#genuinely looking for advice especially from other devs!!

[psychhound]

how early is too early to start talking about a game youre developing? like if im working on a Big Project that is years away from an ashcan do i gotta keep that to myself for a while or can i stop chewing all my furniture and constantly bothering my loved ones

[whentheynameyoujoy]

So the ATLA Movie Is... Good, Actually?

Just kidding, of course it’s not, it’s so bad it sucked the paint off my walls. But after ten years of people pointing out its glaring flaws, why would anyone bother talking about this garbage heap if not to go the other direction? So here’s a very brief and very superficial list of things the movie does get kinda... not atrociously wrong.

And they won’t be fake hipster pokes, like “It’s fun to laugh at”, “The Rifftrax for this is OK”, or “Kudos to the actress for managing to say we believe in our beliefs as much as they believe in theirs with a straight face”.

(though now that I mentioned it, it is fun to laugh at, the Rifftrax for this is OK, and massive props indeed.)

Rasta Iroh

Yes, I know it’s not exactly the aesthetic of the real Iroh or that it makes no cultural sense for him to sport this do when no one else in the racebended Indian “OMFG what were you thinking Shyamalan” Nation does but goddamn, long-haired dudes are my one mortal weakness and I will ogle the hell out of him.

Jesus is that a man bun I see that’s it mum I’ve been deaded

Yue’s hair

No.

Now we’re talking. Yue’s hair turned white when the Moon spirit gave her life, so it makes sense for it to go black again when she sacrifices herself to revive the koi fish. It’s a neat detail I find myself expecting whenever I rewatch the scene in the show. Yes, I realize it’d be a pointless hassle to animate since she, unlike in the movie, immediately goes on to become the Moon herself but still. I like.

The Blue Spirit’s mop

Zuko, hun, what’s with the dance-off?

First of all, I want to imagine that Zuko the Theatre Nerd was about to leave his ship with just the mask like in the show but then stuck his head into the cleaning cupboard and went, “Yeah, more coverage might be good, even though it do seem mighty fried to shit”.

Which makes me giggle. I like to giggle.

And secondly, the hair’s movement is what makes the static mess of the Blue Spirit’s solo fight scene appear at least bit more dynamic because God knows the cinematography isn’t doing it.

Any particular reason why it’s at the edge of the action, shot all boring-like?

Now, I get why circular shots would be reserved for Aang while he’s in the practice area and then used once the two join forces. What I don’t get is why Aang’s part of the action scene has a defined visual style while Zuko’s delegated to a few stationary wide shots from afar as though he’s a tertiary goon, meaning that when the time comes to combine the respective pieces of cinema language and visually convey collaboration, there’s not really much to combine.

But as long as Zuko is stuck in this static mess, it’s that awesome disaster on his head flopping about that draws the eye, helping me understand that something even is going on over there.

It also prevents me from paying much attention to how the extras are mostly just staying put and a lot of the hits don’t land, so that’s good.

The music slaps

James Newton Howard is too good for this.

Pls ignore that the word “gods” is used in the ATLA universe

I can’t be the only one who constantly uses this piece to daydream about writing specific fanfic scenes instead of, you know, actually sitting down and writing them. It’s just so good at communicating a sense of sorrow while speaking of rebirth that I find myself getting misty-eyed whenever I listen to it. Unfailingly, the soundtrack as a whole manages to break through the mile-thick crust of horrible acting, confusing writing, and uninspired cinematography and make me feel things. And considering how everything on screen is working against it, that’s no small feat.

Imagine what a powerful experience it would be if the score was used in service of an actual movie.

Dev Patel

No wonder since he’s the only one in the film occupying that crucial intersection between “is a good actor” and “was given something to work with”. It also doesn’t hurt that he breaks with the trend of actors starring in martial arts flicks despite never having done any martial art.

And all EIP-jokes about “stiff and humorless” aside, he’s a pretty decent Zuko considering how abridged this version of the character is. A while ago, I remember hearing a reviewer say that with his comedic chops, Patel should have been cast as Sokka. And on one hand, yes, god, absolutely, I need to see that asap. But on the other? He captures all layers of Book 1!Zuko, the desperate obsession, rage, and self-loathing, and at the same time gives you a peek at the soft momma’s boy dork that’s buried underneath. For Christ sakes, he exudes intensity and ambivalence even when acting against an emotionless hunk of wood that’s giving him nothing in return.

Oh, and I guess there’s a tree in the frame.

Ba dum tss

What can I say, the guy’s good.

Showing vs telling

OK, so this movie is all tell and no show, except for one single moment. And it’s the exact moment where the original goes in the other direction in terms of how information is conveyed.

See, I never liked this. The revelation is preceded by Iroh giving advice to Zuko who scolds him for nagging. Iroh then apologizes, moves in to say the line above, and is interrupted by Zuko who seems rather uncomfortable with Iroh laying his feelings out like this. And once they’re out, Zuko verbally confirms that he knew already and Iroh didn’t need to bother.

All this extraneous information and pussyfooting ends up weakening what should be a profound scene that reveals to us, the viewers, how deep the relationship between these two in fact runs.

Compare to the movie where Dadroh acts like a parent by fussing and worrying, with Sonion needing a single look to tell him and us that he understands what it’s all really about.

It’s genuinely efficient and just good.

No Cataang

Fine, a bit mean-girl bitchy from me since I only start minding the ship in Book 3. And probably unintentional on the part of the creators since there are moments where I think they’re trying to set the romance up? There’s a, well, an attempt to recreate the famous introductory shot of fateful meaningful destiny of meaningness, there’s some slight note of saving each other’s bacon going on, I’m pretty sure they’re the only ones in the film who smile, and oh, right, Katara’s shoved into her post-canon useless role where she doesn’t ever do anything, and is all about Aang right from the get go.

Yes, I will blame the “executive producers” because a) I’m incredibly petty, and b) it’s perfectly in line with their vision of the character so why the hell not.

Hilariously, none of it reads on screen because the actors are just... yeah. These poor kids are struggling so much with delivering their own lines and portraying their own characters they don’t seem to have any strength left to create something between them. To be fair, the bare-bones shot-reverse shot style of their scenes doesn’t exactly lend itself to the idea they occupy the same universe, let alone are friends or each other’s crushes.

And I enjoy this immensely because it allows me to forget the depressing horror show Katara’s life turns into post ATLA.

Yes Zutara

I need to delve into this because it’s fucking hilarious. So in a movie which fails to establish the original’s central romance so spectacularly that if Aang got lost in a crowd I don’t believe Katara would notice, SomEOnE thought it’d be a good idea to add an utterly unnecessary non-canon moment where Zuko for some reason feels the need to pause his character-defining hunt for the Avatar which otherwise has him ignore everything and snap at everyone, and explain his central conflict to an unconscious peasant he doesn’t know, complete with gently pushing the hair from the pretty girl’s the soulmate’s the Water Tribe Ambassador’s the Fire Lady’s the love of his life’s her face away, AFTER his uncle nagged him twice to find a girl and settle down.

I just wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page and this is what we really saw.

Celibate Avatars

I have no idea why the decision was made, if TPTB thought expecting viewers to understand the story through the lens of Buddhism would be too much, or if the “executive producers” already worked their retconny magic. What I do know, however, is that there’s a big shift in worldbuilding and Aang’s struggle with his role as the Avatar stops being a personal conflict defined by a) his grief for Air Nomads, b) his notion of being robbed of the loved ones in his life, and c) the selfish attachment to Katara he confuses with true love. Instead, what he has a difficulty to accept is apparently a general notion of who Avatars are supposed to be, i.e. a fantasy version of Catholic monks, no family and worldly relations, period.

I guess either someone understood the original’s portrayal of de/attachment as “hermit no freaky”, or thought the audience would so why not go there outright.

Now, do I like this on its own? No, God no, it makes the world infinitely poorer and changes the story from an exploration of ideas which aren’t all that ingrained in the West, to a cliché tropester about a Catholic priest going Protestant so that he could be with a girl.

At least I assume that’s where they were going to take this eventually.

I mean, I think the direction was “look conflicted, this isn’t the final stage of your journey”?

But consider this—the show went there, it built on the concepts of Eastern philosophy and touched upon the ideas of spiritual awakening, only to swerve in the end and strongly imply they’re bullshit and Aang should have never wasted his time with them.

So honestly, I much prefer scanty worldbuilding to an insulting retcon by a damn rock.

Multiracial Air Nomads

Probably the most substantial “no hint of irony” point on this list and a genuinely good addition to the universe’s worldbuilding.

See, the notion of the elemental nations being perfectly separate and never mingling before Sozin has always been sketchy but it’s especially ridiculous in the case of airbenders. It never made sense to me for all airbenders to be Air Nomads and for all Air Nomads to be monks and for all monks to be chilling at the temples all the time to facilitate a quick everyone-dies genocide should an imperialistic warlord ever decide to commit one.

Because committing everyone to a single way of life at a handful of places kinda goes against the central philosophy behind airbending. Like the freedom and nomadism part.

Instead, there should be more variety to the airbending culture, with some staying at the temples as monks, hermits, and teachers while others live as nomads, travelling the world and creating more airbenders, with the resulting children in turn being influenced by the non-airbending cultures they grew up in.

And thus, not only should airbenders not be modeled after a single culture to create a one-size-fits-all lifestyle, but they should have the most diverse and dynamic culture out of the four nations.

And it’d be precisely this diversity which would pave way for an eventual reveal that some of them survived, that their complete extermination is impossible.

Because they’re everywhere.

You know.

Like air.

