#also depending on one’s interpretation of the battle of red mountain->

[truth-01001001-liar]

Shezarrine Nerevar headcanons fucking kick ass and i understand them and love them completely B U T…...there are similarities between Nerevar/Nerevarine and Trinimac/Malacath and what if Voryn Dagoth was the shezarrine instead???

[tachvintlogic]

Who has control when? Undertale/ Deltarune meta

Undertale and Deltarune play around with the relationship between the Player and the Player Character (PC). There's Kris, who has their own personality and can disapprove of actions the Player forces them to do, and in Undertale there's 3 people attached to the PC who could control at any one time.

So here are my thoughts trying to parse out clearly who has control when.

The Player

The Player. What are their motivations? What have they done? Are they evil? These are nonsense questions because the player is not a character, the player is a role.

The player is me; the player is you; the player is everyone who has ever played these games. When you boot up Undertale or Deltarune, you take on the role of the player. Is the player evil? I don't know, are you? We cannot talk about the player in theories or metas without acknowledging that the player is us.

(Which is why it's confusing and irksome when I see analyses that treat "the player" as if they are a character who definitely did certain things.)

So when playing Undertale or Deltarune, what do you have control over? On desktop, you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to make the player character move, move the red soul in battle, and navigate menus. You can press C to open the menu, X to exit the menu (and in Deltarune you can hold X to walk faster), and press Z to select options and interact with objects.

You can save the game, reload a save, reset, close the game, and open the game.

You may be thinking those are just the controls, and yes, they are. I mean, what else did you expect? The choices we make while playing are on us.

There are times when we do not have control. For example, we don't have control in cutscenes. We don't have control of Susie during sections when we're focusing on her (tho we do have dialogue options and choices that do nothing).

Then there's the ending of Deltarune chapter 1, where the red soul is separated from Kris's body. If you try to move around, you'll see that the red soul does move, suggesting that our control of the player character is dependent on the red soul inside them.

Frisk/Kris

And now the player character, the PC, the player avatar. I feel these two have a similar level of control over their own bodies when you're involved.

(As a note, when I refer to "the player character" I'm referring to what Frisk/Kris's body does, not what they choose to make it do.)

They have control during cutscenes and have control when the red soul is separated from their body like at the end of the Deltarune chapters. (No, I'm not entertaining theories about Kris is being controlled by someone else when they're in shambling zombie mode.)

They also control how they interact with things. You can press Z to make them interact with things, but they have discretion over how that command is interpreted. (See: Kris refusing to look in the Asriel room in Queen's castle.)

Both are "silent" protagonists. Their speech is limited to dialogue options chosen by us, and we are not privy to anything else they say. If they say something we didn't tell them to say, we have to infer from the dialogue of others. (For example, Frisk telling Asriel that their name is Frisk.)

However, there's a key difference between Frisk and Kris.

Frisk doesn't show a lot of personality, and what personality they show depends a lot of what you do. They basically turn into the person that matches your choices, the person we mold them into. (See: how the narration of interacting with Mad Dummy before the fight changes depending on your LOVE)

(That narration is actually quite interesting. Not only does the narration about Frisk's thoughts change, "You feel bad [for tapping the dummy]" at LV 1 vs "[punch the dummy] Feels good" at LV8 or more, but also the actions. How the player character interacts with objects depends on LOVE, number of people killed, and the route.)

We know that Chara climbed the mountain, and it wasn't for a happy reason. In fact, it's very likely they were planning on committing suicide. Frisk and all the other children who fall into the underground are likely from the same settlement.

I wouldn't be surprised if Frisk was also planning on dying there.

If you heckle Snowdrake, there's a chance you'll get this line:

You tell the Snowdrake that no one will ever love them the way they are... | They struggle to make a retort, and slink away utterly crushed

Oof. Frisk is probably like, 10? I'm concerned where they got this from. Remember, at the end of pacifist, your options are to either travel the world as an ambassador or stay with Toriel. Going back to Frisk's human parents isn't presented as an option.

So they probably didn't have a good home life, and now they're relying on you to get them through the underground and to the end. Whether you force them to kill in order to do that will affect their attitude on killing and whether killing monsters is okay.

