#Xbox Code Generator

[lowpolynpixelated]

Bloodborne PSX One of the best fanworks on the web

Though the PS4 boasted and still boasts an impressive library of releases, for many (myself included) the system served to be bought for initially one purpose, to be the Bloodborne Machine. Most of the people in my life who had a PS4 during its generation either bought one exclusively to play Fromsoftware’s Nightmare Hunting Adventure or had initially got one solely to play the game and ended up getting more games afterward. It’s a phenomenon the game industry sees time and time again, with previous generations having swathes of fans buying entire consoles for one or two games. As far as games go though, Bloodborne is at the very least worth the price of entry. At the time, it was heralded as Fromsoftware’s most cutting-edge and impressive game to date. A gorgeous gothic world filled with creatures ripped straight out of H.P Lovecraft’s nightmares, a haunting soundtrack showcasing beautifully composed choral scores and a combat system that incentivized aggression and speed to achieve brutal and bloody efficiency. It’s no wonder then why Bloodborne still has such a large following behind it. Fans of Fromsoftware have hoped for a sequel or PC port year after year to largely disappointing results. But where the community shines is in its fanworks. 

From fanart, comics, music, animations, and even fan-made video game spinoffs, the game has been shown a monumental amount of love since its debut in 2015. One of these fanworks was released back in 2022 and has since become one of the most famous pieces of fan-made content surrounding the game, this of course, being BloodbornePSX by LWMedia. An incredibly impressive feat of coding and art direction, the game serves as a “Demake” of Bloodborne’s first Yharnam segment, made to look like and play as if it were made on the very first PlayStation console. With some custom-made areas and an entirely unique boss to boot the perfectly paced experience is both a treat to fans who have been orbiting the game since its earliest days and new fans looking for the best and brightest fanworks to interact with. 

The game has since gone on to be covered by a variety of news outlets all over the web, along with its creator receiving much-deserved attention for her efforts. One Lilith Walther (AKA b0tster on social media) holds the title of developer for the project. A long-time video game enthusiast and FromSoftware fan herself, she’s had quite an impact on the community I’m sure she’s very proud to be a part of. Later in the article, we’ve got an interview with Lilith herself about both Bloodborne PSX and her current project, “Bloodborne Kart”, but first, let’s talk a bit more in-depth about BBPSX.

(Official launch trailer for Bloodborne PSX, uploaded January 31, 2022 by LWMedia on Youtube)

Bloodborne PSX:

So, what exactly is Bloodborne PSX? To start, let’s answer what precisely a “Demake” is first. Demakes often have the goal of remaking the likeness of a game either stylistically, mechanically, or both, as if it was developed on retro/outdated hardware. Famous examples of Demakes include “The Mummy Demastered” developed by Wayforward as a sort of tie-in to the 2017 film “The Mummy” in the stylings of a 16-bit run and gun adventure against armies of the undead, and “Pixel Force Halo” by Eric Ruth games which take the prolific XBOX franchise and shrinks it down to a Mega Man-esque platformer reminiscent of the NES’ 8-bit days. Demakes are intensely attractive looking, not only into the past of video games and their developments but just how creative developers can be with games that they love and appreciate. Bloodborne PSX hits as hard as a Demake can in my opinion, blending masterfully recreated graphics with perfectly clunky early PSX gameplay quirks that go above and beyond to make the game not only LOOK like it belongs on the nearly 30-year-old console but feel right at home on it as well.

(A screenshot depicting the player character “The Hunter” facing off against two fearsome Werewolf enemies. Screenshot sourced from the Bloodborne PSX Official itch.io page)

Gameplay:

Starting off with the masterfully recreated clunk in the gameplay, Bloodborne PSX “shows its age” by hearkening back to a time when being seamless just wasn’t an option. Much like adventure action games of the past (and much UNLIKE its modern inspiration), you’ll be cycling through your inventory delightfully more than you’d expect. Equipping keys, checking items, and even the trademark weapon transformations are all done through the wonderfully nostalgic menu and inventory screens. Taking one of the foundational parts of Bloodborne’s combat system and making it such a more encumbering mechanic is nothing short of sheer genius when it comes to ways to really make you feel like it’s 1994 again. On top of this, the Hunter’s movement itself has been made reminiscent of classic action titles. Somehow, both stiff enough to feel dated and fluid enough to make combat that same rush of bestial fun found in the original, it goes a long way towards the total immersion into that retro vibe the game sets out to give the player. Anyone who grew up with Fromsoftware’s earlier titles like Armored Core and the King’s Field series will be very familiar with this unique brand of “well-tuned clunk”.

(A delightfully dated looking diagram showing off the controller layout for Bloodborne PSX’s controls. Image sourced from the Bloodborne PSX Official itch.io page)

Graphics:

Speaking of old Fromsoftware games, though, let’s talk about the absolutely bit-crushingly beautiful graphical work on display. As I’m sure you’ve seen from the videos and screenshots included in the article, BBPSX’s art style and direction are nothing short of perfect for what it aims to be. While playing, I couldn’t help but notice every little detail (or lack thereof) in the environments meant to emulate the experience of a game made on 30-year-old hardware. Low render distances, chunky textures, blocky polygonal models, just the right amount of texture warp, it all blends together to create an atmosphere that I can 100% picture being shown off on the back of a jewel CD case with a T for Teen rating slapped into the lower corner. While playing, something rather specific that called out to me was the new way enemy names and health bars were displayed in the bottom right corner of the screen while fighting. As a big fan of the King’s Field games, this small detail went (probably too much of) a long way toward my love of how everything’s meant to feel older. Other games trying to match the more specific feel of King’s Field, like “Lunacid” created by KIRA LLC, also include this delightful little detail, a personal favorite for sure. 

(A screenshot depicting the second phase of Father Gascoigne’s boss fight, showing off the game’s perfectly retro art style. Image sourced from the Bloodborne PSX Official itch.io page)

Sound design/Soundtrack:

But where would a game be without its sound and score? No need to fear, however, because Bloodborne PSX comes complete with a chunky soundscape that will make you want to check and see if your TV is set to channel 3. A haunting set of tracks played by fittingly digital-sounding MIDIs ran through filters to sound just as crackly as you remember backs up crunchy sounds of spilling blood with low-poly weaponry. Original sounds from Bloodborne have been used for an authentic sounding experience, but have also been given the CRT speaker treatment and sound like something you remember playing on Halloween 20 years ago. If you watched the launch trailer featured above then you know exactly what I’m talking about. The Cleric Beast’s trademark screech and Gascoine’s signature howl after his beastly transformation have never sounded so beautifully dated, and I’m here for every bit of it. Even the horrific boss themes we know and love from the original Bloodborne have been brought through this portal to the past. One of my favourite tracks, the Cleric Beast boss theme, might just sound even better when played on a 16-bit sound chip. It really cannot be understated just how much weight the sound design of the game is pulling. In my opinion, the only thing missing is that sweet sweet PSX startup sound before the game starts crackling through the speakers of a TV in the computer room.

(The Bloodborne PSX rendition of the Cleric Beast’s boss theme. Created by and uploaded to Youtube by The Noble Demon on March 20, 2021)

Interview with the developer:

Before writing this article, I had the absolute pleasure and privilege of talking with Lilith Walther about some developmental notes and personal feelings about inspirations and challenges that can come with the daunting task of being a developer. Below are the nine (initially ten, but unfortunately, a bit of the interview was lost due to my recording software bugging out) questions I posed to Miss Lilith, along with her answers transcribed directly from the interview. 

I’d like to start this section of the article by saying Lilith was an absolute joy to talk to. During the interview, I really felt like she and I shared some common ground on some topics regarding how media can have an impact on you and what sorts of things come with video games as an art form. After some minor technical difficulties (and by that, I mean my video drivers crashed), I started off with something simple. The first question posited was: “What got you into video games initially?” Lilith’s response was as follows: “When I was a kid, the family member of a friend had a SNES lying around. I turned it on and didn’t really understand. I was a guy on top of a pyramid, I walked down the pyramid, and some big ogre killed me. Later I learned that was A Link to the past.” and after a brief laugh continued, “A couple years later my parents got a Nintendo 64 with Mario64 and Ocarina of Time and that was it. Never put the controller down since then.” 

She then went on to describe what precisely about Nintendo’s first foray into 3D Zelda had hooked her. “I’ve heard this story so many times. It’s like you’re not even playing the game. You’re just in the world hanging out in Kokiri forest collecting rupees to get the Deku shield, and the game expects you to! It was just, ‘run around this world and explore,’ and that really hooked me.” I couldn’t agree more with her statement about her experience. Not just with a game as prolific as Ocarina of Time but many experiences from older console generations that could be considered “the first of their kind”, or at the very least some of the earliest. Lilith also described her first experience with a PlayStation console, stating: “Later on I got a PS2 which played PS1 games. I didn’t end up getting a PS1 until around the PS3 era, so I guess I’m a poser. I remember my sister bringing home Final Fantasy 9 when it was a relatively new game. If it wasn’t my first PS1 game it was definitely my first Final Fantasy game. Of course I went back and played 8 and 7 afterwards.” A solid answer to a simple question. 

The second question I asked was one starting to move toward the topic of Bloodborne PSX and its namesake/inspiration. Or at least the family of systems it was released on: “What PlayStation console was your favorite and why?” Lilith’s answer surprised me a bit. Not because I disagreed, quite the opposite, actually. But with such a big inspiration for her work being games from the PSX-PS2 generations, what followed was a pleasant bit of insight into one of her favourite eras of gaming, to quote: “I can give you two answers here.” To which I assured her she was more than welcome to, but she was set on having something definitive. “No no I’m only going to give you one answer. I can give you the correct answer that I don’t want to admit, but it was the PlayStation 3. It’s so embarrassing but I genuinely was hooked into the marketing of the whole ‘The cell processor is the smartest thing in the world’ and all that. It really seemed like the future of gaming and I was all about it. I think I owned an XBOX360 before but I did eventually get it and really enjoyed it. It took a couple years for some of the best games to come out but I really did.” A few examples she cited as being some of her most memorable experiences on the console were Uncharted 2, Journey, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Warhawk. All games I’ve seen on several top 5 and top 10 lists throughout my life within the gaming space. A delightful show of affection for a generation personally very dear to me as well, in which she ended the segment by declaring “Hell yeag”, a bit of a catchphrase she’s coined online.