[neomedievalistbr]

so yeah youre totally right it IS one of the games ever made!!!

the premise of the plot is that you wake up hangover ass naked, legendarily hangover and comin down from a high, to a trashed apartment with no memory of who you are or wtf is goin on. then you get told youre a cop, then you get told theres a guy that's been hanged rotting behind the shitty motel you've stayed at, and then a guy who claims to be your partner on the case (lieutenant kitsuragi aka The best character) informs you that youve got to find the murderer.

the universe is.... like a mirror of ours? the continents (isolas) have their own countries and histories, which is explored in depth by the game, and some of the quests. i can't really describe it, but its a completely believable world (im not even gonna call it a fictional world, THATS how good it is) with very well developed geography lore and mythology. The world is shrinking and there are cryptids to be hunted and theres a bitter old man in the square who fought against the revolutionaries, and the union fights against a corporate, and theres is something deeply wrong with the kids, and a man was hanged behind your hostel to keep in mind, the game is as much a game a political and philosophical manifesto. a LOT of interactions youll have with the world and the characters that are esoteric discussions about politics and the meaning of life and existence and how the revolution in revachol (the capitol of the world) and martinaise affected the people and their socioeconomic situation.

as to the game itself, its an rpg, where you have 24 skills that you can level, and you interact with the world mainly through various active and passive checks. so its partially based on luck, but to every problem, riddle or obstacle you encounter on your murder investigation there are a metric ton of ways to solve it (i have 130h in that game and i just learned recently that during one of the major plot events things can go south in a very specific way and you gain a new companion. for example) what i wanna say is, the game is absolutely massive and very branching in story elements but also dialogue! a Lot of what you do and say has influence on your character and his future, after you solve (or don't solve) the case

apropos dialogue. this is as much a game as a book too (devs say its a million words. of course you cant encounter alllll the dialogue in one playthrough but. yanno), BUT with the new patch its ALL fully voiced now, and on god the performances and accents and the speaking styles of the main/supporting/side or just throwaway characters are SO varied and distinct, its a pleasure to listen to! moreover, the skills i mentioned earlier arent just numbers. those are characters almost as much as any other, giving helpful advice and unlocking dialogue options, all the while talking and bickering among each other in your head (volition and encyclopedia my beloveds). roughly half of the 1 million words are them talking to you. in your head.

and did i mention literally everything looks GORGEOUSLY handpainted and textured? the visuals of the game, especially the portraits and some illustrations are breathtaking! genuinely the story and the art and the voices and the long winded but fascinating polit-philosophical tangents and discussions, its a masterfully crafted package, i literally could not gush more about it, and i barely scratches the surface

and well, if that doesnt convince you... uh you can be a commie superstar and a part of the homosexual underground with a fucked up kid on the leash and start a night club in a church. with a programmer lady who's trying to find out wtf is going on with the world, and thats just ONE way the story can go!

sorry for not answering this earlier, i was almost dying here but now im a little better

i have to say, this all looks really interesting, and ive seen some of screenshots of it, it looks very beautiful. unfortunately, its 150 reais (27 dollars) on console and 75 reais (13 dollars) on steam, and my pc SUCKS, so i cant buy it on steam AND its costy on console, so im gonna have to wait till its on sale :/

[purplesurveys]

1264

Who are you subscribed to on YouTube?  Oh man, I’m probably subscribed to over a hundred, if not 200. I’ve subscribed to channels relevant to interests I’ve had over the years, and since it’s not my habit to do spring cleaning on my feeds, the subscriptions have just keep piling up even if I no longer keep up with literally like 98% of them.

Do you like to go to the farmer's market?  I don’t think I’ve ever been in one yet. They aren’t very common here and the ones we do have are pricey and mostly inaccessible to the everyday consumer, I’m sure.

What will (or was) the color of your wedding dress be?  I wouldn’t want any other color than white.

What's your favorite melon?  I don’t like fruits.

What was the name of the last pet of yours that died?  Arlee. Technically my family mostly considered her as just Nina’s pet, but the sting was felt all the same when we learned she died.

When was the last time you wished the day would just get over with?  Yesterday, because it was Friday. Pretty self-explanatory, I wanted to get to the weekend so I can finally let go of work for a couple of days.

Name one person you've never had a fight with:  Andi. I think we’re both afraid of pissing the other off, which works out for us lol.

What are you currently listening to?  I can just hear the really loud whirring of my electric fan because it’s a grossly humid day today.

What would you rather have: cat or dog?  Dogs.

Who is your least favorite person in real life?  I have a lot of uncles I just don’t like.

Do you ever watch anybody's live stream of... anything, really?  Technically, yeah. I will sometimes tune in to livestreams of lofi music on YouTube, but I do it to listen, not to watch. 

Does your house have security cameras?  No.

If you go grey as you age, would you dye your hair or let it be?  I think I might dye it for a certain period of time, but I also think I would eventually reach the point where I’ll just accept it and slowly let go of the dye.

What was the last establishment you stopped going to due to bad service? What happened?  I haven’t run into much bad service, but I’ll never forget how long my order and bill took for Mad Mark’s. I never really vowed per se to never go back there again and I definitely didn’t confront the staff, but I haven’t eaten there since that incident.

What soundtrack do you listen to the most?  Not a big soundtrack listener.

Was there a family secret you weren’t told about until you were an adult?  Nah, they’re kept from us until now. The biggest one I’ve heard about was having a kleptomaniac in the family but we were never told who it is.

Do you have an opinion most people you meet seem to disagree with you?  Yeah, my dislike for fruits.

What’s something you like to have many options to choose from?  Clothes, I guess, like bucket hats. I don’t shop a lot and clothes aren’t a priority in my budget, so when I do pick out clothes, it has to be exactly what I want so that I don’t feel it was a waste of money.

What’s the strangest decorative object you own?  We have several quirky, disconnected decor in the living room from gifts we’ve acquired over the years. One object I can tell you about is the polar bear glass figurine we have on the coffee table.

What’s a thing you couldn’t imagine doing with your life right now?  Dating around.

What’s been your proudest moment?  Managing to stay alive this year and turn my life around for the better when I thought there was no hope.

What’s the filthiest non-pornographic movie you’ve seen?  Eyes Wide Shut, probably.

Do you know anyone who doesn't seem to be fond of animals?  I don’t think so. Like any animal...? I would find that quite odd, honestly. And I wouldn’t want to be friends with them if we weren’t already close .

Are you planning any outings or trips anytime soon? Whereabouts?  No, nothing set in stone. I do want to fly out to South Korea soon, though.

Do you know anyone who has a phobia of a certain animal?  I know a few people who are afraid of dogs.

Is there a particular brand of technology/electronics that you prefer?  Yeah, Apple.

Is there a singer whose voice gives you goosebumps/chills?  Hayley Williams and Jin, especially when he’s belting; and I don’t listen to her much, but I find that Billie Eilish has a unique voice that sounds really nice.

And is there a singer whose voice you simply can't stand?  Selena Gomez for some of her songs, Meghan Trainor for most of her songs.

Are there any authors that are particularly dominant on your bookshelf?  No.

Have you seen any photographs or videos that made you smile today?  Sure.

Which item in your fridge are you most looking forward to consuming? My aunt sent over this gigantic-ass slab of salmon that I can’t wait to eat as sashimi. I already had a few pieces last night and it was hea ven ly.

Has anyone you know got into a new relationship lately?  Hmm, I don’t think so. I know my coworker Dev got into a relationship a few weeks ago but it fizzled out as soon as it started because the guy was shitty.

If you menstruate, do you experience much PMS prior to it?  Only on the emotional side; I rarely get physical symptoms. I usually feel down or emotionally heavy a few days before my period.

Have you ever had a tattoo covered up or added to?  No, I don’t have any tattoos. Can you remember the last time you had a sudden change of mind?  Hmm, like last night. I wanted to stay up to maximize the weekend, buuuut I decided against it and slept instead since I had been up since 2 in the morning.

When was the last time you did something on a whim?  Two weeks ago when I impulsively dropped a thousand bucks to have cheese tarts delivered to Angela and Reena, hahaha.

Were you raised by both of your parents? If not, then who raised you?  My mom, grandma, and one of my aunts were the main people who raised me. Dad works overseas, so he was never at home much.

Have you ever began a relationship with someone you knew for less than a week?  No, I wouldn’t do that.

Has one of your friends ever tried to ‘hook you up?’  Mik tried to pair me with one of his friends just days before I finally implied on social media that I was no longer in a relationship. It was a cool ego boost but I declined, since my emotions were still super turbulent then. Andi tried to initiate sex with me once too, but I also declined.

What is your card game of choice?  I hate card games; I can never seem to understand them lmao, though that’s really more of a me problem than anything else.

What is your favourite books series?  Growing up, I really loved the Septimus Heap series. But the thing about it was that I got into it while the series was still ongoing; and with how bad my attention span is, I always forgot the events/plot whenever the newest book came out. 

So whenever that happened I had to read the entire series from Book 1; eventually the number of books I had to reread/revisit became too many (it was a seven-part series) and I simply just lost the time to read and I never got to know about the conclusion.

Do you prefer landmarks or street names when being given directions?  Street names – more precise. Landmarks to me can be pretty subjective – a green building might look blue to me, and I could just end up being lost.

Do you read the prologues in the beginnings of books?  Sure.

What was your favourite gym class moment?  If I genuinely like or already play the sport that was being taught. That’s why PE table tennis was a lot of fun for me.

Do you think that ocean boardwalks are fun?  I’ve never been on one but I imagine they are fun, yeah.

Do you dread when people ask you to sign their yearbooks?  That’s not a tradition here.

Do you have a favourite Scooby-Doo movie?  No. I was too young for Scooby-Doo in a sense that I do remember watching the movies as a 3/4 year old as they were kept on in the background at home, but I didn’t get any of the plots/didn’t really appreciate the films.

Do you think it’s cute when toddlers try to run away and fall down?  Sometimes, yeah. If the fall looked nasty I would obviously be concerned.

Do you enjoy listening to your grandparents tell stories of their past?  Honestly, only one of my grandparents would be the type to do this but he’s been dead for six years now. It’s a big shame he passed before I could bond with him the way I had always wanted to. My three other grandparents are either too closed off or too quiet to share stories from their youth.

Do you have a crush on someone? Nah, nothing more than a celebrity crush.

If so... what does his/her name begin with? 

What attracts you to them? 

Do they know that you like them? 

If they don't know, why didn't you tell them? 

Name two people that you miss:  Angela and Laurice.

Have you ever seen Titanic?  More times than I can count. I’m sure I memorize like 80% of the script, too.

Have you ever swam with dolphins?  No. I’m not so sure if I’ve seen dolphins, either. Maybe I have? Or maybe I’m confusing it with whales...idrk.