In short, Frisk is a very small, impressionable child who is what we make them.

Meanwhile, Kris has a very concrete personality and history, and while it doesn't show on their spite, it's clear from their facial expression, tone of voice, and the narration when you make them do something they don't approve of. (See: Basically most of the normal route dialogue choices in chapter 2 and how Susie reacts to Kris's tone of voice.)

They're not impressionable like Frisk was, and are just tolerating our possession of their body in the game. They have stronger opinions on what we should and shouldn't be making them do.

Still, neither is keen to scream at the top of their lungs that they've been possessed.

Chara

Go read A CHARActer Analysis first and then come back.

Unfortunately, the user that made that post was deactivated so here's a link to a reblog that has all the raw text and here's a link to a google drive with the original post screenshotted by @thepilotdogee

Yes, I know it's long but it's also the best analysis of Chara's character that I know of.

Now, I like the Chara as narrator theory, and considering that they tell us they woke up near the beginning and looked to us for guidance, it explains the narrator's attitude in pacifist vs genocide runs very well. I also generally agree with the conclusions made by this analysis.

However, there are a few sticking points.

For one, I think who's doing what when we as players don't have control in cutscenes is more ambiguous. Are the actions performed by the player character in genocide that we associate with Chara done by Chara or by Frisk?

Chara still mostly uses "you" to narrate what Frisk does when you have them interact with something in genocide, so Frisk still has control over how they interpret your commands. Did Frisk kill Flowey and Asgore at the end of genocide or did Chara? We have two characters who aren't us that could potentially have control during cutscenes, and the actions of one are always relayed to us by the other.

My personal belief is that Chara had basically zero control beyond narration and the UI elements. Chara isn't aware that Frisk is not us in genocide (possibly even in pacifist) because Frisk's attitude and thoughts always align with our choices.

(In the CHARActer analysis, it is explained how your actions as the player tell Chara and Asriel whether it was okay for Asriel to refuse to kill the humans when they died, and by being a pacifist you are showing them that choosing not to kill was better. Meanwhile, Frisk is relying on you to survive, and goes along with whatever you seem to think is correct. Both could've taken the initiative to do the last kills of genocide because both consider you their guide.)

...Then if you do genocide, you have to give Chara control of Frisk's soul to reset the world.

This means that at the end of a true pacifist, instead of Frisk getting the reins back to their soul, they now belong to Chara. Chara, who wants to force us to experience consequences for our actions, does the only thing they can do to affect us, which is to ruin the ending.

[mask131]

Cold winter: Thor

THOR

Category: Norse mythology

When talking about Norse mythology, Thor is the one god one can’t miss. He was one of the biggest characters of Norse religion (and of Germanic mythology too, where he was known as Donar).

Thor is the son of Odin, king of the gods, and of Jörd, a goddess embodying the earth. He has a wife named Sif, a goddess renowned for her beautiful golden hair, but also a lover, Jarnsaxa, a jötunn who name seems to mean “iron dagger”! Thor also has three children: Thrudr (Strength), the daughter of Thor and Sif ; Magni (Mighty), son of Thor and Jarnsaxa, and Modi (Wrath). Now, the thing is that Modi and Magni are talked about together, without their mother mentioned, in the “Poetic Edda”, hinting at them possibly being twins born of the same mother – while in the Prose Edda, Modi is completely missing and there is only talk of Magni, whose mother is identified as Jarnsaxa. And if this was easy… there’s also the matter of Jarnsaxa. She is identified as a jötunn and the mother of Magni in the Prose Edda – but in the same Prose Edda, Sif, Thor’s legal divine wife, calls herself by two names… one is “rival of Jarnsaxa”, implying that the giantess is indeed a lover of her husband… and the other is actually “Jarnsaxa”. She calls herself Jarnsaxa, implying… that maybe the jötunn mother is just another identity or another personality of Sif herself. It is all a confusing and complicated matter. Note that all of three of Thor’s children are manifestations of traits of Thor himself: he was said to be the strongest of all the gods (Strength, Mighty), but also renowned as a deity prone to anger (Wrath).