Getting into the topic proper, my third question was one about her personal relationship with Bloodborne: “How did Bloodborne impact/appeal to your interests?” A question that received perhaps my favourite answer of the whole interview. From her response: ”Oh that’s a big one. Going to the opposite end of the poser spectrum, I was a Fromsoftware fan before it was cool. One of the games I played religiously on my PS2 was Armored Core.” A statement which made more sense than perhaps anything else said during my time with her. “Then later in the PS3 era everyone was talking about Dark Souls, this was when I was in college. I finally caved and got it and saw the Fromsoftware logo and thought ‘Oh it’s the Armored Core people!’ I played and beat it, really enjoyed my time with it. I skipped Dark Souls 2 because everyone told me to hate it, I still need to go back to that one.” 

It’s something I would recommend anyone who hasn’t played Dark Souls 2 to go and do. “Then Bloodborne came out and I thought ‘Alright this is the new one, gotta play this one’ and I was a huge fan of all the gothic stuff in the aesthetic. And how do I explain this, I do really like Bloodborne. I like the design, and the mechanical suite of gameplay, as a video-gamey video game it’s very good.” The tone shifted here to something a bit more personal. “But as well, I was playing it at a specific time in my life. I came out in 2019, I know Bloodborne came out in 2015 but I was obviously just playing it non-stop. It was just one of my ‘coming out games’, you know?” For those who maybe don’t understand the statement there, “coming out” is a very common term used within the Queer community to describe the experience of revealing your identity to those around you. Whether it be to family, friends, or co-workers, almost every queer person has some sort of coming out story to tell. Lilith is speaking in reference to her coming out as a trans woman. She elaborated: “Obviously I can only speak for myself, but I just feel like when you make a decision like that, that part of my life just ended up seared into my brain, you know? Bloodborne was there, so now it’s just a part of me. And it definitely influenced some things about me. It was there because I was working on Bloodborne PSX at the time, but it had an impact on something I’ve heard a lot of other Trans people describe.” She went on to describe the concept of “Coming out a second time” as sort of “finding yourself more within your identity” and becoming more affirmed in it. She described both Bloodborne and her development on Bloodborne PSX influencing large parts of her life, a good example being how she dresses and presents. As a trans woman myself, this answer delighted me to no end. I, for one, can absolutely 100% relate to the notion of media you experience during such a radical turning point in your life sticking with you. There are plenty of games, shows, music, and books that I still hold very near and dear to me because, as Lilith stated, they were there. All the right things at the right time.

Halfway through our questions, we’ve finally arrived at one pertaining specifically to the development of Bloodborne PSX: “What are some unique challenges you’ve faced developing a game meant to look/play like something made on retro hardware?”

Lilith answers: “So there’s two things, two big things. One is rolling back all of the quality of life improvements we’ve gotten over the years in gaming. Not automatically using keys is always my go-to example.” Something as well I mentioned in my short talk about the game’s gloriously dated feeling gameplay above. “That was definitely very very intentional. Because it’s not just the graphics, right? It was the design sensibilities of the 90s. Bringing that to the surface was very challenging but very fun. Another big part was, since it was one of the first 3D consoles, I wanted to recreate the hype around the fact that ‘ITS IN 3D NOW!’ So if you go into your inventory you’ll see all the objects rendered in beautiful 3D while they slowly spin as you scroll through them.” This is a feature I very much miss seeing in modern video games. 

She continued, “I think the biggest one was the weapon changes. Bloodborne’s whole thing was the weapon transformations. Like, you could seamlessly change your weapons and work them into your combo and do a bunch of crazy stuff, and I kind of said ‘that needs to go immediately.’ So now you have to pause and go to your weapon and press L1 to transform it, that was extremely intentional. So once I had those three big things down it all just sort of fell into place. Like the clunky UI and the janky controls. You need jank and clunk, and I think that’s why Fromsoft games scale down so nicely, because they are jank and clunk.” 

A point I couldn’t agree with more. Despite all the modern streamlining and improvements to gameplay, Fromsoft’s ever-growing catalog of impressive experiences still contains some of that old-school video game stiffness we’ve (hopefully) come to appreciate. She went on to make a point I was very excited to share here in the article, “It was just a lot of trying to nail the feel of the games and not just the look, right? Like I’m not trying to recreate a screenshot; I’m trying to recreate the feeling of playing this weird game that’s barely holding together because the devs didn’t know what they were doing.” In my humble opinion, something she did an excellent job with. 

Fifth on the list was a question relating to her current project, Bloodborne Kart, a concept initially drawn from a popular meme shared around social media sites like Tumblr when the buzz of a Bloodborne sequel was keeping the talking spaces around Fromsoft alight: “Anything to say about the development of Bloodborne Kart or its inspiration?”

Lilith answers: “So first off Bloodborne Kart is less trying to be a simulation of a PS1 game and more just an indie game. It’s not trying to be a PS1 game, I just want it to be a fun kart racer first. Starting off of course is Mario Kart 64, that’s the one I played back in the day. But I looked at other games like Crash Team Racing and Diddy Kong Racing, but also stuff like Twisted Metal of course. I always used those as a template to sort of look at for design stuff like ‘how did they handle what happens to racers after player 1 crosses the finish line.” The next portion of her answer was initially a bit confusing but comes across better when you consider certain elements present in BBK’s battle mode. “And also Halo, like for the battle mode. I had to do a battle mode and it kind of just bubbled to the surface. Split Screen with my sister was such a big part of my childhood. Thinking about Halo multiplayer while I was making the battle mode stuff.” 

Her answer to the previous question began to dip into the topic of our sixth question: “Are there any unique challenges or enjoyable creative points that go into making something like Bloodborne Kart?”

As she continued from her previous answer: “One of the biggest quirks of the battle mode I had to figure out was how to tell what team you were on at a glance, and that came back to Halo again. I started thinking about how you could tell in that game and it hit me that the arms of your suit change to the color of whatever team you’re on. It was just something I never even thought of because it’s so seamless. So that gave me the idea to change the kart colours, and that’s the most recent example of me pulling directly from Halo. It’s wild how a small change like that can turn your game from something unplayable to something fun.” I would agree. Tons of small details and things you don’t think about go into making seamless multiplayer experiences. Some of which we take for granted nowadays. She then made a point about one of the most challenging aspects of BBK’s development, “The most challenging thing was definitely the Kart AI. AI is just my worst skill when it comes to game development among the massive array of skills you need to make a game. It’s really hard to find examples of people coding kart driving AI, You know? You need to make a biped walk around you can find a million tutorials online but if you need to make something drive a kart, not really. I was really on my own there. A lot of the examples out there are very simulation oriented. Like cars using suspension and whatnot, but I’m making a kart racer. So I started simple, I put a navpoint down and if it needs to turn left, turn left, if it needs to turn right, turn right. And I just kept adding features from there.”

Moving onto our last three questions, we started to get a little more personal. Question seven being: “What’s your favorite part of Bloodborne Kart so far?”

Her answer was concise in what she was excited about most, quote: “The boss fights.” Short and sweet but she did elaborate. “Translating a big part of Bloodborne is the boss fights. So I made a short linear campaign which is basically AI battles and races strung together. Some of those stages are just boss fights which are unique to the rest of the game. When you make a video game you sit down and you make all your different modes of interactions, and then you make a multi-hour experience mixing and matching all those different modes in more complicated ways. I think the most interesting part is when that style tends to fall away and it ends up building something entirely unique to that experience.” An example she gave was the infamous “Eventide Island” in Breath of the wild, it being a unique experience where the game’s usual modes of interaction are stripped or limited, forcing you into a more structured experience that ends up being a majorly positive one. “That’s what the boss fights are in Bloodborne Kart. They do multiple game mechanics like a chase that ends in a battle mode. Like Father Gascoine’s fight where he chases you, and after you blow up his kart he turns into a beast and picks up a minigun.” That sounds absolutely incredible. It’s very easy to see why she’d pick the boss fights as her favorite element when they’re clearly intended to be such unique and memorable experiences. 

Our last two questions veer away from the topics of development proper and focus more on our dear dev’s personal thoughts on the matter. Question eight posits: “What’s your personal favorite part of being a game developer?”

After some thought, she gave a very impassioned talk about something she considers to be the best part of the experience: “When people who aren’t game developers think about game development they think of things like ‘oh well you just get to play video games all day and have fun’ but it’s not! Except for the 2% that is, and it’s near the end of development. When all the pieces fall into place and you start actually ‘making the game.’ Game development, especially solo, you’re so zoomed in on specific parts. Because you’re not making a game you’re programming software that’s what making a game is. You spend months working on different systems and then you actually sit down and make a level, and you hit play and it you go ‘Oh my god, I just made a game’. That part is what sustains me. It’s magical. That’s the best part when it comes to true appreciation of the craft aside from the reception.” An answer that I don’t think I could’ve put better if I tried. 

My last question is one that I consider to be the question when it comes to interviewing anyone who works on video games. Perhaps a bit basic, but heartfelt nonetheless: “Anything to say to anyone aspiring to be a game developer?”