When was the last time you had a stomachache?  Wednesday.

What's going to bed early for you?  11 PM or midnight.

Do you want to have a big family in the future?  I used to, but I don’t think that’s the future I want anymore. One or two kids should be okay.

What was the last thing you did that gave you a rush?  Technically speaking, an orgasm, I guess?? Lmao idk

Favorite Nicholas Cage movie?  I don’t think I have one.

Have you had your Covid vaccine yet? Which one, if you have?  Yeah, I’m fully dosed. Sinovac.

If you've had your vaccine, did you experience any side effects?  I was suuuuuuper tired right after my first dose and I wanted to be knocked the fuck out, but I went right back to work after the shot because I am allergic to filing leaves hahaha. Second dose went smoothly.

What's the next item of clothing that you intend to buy for yourself?  A bucket hat or maybe one of the Fila x BTS shirts because the collection is actually quite cute!

What Facebook groups have you found the most helpful?  I join Facebook groups to be entertained, not because I actively look for advice.

Do you like your butt? Why or why not?  Yeah. It...has a good form hahahahahaha.

Have you ever personally been a victim of homophobia?  Yes, a few years ago I went to a food park with my ex-girlfriend. I was already not feeling my best that day to begin with, so having to see an old woman stare daggers at us for what felt like years really stung. I felt small under her look and almost cried, but in the end I felt angry that I momentarily felt shame about my relationship. I decided to just piss the woman off on purpose and do PDA right in front of her.

Do you think you’d be happier if you had a pet? I have two dogs at present and I know they make me extremely happy.

Who was the last person you went on a date with?  Gabie.

Were you ever hospitalized as a little kid?  No. The first and only time I was hospitalized (other than being birthed), I was about 12, I think.

What’s your favorite way to curl your hair?  I don’t do that. I rarely style my hair.

At what age did you start swearing?  I was 11.

What is something you physically can’t do?  Ride a bike.

What do like better, apples or oranges?  I don’t like any fruits; but in terms of flavored stuff, I like orange-flavored food, especially chewy candy, slightly more.

Around the holidays, do you hope for snow?  Well, no.

What are your top two favorite bands?  Paramore and Against Me!

How many people do you 100% trust?  There are a handful. I generally trust easily just because I like to believe all people are kind and loyal – but I can also take it away in the snap of a finger.

Do you care what others think about you?  Not so much.

Has anyone ever called you a bitch?  Sure.

Did you watch Teletubbies when you were younger?  Yeah but just super super faint memories. It wasn’t one of my main shows.

Do you have any licenses other than your driver's license?  I don’t.

Could you live the rest of your life without eating meat?  I doubt it. I could try, but I think I’d get cranky and start looking for meat way earlier than I would like to admit.

Have you ever had a rolling backpack?  Yup, if you mean a stroller. I think I’ve answered this on a previous survey.

Did you make any money today?  No, because it’s a weekend. What was the highest place you've ever jumped from?  Nothing dramatically high. I’ve had acrophobia-themed nightmares in the past, so even though I don’t actually have a fear of heights, the idea of jumping from a high place still makes me antsy.

Have you ever gone swimming in a river?  Not that I can recall.

What was the last souvenir someone got you?  I dunno if it counts but Andi bought merch from the AEW shop but made sure to also get a CM Punk sticker set for me :(

Do you have a favorite remix of a song?  Remixes have never been my thing. What do you think is the most saddest sounding instrument?  Piano.

Do you really pay attention to the ratings on movies?  Yeah they can definitely affect the level of appreciation I hold towards a film. For instance, if I genuinely enjoyed a movie only to find out it has average to bad reviews, it invites me to think more critically about the movie.

Do you have a favorite species of wild cat (tiger/lion/cougar/etc.)?  No.

If you had $500,000, what would you do with it?  Give half to my parents and let them do whatever they wish it. With the remaining P12,500,000, I’d probably get myself my own condo and have it fully furnished, then get braces, then get a new phone and laptop. I’ll have a bunch of money still left, I’m pretty sure – the rest of it I’ll save.

Did the last person you touched lips with have a kid?  No. I mean, I have honestly no clue what’s going on in her life now, but I know she doesn’t want kids so this is very unlikely.

"First loves are never really over." Is this true for you?  It’s true in a sense that she left me a lot of trauma and self-esteem issues that will irrevocably always be a part of me now even though I’ve worked hard to resolved most of them by myself.

Did you like Michael Jackson before he died?  Yes, because he has always been my favorite singer’s role model.

What are some things that would make you break up with someone?  I don’t know how to answer this question, honestly. All the red flags were thrown and tossed and slapped into my face and down my throat for six years yet I never left. I don’t actually know what my limits are, and I believe it’s because my coping mechanism has to just accept things and suck them up no matter how bad they get. That’s what I’m trying to change for myself now.

What was the worst breakup you've ever had?  I’ve had two breakups with the same person, and the second one was worse.

[gaychins]

i’ve been meaning to write about phoenix&apollo rs in aa5/6

but i guess first .. i need to go in what they did to phoenix in aa5-6 and what it meant lol - they frame him as this legendary attorney which like ok he IS but with that you have the judge acting as if he were still a rookie And his character acting as if it were still in aa1, his speech in aa5 against apollo abt trusting in your clients no matter that is Ridiculous considering everything that has happened to him like do we need a reminder of matt engarde? of dahlia? OF ZAK GRAMARYE? of everything that made him lose his badge? using ot is enough honestly because part of his development WAS realizing that believing in your client is just a mean to find out the truth and the TRUTH is the main thing but then in aa5 you have him… giving advice to athena&apollo abt believing in the clients & even belittling apollo for being suspicious when he has reasons for it lmao this retcon of phoenix that makes no sense also throws the entire premise of ace attorney in the trashcan you have phoenix acting oblivious, naive, w a saviour complex and completely selfabsorved (aasking apollo why is he making the case more difficult as if apollo’s best friend hasn’t died? lol)

in aa6 they keep this up with the selfabsoverment (phoenix asking a dude that has KILLED HIMSELF bc of the harsh law Why didn’t he simply go to phoenix like ? ?? ? ?? ?ok) and w phoenix emphasizing on the Believe in Your Clients until his aa2 ‘development’ happens in their last case which is EXACTLY like 2-4 case with maya being kidnapped and being used as hostage by his own client…. there’s no NEED to do any of that since we have ALREADY seen it happen before this is all what he has gone through before and it’s just RIDICULOUS - 

but ANYWAY the point is: they wrote him forgetting everything that has happened to him beforehand and completely nulled his flaws as if he could do no wrong since he is a 1) legendary attorney 2) saviour. now. we add that up with his relationship/dynamic with apollo. in 4-1, when they first met we have apollo idolizing phoenix. we find out he has looked up to phoenix and it’s prob not farfetched to say he was part of the reason apollo became a lawyer as well. so. we have that and then his conceptions/the image he had of phoenix being destroyed one by one as the trial goes - the first time he crossexamines phoenix, he keeps talking about how it’s impossible for phoenix to lie (especially UNDER OATH) it’s not possible for the Grand Phoenix Wright to do something wrong and then, well, you press him and you see phoenix being secretive and more cryptic not wanting to give information at the moment and saying he has not touched the bottle when they, actually, have his prints on it (it does not come to play the reason behind all that it was v wellplanned by phoenix+kristoph was the one to exchange the bottles) because its MAINPOINT is to deconstruct this image of phoenix we have and it ends with phoenix giving apollo the forged evidence as the breakpoint - and then apollo punches him.

so in aa4, their entire dynamic is not the best. we have apollo not trusting him+phoenix being cryptic and using him for his schemes - and even though he is called apollo’s mentor that is not…. what he is exactly? we barely see him until 4-4 where you learn everything abt what happened to him but that’s for the JURORS so apollo is still….. not involved really so, by the end, we have the acknowledge of phoenix knowing since the beginning that apollo is related to trucy and keeping it secret from both of them and using the kid to go against his ex-boss who killed his halfsibling’s dad (and gets his prosecutor friend to go against his own brother as well). tldr: their dynamic is MESSY, they don’t trust each other that much (by the end it has gotten better &even tho apollo has his issues w phoenix he still…… goes after him for validation the scene of ‘did you trust/believe me?’ w phoenix answering ‘not really’ is Smth) &it’s estranged w so many layers on it BUT, as a counterpoint, and like i mentioned earlier it does feel better by the end? and hopeful? with the postcreds we get w phoenix where he says it’s apollo time now so it feels like there’s room for growth between them AND phoenix to learn how to be a good mentor & a reconciliation between the two as bad as the reaction that apollo will have once he finds out that phoenix knew from the beginning about him&trucy lol 

HAVING SAID ALL THAT, we get to the Point of this post: phoenix & apollo in aa5/6. so. we have all that that happened in aa4 and what do they do? just like what they did to phoenix’s entire personality&flaws? it’s forgotten. apollo goes back to idolizing phoenix as if 4-1 had never happened before, with him going after phoenix for validation & simply looking up to him the Most when their dynamic&relationship were SO complex before and this ends up not becoming only a disservice to both but also uncomfortable. 

phoenix acting like he did nothing bad & apollo going after him as a Novice Attorney should just feels wrong & cheapens it down & it makes whatever phoenix say not feel GENUINE. they try to make you think phoenix cares about apollo but for example, in aa5, this is only related to himself - how could apollo leave their agency? how could he accuse athena & do this to both of us? and forgets things such as: trucy being taken hostage in the space place being because SHE WENT THERE TO FIND APOLLO so y’know? why is apollo never mentioned as someone they’re worrying about? isn’t he supposed to be there? and added up with the ‘oh i forgot about apollo’ jokes they kept and how that’s literally the only thing they keep from aa4 phoenix (apollo being the butt of his jokes), it doesn’t look good. 

and in aa6, especially HERE, where phoenix caring abt apollo and being Proud of him is the biggest thing & a supposed ‘closure’ to apollo’s arc(lol) it doesn’t feel good at all bc there’s no proper buildup !! it actually feels even more uncomfortable. with phoenix trying to act like a Good Guy & Good Boss & talking abt how he ‘saw’ apollo grow & how he is ‘proud’ of him while putting all the shit he did in aa4 under the rug AND w apollo not being allowed to be mad at him and only allowed to idolize him as a bonus. 