Thor is said to live with Sif and his children in a hall called Bilskirnir (Lightning-crack), located in an area called Thrudheim (the realm of strength) or Thrudvangr (the power field), which is Thor’s domain in Asgard, the world of the gods. Bilskirnir is said to be one of the biggest buildings of Asgard, with 540 rooms. Thor also owns three specific items. The most well-known is his hammer, Mjölnir, his main weapons in his various battles, renowned for being the “crusher of giant skulls” thanks to how Thor kept using it to kill jötnar. With one good hit of his hammer, Thor can break an entire mountain in two ; but it can also be a tool of divine blessing as Thor demonstrates in some stories. It never misses its target, can never be lost by Thor no matter how he throws it (the hammer always “returns” to Thor’s hand, figuratively or not depending on how you interpret it), can hit as heavy as Thor desires it to be – and it even can shrink in size until becoming small enough to fit into a pocket! Crafted by dwarf masters after Loki cut Sif’s golden hair (a long story), it only has one default: its handle is too short. His second item is “Jarngreipr” (iron grippers) or Jarnglofer (iron gauntlets), a pair of iron gloves Thor needs to wield his hammer (for unknown reasons). Last but not least is Megingjörd, the “power-belt”, a belt that, when worn by Thor, doubles his already prodigious strength.

Thor’s numerous and many adventures throughout Norse mythology are mostly him wandering about, hunting/fighting/killing various monsters, ranging from hostile jötnar to Jormungandr the “world-serpent”. Always excessive and terrifying in everything he does (thanks to his prodigious strength and wild nature), he is renowned as both a prodigious eater of great appetite and the best drinker of all of the gods, able to gulp down a LOT of liquid, be it ale or sea-water. Physically he is usually recognized by three facts: one, his red hair and beard, two, his largeness, three, his eyes that are burning, fiery, fierce, fearsome – in one word, terrifying. His chariot is drawn not by horses, but by two goats: Tanngrisnir (“one that has gaps between the teeth”) and Tanngnjost (“one that grinds teeth”). Whenever Thor travels around the world, and when he needs to eat, he simply camps somewhere and kills his goats, cooking and eating their meat. He keeps however their bones preciously, because in the following morning he just has to use his magical hammer to bring them back to life in full health and shape. It is due to this unique ownership that Thor is called the “lord of goats”. Oh yes and if a chariot pulled by goats doesn’t seem impressive… one should add that when the goats starts to swiftly run, mountains burst and earth is covered in fire where the chariot passes. These goats are also the reason for the presence of two children alongside Thor: Thjalfi and Röskva, a boy and a girl, children of a peasant in whose house Thor was hosted for one night. As the poor family didn’t have enough to feed Thor, the god simply killed his goats to make a supper for everybody – but Loki, who was alongside Thor in the house, tempted Thjalfi into breaking one of the goat’s bones to suck its marrow. As a result, in the following morning, when Thor resurrected his goats, he noticed one of them was now lame due to the broken bone – and he entered a wild and furious rage. But upon seeing how terrified the humans were, he calmed down, and explaining the situation, he reclaimed as a compensation the two human children, that became his servants and companions for his future adventures.

Apparently, according to Odin, every day Thor wades through two rivers (Körmt and Örmt), and then through two more (the Kerlaugar, or Kerlaugs twain) to go to some sort of council or court held at Yggdrasil, the World-Tree, and there he sits as “judge”. There is also another fascinating myth showing Thor acting as a father: apparently during one of his travels he met a dwarf called Alviss, who is about to get married, and as they chat Thor realizes the dwarf is about to marry… Thor’s very own daughter. And Thor gets pretty angry because apparently this marriage agreement was made between the gods while he was away, and he finds the dwarf really repulsive. So to trick him, Thor reveals his identity as the father of the bride and forces the dwarf suitor to prove himself to him – by revealing all that he knows about all the different worlds he travelled in. So the dwarf, to prove himself worthy, listed at Thor his encyclopedic knowledge of everything and everyone… but as it turns out, it was just a ploy to gain time until dawn – for dwarfs turn to stone is they are touched by sunlight, and Thor kept Alviss busy enough for him not to notice the incoming sunrise. This story is one of several that actually can be used to disprove a common misconception about Thor: Thor is not stupid. Yes he is a mighty brute and a “hit-before-talking” type of guy renowned for crashing everybody’s skulls – but he is never said to be an idiot or slow-minded. In this story and others he can actually become tricky when the situation calls for it, though he is not known by nature as a cunning god ; and he is able to hold an insult-contest with Odin, which requires a lot of knowledge and intelligence (though he ultimately loses because Odin is Odin). In a similar way, yes he is a destructive and terrifying warrior prone to bursts of violence… but he is also a good god who makes his best to not frighten humans too much and usually only kills threats, dangers and evil people.