Lilith’s answer: “Yes. Just do it. For real. This is what I did and it always felt wrong until I looked at more established devs echoing the sentiment. You cannot plan a game before you’ve started making one. The example I always bring up is the team behind Deus Ex wrote a 500 page design document for the game and almost immediately threw it out when they started development. Just start! You’re going to have unanswered questions and I think that trips people up. Don’t start with your magnum opus idea, start with something simple and achievable. I feel like a lot of people set out with the goal of making a triple-A game, and that’s good! But it can’t be your first game. Game development is creating art, just like any other form of art, and it’s like saying ‘my first drawing is going to be the Mona Lisa’ and it just doesn’t work like that. You need practice and development, and it’s difficult to see that because games take so long and so much, so it’s definitely seen as a bigger undertaking. But it’s still art. You’re still making mistakes and learning from them for your first project. Your next game will be better. View your career as a game developer as a series of games you want to make, and not just one big game.” A perfect response to an otherwise unassuming question. 

Lilith’s passion and love for video games were reflected very clearly in every response she gave during my time with her. Her dedication and appreciation for the art form can be seen in every pixel of Bloodborne PSX, as well as the development logs and test builds of Bloodborne Kart. I really do think that the way she answered my final question speaks volumes to the type of attitude someone should take up when endeavoring to make art as intensive as a video game. Whether it’s fanwork of a game that’s important to you or an entirely new concept, do it. 

(developer of Bloodborne PSX Lilith Walther, image provided by Lilith Walther via Twitter)

Closing:

If you’d like to check out the positively phenomenal experience that is Bloodborne PSX  I’ve included a link to the official itch.io page below the article, as well as a link to the official LWMedia Youtube page where you can check out Lilith’s dev logs, test videos, and animations about her work and other art. Thank you so much for reading, and another very special thank you to Lilith for setting aside some of her time to talk to me about this article. Now get out there and cleanse those foul streets!

Links:

Bloodborne PSX official itch.io page: https://b0tster.itch.io/bbpsx

LWMedia Official Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/@b0tster

Lilith Walther Twitter page: https://twitter.com/b0tster

[youhavethewrong]

Yuiviews: The Too Kyo Games Library

After ending the Danganronpa series in what is basically rebellion against over-sequelization, writer Kazutaka Kodaka, artist Rui Komatsuzaki, and composer Masafumi Takada left the apparently horrible to work at company Spike Chunksoft to join the writer of the Zero Escape series Kotaro Uchikoshi and form their own small studio: Too Kyo Games. Throughout the years, they've kept a consistent output of creative and unique mystery and action games and stories. But in spite of how good they are, a lot of them have flown under the radar, as people in general aren't really aware of Too Kyo Games existing. So, to hopefully rectify that a little bit, I come to you with a list of the things they've made so you can see if any of them strike your fancy!

1. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code

Okay this one was still published under Spike Chunksoft, but the developers are still Too Kyo games so hear me out.

Amnesiac detective Yuma Kokohead is called to Kanai Ward, a city of neverending rain shrouded in mystery. In a place where the truth is hidden by a mega corporation, it is his duty to join a group of world-class detectives with special talents in solving the many murder cases that seem to be around every corner. He is accompanied in his journey by Shinigami, the god of death, who has the power to take him to the Mystery Labyrinths - bizarre construction where finding the exit equals reaching the truth.

The gameplay consists of 3d exploration in the city of Kanai Ward, along with action minigames and puzzles whose solutions lead to figuring out the whodunnit and howdunnit of each case!

A highlight of the game for me is the character of Shinigami, who adds a very macabre vibe to the murder mysteries by making inappropriate jokes and enjoying the whole thing a bit way too much. This game is like Detective Conan for insane people, and I loved it dearly, so I don't know if that's a good thing about myself.

(Probably not)

The game's available on Xbox, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. As of the time of this writing, the Steam version is on discount.

2. Akudama Drive

Not in the mood for games? No worries, here's an anime!

Taking place in a dystopian futuristic version of Kansai, Akudama Drive sees a society that labels particularly dangerous criminals as "Akudama", and heavily persecutes and punishes them for their transgressions. In this society, a regular girl is accidentally roped into a 6 Akudama master plan to perform an Ocean's 11-type heist by a mysterious mastermind.

(One of the characters in this image is the mastermind, and it's not the girl)

One big highlight of the show for me is the animation. Komatsuzaki's art and designs feel particularly difficult to bring to motion in 2d, but this show pulls it off really well with some clever lightning and other stylization techniques. Also, the show has a theme of how society deals with what it deems "undesirable", which resonates a lot with me.

(...for no reason in particular)

The show's available in Crunchyroll and perhaps some other sites too idk.

3. World's End Club

Not in the mood for a game or an anime? Well, how about something in between!

This game tells the story of the Go-Getters club, a club of kids who, during a field trip, experience the end of the world. There's very little I can say about this title's premise without giving most of it away, so instead I'll focus on the atmosphere it creates.

Since this game deals with young children rather than adults or even teenagers, the story is a loooot lighter than other Too Kyo Games projects. It is really lighthearted and even adorable at times. I'm particularly fond of this one scene where the main cast rides this ridiculous 12 person tandem bike while singing a little song.

However, don't let the lighter atmosphere and Take's cute designs fool you. There's still intrigue, heartache, and plot twists that will leave your mouth agape. After playing so many games by the same writers, I thought I was ready for anything that they could throw at me. This game proved me wrong.

(This and more philosophical debates await you in this title!)

Still, World's End Club is a much more relaxing time than the other games on this list. What I think most people would consider its biggest downside is how light it is in terms of gameplay. It's about 80% cutscenes, 20% gameplay. And the gameplay that is there is just extremely basic 2d puzzle sections. However, I don't think this is an objective negative. Me personally, I just see it as an extremely fun interactive story, rather than a game. When I sit down to play it, I think to myself "okay, time to see what happens next", rather than "time to push myself to overcome some difficult platforming challenges", this isn't Pizza Tower. So if you go into it knowing how light the gameplay is, I think it's an extremely delightful experience.

(I haven't beaten it yet, but it has already pulled like 5 plot twists on me, so I'm expecting about... 15 more)

World's End Club is available on Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Steam.

4. Tribe Nine (The Anime)

What's that? Youre in the mood for both a game and an anime? Weirdly specific request. And Tribe Nine is more than prepared to grant it to you!

Tribe Nine (the anime) takes place in an alternate world where (recently christened) Neo Tokyo has been broken into turfs, controlled by groups of people called "Tribes". Each tribe decides which turf is whose by way of Extreme Baseball, or XB - a version of baseball where the field is entire towns, and beating the crap out of each other is both allowed and encouraged.

(Only if you're holding the ball though, they're not monsters)

Although I know this is a recommendation, I gotta be honest and admit that the animation's not the best most of the time, and some character designs leave a lot to be desired. That being said, it is undoubtedly a unique, entertaining experience. The characters are fun, the story gets really intense when it means to, and it never gets to the point of being too self-aware. Yes, I'm counting that as a positive. I want to see some stories that take themselves seriously once in a while, dang it. Yes, that guy hit a baseball so hard it broke the Tokyo Tower's tip off. Yes, it's extremely stupid. But consider: who gives a shit, it's rad.

(There's also 4 identical-looking guys all voiced by the same VA. Call that a cost-cutting measure if you will, I'll call it hilarious)

The whole anime's for free on Youtube, with English Subtitles. So you don't even need a Crunchyroll account, you can watch it right now if you want! The playlist's not in order and it's got some weird edits to add ads for the music, but eh. Other options are available if need be.

5. Tribe Nine (The Game)

"Okay, so remember that anime that we made a couple years ago that very few people watched and had practically 0 cultural impact? I've got an idea: let's dial the extreme factor to 1,000, redesign all the characters, make new ones, and release its sequel as one of the best god damned free games people can play".

If that's not how Tribe Nine (The Game) came to be, I've no clue what the circumstances might've been.

Tribe Nine (The Game) may be a sequel to the anime, but it takes place in a world that's very different from what we see in Episode 12. A new threat, Zero, has emerged and taken control of the country. His extreme technological prowess and orbital lasers are as ridiculous as they are deadly, and he's in the perfect position to force the group of rebels that's risen to defeat him into a series of extreme games of strategy and deception.

XB still has its place of course: in the form of action debates that shift the balance of power in each territory.

(Okay I know what you're thinking: "Action Debates? Isn't that the Danganronpa thing?" Well, no. You see, this one's baseball.)

Tribe Nine's biggest downside is that it's a gacha game. And if that's something that deters you from it, I completely understand. However, if you're still willing to give it a chance, I cannot recommend it enough. The game is filled to the brim with content, the action RPG gameplay is extremely fun to master, and as of now can be played start to finish while completely ignoring the gacha aspect, as it just offers additional content, not necessary content. It might as well be a full AAA game that you get for free, because that's exactly what it feels like.

("Look I know every other apple in this basket is poison, but trust me, this one's juicy af and it tast- why are you looking at me like that")

Tribe Nine is available on Android, iOS, and Steam.

6. The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy

Okay, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it: This game is just straight up better Danganronpa

(Put the gun down put thE GUN DOWN I CAN EXPLAIN!!)

THL-LDA takes place in a world where humanity lives in underground domes, and regular attacks from unknown entities are a daily thing. One day our protagonist, Takumi Sumino, is kidnapped by a weird little... egg guy called Sirei, and made to stay 100 days inside a fortified academy. He and other people around his age are then forced to defend "something important" inside the school from invaders, by becoming pseudo-soldiers that use Hemoanima, special weapons that give them Kill la Kill-style uniforms that transform with their blood to enhance their powers and allow them to fight back.

(If this game isn't at least partly inspired by Kill la Kill, I'll assume that using your blood to get a super-powered school uniform is a daily occurrence in Japan)

The gameplay itself is divided in the expected vn sections (complete with minigames and side activities!), and the "defense" sections, where it plays like a really good Tactics game.

