocktails since I can’t drink any more with the meds I have to take. 

But, if I had to choose, I’d probably pick the party. I’d be dressed inappropriately (probably something with loud colors and polka dots?), and sitting in the corner mostly people watching, and I’d get overwhelmed and head home early, but still. 

9. Recommend a television series.

oohhhoooomygods just ONE?

I’ve rec’d this one many times, but since it just came back for season two last night (I haven’t watched the ep yet - it’s next on my list), I’m gonna recommend Imposters to you all again.

Imposters is a lil show with a small but dedicated fandom on Bravo. 

It stars Inbar Lavi (Prison Break, The Last Ship) as a con woman and Rob Heaps (Home Fires, And Then There Were None), Parker Young (Arrow, Suburgatory), and  Marianne Rendón (Mapplethorpe) as three of the people who she has swindled. Additionally, Brian Benben (Private Practice, Dream On), Stephen Bishop (Being Mary Jane), Chastity Dotson (Pitch, Veronica Mars), and Denise Dowd (Secrets and Lies, Beverly Hills 90210) star. 

The story of season one is that these three scorned exes find one another and begin a quest to find the woman they all alternately view as their loving spouse and the cruel con who stole everything from them. Along the way, they learn some cons of their own, gain back some of their confidence, and of course discover the power of friendship. 

There are many twists and turns along the way which I won’t spoil for anyone who wants to watch season 1 for themselves, but it involves cons within cons within cons and unlikely teammates. 

Also - Uma Thurman as a hitwoman.

As the finale of season one had our three scorned exes riding off together into the sunset, I am very excited to see where season two leads us. Seriously, you have to watch this show. 

[But if I may very quickly rec some of my other underwatched faves: 12 Monkeys, Colony, Counterpart, Ghosted, Insecure, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, Madam Secretary, People of Earth, Scream, Speechless, Timeless, UnREAL,You’re the Worst - ask me about my underwatched faves plz.]

10. Do you have any phobias?

Boy howdy, do I! I have OCD, which often comes with phobias as part of the anxiety which leads to some of the obsessive compulsions. [FELLOW PHOBES MIGHT WANNA SKIP THIS PART - PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES.]

I have a slight germ phobia which I mostly don’t go deep into because I don’t have the energy to do what I’d need to do to feel better about it so I just make myself not-think about it really hard, but the underlying anxiety is Still There. 

This is especially true of what I call “poop germs” - which is anything that has ever been inside of a bathroom ever. This makes, you know, having to use bathrooms very upsetting and problematic for me, so again, I deploy my aggressive pretending it’s not there as much as I can, but poop germs can cause me to break down into tears on a bad day. Fun times!

I’m also an emetophobe, which means I’m terrified of throwing up - a fun little phobia to have when you have constant low-grade nausea which occasionally flares up to higher-grade, lemme tell ya.

Another biggie is infestation of any kind - so any kind of insect or small animal that comes into my home. Like, I am absolutely fine seeing these critters outside where they belong - I might even oooh and aaah. But the second I see one INSIDE - I’m screaming bloody murder and waking up the entire apartment complex. 

I’ve worked real hard at being less scared of the harmless single bugs that enter a home, especially the kind that EAT other bugs - so for example I am perfectly fine with spiders (being obsessed with Charlotte’s Web as a kid helps), and even centipedes after the initial screaming over how creepy they look is done. And I’ve gotten where I look insects up on websites that identify bugs and talk about them in positive/scientific ways and have stopped panicking about certain bugs and their larvae now as I can tell which ones are and aren’t actually harmful or prone to infestation. BUT. I’m still prolly gonna scream when I initially see them because eaauughhss. 

Those are the main ones, but the fun thing about OCD is that new ones develop all the time if you don’t stay vigilant about letting those obsessive thoughts do their thang, so I try real hard to ignore those news segments and articles about bringing black lights into hotel rooms and about all of the horrible ways people are committing violent crimes these days and other terrifying and/or gross things that might creep their ways into my fear center. 

11. What’s your rarest rarepair?

Oh, good question. I don’t tend to have rarepairs because the way I fandom is deep immersion into canon and not necessarily delving into fanon/fanfic. So even my non-canon ships tend to be ones that the canon itself at least played with a little bit or that the fandom-at-large has talked about enough that I start to see it. lol

I’m having trouble even thinking about a ship I have that could be classified as rare? It would probably be something involving Spike because I ship that fool with pretty much everyone he’s ever shared screentime with because he is just so yummy, and because Marsters was just really good about getting his character to bring interesting things out of whatever characters he was interacting with, and because he’s clearly so omnisexual that he just oozes chemistry with everyone he meets, but like. I’m also definitely not the only one who sees all that about him and also is shipping him left right and center. So. I’ll just toss out Spike/Harmony because I’ve never heard of anyone else who actually liked them together ha!

Phew! That was fun. I hope all of you all who I end up tagging have as much fun with my questions (and if not, feel free to use some of pixie’s).

My questions:

What is your #mood rn?

Tell me the sweetest childhood memory you can think of.

Favorite mythological/fantastical animal/creature.

What is your favorite mode of storytelling - for example, books, movies, TV shows, graphic novels, video games, etc. - and why do you think that’s your fave form?

Star Trek, Star Wars, or Starlord? (this is not a serious question and you may feel free to expound upon all three if you wish)

Favorite type of geographical location to visit, and is it different from where you prefer to live?

Name a character that you love, but who you would probably hate in real life.

Reboots, renewals, and revivals. Are they ruining your childhood or do you love ‘em?

Tell me about your favorite cookie (or other sweet if you don’t care for cookies).

If there is one thing people could just atomatically know about you upon meeting you that would make socializing with you better or easier, what would it be?

A lot of stories based on comics posit the theory that eventually humanity will evolve into at least some humans developing super powers. Suppose this started happening today - what would the results be, do you think?

Tagging:

(and of course, please consider yourself tagged if you wanna do this - I’d tag all of you if I could but I try and just pick folks I think enjoy doing these. if I’m ever wrong - please feel free and ignore the tag. additionally - please remember to tag ME so I can see your responses! also, feel free to re-tag me in this one since the questions differ and you all know how much I love to talk about myself.)

@absolutelyiris, @dianebluegreen, @c-l-ford, @theawkwardterrier, @the-invisible-queer, @brokenyellowcrayons, @knitmeapony, @fatherjerusalem, @swordsandparasols, @dmphelps, @nightlocktime