- - - - -

All of that being said… WHAT is Thor the god of?

Well… of lightning you may answer. This was an aspect of the god that was pushed hard by Marvel, but it is true that Thor is heavily associated with lightning and storms. His hall is literally called “lightning-crack”, while his name and its variants (Thor, Thunor, Thuner, Thunar) gave birth to the modern word “thunder”. It was recorded by medieval chroniclers that Thor was thought to be the god ruling the sky and was explicitly compared with the Roman Jupiter: Thor was said to be the god who ruled over lightning, thunder, winds, storms, and weather in general. Jacob Grimm, in the 19th century, for his reconstruction of Germanic mythology, pointed out all of the (then) modern expressions linking Thor/Donar to thunder: in Norwegian lightning is “Thor’s warmth”, in Swedish thunder is “Thor’s rumble”. Swedish expressions such as “the ride of the god” and “the good old fellow is taking a ride” are used when there is a storm, implying that Thor’s rides through the sky caused thunderstorms ; and the Scandinavian folk belief of trolls and giants being scared of lightning might be a leftover of Thor the jötnar-killer. Finally, in North Frisian a traditional curse is “Let the red-haired thunder see to that!”).

But fascinatingly the Romans did not associated Thor with their own thunder god Jupiter… Donar, the Germanic Thor, was associated with “Jove” (another name of Jupiter) but only by Germans in the post-Roman era and early Middle-Ages, where the sacred oaks of Donar were called “Jove trees” and the name “Thunor” became a synonym of “Jove” in texts. The Romans themselves, when they encountered the Germanic and Nordic people and identified their gods with their own, rather associated Thor with Hercules – because both were crazy-strong monster-killing heroes wielding a form of mace. We also know that Thor was considered by Nordic people and Vikings to be a sort of fertility and health god, as he was given offerings whenever there was the threat of a plague or a famine – though it might have more to be with Thor’s “protective” nature. Indeed, well after the old Norse times, well after the Roman times, all the way to the Vikings and even well into the Christian times of Nordic countries, Thor’s hammer was a very strong folkloric symbol. The stylized hammer, sometimes covered in runes, was worn as an amulet or pendant by people as a way to protect their owner, warding off evil spirits and bad things.

The name of “Thor” stayed also very popular despite the Christianization of Northern Europe, resulting in “Thor” or its variants appearing in various first names, family names and location names across ancient Norse countries. Heck, even one of the days of the English week, “Thursday” is named after Thor, as it is in truth “the day of Thunor”, Thunor being the name of Thor in Old English.

[reversemoon255]

(This is the second of a three-part series chronicling the story, concepts, and original Pokémon that appeared in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign I worked on for several months. This entry will be more focused on a lot of my original designs and how their encounters would play out, rather than concrete story. Also, much of the art was done by @extyrannomon on Twitter, and I suggest you check them out.)

Dungeons ‘n’ Dragonites - Phase 2: Ultra City

The Queen Durant would prove to be a difficult foe, able to use all manner of elemental attacks to strike from a distance to compensate for her low speed. Furthermore, she would have full command of the Duranthill, using her followers to guard herself. As the battle rages, the team slowly begin to evolve, and their newfound strength and Types, along with the aid of the Princess, would have them see victory.

I was unsure as to the ultimate fate of the Queen. Either having it disappear into the tunnels alone, or be sucked into another Ultra Wormhole like the Poipole. And with the Queen vanquished, the Princess would choose to become partner to whoever she felt most worthy (a combination of good role playing and damage dealt).