CONCLUSION: a mentor & apprentice dynamic that could’ve been interesting, a charac dev to phoenix that could’ve made sense&would’ve been good, were all thrown in the trash for an idolized & no wrong version of it that doesn’t feel fulfilling at all.

[glgaming835]

How much money is spent on gaming

Major 20 Gaming Blogs You Should Be Following

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[onegirllis]

Have you really gone through episode 2 of LIS2? I really wonder what you think about it. Better, of course, the full answer.

I finished it indeed. The episode is about 3-4h long, depending on how much you want to explore and how much time it would take for you to find a way out. I was battling with the idea of sharing my thoughts because it’s very hard to judge just a slice of the story, instead of the whole season, but why the hell not. Maybe I will read it when episode 5 comes out and see how wrong I was. 

So, without further ado, here’s my review of episode 2, but please be aware it includes a lot of spoilers. It’s also as honest as possible, although it’s my personal opinion only. And yes, it may be harsh, not sugarcoated, but sincere. 

MY REVIEW OF EPISODE 2 OF LIFE IS STRANGE 2

Call me naive, but I really had hopes. I really did. I didn’t like ep1, it was way too slow for my taste, with some dramatic moments that felt off, but overall I assumed that it might be just an exposition, an introduction to the world, the characters and their problems, and that the game would elaborate on everything else later. Sometimes the beginnings feel off and it gets better later, so that’s why I had some hopes (not super high) that ep2 of LIS2 will remind me of why this game even belongs to LIS franchise and why I should play the whole season. 

Well, it didn’t work out. 

Characters

Again, It’s my opinion only but I don’t feel that there are any character developments whatsoever. Daniel and Sean didn’t learn anything freezing their asses off in the mountains. They didn’t change their ways, not learning patience nor being careful. There is no tension between them or any quarrel about the events. The acceptance of their fate is understandable, but not helping with the lack of overall tension. The moments of calm, that usually gave the player the opportunity to know more about the main character’s inner thoughts, instead serve the purpose of a summary of the few previous scenes and nothing more. It almost feels like the writers don’t like the PC and don’t want to tell us more about Sean, because there is absolutely nothing worth telling. Remember the girl Sean was in love with in ep1? Never mentioned again. Remember his friends, his boss, his job, school, or sports he was interested in? He doesn’t mention them either. There is nothing in the journal or in the dialogues that would show us anything we don’t already know or wouldn’t assume by ourselves, and Sean’s insights seem more like repetitive whinings than anything impactful. In episode 1 I could wave off the fact that they decided to walk to Mexico being shocked, traumatized and lost. In episode 2, when they notoriously risk their lives or reject any other solution not learning from experience just to run away, you start questioning their sanity. I know the reason behind it - “oh plot” but “oh plot” is not good enough. 

The boys miss their dad, but don’t feel much upset or don’t present any sign of emotional trauma. There are no breakdowns and the brothers are more or less in good spirits staying optimistic, not asking themselves a single question about the future. Comparing to Chloe who was repeating “I wish Rachel was here” over and over and was living in this trauma the whole time, they don’t seem very much impacted by the events, but on the other hand, they place the dad’s photo on the table, so his death can be conveniently mentioned. The dog died (yes, it’s true, Mushroom is killed off in the first 20 minutes), and even if Daniel is supposedly devastated, it takes him only 5 minutes to shake it off and never mentions this dog again (oh ok, maybe once). If the characters don’t freaking care about this animal, why should I? 

It also seems that the characters keep forgetting what the objective is here. Maybe it’s on purpose, but they recall certain friends only when it’s convenient for the plot. “I’m gonna call Lyla” says Sean towards the end of the episode, even if he hadn’t mentioned her for 2 hours of gameplay. And even when getting devastating news about her, he is not really concerned, shrugs and sighs deeply. Yeah, we sigh with him.

When it comes to Sean himself, I really don’t mind the PC being a guy, really. If I had a problem with it, I wouldn’t be able to play 90% of video games. The thing I do have a problem with though, is Sean being an utter asshole. Yeah, he takes care of his brother and all, but he is freaking mean to his grandparents, showing lack of empathy and acceptance of a different point of view. Calling the grandma, a woman who opened her house to them “an old bat” is just a bit too much, especially after a month spent in an abandoned house without food or heating. There is no reason for him to judge those people so much and if there is a reason, we don’t know the details. How can I emotionally invest in a character that is not opening up to me, the player? Or maybe there is nothing more about Sean, and that’s even worse. 

There is a big mystery regarding why their mother left her sons but if you expect any answer while the boys are visiting their grandparents and can snoop around in Karen’s old room, you’d be mistaken. The devs are building the mystery in the typical David Cage style, that one of the characters is about to tell you something “Oh, I will tell you what your mother did..~” and then something happens and we’re left in the dark again. At this point, I expect some explosive explanation of why their mother left the family, but it’s ether drugs, a religious cult or some relationship stuff.

Tragedy Porn

Dear devs, the fact that a lot of people in the fandom are familiar with this term and use it regularly, doesn’t mean you should take it literally. I know that the LIS franchise is about hard choices or difficult situations, but killing kids and small animals left and right is just cheap and really unnecessary. It quickly gets old, just like “the boy who cried wolf” (pun intended) that as some point I don’t even blink when witnessing another digital death. I can’t be devastated by Mushroom’s death, because the dog had less screen time than Sean’s skateboard. I can’t feel sorry for every character (human or not) that you didn’t even give me a chance to feel connected to. I know that you want me to “feel something” but at this point the “feel” changes into “yawn”. Chris AKA Captain Spirit being dead (or almost dead) AGAIN - so I helped the boy just to see him die 1 hour later (I know it’s optional but still)? Lyla in the hospital, the family from the abandoned house being wiped out of the face of the earth because of cancer (at least not a car accident this time), Chris’s mom dead, the boys’ father dead, grandpa almost dying because of the accident… It’s too much. It feels cheap and not impactful. At this point, I will be surprised if you won’t just kill everybody. Who needs people on the West Coast anyway, huh?

I don’t even know if I want to learn more about the boys’ mother since you probably will kill her too.

Politics and Religion

In this episode, politics have been toned down, still visible though and there are a few moments when I literally rolled my eyes. This time the devs decided to say something more about religion since it’s a significant part of life if you live in a small town in America. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that the power of prayer is being mocked rather than actually shown as somebody’s way of life. Acceptance and tolerance go both ways though. 

The boys surprisingly identify themselves as Mexicans, even though they are half Irish and have never been to their father’s homeland. There are a few moments when you are wondering whether they had ever really liked to live in the US, questioning everything around them. Sean, who spent a decent amount of time with his dad on “the road trips” as stated in ep1, seems genuinely surprised that in his country people keep the Bible by their beds, as if he had never been in any motel whatsoever where the Bible is always present, placed on the nightstand or in a drawer. If being religious bothers him, boy, oh boy, you will be hella surprised in Mexico. They also don’t know how to pray, which I find extremely hard to believe. It almost feels like a scene from “Anne of Green Gables” but damn, the girl had a valid reason not to know. They don’t, especially if they identify themselves as Mexicans. We could assume that they were also part of Mexican-American communities and I cannot believe that in THIS WORLD the immigrants from this particular part of the world don’t know how to pray. Although if you expect some deep conversation about God or religion in general, forget it. It’s just there to be there and that’s it.

I don’t want to discuss the articles in the newspaper about “the gentle police officer” that was killed by immigrants because it makes my blood boil. 

Against the logic, the brothers are still planning to escape to Mexico and no grown-up is really trying to talk them out of this idea. There are no alternatives provided or discussed except a pat on the back and an offer for a quick stop if even. Even the grandparents are a bit concerned but no one really gives them any real advice, which I find unlikely. The problem is that if anybody would actually give them a piece of real advice, we wouldn’t have a game.

And that’s a problem, isn’t it?

Gameplay

We have a few mini-games and fetch quests like finding bottles in the abandoned house (why always freaking bottles?), the pirate version of dice poker (never brought back again) and drawing. None of those serve any purpose except a filler that you might enjoy but it doesn’t matter if you succeed in them or not, unless the game forces you to succeed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m aware that this particular genre doesn’t usually provide a set of complex challenges in its gameplay, but it seriously looks like LIS2 is throwing us a bone, remembering from time to time that uh, it’s a game, not a movie. Those mini games are not really engaging, not really connected to the plot, but just for… whatever reason, as part of the daily chores. 

But it’s a game about choices, you say! Yes, it is, but only some of them really matter and I’m not sure for how long. If you give me a choice to do something or NOT to do it, please consider that I might pick the latter and don’t force me into your favorite path. It happens from time to time and it’s utterly annoying. If you want me to do something, just don’t give me the illusion that I can refuse. 

It almost seems that LIS2 turned into a dark alley where you are rewarded for picking the “good, canonical path” and punished for playing it differently than the devs indented. I loved LIS1 for ambiguous choices that I might pick, depending on my personal preferences, not to mention that those choices are made during an emotional moment. I don’t feel I have that opportunity here, just as if somebody who constructed it forgot why LIS was so great and is so loved.

When it comes to dialogue, it is way better than LIS1, regarding how people actually speak. On the other hand, the lines are just there to be there and I can’t recall a single line that would be worth quoting. 

And one more thing. Cutscenes. So many cutscenes. The moment when I actually could do something with my controller was a celebration. I don’t mind cutscenes in general, but it almost feels like a movie.  A long, boring, super slow movie.

Superpower


The superpower is mentioned, mostly in rules that Sean is lecturing Daniel about, but it’s non-existent in the gameplay almost at all. It’s drastically different comparing to LIS1, when Max was using her power almost all the time or was a challenge not to use it. Here we know that Daniel can do things but most of the time he conveniently forgets about it or uses it in the wrong moment. I know the game is about education but the superpower itself seems like a plot device, an additional reason to run to Mexico than anything else. They talk more about it than use it. It sounds like a good idea in general and it probably looked great on paper, but at some point I didn’t care about the superpower at all, forgetting that this secret even exists.