I'm usually not one to get too deep into Tactics games (I've tried FF Tactics, Disgaea, and Fire Emblem and sucked at all of them), but this one really pulled me in with how much freedom of choice you get, and how seamlessly it blends story and gameplay. For example, instead of getting a couple moves per unit, you get a certain number of Action Points per turn that you can distribute however you want. You can either move all units once or one unit 6 times. Certain actions will give you more Action Points, so good strategy and thinking ahead can lead to long combos that really punish the enemy.

(Pictured above: Gameplay instructions)

With 100 different endings and 500+ CGs (holy fuck), this is the most ambitious game Too Kyo games have released yet by far. And as soon as you start, you can really tell how much care went into it. In a way, it really feels like the culmination of everything these developers have worked on up to this point.

The demo is extremely generous too. I personally got 7+ hours of gameplay from it, so you've got a lot of time to see if you like the game or not without committing to spending money on it. By the time I was done with it, I was already so hooked with the story and fond of the characters there was no doubt in my mind I'll buy the full version as soon as the May paycheck hits.

(No points for guessing who my favorite character is)

The full game is currently available on Nintendo Switch and Steam.

Extra - Death Come True

Okay I'll be honest, the only reason this one's an extra and not a proper entry is because I haven't played it yet, so I can't say anything about it other than how interesting it is that it's the only FMV entry in Too Kyo's repertoire. However, it's made by the same people who've already made 11 things I've really liked, soooo... like at some point you gotta start giving artists the benefit of the doubt. I think it's fair to assume this one probably rules too. I'm also buying it with the May paycheck I haven't gotten yet and already spent half of.

(I'm also gonna play it on a discord call with my friends, so we can pick the story together. That's not relevant, but isn't the ability to do that an undervalued feature of FMV games?)

Death Come True is available on Steam, Android, iOS, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and probably a Smart Fridge if we try hard enough.

Conclusion:

Too Kyo Games is one of my favorite development teams. They have not disappointed me yet, and have given me unique experience after unique experience. Their style of storytelling is unlike anything else I've seen, and every time I check out something made by them, I end up being moved in new ways.

However, they're also currently facing financial difficulty due to none of their projects being breakout hits, or even hits as big as Danganronpa was. I think creativity and effort like this deserves attention, so if any of the entries above peak your interest, make sure to check them out! Especially if you ever fell in love with Danganronpa, as I think that's proof that this team is capable of making things that resonate with you. And after all, the people behind it have kept improving their craft more and more over time, so wouldn't it be fun to give them a chance to give you even more stories that give you new feelings and experiences~? 💖

[dr-spectre]

Mannnnn..... I knew this would happen.... I just knew it...

The image is not the best quality but under each of these games boxes tells that the game is a game key card.

Now look, there's a lot of misinformation going around about how these work and Nintendo is being dead silent despite there being so much chaos and confusion.

So basically, these game key cards only contain a license for the game and have to perform an internet hand shake with the servers in order to download the game. Once it is downloaded, you don't need an internet connection to play, you just have to connect to the internet to do the download and then you can play the game offline until the end of time. You only have to connect to the internet ONCE! NOT EVERY SWITCH 2 GAME WILL BE A GAME KEY CARD! Mario Kart World will have the full version 1.0 game on the cartridge, Cyberpunk, DK Bananza and other games like the Switch 2 edition games will have the full game on the cartridge and you can play the game offline. You can tell if a physical game will be a game key card because there's a giant white strip at the bottom that will tell you, "Hey dummy, you need an internet connection."

BUT! Despite these cards being an improvement over the simple code in a box like we had during the Switch 1 generation because you can give these to friends and sell them later on, these are still really bad and it's fucking frustrating to see so many game publishers cheap out and be lazy and not put their full game on the cartridge.

Now this could be down to multiple things, maybe Nintendo only has very strict options for file sizes and game publishers are left with having to use game key cards because there's not enough options, or it's just money and time reasons. We don't exactly know for sure. But I'm guessing it's the first one.

But even with that excuse, I just knew that the game key cards would be used by bad publishers just to save a quick buck and completely DAMAGE any form of physical perseveration, as now our options are limited on preserving future Switch 2 titles. These game key cards are bad simply because in 10 years' time, they are going to be dead paperweights, and you won't be able to download the game anymore unless you already had it on your console. That cool feature of sharing a game with your friend in person will not work in the future. Nintendo is the worst at keeping their old servers up as they are ALWAYS the first out of the big three to discontinue their old consoles and internet services. Do you think the Switch is gonna be any different? Nope. The Switch and its online services are gonna shut down way before the PS4 or Xbox One do. I'm calling it right now.

For some games, i can get it... kinda... Street Fighter 6? Yeah, sure, i can get it. It's mainly an online game that gets lots of updates and content i can get behind it... Somewhat...

But why..... WHY THE FUCK IS PUYO PUYO TETRIS 2S A GOD DAMN KEY CARD WHEN CYBERPUNK AND ALL OF ITS DLC CAN FIT ONTO THE FUCKING CARD!??!

WHY IS SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS A GAME KEY CARD WHEN THE SWITCH 1 VERSION FIT ON A SWITCH 1 CART?!?! ALSO NO UPGRADE PATH?! REALLY SEGA?!?! ARE YOU INSANE?!

I think the worst part about is this that there's so many games that are game key cards. ALL OF THE THIRD PARTY GAMES ASIDE FROM ONE ARE JUST ONLINE DOWNLOADS THAT COME WITH A KEY!!! UGH!

[wonuwrites]

ot13 Seventeen's Espresso Song Reaction

Anyone else also OBSESSED with Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso?" Literally so cunty and song of the summer <3 I thought this would be fun to write because I've been writing a lot of angst lately. I hope you enjoy. xo - @wonuwrites

Warning: Some are more suggestive than others: Wonwoo, Dino, Joshua, Woozi, and Mingyu's got pretty sexual especially so MDNI xo, Cursing as usually bc that's the person I am lmao.

A/N: Just like my 'We Can't Be Friends' reactions, I will be writing the scenarios x members from when lyrics come in. Hope that makes sense :)

♡ DK: "Now he's thinkin' 'bout me, every night oh, Is it that sweet? I guess so."

Seokmin in general is so boyfriend coded but not even he predicted how down bad he got because of you. You never left his mind especially after your first kiss. You were his first and last thought every day. He vowed that he would do everything in his power to not fuck up anything with you. One evening while you were getting ready for bed your phone lit up and you saw your lovely boyfriends face. You couldn't help but giggle before picking up. "Hello Jagi~" "Hello Beautiful, I was just thinking about you." "Right before bed? That's so dirty, Seokminnie." This made him get flustered because he was trying to be cute but now he was horny and ahhhhh. You both then continued to try to out flirt the other which ended up having both of you giggly and blushed messes.

♡ Wonwoo: "Move it up, down, left, right, oh. Switch it up like like Nintendo."

Normally gaming sessions with Wonwoo would be fairly PG however tonight it got a bit more intense. There was something about the way his fingers were fingering his xbox controller's joystick you so aroused. You tried to hide how turned on you were getting but Wonwoo knew you all too well which is why he decided to tease you a little bit. He bit his lip and would groan when the game got a little "too difficult" and you swore you were about to come undone based off his fingers, his groans, his face, him, everything. After a bit it started to get a bit too much so you scooted closer to him and snuggled into him before giving a kiss to the base of his neck. He would chuckle before looking down at you. "Yes?" "Mmm, You know I love gaming with you but I kinda wanna play with a different kind of joystick now." "Say less," he would say before throwing the xbox controller to the side and pulling you into a kiss. It was going to be a fun night.

♡ Hoshi: "And I got this one boy, and he won't stop calling. When they act this way, I know I got them."

Your phone buzzed for what seemed like the fifth time that day but you couldn't help but smirk. Soonyoung and you had recently started talking about a week prior and last night you both had your first kiss and suddenly he just craved your lips and you. Some might find the clinginess to be a bit cringey but truth be told, you were ALSO craving him. The way his lips tasted last night was enough to get you love drunk and obsessed. When he admitted to you that he couldn't help but think about the kiss you both shared you wanted to do a little dance because you knew he felt the same way. "Hello?" You said after answering the phone. You could hear him smile as he said his greeting as well. "(Y/N), I know I just called a while ago but I was just wondering if you wanted to, I don't know hang out tonight after practice?" This made you giggle before agreeing to hang out. After you both hung up he did a cheesy ass fist pump which gave Minghao and Seungkwan second hand embarrassment. They were happy for their friend but oh my god.

♡ Dino: "Too bad your ex don't do it for ya."

Chan was not someone to compare people. Especially when it came to his relationships. However, when he noticed that you would do certain things his ex wouldn't do he would become speechless. Like for instance, when he had a horrible day and you offered to help him relax by giving him a massage or hell a blowjob he would stare at you as if you just told him you stole Saturn for him. His ex would usually just say "that sucks, Channie" but you were offering to do things for him? Oh my god. When he saw you start putting your hair into a makeshift ponytail while getting on your knees he swore he fell in love all over again. He would lean down and kiss your lips before letting you undo his jeans and let Chan Jr come out to play. (lmfaooo i'm so sorry)

♡ Minghao: "Walked in and dream came trued it for ya."

When Minghao would think about his future, he always wanted someone to be understanding, loving, and caring. When you came along you matched all those things and he was absolutely shocked. You were his dream come true and on nights like these where you were both sat at your favorite cafe in the corner he couldn't help but be so thankful that his He would kiss your knuckles and just stare at you with such love in his eyes. You would blush at his loving glare and he would be like "why why why?" He would just tease you a bit which would make you even more flustered. This would make him smile and giggle which would cause you to giggle as well. After leaving the cafe, he would have your hand in his and would casually be swinging it as you both were talking about random topics. When you got to the car, he pulled you in and pressed a kiss to your lips before whispering a "thank you" to you.

♡ Joshua: "Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya."