Season 1

When it comes to references to season 1, Arcadia Bay, or any character that we know from LIS1, there is almost nothing. Yes, you can find a drawing of ”door to another world” instead of hole to another universe, or graffiti on the wall that Sean and Daniel were here, similar to the famous junkyard thing, but it won’t give you any insight about what had happened to the favorite characters or any glimpse of their fate. There was more about Arcadia Bay in Captain Spirit than the whole LIS2 so far. The devs were damn serious, showing us Arcadia Bay in episode 1, destroyed or not, saying that this is the past. It seems that they don’t want to even refer to this past much and it’s fine, but if you’re hoping for anything, just anything related to LIS1, forget it.

Technical problems

Oh, boy. I’m aware that creating games is not an easy job and a team sport. I know that it’s almost a miracle that some of the titles even got shipped, but episode 2 of LIS2 is probably the MOST BUGGED EPISODE in the history of this franchise. Glitches, problems with sound, teleportation of objects, animations that didn’t work or songs being cut off… I’m not talking about a few mistakes here and there, but it happens all the time. It’s so common it’s an epidemic and you face some technical challenge almost in every scene as if Bethesda was putting this episode together. This episode looks like advanced beta, not a finished product that had been delayed for months. It seems ironic when recalling the posts from the Life is Strange blog about QA teams, one in France and one in Canada, carefully checking every detail and describing how quality was important. Especially in that context, this is really a disaster, however, I didn’t face any technical problem that would make this episode impossible to finish.

What worked

So what’s great about this episode? Does everything suck? Well, of course not. On the upside, the locations are absolutely stunning. You want to explore the town, the houses, play in the snow, dive into the world, even if you don’t expect anything groundbreaking to happen. The level design, in my opinion, is better than in LIS1, more consistent and intriguing. I know a lot of people might disagree with me but somebody put their heart and soul building this environment, creating something really beautiful. Except for the locations, I liked some songs and the music, way more than in ep1, but it’s not as good as in LIS1 or BTS. Better, but not great.

Cassidy

Oh, somebody was reading “Preacher”, weren’t ya? Or is ia reference to “On the road”? A lot of people seem excited about her finally showing up. I have mixed feelings about this character since I’m not sure if I want to discover the world from her perspective. A stoned, hippie-rasta girl, who takes pride in being free and “not owned by any corporation” (except Square Enix hehehe), is maybe a realistic character and I’m not saying that people like her don’t exist here, but I’m on the fence, to be honest. It seems that the devs are trying to establish the next canon ship or something with her being interested in Sean and him actually “liking her” after exchanging 3 sentences, but that really feels off. She seems more like Chloe 2.0 than anything else, but we shall see (in the next 6 months or whenever they will fucking publish the next ep). Plus for fuck’s sake, Sean was into Jenn (I don’t remember her name exactly), and there was Lyla, and then this girl. Dude!

Summary

It was boring. It was extremely freaking boring to the point that I lost my patience to check every single detail or examine every object. I don’t feel any need to replay it, even if the consequences of my choices weren’t great. I’m not curious about different outcomes nor do I want to check if I missed anything. There is not a single scene I want to see or experience again. In my game, Chris died and I don’t really feel the need to replay it and change the outcome since I will never meet him again or even deal with the consequences of his death. The whole road trip setting is intriguing but drastically different to what I loved about Life is Strange - learning more about each character, dwelling deeper into the situation, uncovering a hidden mystery. We won’t learn more about most of those characters (or it doesn’t seem possible) since we just pass them and move on, exchanging a dialogue or two like with a pedestrian on the street. There is a charm to the road trip idea, but then I would have to be extremely interested in the main characters, including the PC, to actually follow their journey closely. In LIS1 I didn’t have to like Max to play the whole thing, curious about Chloe or Rachels’ disappearance. In a road trip setting the two brothers are the core of the story and if you’re not fond of them, it won’t work.

So far it’s not working for me.

[bookre]

5 Romance Books to Make You Believe in Love

Romance is the most popular genre all over the world. Yet sometimes love and crushes are super confusing. Are your feelings for them genuine? Do they like you like you? How do you know if you're ready for the next step? These books will help you believe in love and make the right decisions in life.

Below is the list of 5 romance books that will make you believe in love, published by HarperCollins India.

1. Love Letters From Golok By Holly Gayley

Love Letters from Golok chronicles the courtship between two Buddhist tantric masters, Tare Lhamo (1938-2002) and Namtrul Rinpoche (1944-2011), and their passion for reinvigorating Buddhism in eastern Tibet during the post-Mao era. In fifty-six letters exchanged from 1978 to 1980, the two envisioned a shared destiny to ‘heal the damage’ done to Buddhism during the years leading up to and including the Cultural Revolution.

This is the first collection of ‘love letters’ to come to light in Tibetan literature. Blending tantric imagery with poetic and folk song styles, it has a fresh vernacular tone comparable to the love songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama, but with an eastern Tibetan flavor. 

Buy Now!

2. Love Rules By Joanna Coles

Just as there is junk food, there is junk love. And like junk food, junk love is fast, convenient, attractively packaged, widely available, superficially tasty—and leaves you hungering for more. And both junk food and junk love require enormous amounts of willpower to resist.

Love Rules is for those looking for a smart, no-bullshit, effective guide to finding love, look no further. Love Rules will enable you to identify what you want in a relationship, when you should pursue it, and how to find it.

Buy Now!

3. A Plane Story By Anmol Malik

While chasing the woman of his dreams, he ran into the love of his life. Dev’s life is a mess because he is reckless. Tara’s is a mess because she’s not.

His ex is getting married to her ex, and so two strangers meet on a plane to Paris on their way to break the wedding. When a freak volcanic eruption disrupts air travel globally, the two are left stranded on Heathrow. And that’s when the real tamasha begins.

Welcome aboard Flight APS through London, Paris and Ludhiana. Please pay attention to the safety demonstration because things are going to get real weird, real fast.

Buy Now!

4. Write Me A Love Story By Ravinder Singh

The blue-eyed boy of Indian publishing, Abhimanyu Razdan is known for his bestselling romances, which move his readers to tears. PaperInk, an up-and-coming publishing house, is looking for an A-list author who will take them to the next level.

So, when Abhimanyu’s contract with his current publishers comes to an end, PaperInk decides to swoop in. But Abhimanyu isn’t quite like the emotional and sensitive characters in the novels he writes. Callous, egoistic and drunk on success, he gets into a hot argument with Asmita, PaperInk’s literary fiction editor, even before his first meeting with them. Already put off, despite her apology, he is even more incensed when he discovers that Asmita looks down on popular fiction, especially the kind he writes. He vows to teach her a lesson that could jeopardize her job.

At each other’s throats, Abhimanyu and Asmita are as different as can be, but fate has something else in store and they soon find that there is no running away from love.

Buy Now!

5. How To Make Anyone Like You By Leil Lowndes

Just what is the key to becoming Miss Popular, Ms Charming – everybody’s best friend and the one person who everyone wants to invite to their parties? Full of spot-on tips and intelligent advice based on solid research into human behaviour, How to Make Anyone Like You gives effective strategies for how to attract people with talk, chat and winning conversation, body language, gestures of friendship

Find out how to exude the sort of happy confidence that will bring other people out of their shells and help you to win fans in all sorts of social contexts.

Buy Now!

[argentgames]

Dev Log: Making Use of Criticism and Feedback

Hello everyone! Today’s dev log is not a tutorial, but rather a short post on taking criticism and player feedback/input as a creator. Consider the following as a commentary and personal opinion, but hopefully some of the advice will be helpful!

Criticism: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

No one likes to hear bad things about their work, especially when they’ve poured hours into making it. And a lot of people don’t phrase their criticism delicately; “this sucks LOL” or--if you’re a VN dev--”is this even a game?” are phrases that will inevitably pop up now and then.

While this is always hard to take at first, the more you start reading and analyzing player critique, the more easily you’ll be able to pick out things that are genuinely helpful and true. If you see recurring comments among your playerbase about a certain aspect of your work, then consider re-analyzing it objectively. Don’t play off every critique with “oh, that’s just subjective” or “they don’t understand it! *hair toss* ” because, even though that may be true in some cases, there’s also a good chance you’ll find something valuable there if you look hard enough.

The truth of the matter is, no matter what you create, someone will dislike it and post their negative thoughts. It comes with the territory. Accept it and move on.

Once you understand this and train yourself to pick out the purely toxic comments from the helpful ones, you’ll find it much easier to improve yourself as a creator. Many criticisms may be completely irrelevant or unimportant to you (especially if you create content as a hobby), but never fall into the mindset of believing your work is ever beyond reproach. 

Player Feedback and Polling

There are a few approaches that a lot of creators take to making content: 

Making purely what they want to make

Tailoring their content completely to their audience

A blend of the above that works for them

None of these approaches are objectively “right,” but it’s certainly easier to make content that you’d personally enjoy as a player/consumer. It feels dishonest when you start adding in elements that detract from your vision in order to appeal to the public. But if you’re creating content purely based on what’s popular, are you really making anything new? 

This is where player feedback and polling comes in. Ask your players what they enjoy about your content, what they’d like to see more of, and what elements they prefer. That doesn’t mean you have to include any of these things. However, you can pick and choose which elements will both harmonize with what you want to create and simultaneously appeal to your audience. 

Of course, creating content that you truly want to make is often a key to making something genuinely great. There’s a niche for everything, and if you love it, chances are someone else will too. But if you can increase the appeal of your content at little cost to your vision--even if it’s purely on a technical level--then you’re doing yourself and your players a great favor.

As an addendum to all of this, a sincere thank you to our Discord members for their great feedback and input on our games, everyone who’s left a comment or review of our games (yes, even this one), and everyone who’s voted in our Twitter and Patreon polls. You’re all awesome!

See you later this week with a game dev update!

Support our future and current projects on Patreon for extra goodies, follow our Twitter for shenanigans, and join our Discord to chat with the devs (and other yaoi/visual novel fans!)

[rpgmgames]

September’s Featured Game: Akademia

DEVELOPER(S): Somni ENGINE: RPGMaker VX Ace   GENRE: Horror, Exploration, Puzzle SUMMARY: Akademia is a 2D horror RPG currently being developed in RPG Maker VX Ace. In the province of British Columbia, Canada, there exists a private school in the woods, Rayfair Academy, that is known for its wealth and ambition. The academy follows the motto, “Pearls are worthless in the pursuit of gold,” and it has a reputation for producing highly motivated and overachieving students. However, in a bout of curiosity late at night, six students uncover a secret, and the story of the school’s origin–and the being responsible for it–begins to unravel.

Download the demo here!

Introduce yourself!  *Hello! I'm Somni, and I like to draw and write stories! I've been interested in RPG Maker games since 2013, and I'm a big fan of horror ones! I recently dived into community and I love how encouraging and positive everyone is. It motivates me to work hard!

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially? *Somni: Akademia is a story-heavy horror game about six second-year students in a prestigious academy accidentally coming in contact with a strange and powerful being. As Margaret attempts to find her friends and lead them to safety, the story of the academy's past comes to light, and the otherworldly hollow they've all found themselves in starts to pick apart at the threads that hold their friendship together and prey on their minds.

I was always fascinated by occult and alchemy since I was small, and wanted to build on my love for them. However, I wanted to challenge myself and make the protagonists as ordinary as possible so I wouldn't have to rely on using magic to solve everything in the story. Akademia was also created when I was at a very low point in my life, so my struggles have made their way in. I'd say it worked out well in the story.

How long have you been working on your project? *Somni: I've been working on Akademia for more than three years now! The first two years were spent solidifying concepts and doing research, and the third year was spent doing game development. I kept the project to myself until I had a good grasp on everything, so it's only been public for a year.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Somni: The Witch's House and Ib brought me into the RPG Maker engine, and they all have a very solid plot and cute character designs. Haunting Ground was also one of my favorite horror games because it delves into alchemy as well, and it lit a fire in me to work on my game.

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them?   *Somni: The first thing I always groan about is the discovery of bugs. Sometimes, I get careless or tired and add in weird things that mess with my game, and I can never find them until I backtrack or one of my beta testers points it out. Always add comments in your events so your mistakes can be found more easily, and remember to thank your beta testers, especially if they pick out lots of errors!

There are also times when I lose faith in myself and wonder if my game will ever be good enough compared to other games. I received so much love and support from the RPG Maker community, and I don't want to let them down. In these times, I remind myself that Akademia is for me as well, and I need to do my best no matter what.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Somni: Akademia's gotten a lot more sombre than it originally was. The first drafts I had were very campy, and the story didn't glue well with character development. I guess time and experience allowed me to reconstruct everything and make the plot and character development a lot better. I can take the story seriously now, and I love it a lot!

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don't have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Somni: I like to work alone. I'm very picky about how things are made and written, and it would be a nightmare for everyone if I started micromanaging. A lot of things in my game are personal as well, and I'm hesitant to share them with others who can bend my experiences. In the future, I'll think about voice actors, but that's as far as I'll go.

What was the best part of developing the game? *Somni: Writing dialogue and making cute sprites! My characters have pretty different personalities, so I have a lot of fun making them interact and switching between individuals. I also wanted to make expressive sprites, so having small things like Jude tapping his foot or Austin rubbing his eyes makes development more fun for me.

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *Somni: I like to explore things on my own. I have a better understanding of the engine if I experiment and play around with things and see it fit the image I have in my head. Besides, you can do pretty much anything in RPG Maker if you get creative. I think getting inspiration from other games is the best and a very solid way of learning, but it doesn't work for me personally.

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Somni: This is a bit of a hard question for me because all of my protagonists have a part of me in them. I'd have to say Mai is the one I can relate to most, but I can't say why because of spoilers. However, my favorite character is Austin because he's genuinely sweet and supportive. He's always there for his friends and wears his heart on his sleeve. There are other things I like about him, but they're all secrets!

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Somni: Not really. Sometimes, I wish I released my game earlier. I spent three years on it and only just released a demo, but I also don't feel too badly about it. All that time I spent working on it allowed me to polish the story and characters, and if I released the game too soon, there could've been some huge oversights. Knowing this, I don't regret anything I've done.

Once you finish your project, do you plan to explore game's universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Somni: I think I'll release some cute side stories in the future so the player can see how things are with the characters when Akademia's done and over with! As for the plot, there won't be anything else after the game.

What do you look most forward to upon/after release? *Somni: Definitely fan reactions! A lot of players gave me their thoughts and plot predictions, and they also gave me very suspicious messages about a lot of carefully worded things in the game. The full game has a lot more stuff to analyze, and I can just sit back and rub my hands together in glee. I can also draw more indulgent stuff with the characters when the game's finished, so it'll be a wild ride!

Is there something you're afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game?  *Somni: Lack of time. I've had some health struggles all the way during development, and I'm going to be busy with work starting September. I'll have to dedicate all my free time to game development, and I'm hoping I can balance those well and give updates on Akademia's progress whenever I can.

Question from last month's featured dev: If you had to change the main genre of your game, what would you change it to and why? *Somni: I'd make Akademia a friendship simulator. Bonds between characters are an important part of the game, and if it can't be horror, it might as well be a cute and adorable thing.

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Somni: This might not work for everyone, but try not to write your characters' dialogue as a long script before you put it into the game. What feels right in a word document might not sound natural in the game itself. If you can, stick to a skeleton of dialogue and flesh it out as you event it in the engine. That way, you can consider the environment and situation the characters are in while you write what they say.

We mods would like to thank Somni for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved! 

Remember to check out Akademia if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum 

[euro3plast-fr]

8 steps to keeping your automated email outreach personal

Make sure you're using this steps to maximize email outreach

It is difficult to argue against the benefits of automated email outreach when it comes to online marketing, be it for promoting your blog posts, software or conducting general sales pitches. However, the biggest challenge is to make them look personal enough. Sending emails is the easy part. The challenging part is to get responses from the people we send the emails to. With the number of emails that reach a person’s inbox, you really have to find a unique way of standing out in your recipients’ inbox.

To give you an idea how little tweaks can change the way your campaigns perform, here are some stats:

Research conducted by MailChimp indicates that by adding both, the first and the last name of the recipient in the subject of the email can increase the open rate by 2X when compared to adding just the first or last name.

Another research by HubSpot shows that businesses that send 16 - 30 emails a month see 2X open rate than those that send 2 or fewer emails. It is worth noting that open rates plummet when the number of emails exceeds 31 per month.

Even a slight change in a word count can determine the effectiveness of your email campaign. For instance, research carried out by Retention Science illustrates that emails with subject lines that contain 6-10 words enjoy an open rate of more than 20%.

Now that we know that even the smallest aspects can impact the effectiveness of your email campaign dramatically, how do you achieve the ultimate result when it comes to influencer outreach and people who have no idea who you are?

Download our new Business Member Resource –Email Marketing and Marketing Automation Buyers Guide

This guide is for senior marketing managers and email marketing managers who are using, selecting or reviewing email marketing service providers and marketing automation platforms.

Access the Email Marketing and Marketing Automation Buyers Guide

It goes without saying that it is absolutely vital that meaningful relationships are built with as many influencers as possible. Getting responses from those influencers is always a tough task. They are busy people who have a lot on their plate, let alone a large number of individuals knocking on their doors. Thus, your emails have to be as unique as possible in order to capture their attention.

Here are some of the ways you can give your outreach emails a personal touch

1. Use your email account when sending emails

Instead of using third-party email marketing services, use your own corporate email address to send campaigns. When you use third-party marketing services, the email almost always ends up in the Updates or Promotions tab of the recipient’s email account and are very unlikely to be read.

2. Send to the correct address

Although this sounds so obvious, pre-made email lists and databases have become so widely used that people barely take the time to find their target audience’s correct email address. In many cases, the emails obtained using these tools are incorrect or even non-existent. If you have not verified the emails, you may be engaging in a futile effort sending to emails that may not be correct in the first place.

The best advice is always to avoid purchasing pre-made lists.

Make use of tools like Email Hunter or Voila Norbert to find email addresses by simply searching for a person’s name and website address.

3. Make your email unique and valuable

If you are utilizing email outreach to reach influencers, it is highly likely that you are not the only one trying to reach them. If your email tells them something new that they needed to know, they will surely appreciate the heads up. Take time to research your topic before sending the emails to anyone, be it an influencer or your subscriber. After all, what may be outstanding to you may not be very impressive to them. Make sure your email is properly articulated in order to show your real value to the audience.

If you’re conducting blogger outreach, ensure to familiarize yourself with their blog’s content and topics and show that you’re aware of their work.

 4. Create a connection

When trying to connect with someone new, you would want them to care about you and contribute positively to your initiative. In order for them to show interest in you and your work, they need to see that you appreciate, and more importantly, are familiar with their work. Your research should help in the process of finding the talking points that will assist you in your course to build a genuine connection.

5. Use an appropriate tone

In order to capture the mind of your outreach target, you have to use a tone that resonates with them. Although it is quite challenging to determine the ultimate tone without an established relationship, their writings and social platforms should give you some decent pointers as to the best approach to take. Avoid extreme language as this will almost certainly lead to negativity.

6. Keep your email brief and personal

Your email should be brief and only contain the most relevant information. An example of a precise introduction would be to tell the prospect how you found their information and what you have in common. Then go to your reason for reaching out to them. A call-to-action or a simple question is a great way to end the email. This way, the prospect will almost feel compelled to reply to your email or click a link that you may have provided.

7. Express your appreciation

It is important to make sure that your recipients know that you don’t take the fact that they took the time to open your email and read it for granted. Expressing your appreciation for someone’s time can make a huge difference in how they perceive you and subsequently respond to you. Avoid using phrases like “Looking forward to your swift reply”. You don’t want to come across like you are coercing the person to respond.