You just had gotten out of the shower and you had a million and three butterflies storming your stomach. You and Jisoo had made plans to have a sleepover after a long time and you didn't want to mess anything up. You decided to spray his favorite perfume of your on you with matching lotion. As you were finishing up getting ready you heard your front door open. "Baby, I'm home." you heard your handsome as hell boyfriend call out. This made you smile wide as you made your way out of the bathroom and saw he had a bouquet of flowers for you. Just that gesture made you want to jump his bones. He smiled at you and came over and gave you a hug and a kiss. He groaned in the kiss as he could smell how good you smelled. He looked down at you and it gave you butterflies. "You feel so soft." He whispered which made you feel giggle. "Thanks, I was in the middle of lotioning up." "oh?" "yeah, I couldn't reach one place though, can you help me?" He smirked as he led you to your room which made both of you break out into giggles.

(I had writers block for Joshua's :'(, I will rewrite it one day. ~)

♡ Vernon: "I know I Mountain Dew it for ya."

It was one of those days where both Hansol and you were trying to annoy the other but in a sexy way. Today's weapon? Really awful puns or pick up lines. The rules were easy, 1. You couldn't laugh at what the other person said, however you could laugh at your own pun. 2. You can't reuse the same pun. 3. You had 30 seconds to make the pun 3. You laugh, cringe, or take too long you strip an item of clothing. You both thought this was fun and would make a competition out of it. Today you were both not doing too well and were both down to your underwear. You both were a bit turned on but neither of you wanted to fold or lose that quickly. It was your turn and you honestly were struggling to think of anything. You had about 10 seconds left when you noticed an empty Mountain Dew bottle on the dresser. You giggled before pointing at it and shouting, "Just call me a soda pop because I really want to mountain dew it for ya." This made Hansol snort and cover his face. You put both your arms in the air to cheer your victory as Hansol took off his briefs and showed his member. "Well soda pop, I think it's time to mountain dew it." He didn't have to tell you twice.

♡ Seungkwan: "That morning coffee I brewed it for ya."

Acts of service was one of your main love languages. When Seungkwan stayed over one night, you decided to wake up a little earlier and made him an Iced Americano. You decided to brew a medium espresso and asked your Alexa to play Sabrina's new song "Espresso." You were so caught up in the song you didn't even notice him staring at you dancing and singing along to the song. He stared at you with admiration as you danced to your own choreography that was sliiiiightly off beat but he'd never tell you that. He loved how in your element you were. When you turned around while spinning you almost died of embarrassment which made him put a hand to his mouth to try to stop his laugh. "You are precious," he would whisper as you continued to die on the floor lmaooo.

♡ Woozi: "One touch and I brand newed it for ya."

Jihoon is very particular with who he is touchy with. Physical touch is not one of his favorite things in the world. However, that partially changed once you entered his life. Each touch whether sexual or casual made him feel like he was on fire and was just pure ecstacy when he was with you. One night, he was a bit more touchy than normal which made you raise an eyebrow. Normally it was you who would initiate any type of physical touch but this time it was a happy surprise. You kissed his nose while giggling before questioning if he wanted anything. The question made him blush and hide into the crook of your neck before admitting, "Can you touch me back? I need your hands." You smirked before wrapping your arms around him. "where do you need me, baby?" "Anywhere, I'm all yours."

♡ Jeonghan: "Say you can't sleep, baby I know, That's that me espresso."

Anyone who knows Jeonghan knows this man loves sleep. If he could he would sleep forever. Sleep is just so nice and he loves it so fucking much. That's why he along with everyone was shocked when you came along and he was a lot more alert and was just so addicted to you. He would playfully deny being as whipped when you were not around but when you were around and people would tease him he would just giggle nervously which would make you blush. Never in a thousand years would you think that you, (Y/F/N), would have this kind of effect on a man. Especially a man like Jeonghan. One night he was at your front door kissing you after a successful date. He kept smiling into the kisses which made you giggle. "I could do this forever," he would whisper which would make you giggle even more. "We need to go to sleep, baby," you would try before he kissed you again which would make both of you giggle. "I can't sleep when your lips taste this good though," he would tease before kissing you again. You pulled away before teasingly quoting Sabrina by saying "that's that me espresso." He would just laugh before pulling you back in again before saying, "you have no idea."

♡ Jun: "Oh, he looks so cute wrapped around my finger."

The way you had Jun wrapped around your finger made his own members assume you did witchcraft. You were both so whipped for each other but he was a bit more obvious about it. If you needed a drink, he would be like "say less," and get up and get you your beverage of choice. If any of his members teased him, he'd just be like "I don't see you dating anyone," which would make everyone crack up and Jeonghan applauding him. You honestly loved the fact he loved you how he did. You found him so cute. When you told him that he would just giggle and blush which would make you fall for him even harder. It made you want to prove to him that the feelings he felt for you were also mutual. Which trust me, he knew. <3

♡ S. Coups: "My twisted humor make him laugh so often."

Due to the taboo that unfortunately plagues South Korea still with idols dating, you and Seungcheol had to play it cool if you were ever on variety shows together. Normally it was okay, however today everything you did just made him laugh and vise versa. To onlookers, it looked like you both were mutual friends because of the idol world but to both of your groups, they were worried that one of you would fuck up and belly flop into a scandal. When one of the MC's jokingly made a comment about Seungcheol acting whipped toward you, you would quip, "it won't last long. Don't worry." which would make everyone around you laugh. Seungcheol knew you were attempting to be self deprecating but regardless, off this variety show he was going to prove how long he was planning on staying.

♡ Mingyu: "My honey bee, come and get this pollen."

It only took one look for Mingyu to know what you wanted. He would be sitting at the table on a facetime call with one of the members and you would walk out into the hallway and stare at him. He would look up and smile at you before realizing you were wearing a fairly skimpy robe and raising an eyebrow. You would wink before walking back into your shared room. You would hear him curse before saying goodbye to whoever and literally run down the hall to the room. He'd practically tackle you because he was so excited to make love to his baby.

PS this took so long for me to write bc I kept dancing in my chair to the song instead of writing. I'm sorry to my besties who been waiting LOL I will edit tomorrow when I feel better about myself <3

[sciencefictionismyjam]

How remasters damage a games visual legacy.

Mass Effect is a game series that like many has received the remastered treatment years after it's original release. The LE from 2021 for example was very successful and brought in a whole new generation of fans to the series... But it's a very flawed and broken product that I very much feel has lead to the originals being overshadowed and forgotten by new fans despite being the better versions of these classics both visually and technically. It's a very similar situation to that seen in film preservation, like the infamous Star Wars Special Editions being how most audiences experience those films despite their problems. Ofcourse there is nothing a single individual can do to change that but I always try to make people today at least aware of the original versions of Mass Effect and just how good they were back in the day. ME2 still holds up as one of the best looking games of 2010 and Ive have talked extensively in videos and posts about why this is the case.

Its actually quite sad seeing how the memory of a game fundamentally changes based on the latest version that is consumed by audiences. There are a lot of changes, breakages and outright bad decisions made in the LE that have fundamentally altered the way the games are remembered visually, diminishing their best qualities. Mostly to do with the art, lighting and style of each game which were very unique and ahead of their time thanks in no small part to a strong creative foundation inspired by science fiction classics of the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s.

Mass Effect LE is not actually a remaster in the traditional sense, it's actually just a very poorly glossed up port of the notoriously broken PS3 releases which came after the original games. The original games were actually developed for the Xbox 360, with ME1 being an exclusive before EA's acquisition of BioWare. As a result of that original source code being lost and the need to rely on the PS3's compromised code many issues from them resurfaced and were poorly disguised in the LE. Never to fixed since the LE's post launch support ended in only 2 months after initial release.

So not only are new players playing a worse looking version of the series, they are playing a far more unfinished and broken version too. Who can tell them otherwise? Word of mouth, popularity and marketing have made it so these new versions are the ones that they will most likely consume today... And that is why remasters damage their legacy for future generations.

[satoshi-mochida]

Some games that are currently stuck on older consoles that I hope get rereleased in some way:

Part 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Harvest December

Parascientific Escape Series

Stella Glow

Mimana Iyar Chronicle

Attack of the Friday Monsters

.hack//Link

7th Dragon series(7th Dragon, 7th Dragon 2020, 7th Dragon 2020-II and 7th Dragon III Code: VFD)

Black Rock Shooter The Game

Boku no Natsuyasumi series

Chameleon Twist series

LBX: Little Battlers eXperience

Monster Tale(there's supposed to be a remake in the works, but there hasn't been any news it for a while)

Digimon Adventure

Digimon World: Re:Digitize Decode

Generation of Chaos: Pandora's Reflection

Gitaroo Man/Gitaroo Man Lives

Metal Gear Rising: Revengence(putting this here since there no modern port of it past the PS3/Xbox 360 aside from Steam)

Growlanser Series

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4: New Game Patch (September 18th, 2024)

Your game should now read: PC: 1.109.185.1030 / Mac: 1.109.185.1230 / Console: 1.99.

Sul Sul Simmers!

This patch is a big one and brings many new updates and fixes into the game that span across different packs, including improvements to apartment walls, ceiling lighting, and a whole host of fixes for our recently released expansion pack, Lovestruck. These, along with so many more across both Base Game and Packs, can be found below.

Thank you for your continued reporting efforts at AnswersHQ. It really helps to let us know the issues you care most about. We hope these fixes keep improving your game and allow you to keep having more fun! More to come.

There’s a colorful update to Build/Buy items! 650 color variants have been added and there are new items such as archways, doors, and even ground covers to spruce up your terrain. Check out the vibrant colors and new items in the video. For more details, scroll to the end of the patch notes to see a list of all the Build/Buy items. We can’t wait to see how you mix and match!

Performance

Reducing Memory Usage:

Frequent Memory Updates – Increased the frequency of memory usage data updates to prevent out-of-memory crashes.