8. Make sure you get your point across

If you a reaching out to a brand or an influencer, you must be very precise in making sure that they understand exactly what you are asking for. Remember, no one has the time to sit back and try to determine what your email is all about - especially if you haven’t had any prior communication with the person. It is always good to take a “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook” approach when asking someone to do something for you. Try to give first and then ask for something in return.

Reasons why your automated email outreach campaign might fail:

Automated email campaigns can be very tricky. A conservative person would think that automated emails are almost identical to spam and should not be sent. But an individual who likes to test things will look at all the software at their disposal and see a great opportunity to expand their reach.

1. Lack of quality leads

Having a list of high-quality leads will go a long way in determining the success of your campaign. At the same time, you should double-check your list to make sure that the leads are valid and up-to-date. The most profitable leads tend to be the ones collected directly on your website. Hence, invest enough time into researching the audience that you want to reach and avoid buying leads that have no connection to you or your business. This way, you will keep your ‘bounce-back’ rate at a minimum.

2. Copying other people’s emails

The best emails are the ones that are specifically tailored for specific audiences. In other words, they should be written by you. This does not mean that you shouldn’t research some successful examples and explore various templates that work. But these should only be used for inspiration.

3. Using the wrong context or no context

A good email should resonate with its reader in a significant way. The body of your email should be in the proper context. Avoid reaching out to a big number of contacts using the same message as this only makes it sound too generic.

4. Complacency

Even if your campaign is working at any given moment, there is always a way that you can make it even better. Always test your subject lines to see whether there are any tweaks that can make them more effective. An automated email campaign is a continuous process of improvement.

5. Poorly crafted subject lines

The subject line is what determines whether your audience will give you an extra second or discard you in a flash. This is why it is so important to invest enough time into crafting the best subject line. The subject line is just as important as the email itself.

  Although email open rates are not as high as they used to be, email outreach remains extremely robust (when done carefully). The best advice is to avoid sending the types of emails that you don’t like receiving yourself.

Thanks to Dev for sharing his advice and opinion in this post. Dev Sharma is founder of WPKube, a popular WordPress resource website. His work has been featured in a wide range of publications, including Forbes, TNW, SpeckyBoy, Creative Bloq, Huff Post, SEJ and Smart Blogger. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.

from Blog – Smart Insights http://www.smartinsights.com/email-marketing/email-communications-strategy/8-steps-keeping-automated-email-outreach-personal/

[qomorafataj-blog]

Cheat Unturned

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[mikermontoya-blog]

Trove Codes

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Even today, even as i discuss how cynical and hollow it's, anything at all during the rear of my head itches: “go spine, purchase a more effective tool, operate additional dungeon, obtain a a lot quicker position.” Self-loathing prevents me, however, if I wasn’t a cultivated guy who is convinced themself more than might well be although he works level trainers for virtually any bloody existing, I more than likely would yield. It certainly, has, evidently. It isn't personally, evidently. directed during the The level trainers segment is certainly an derivative it, so something appeals to avid gamers might well be worthwhile the need to invest consentrate on as a result of subsequently it will have an effect on level trainers you cherish. 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[symbianosgames]

Back in 2013, veteran game maker Warren Spector left the world of full-time game development to become an educator.

Three years later, he came back. He stepped down from his role leading the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy and signed on as creative director at OtherSide Entertainment, where he now leads development of System Shock 3.

"I wanted to make sure I didn't become one of those teachers who used to make games," he explained to Gamasutra last year. "Who used to know how games were developed and why. I knew I needed to keep my skills honed."

This affords him what seems like an interesting perspective on game development. Spector stepped outside the day-to-day concerns of working inside a studio and spent years trying to prepare young, aspiring game makers for challenges they face in today's game industry. Now he's back on the inside, helping to figure out the shape of systems and mechanics. Working through the production process. Making games again.

Gamasutra sat down with Spector at GDC last month to catch up on how the process is going, roughly a year into his full-time gig at OtherSide. It was an interesting conversation, especially if you're at all interested in where games are at these days, where they came from, and what sorts of stories they're best at telling.

How did your return to full-time game development go?

Well first of all, I did buy a PC finally. I knew the form factor I wanted, and I knew the graphics capabilities I wanted, and it took me a while to find just the right thing but I finally did. I don't know if I should plug the computer I bought, but I did buy one. And I've been playing a lot of games on it, which is good.

"I find that the idea of asking questions, and having a dialogue with your players, much more interesting than just saying 'here's my story.'"

And as far as getting back into game development, it's everything that game development is: it's joyous, it's frustrating, it's scary and annoying and great and exactly what I hoped it would be.

Have you hit production yet?

Oh, we're still in concept phase. I'm a big believer in figuring out what game you want to make before you start making it. So we're still hammering out game systems, working on our narrative, so we're very early on.

What do you think of GDC, having attended for so long and now being back in the role of a game dev attending?

Well I've been to every GDC since the '80s, when it was the Computer Game Developers Conference --

In Chris Crawford's living room?

No, I missed that. It was in a little hotel somewhere south of San Francisco, and it was about 250-350 people, something like that. And I remember my most vivid memory of that was, first thing I went to was a session, a lecture given by a guy named Joe Ybarra -- a big-time producer at EA at the time.

And I remember thinking, "I will never know as much about games as this man does." And then a few years later, he was a friend of mine! But has it changed? Of course -- just look around. Now we've got what is it, 30,000 people coming? Some of them old gray-hairs like me, some of them 20-somethings. Indies, triple-A developers...it’s changed. It's a completely different show now.

What advice might you give to other game devs now? 

Well it depends on what kind of game you want to make. I'm not good at answers of one thing.

The first thing is, always try to make projects that are personally meaningful to you. I realize that it's easier to say and harder to do; sometimes you just have to do the work for hire, and create something that meets someone else's needs. But find something you're passionate about. Whatever you're working on, find something to be passionate about in it.

And then, don't be lazy. I don't mean in the sense of working hard or not, I mean don't assume that games are a mature medium. And that we've explored everything that game are capable of creating or doing. Find that one new thing. It doesn't matter what game you're making -- you can always sneak one new thing into a game. And always look for that one more thing in the work you're doing.

I remember you talked up the possibilities of AI in games, especially non-combat AI, last year. Where do you stand now?

Well, realistically, I'm not sure System Shock is the place to be exploring non-combat AI, given that we're going to follow along in the tradition of everybody being dead *laughs* and communicating the story through video logs, emails, AR projections and all that.

So this is probably not the game to be exploring that particular aspect of game design. But what I do want to do is take the idea of choice and consequence and recovery, the stages of choice, consequence, and recovery from those choices, I want to take that to a whole new level by creating an incredibly reactive world. And then letting players interact with the world in a deeper way than they have before.

So that's largely the thrust of System Shock 3, as much as I can talk about it.

Oh yeah, that's fine. I'm gonna be honest with you, I've never played a System Shock.

Gah! You know, you can still buy System Shock and System Shock 2.

I know! I think it's great. I've tried to play them both, a few times, but...they're pretty old.

It's funny, because needless to say, I needed to replay those games before starting to work on the third game in the series. And when I started playing the first one, I emailed Doug Church, who was kind of the creative driving force behind that first game, and all I said was 'oh my god, this game is hard!' And his response was just "...1994."

Environmental storytelling in the original System Shock

And I said "Oh my god, this game is big!" and his response was "1994."

"Oh my god, this UI is terrible!" "1994."

We did the best we could, you know.

Well since you've been reimmersing yourself in some recent games, are there any you'd call out as especially worth studying by fellow devs?

Well, Dishonored 2. There's a particular kind of game I find most appealing, and the Dishonored series is right in that vein so it's pretty cool.

So I'm playing Dishonored 2 right now, and...well mostly, to be honest, I've been a little disappointed in the games I've played, and haven't played very much. What I do is, I play a game until I get so frustrated that I have to stop, or throw my controller against the wall or something. Or I've learned everything I'm going to learn from it, or I finish it. And I finish very few games.

But you know, I've played some Metal Gear Solid 5. I'm woefully behind, so I've been playing some Shadow of Mordor. Certainly there's some intriguing different things in that game, so that's worth taking a look at. I'm obsessed with some mobile games, there's this little puzzle game called Hundred that I just love. I'm playing it obsessively right now. And these aren't new games, but I think the Go games from Square Enix are a ton of fun. Deus Ex Go, Lara Croft Go, and Hitman Go -- I just find those great ways to pass the time.

There was a minute there where we were sure Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis system was going to be the next Big Thing in game design. Seems like we were wrong -- not a lot of devs picked up what Monolith was putting down.

Well, it's kinda their thing. I can't speak for any developer but myself, but if somebody's already done something, what's the point of doing it yourself? It's like, come up with your one new thing.

And one of my rules for any game I work in is, there has to be one new thing, something no one's ever seen before or done before. And that's already been done. Why would I do it again? I mean, there are certain elements of it that I find intriguing; like, it's nothing new, but characters you interact with on an ongoing basis, who change over time, that's pretty cool. But having them interact with each other, you know, it's an interesting idea. It's theirs. It's not something I'm going to adopt.

So what is it about Dishonored 2 that impressed you, that you think is worth calling out?

Nothing specific. I think it's just the overall immersion of the world, and the behavior with the characters. My ultimate goal is to empower players to tell their own stories, and play the way they want to.

You know, I had a mission statement that was 12 pages long that no one would read. then it was an 8-page version, then a 4-page version, and I ultimately summed it up in two words: "playstyle matters." And the Dishonored games really express that exceptionally well.

So it's not any one thing, but I do wish other developers would take a look at that and do more of it. I'm looking forward to Mass Effect, and those games have certainly adopted some of that approach to game design, and the more people who do that, I think the better off we're going to be, as a medium. And the more enjoyment players are going to get out of what should be genuine interactivity. Most games fake it. The immersive simulation games try not to fake it. So it's that attitude, more than any specific thing.

Yeah, in your Deus Ex postmortem I was surprised to see you acknowledge how much was faked.

Yeah, unfortunately. There's a lot of stuff that isn't, too! What we did was, we had to make sure that each dominant playstyle was represented, for sure. But beyond that, players really did discover their own solutions. 

Sure, many devs these days cite that specifically as a big influence on their work.

Even back then, I was gratified that a lot of developers told me that they were inspired by it. And that was part of the point! 

I was surprised to hear you trace Deus Ex back to your time playing Dungeons & Dragons. How did you wind up playing D&D with Bruce Sterling?

I moved to Austin, Texas to go to grad school, and at that time Austin had an amazing science fiction writing scene. And Bruce was part of this circle of writers, and I fell in with this circle of writers, and another friend of mine, Bud Simons -- he writes under the name Walton Simons -- Bud had been playing in a campaign with Bruce. And invited me to come along to play in this campaign, and it was just...he was just a guy.

At that point, he hadn't even published his first novel yet. He was just a friend. I hung out with him at parties, and then eventually started gaming with him. I was a board gamer, and had never played D&D but then in 1978 there it was, you know? Everything else sort of went away.

So what happened to that Austin circle?

Oh, Bruce left the country and you know, we had families and you know, time goes away. People grew up. But tabletop roleplaying, like I said in my talk, was immensely influential. I wasn't playing just with Bruce, I was playing in half a dozen campaigns, run by various Dungeon Masters.

And just seeing how each one works differently, and yet there's always that same core of players telling stories together. That was seminal for me. It wasn't just important -- I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing without that. 

What, specifically, do you value about tabletop role-playing games, or perhaps tabletop games in general?

Well I get enjoyment out of board games, that's the primary thing I value them for.

Fair enough! I suppose I should have asked, what value do they add to your work as a video game designer? Do you prototype mechanics out on paper, for example?

Well, I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I've never actually done a paper prototype for a game.

I always think 'yeah, I should do that,' but the games that I make are complex enough that it's hard to keep all the rules in mind. And so there are so many little systems that have to interact with one another that it's hard to imagine making a board game.

One of the things that I don't know if I made the point in my talk very strongly, or at all, is if a game could be made in another medium, it's less interesting to me. I like to make games that couldn't be translated into a board game, or vice versa.

And yet so many video games can be traced back to tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons.

Oh, sure. We would have no video game business without Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. I always say that every game developer should get down on his knees once a day, face towards Lake Geneva Wisconsin, and say a little prayer of thanks to those guys.

  "I always say that every game developer should get down on his knees once a day, face towards Lake Geneva Wisconsin, and say a little prayer of thanks to those guys."

But it's also a problem, because I think personally, too many developers have been inspired by the mechanics of those games. And we have better ways of simulating a world than Gary and Dave had back then. So I would love to see us jettison -- forever -- character classes and you know, the character stats: strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, charisma....I mean, we don't need that stuff. So it would be nice to move away from that.

But also the content; look at the content of games, of many if not most video games, and it's right outta D&D or Traveller. And we could do so much more. Thank god for the indie guys and gals; the indie folks are at least bringing new kinds of content into games.

But Richard Garriott was directly inspired by his D&D campaign when he made the first Ultima game; and we just keep on making guys in chainmail and guys with big guns games. Which are right out of that adolescent power fantasy stuff that defined D&D and Call of Cthulhu and Traveller and Empire of the Petal Throne and all sorts of other games your readers have never heard of.

The other thing that's interesting about those old role-playing games is, I don't know if you're familiar with the term Monty Haul dungeon [pun on deceased game show host Monty Hall, a dungeon designed purely for combat and looting -- thus "haul"] but those were always the most popular things.

It was funny, when I got to TSR, where I worked for a few years, everybody up there wanted to get away from the Monty Haul dungeons, where you knock down a door, you kill the monster, you grab the treasure, you knock down the next door, you kill the monster, you grab the treasure.

And so one of the designers did an adventure module that was the most ridiculous, silly, over-the-top Monty Haul dungeon ever, as kind of a statement. And it was the best-selling module we did! It's what people wanted. And that's also inspired video game developers.

You know, we need to be asking bigger questions. And some people are doing that. Again, the Mass Effect games ask you to think about stuff, the BioShock games ask you to think about stuff. The key for me, as I said in my talk, was not to answer the questions. Video games ask questions. Other media answer them.

I find that the idea of asking questions, and having a dialogue with your players, much more interesting than just saying 'here's my story. Here's what I think about Topic X.' That's way less interesting.

Seems like you're still passionate about the future of game dev. Do you know what's next for the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy, now that you're gone?

I'm unclear about that, to be honest. Most of my brain cells are devoted to System Shock 3 right now. I know that they were talking about shifting its focus. Instead of bringing students in and teaching leadership the way we did, there was talk about bringing in guest lecturers and opening up more broadly to the general public.

But honestly, I don't know. I probably shouldn't even speculate! If they ask me for advice, I will give it. 

I ran into a bunch of my students here. It's cool -- they've all gotten jobs or done startups. We really did, I think, change some lives. Which is pretty gratifying. 

Headline photo captured by Ralph Barrera for the Austin American-Statesman

[gamestoryuk]

Archive post: Making a game writing portfolio Pt.II

A little while ago I posted a question I got emailed by a game writer just starting out. She wanted advice on making a game for a games writing portfolio: should it be purely text-based or should she aim to put a polished visual experience together? My reply was by turns gloomy and (hopefully) encouraging. Read that first response here.

We’ve been chatting further by email, and I thought it was worth posting some more of her story, which shows just how tricky it is to get off the ground as a game writer at the moment – but also, how determined she is to keep going. I’ve also put in my follow-up responses with more advice/rambling.

So, here’s how game writing looks from the sharp end:

Just because you did say you were interested, I will briefly let you know what things look like from my end of the business (or non-business, to be more precise): Internships for game writers are, at least from what I gather, difficult to get. Even if a studio does have a professional writers’ room, they do not always offer internships; if they do, these are usually aimed at grad students involved in a practical game studies programme. 

This is lovely for anyone going to uni or college in the States, but it is a little less convenient for the rest of us. Particularly in Germany, where I am from, there is not a single university that offers game studies, game writing, game design, or anything game related as a degree. I know that the situation is similar in France.

Original post: Late 2014

Continued below. 5min read.

…

So, coming back to your original question: From where I stand, the process of becoming a game writer is so unprofessionalised at this point that it seems very difficult to get there without stumbling across and seizing an opportunity that comes up rather by accident. There are no degrees out there, and I have yet to read a single internship description aimed explicitly at writers.

…

I thought that your idea of getting involved in an indie game is a very interesting one. If you ask me, it is alright that writing is not always at the very top of the hierarchy; when we were making the movie, it was an absolute joy to see how the actors and director transformed my text and turned it into something bigger. Sure, lines got changed, scenes got cut, but the movie turned out the better for it. Would there be a place that you would recommend specifically to go looking for indie projects?

Thanks so much for the reply – it’s really interesting (and more than a little depressing) to hear how things look from your perspective. You say that it seems really hard to get off the ground without stumbling upon an opportunity – and as someone who stumbled upon his first opportunity, I do agree. (And it brings home how lucky I am.)

You make a good point, and you’re absolutely right to talk about your experience making a movie – getting a game made with a team is just like watching actors take on your words and do cool stuff with them, things you never expected. It’s a really good sign that you have that attitude of collaboration, and I think your film experience will actually be of some value when you talk to game people – if only because game people are still kind of intimidated by the film industry! It’s certainly a good indication that you can work in a team without being a ‘diva’, which is what most Producers fear the most. (I speak as a recovering diva myself).

When it comes to indie projects, I would suggest that you look into these:

a) Kickstarter and Indiegogo. There’s perpetually dozens of game projects on each of these sites; many of them do want to tell a strong story, and many of them kind of – let’s face it – could do with help. There’s usually a contact email posted, and you could do worse than just emailing to offer to help, for free or for a consideration or – even better – for a small percentage of royalties. You’ll either hear nothing, or you’ll get as much work as you can handle given to you immediately. Just bear in mind that if a project has been posted on Kickstarter, the creators probably have some kind of story in mind already. They might not be looking for a ‘writer’, but if you can offer to copyedit/dialogue script/narrative design, then they may well gratefully accept you into the team.

b) Game design/development courses. As you say, there aren’t any degrees in game writing, as far as I know. But there are a lot of game dev courses, and there are all sorts of ways you could get “unofficially” involved. Email the professors and see if they’d be interested in having you come in to talk generally about story development – especially as your own writing credentials are impressive. Or you could offer to come in and work with any students who specifically want a story to work from, or just to review and edit any scripts for final projects – it might be a way to establish relationships with people who go on to make games.

c) hang around game jams, being a writer.

However you meet bedroom developers, you just have to use your judgment as to whether they are serious and decent people. Don’t work on any projects that you don’t genuinely think are interesting, and don’t put up with jerks under any circumstances.

–

As you say, there’s always that debate between ‘make what you want’ and ‘make what the market wants’. Neither are really reliable routes to success. I wouldn’t necessarily say that ‘make what you want’ NEVER works. Look at Christine Love, who seems to make a decent living making games which have a niche interest – like ‘Digital: A Love Story’ and its sequels. Thanks in part to Steam, some niches are now pretty large, and you can make a decent living making something which a few years ago would seem to be incredibly obscure.

I would say this: that you need to be ruthless one way or another. If you want to make market-oriented products and work in the AAA market you need to be ruthless with yourself and make yourself very market-able. If you want to make your own personal project, you need to be ruthless to keep making in the face of discouragement, and you need to be ruthless in self-promotion, or it won’t go anywhere.

And that, folks, is the benefit in GIVING advice rather than TAKING it: you can say all sorts of things that you don’t quite ever fully live up to in your own life. You just keep chugging along making the best things you can, same as everyone else.

Post-migration note: unfortunately, much of this advice doesn’t seem that dated; the first rung is still the hardest for aspiring game writers. Probably the only thing I’d say different now is that I’d be more hesitant to suggest that aspiring writers cold-call Kickstarter projects, because serious indies have tended to move away from the project towards Itch.

The other big change, for me, is that I’d now say that, given the choice between ‘make what you want’ and ‘make what the market wants’, neither are really reliable routes to FINANCIAL success. I’ve never been more creatively fulfilled than when I got to see people experiencing my first full AR theatre piece, and even after years making games in the studio system, there was just no comparison to how satisfying it was. And needless to say, we didn’t make much money.