Improving Simulation Performance:

Streamlining Data Storage – We restructured how we store game data to reduce the overhead of using Python objects, making the game run faster and use less memory.

Efficient Buff Generation – Reworked how temporary data is generated and stored to fix previous issues and optimize memory usage.

Reducing Load Times:

Optimizing Render Target Allocation – Stopped unnecessary allocation of large color targets during certain rendering processes, now saving valuable memory especially in high-resolution settings.

DirectX 11 (DX11) Updates

We’re pleased to announce improvements to the DirectX 11 executable for PC users. While these updates are focused on Windows PC’s, Xbox Simmers will also see benefits from these changes as the Xbox runs a console-based variant of DirectX 11. Here’s what to expect:

NVIDIA and AMD

NVIDIA and AMD Graphics Cards – Players using NVIDIA and AMD GPUs will now automatically default to the DX11 executable. Players on other GPUs like Intel, will continue to enjoy The Sims 4 on DX9 until a later update.

DirectX 11 Enhancements – Faster Graphics Processing – Implemented changes to how graphics data is updated, reducing delays between the CPU and GPU for smoother gameplay.

Performance Boost with Constant Buffers (cbuffers) – This enhances performance by reducing overhead and managing memory more efficiently. Users with mid to high-end GPUs should notice improved performance!

New DirectX 9 Option in Graphics Setting – By default, Simmers on NVIDIA and AMD GPUs will launch The Sims 4 using DX11. If you prefer, you can switch to DX9 via Game Options > Graphics and enable the DirectX 9 toggle before re-launching The Sims 4 to play using DirectX 9.

Intel

Ongoing Intel Development – We are continuing development on bringing DirectX 11 to Intel GPU based PC’s but it needs a little longer before we can bring it to Simmers as the default option. For now Intel based Simmers will continue to use DirectX 9 when running The Sims 4.

DirectX 11 Opt-In – DirectX 11 is available for those Simmers who want to try it, including those using an Intel GPU, you may experience visual issues with mods. We recommend disabling all mods while using the -dx11 command line argument.

For detailed information about DirectX 11 and instructions on how to enter launch arguments for both the EA App and Steam, please visit here. If you encounter any issues with DirectX, you can find assistance here.

The Gallery

Pack filters now properly work for Home Chef Hustle in The Gallery and library. No more hiding.

Base Game

[AHQ] Outdoor lighting will no longer affect inside the room through ceilings. Let there be (proper) light.

[AHQ and AHQ] When attempting to save, “Error Code: 0“ no longer occurs related to Gigs or Neighborhood Stories.

[AHQ] Addressed an additional issue where the game would fail to load and display Error Code 123 when traveling between lots.

[AHQ] Clay and Future Cubes will no longer get left on lots during events. Pick up your trash and leave nothing behind.

[AHQ] Frogs, mice and fishes in tanks are now visible when placed in laptop mode. Welcome back, friends!

[AHQ] Sims will put their tablets and homework back into their inventory instead of placing them in the world as long as they are standing or sitting. Again, stop littering, Sims!

[AHQ] The call is not coming from inside the house–you'll stop getting invitational phone calls from your own Household Members.

[AHQ] “Complete a Daily Work Task” Want now completes properly after finishing a daily work task. Work work work.

[AHQ] Children now have the option to quit their “After School Activity��. Although quitters never prosper.

[AHQ] Thought bubbles of Sims will no longer appear through walls and floors. Keep your thoughts to yourself.

[AHQ] Family fortune - “Heal Negative Sentiments” task will now properly complete.

[AHQ] Sims will return from work or school and switch into the same Everyday Outfit they had on instead of defaulting to the first Everyday Outfit in the Create a Sim list. You will wear what I tell you to wear, Sim!

[AHQ] Certain cabinet/shelf combinations over kitchen sinks will no longer prevent Sim from washing in the sink. No excuses for not cleaning up after yourself.

[AHQ] Outdoor shadows now move smoothly without jumping on the screen on ultra graphics settings and at different Live Mode speeds.

[AHQ] Camera jittering is no longer observed in Build Buy mode after using Terrain Tools.

[AHQ] When recent neighborhood stories mention a Sim that died in another neighborhood, switching to the respective Sim household will now have an urn present. RIP.

[AHQ] Upgrading washer/dryer now completes Nerd Brain Aspiration.

[AHQ] Sims will now hold the acarajé dish the right way while eating. It’s delicious however you eat it, though.

[AHQ] Autonomous check infant no longer causes new random cold weather outfit to be generated for infant. They’re not cold.

Infant no longer stretches when crawling in deep snow. Although we question why you’re letting your infant crawl in the snow.

[AHQ] Teen Sim is able to take vacation days while working in the lifeguard career. It’s only fair.

[AHQ] Event goals remain visible  even after editing from the Calendar.

Siblings can no longer be set as engaged in Create a Sim.

[AHQ] The Teen Goal Oriented Aspiration now gets completed properly after getting promoted at work.

Investigating missing Doodlepip splines. Reticulation progressing.

[AHQ] “Become friends with“ Want no longer appears for Sims with relationship equal or above friends. We’re already friends.

[AHQ] World icons on the world selection screen no longer move when middle-clicked.

[AHQ] Locked seed packets are unlocked in BB when using the gardening skill cheat “stats.set_skill_level Major_Gardening 10”. Gimme my seeds!

[AHQ] Female Sims' stomachs will no longer become invisible when paired with Masculine cargo pants in certain color swatches.

“Likes/Dislikes“ Sim preferences are now available for Sims created via Create a Sim Stories.

Sim animation will no longer pop when sitting on a stool and asking another Sim an inappropriate question.

[AHQ] Sim thumbnails are no longer low resolution on the Resume button.

[AHQ] Re-fixed issue where Skill List gets out of order, specifically when switching between Sims.

[AHQ] ‘ymTop_TshirtRolled_Yellow' top no longer clips with bottoms in Create a Sim.

[AHQ] Event Goals created through the Calendar properly show up during the Event, even if you edit the Event.

You can view the rest game patch notes on the Official site

[turoce]

day 2 update

KULCS Day 2 Update Community: -has thoroughly deconstructed the map, including various prop pieces and brush chunks, but not very relevant -Cones identified as a potential key lead since they seem to have distinct positions, though not sure why -The various floating props seem to be interacting very specifically with the lighting, shadows and light seem to be displaying shapes of numbers/letters/symbols? -Lots of various ciphers/cryptographic methods tested on aspects of the map but nothing appears to bear much fruit. I’m also personally doubtful the engine would generate anything this complex but that’s just my opinion -People have tried moving the map/lighting around to generate new shadows, but nothing seems to have come from this. My End: -Been spending a lot of time looking around the map myself but still can’t really figure anything out myself In game nothing has really changed, except the figure occasionally seems to spawn in different places -Tried some suggestions but nothing worked. For example, HL2 cheat codes don’t work because I can’t jump, shoot, or use flashlight -In video attached, looking around but nothing is new or changed, still can't move or do anything Other Notes: -Personally I’m feeling that deconstructing the map isn’t going anywhere significant. I have also tried a lot of things on the vmf end but I’m convinced that there’s something about how it’s set up currently -People have been sending me lots of suggestions but there’s too much for me to get to. I won’t be able to try everything you guys suggest + it could take me weeks to really get to everything Maybe I’m going a bit crazy too, but I just realized this entire debacle is happening around the 2 year anniversary of INTERLOPER 3, which was the first time I had to lean on you guys for help. Again thanks everyone for your help, and keep me posted

the sillouette is back.

Additionally, there was a conversation that took place in another person's tf2 server that hosted the Kulcs map:

This is a transcript of TF2 chat messages between Anomi and Autumn-, when Anomi joined Autumn's server hosted on kulcs. Video of encounter -- START -- Anomi has joined the game Autumn- : WHAT Anomi joined team BLU Autumn- : ANOMI?1 Anomi : find anything? Autumn- : uh no? Autumn- : How are you here? Autumn- : This is like a local server? Anomi : u have the checkbox turned on Anomi : its a new tf2 feature Autumn- : which one? Anomi : in create server Autumn- : huh Autumn- : interesting Anomi : theres a checkbox that lets steam host your listen server Autumn- : never thought the creator of the mystery would join Autumn- : also the most interesting thing by far I've connected is Autumn- : is that the images in the out of bounds are Autumn- : somehow connected to the games yo uare able to play this map? Autumn- : It works in half-life 2 Anomi : idk Autumn- : and portal Autumn- : I tested it Anomi : it does? Autumn- : yep Autumn- : if you put it in the og portal's map folde Autumn- : *folder Autumn- : and do the 'map kulcs' command Autumn- : it'll send you here also Autumn- : the xbox version is obvious cuz y'know Autumn- : Interloper d? Autumn- : oh wait Autumn- : well I am only saying it cuz Autumn- : the images also have the half-life 2 xbox cover Anomi : like the 360? Anomi : yeah Autumn- : yep Autumn- : the weirdest thing is Autumn- : when I researched this map Anomi : actually you know Autumn- : ? Anomi : on the xbox 360 version this map was the first map that loaded whenever you launched the game Autumn- : oh? Anomi : orange box Anomi : yeah Autumn- : that's interesting Anomi : I played a LOT of orange box Autumn- : Never got to play it, was too youn for it lol Anomi : me too but I borrowed it Autumn- : ah ok Autumn- : anyway uh Autumn- : everybody keeps thinking cuz of the vrad thing Autumn- : that the shadows have secrets Autumn- : like it's somehow a code Anomi : I kind of agree I think Autumn- : idk how it works Anomi : like this Autumn- : well no Anomi : I'm kind of looking at this thing Autumn- : some shadows connect to look like symbols Autumn- : what do you see? Anomi : it is just me or does this look like a letter e? Autumn- : i mean.. kinda? Autumn- : the top thing makes it look like so Autumn- : but there have been shadows that make them look like letters Autumn- : idk where Anomi : OH i see it Anomi : stand here Autumn- : I could find a youtube video with them Anomi : look this way Autumn- : oh yeah Anomi : you know I should open this in vr and see if I can find more of these Autumn- : hm.. Autumn- : oh yeah Autumn- : wait I am curious really Autumn- : since kulcs is hungarian for key Autumn- : and the key you showed in INTERLOPER D Autumn- : could they be connected? Anomi : i thought so but I have no idea Anomi : thats been the thing for the last weeks Autumn- : huh.. Anomi : but like serial keys arent literal keys so Autumn- : yeah but since it's source Anomi : it's a little too silly 90's Autumn- : some things could be literal Autumn- : idk Autumn- : seems usual for entities within the engine Anomi : I'm gonna look around some more, let me know if you see or find anything cool Autumn- : ah ok Anomi left the game (Client Disconnect) -- END --

[a-star-of-galaxies]

Boycott Nintendo.

While I myself haven't ever bought, or wanted to buy, any Nintendo product of my own money, I would like to bring this to the attention of those who would, or have.

This is not my video; I am only sharing this. Please share this with others, or reblog, if you can. I'm not saying you must, I know how annoying that can be. But if you can, do.

tl;dw / video summarization under the break

With the future release of the Switch 2, the main thing people have noticed, and are upset about, is how high the prices are. Both for the console ($450–$500 USD) and the games themselves ($80–$90 USD). Not to mention, Switch 1 games hardly ever go down in price, or go on sale. While other consoles of newer generations hold games for similarly high prices, they can go on discount, or be bundled in a subscription for lower prices. Switch games don't do that,

Some Switch 2 games' physical copies will not have the actual game on the cartridge. However, the cartridge will contain nothing but a code, which will allow you to download the game onto the Switch 2 itself, and then only be able to play said game when the cartridge is inserted. (a/n: This is basically like the downsides of digital games (takes up storage space) mixed with the downsides of physical games (a small cartridge you could lose).)

This does not apply to any first-party games that we know of, but that doesn't mean this isn't a terrible feature. Physical copies of games are preferred by some due to the games not taking up digital storage space. This new system doesn't allow for that. This isn't necessarily a problem of games not having enough storage to fit on a cartridge. Bravely Default, a game which uses this new game-key card system, is only 11gb in size. The cartridges hold 64gb. There is no reason to be doing this. (a/n: btw im writing this by hand i promise you this is not an ai summary i would fuckin never do that. just wanted to clarify that mid-text to show im a real human :3 anyways.)

Nintendo's entire back catalogue of games are not legally accessible. Not only do you have to pay a higher-tier subscription of Nintendo Switch Online to access N64 and GBA (among others..?) games, but that's only a select few of their catalogue. The rest of those old games can only be acquired via purchasing second-hand or pirating. (a/n: And of course, Nintendo has been threatening legal action to websites hosting old ROMs, including Archive.org, which is worrying for the website's future.)

Gred Glintstone, the creator of the video, makes a comparison between this situation and what happened with the Xbox One, with having no pre-owned games and no easy way to lend a game to a friend. Microsoft didn't handle the backlash well, and thus lost the console war for that generation. They've been struggling to recover since, with Phil Spencer saying that it was a wakeup call and has driven them to be more consumer-friendly. With Nintendo falling down the same path, the same thing should happen to them; Nintendo needs a wakeup call.

They're not doing this to survive in the market. They're not just adjusting to inflation, and while the US tariffs are affecting a lot of things, that's not their main reason for this. Nintendo wouldn't go out of business if they sold their games at reasonable prices; they've got merchandise, a movie, even a whole theme park. They're upping the price for no reason other than corporate greed, and disrespect for the consumer.

Boycott Nintendo.

a/n: My summary of the video is a bit rearranged to flow better. Please watch the original video for more context and further information.

[bryan360]

I got at least two left as my Xmas present in gaming; for my Xbox One this year of course. While I got “Sonic X Shadow Generations” for my Nintendo Switch, I also got for my Xbox console with “Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3” and “The Disney Afternoon Collection” Surprise, huh? 😯👍

It was my choice of purchased that Marvel vs Capcom title with a discount sale, but at the same time our friend @shadowredfeline give me a code for a collection of older Disney games last night. Either way, it’s a win-win for both hoping and surprising gifts I got. 🙂😁

BTW, I also had one last present from yesterday, but this time at the movie theater during our family outing I’m satisfied with. Let say it was a better time for a Sonic fan. 😉⬇️

(Of course it was Sonic 3 movie, duh! 😁)

Tagged: @murumokirby360 @shadowredfeline @alexander1301 @sammirthebear2k4 @lordromulus90

[grovelin-green-goblin]

Why Should we Play Glitchy Games?

How many times has this happened to you? You booted up a new game, you got it day one, and it has some glitches, and you aren’t too fond of the graphics, so, as such, you stop playing it and don’t really come back to it. You go back to whatever you were playing before and whenever your friends talk about it with you you always remark on how you couldn’t get past the way the graphics were. Some time passes, and you decide to watch a video on it, and you realize you missed out.

I think we’ve all been there, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of, lots of people judge books by their covers or just by the first few pages. But it doesn’t always have to be this way. Even if a game is unpolished, has poor graphics, or is glitchy, should stick with it. If not for just the sake of seeing what’s on the other side.

Talking about video games, it’s also easy to get caught up in the details. I’ve seen so much discourse about the graphics of games and how powerful the consoles are, it’s almost like the games themselves stop mattering at a certain point. It’s become more of “how close can we get to a movie without just making a movie?” Now, granted, multiple years during the Game Awards, Geoff Keighley and other speakers have spoken about how they hope to see video games get even closer to being like movies. While I’m all for advancements, and granted this is mostly from Playstation and Microsoft’s AAA output, they all play so close to one another, and if that’s not happening, Playstation is remaking The Last of Us again.

So, what’s the point? All these games look the same, and while there’s depth to them, but at the same time, there’s a lack of variety in the actual genres. So many of these games have become samey. There’s not enough variety, but with the actual content of the games, there’s not too much actually covered. So much of this has become a discussion of graphics and less about the games themselves. The discussion, and focus, should start to veer towards the actual content of these games, not just the performance and graphics.

Now, sometimes, the contents of the games aren’t completely polished, but I’ve seen so many stories of people playing these unpolished games and having a great time. A big example is Super Smash Bros. Melee, a game that has become renowned for its glitches such as the Wavedash and L-Canceling along with the roster’s unbalanced nature has made it an enduring classic for two decades, or Pokemon Red and Blue, games that, while a complete experience, are held together with duct tape and a dream, allowing for Arbitrary Code Execution, a way for people to make precise inputs, rewriting the game while the game is being played due to an insecurity in the game’s coding, allowing again for new discoveries to be made and be played for decades. So much so that people are still finding new techniques and the hierarchy of characters' competitive comparisons to one another to this day. Along with games that haven’t aged well or were unpolished, some games are made with glitches in mind, whether for comedy, like Goat Simulator, or simply that a glitch inspires a whole new concept. One of the most influential examples being Street Fighter II, where the designers found that different attacks had ending lags and could also be strung into each other, allowing for concept of combos to be born, and essentially creating the basis for all modern fighting games.

Now some may say that, no, playing unpolished games leaves you with a frustrating experience, with constant crashes and choppy, inconsistent frame rates. An example of this that I can think of is the Steam version of Fallout New Vegas, a game that, in general, is colloquially considered one of the best video games in the Fallout series, if not in its genre. But, due to the game not being developed for PCs first because it was first developed for the PS3 and Xbox 360, the game’s development being 18 months, and how old the game is, the Steam version is riddled with lots of bugs and frequently crashes. Despite this, however, the game still sits with an overall review average of “Very Positive” on its store page. Why is that? People found that, despite all the issues, players still love the game and found ways to not only work around the crashes, whether through toughing it out or modding the game to tighten up the experience, preventing these crashes from happening. This even happens now, with online games, like Fortnite and Fallout 76. These games, for as popular as they are, there’s always glitches that come with new additions and get fixed as they come, and they release with these glitches. People still play them. Even a game that came out three days ago, Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, has framerate drops and a strange lack of anti-aliasing, but guess what? I’m already halfway done with it, and I believe it’ll get fixed within time, whether as a patch or it was intended to work better on whatever this Switch successor will be. The point is, even if these games have these problems, a lot of the people who pull through usually end up at liking games like this.

Of course, this doesn’t work for consoles, but usually these don’t go that far as an issue.

All in all, even if the games aren’t polished or have glitches, it may still be worth it to play them. While, that doesn’t mean you can excuse extremely poor performances, you might find that you can still get enjoyment out of them, and can still be worth your time.

[zoniteillusion-pyritedreams]

🕯✨ Personal Manifestation Diary Entry 01 — “Spicy Honey & Mirror Portals” ✨🕯

Music is love. Music is life. Period.

And repetition? She’s the key. I never understood people who don’t get that what you constantly feed your mind will show up in your reality. But here's the thing repetition isn't one-size-fits-all. I can't just chant “I am rich, I am rich” in front of the mirror like a Sims character. That doesn’t work for me. 🙃

What does work?

Talking to the goddesses like they’re my besties. No script. No structure. Just full-on rambling convos like I’m giving them a dramatic end-of-day recap. Some days I’m thanking them for things that haven’t happened yet, and other days I’m gossiping about my future as if it’s already real. That’s where the magic lives for me. But I also layer that with my other love: subliminals.

🧃 Little Lani Lore 🍓

Flashback to 18/19-year-old me yes, I was that girl in the subliminal YouTube scene. I had a medium-sized channel that actually got people real results because I didn’t overcomplicate it. No scientific babble, no robotic affirmations, just natural, flowing language that talked with the subconscious, not at it.

I made subliminals for everything:

✨ Meeting celebs

✨ Getting your crush

✨ Looking like the baddie of your dreams (ABG-coded because that was my era)

✨ Being invited to wild events or raves & parties

✨ Random luxury gifts & glam glow-ups

And they worked. Why? Because I affirm like I talk. “I always get free gifts,” turns into:

"You’re always receiving the cutest random gifts, babe. Like, literally, people just hand you shit for no reason.”

It’s conversational. It’s casual. And it works like a charm.

📻 Current Manifestation Vibes:

Lately, I’ve been deep into two subliminals I made. One is personal. The other’s general, might even post it one day. But let me tell you something…

🧨 In TWO DAYS, I dropped 6 pounds

That’s wild for me. Usually, 5 pounds takes two weeks of hell. But I’ve been listening to this while doing my regular life, not even pushing myself. My body responds fast to muscle but slow to weight loss until now.

💸 Money has been showing up left and right

Found $50 in my house (???)

Found $15 on the street

Then, another $50 bill on the ground while grocery shopping with my aunt

Like… this is not normal for my area. Who’s out here dropping entire wads of cash? 👀

🧿 New Subliminal Alert: “Spicy Honey” (By Esther both versions)

Fully obsessed with this track. Mixed it with rapid results affirmations & set the intention to receive exactly what I want within 12 hours. I’ve got a Pinterest board that’s 90% makeup and 10% electronics/clothes, and I'm focusing on a few:

That tiny Samsung TV that doubles as a tablet

Asian projectors that put American ones to shame

A few rare K-beauty & C-beauty products that are impossible to find in the U.S.

It’s Thursday night (June 12, 10:00 PM), so I’ll be listening tonight and fully expecting goodies to start flowing by the afternoon. I’ve already got my Mirror Mirror (Qveen Herby) booster cued up too. That one’s built so that every time I pass a mirror or reflective surface, it’s like walking through a portal where my manifestations speed up. Which is perfect because yes I love looking at myself. I’m beautiful. Let’s not pretend. 😌✨

🌌 Universe Storytime:

Once I said I wanted an Xbox 360… and two days later a full Xbox + Kinect showed up at my door. No name, just addressed to me. Two YEARS later, I found out it was from my estranged half-sister and her partner, who somehow figured out my birthday and decided to send it as a secret gift. And that’s just one of the times it happened.

So yeah. The Universe and my goddesses do not play. I’ve been gifted laptops, designer bags, concert tickets, and random luxury items just for saying,

“Wouldn’t it be so fun if this showed up for me?”

And then forgetting about it.

🔮 What’s Next?

Honestly, I’m grieving a bit right now. Life’s been heavy. But instead of letting that energy drag me down, I’m shifting focus. I’m joining in on the 48-hour manifestation challenge to ground myself in some playful abundance. ✨

Let’s see what magic the next 48 hours brings.

💋 Catch y’all soon with an update + receipts.

[guiltylovestar]

intro post!!

hello my name is link and I use they/he pronouns and I'm 19 and I'm a fan of literally so many things like doctor who I'm on the 12th doctor rn but ace attorney, dungeon meshi, dnp, splatoon, mp100 are the main things I rb rn if it's not like general stuff ヾ(＾-＾)ノ

my switch friend code is SW-8331-2744-8903

I mainly play games on that bc I don't have any other more recent consoles I do have an og xbox but its my dads and obviously you can't do much online stuff with that ( ´~｀)

I now have a ps4 and idk how to friend people on it yet but yeah

also will probably play more games on pc but currently saving up for a set up at the moment!! (｡>‿‿<｡ )

[thecrofttomb]

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is Getting a Physical Edition

As previously stated, Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics have announced today that they are once again partnering with Limited Run Games, this time for the highly anticipated release of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered on physical media!

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft gathers the original three adventures and their respective expansions (Tomb Raider + "Unfinished Business", Tomb Raider II + "Golden Mask", and Tomb Raider III + "The Lost Artefact"), lovingly restored for a new generation, which launched earlier this year on February 14th. This definitive collection features upgraded graphics, performance enhancements and quality-of-life improvements such as achievement support.

The release encompasses three versions, with the Base and Deluxe editions coming this autumn to major retailers across the globe, plus an exclusive Limited Run Games Collector's Edition, only available for a limited time. All of them are now up for pre-order.

Explore the contents of every edition below and decide which one you want to add to your collection. We also have a discount code if you're planning on grabbing the Collector's Edition.

Base Edition

Price: $34.99 / 34,99€ / £29.99 Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X|S

The base edition includes a physical copy of the game* and a jewel case.

*The game is on a region-free cart/disc.

Deluxe Edition

Price: $54.99 / 54,99€ / £49.99 Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5

The deluxe edition includes the following items:

Deluxe Edition box

Physical copy of the game*

Exclusive SteelBook®

Official Soundtrack**

Exploration map book***

*The game is on a region-free cart/disc.

**Deluxe Edition copies in the Americas will receive all three games' original soundtracks as DLC. Deluxe Edition copies in Europe will receive all three games' original soundtracks as DLC, plus a "Greatest Hits" physical CD.

***The map book features over 80 pages full of secrets, including maps from every level of the trilogy and their expansions.

Limited Run Games Collector's Edition

Price: $199.99 / 186,95€ Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X|S

The collector's edition is exclusive to the Limited Run Games and Tomb Raider Gear stores and includes the following items:

Collector's Edition box

Physical copy of the game*

Replica of Lara Croft's dual pistols in a lit shadow box

Set of three posters (31 x 41 cm)

Set of premium trading cards

SteelBook®

Official Soundtrack**

Exploration map book***

Set of three Lara Croft polygonal figurines

*The game is on a region-free cart/disc for consoles and on a flash drive for PC.

**The soundtrack comes in both digital download and physical CD formats.

***The map book features over 80 pages full of secrets, including maps from every level of the trilogy and their expansions.

If you're buying the LRG Collector's Edition from the Tomb Raider Gear store, use our special code THECROFTTOMB at checkout and get a 20% discount on your purchase!

All Tomb Raider I-III Remastered physical editions are available for pre-order until June 23rd. Base and Deluxe editions will be released worldwide on September 24th, 2024. The exclusive and time-limited LRG Collector's Edition will only be available during pre-order and won't be on sale ever again, so be sure to not miss out on this fantastic opportunity to get this beautiful edition!

[journalsouppe]

Okay I know I said I can’t post any spreads until February but that’s was more in reference to filled out spreads where I have to spend hours typing out everything I wrote before I can post it dntkls I finished a huge deadline last night and gave myself time to wind down with a journal spread and some video gaming!

This is the blank spread for Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, a spiritual sequel of the jet set radio games (more so jsr future) and made by team reptile! The stickers are from the physical editions sold on IAm8Bit which also came with a graffiti book, a dlc code, and a special dust jacket. I am having the time of my life playing this game, it is everything my little JSRF heart could ever want in an inspired game. I cannot believe I didn’t hear about this game until like 2 weeks ago 😭😭

Also because jet set radio and bomb rush cyberfunk are really niche games I’m gonna include some of the brc trailers below because more people should experience these games 😇😇

Also, you can play the original jet set radio on steam if you’re interested but jet set radio future is really hard to play today since porting it to new consoles is almost impossible bc of copyrighting with the soundtrack (I even heard the emulation is kinda garbage, I think it’s bc just general Xbox emulation is garbage). BUT they’re both incredible games and it’s worth a play/watch for jsr if you’re also interested in brc!

[kcwriter-blog]

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Since I have writer's block where my day job is concerned, I thought I would get the creative juices going by typing up an introduction to my account.

Full disclosure. I've had a Tumblr account for years. I've never used it for anything other than looking at the gorgeous artwork. I am not conversant in tags or the etiquette. Apologies if I make mistakes.

So why now? I recently became obsessed with a game I picked up at GameStop for the low, low price of $7. You guessed it. Dragon Age Inquisition. Another disclosure. I'm new to gaming.

My daughter was never into video games so we never bought a console. I had no idea what I was missing out on. Last year I bought a PS4. I tried a few games and settled on Skyrim and Mass Effect as favorites. All I really knew about Dragon Age was that BioWare made it and people that enjoyed Skyrim also enjoyed Dragon Age.

I loaded the game and instantly fell in love. I bought the books and looked into playing the first two games in the series. No luck as I don't have a gaming PC or Xbox and can't afford either right now. Maybe in the future.

I also instantly fell in love with Solas. I knew romances were an important part of BioWare's games so I looked up the love interests. I inadvertently got spoiled and knew who he was before I played. I was not planning to romance him at all.

I got through the tutorial and began making the NPC rounds in Haven. Since Solas had saved my Inky's life (elf mage) and seemed to know the most about the Mark, I started a conversation with him. Let's just say I squeaked out a very audible, "oh no," during that conversation. I was hooked and I knew it. He was so smart, so erudite, so confident, so witty and so handsome. i knew his voice actor was one of my favorite characters from Torchwood and that added to the appeal.

I tend to hyper focus so I set about learning everything there was to know about Solas - which is when I discovered how much a lot of people hated him. I got the whole betrayal, dooming the world aspect but not the dislike of his baseline personality. It wasn't until I read some posts on Tumblr that I got it. He codes as ND. Everything people say about him, people have said about me. It isn't true about me and I don't think it's true about him.

I'm in Solavellan Hell and I know it.

I don't really have anyone that shares my obsession with the game or Solas. Most people I know played the game a long time ago, never took Solas with them and have moved on to BG3.

So I'm on Tumblr enjoying everyone else's amazing artwork, stories and ramblings. I don't know how much of my own musings I will add to them. I generally don't like putting myself out there in cyberspace.

Im looking forward to learning from others just as obsessed with the angsty elf as I am. Greetings!