I designed every Pokémon in this campaign under the pretense that it could actually exist. The Queen and Princess fall under the category of “Rare Variants.” There’s only one queen in a colony of thousands of ants, so it makes sense for it to be rarely seen. They’re still Bug/Steel, but special attackers, with the three spheres on each of their abdomens made to mimic the pattern of Tri-Attack, symbolizing their ability to use those Types.

As for the Starter evos, Flymph has evolved into Epipesis, gained the Electric-Type, and become a full Dragonfly. Calfyre into Steared, staying mono-Fire, but growing considerably (4 feet at the shoulder, the largest mid-stage Starter). Squisque into Knaval who’s now Rock, because he’s a rock lobster! And Utaw into Uteteo who may still be pure Fairy, but has gained some gold adornments.

=====

My working title for this campaign was “Ultra City.” Hinted at by the appearance of the Poipole early in the game, my intentions would come into full swing during this portion, with boss encounters against many of the known and some unknown Ultra Beasts. I had a few encounters planned, from a pickpocket Pheramosa that they’d fight in a mall store room full of mannequins, to a Blacephalon that had kidnapped several children, hypnotized them, and had them watching his performances, to a beach episode where there’s just a Buzzwole hanging out and not causing trouble.

Things would take a twist when a Guzzlord would take over the abandoned district, raining destruction down from its highest building. The crew would have to climb a multi-floor dungeon in order to battle it, many scared and aggravated Pokémon blocking their paths. After reaching the top however, after initiative had been rolled, a mysterious Pokémon would descend from the sky, felling Guzzlord in a single strike...

Majra, the Dragoon Pokémon (a slurred portmanteau of Magic and Dragon). A Dragon hunter with a unique ability, “Hunter of Evil,” that removes all its resistances but makes it immune to Dragon, Dark, and Ghost. This Pokémon came about as I was trying to create a dramatic encounter that would interrupt an expected one. As I was thumbing through DnD and fantasy ideas, the idea of a Dragoon who furiously hunts Dragon-Types came to mind. Ice/Fairy seemed the perfect combination, and the sentient suit of ice armor fell into place soon after. As Pokémon don’t typically hold weapons, I made him part scorpion, having him hold his tail as a workaround, and also informed how his extremities would look. The Haxorus skull buckler also helped drive the Dragon hunter aspect home.

Ultra Beasts were the second category of original Pokémon in my campaign, and encompass all purely original Pokémon (including the Starters). However, I didn’t want to just haphazardly make a ton (as commissions cost money), so I gave myself the condition that if I made an Ultra Beast it had to play with weaknesses and resistances in a way to trip up experienced players, hence Majra’s ability.

Majra would not attack our players in their first encounter, unless someone was using a Type he hunts. He would be a reoccurring boss character, helping or hindering the players depending on their enemies or allies.

The next unique encounter would have been a tutorial battle against another Rare Variant, a Shiinotic possessed Parasect. Every boss encounter is technically 4-on-1, so I wanted to give a Pokémon a reason to have multiple turns, and fused or symbiotic Pokémon felt like a naturally occurring way to have that happen. I created this Shiinotic as a way to teach the players how these Pokémon work.

As Shiinotic is a bio-luminescent mushroom, I wanted to have Parasect faded in color from its light. I also thought it’d be a nice touch to have Shiinotic’s spindly fingers act as puppet strings to move Parasect’s arms around. It would have been encountered after a swarm of scared Paras started flooding out of the sewers near everyone’s school.

Then would be Fortifiend, who would be encountered a few times as an easily circumventable castle wall in the middle of the street before Majra would eventually attack it, forcing our players to take a side in the battle (with Fortifiend possibly joining them if they help it). His ability would make all attacks not very effective while it had over 50% HP, and the opposite when under 50%. Despite the name, I pictured him being very nice, and giggle whenever he heard someone compliment his stone structure.

I imagined that the world he came from had naturally occurring stone structures similar to him, and his folded castle form was a sort of net to help him catch large prey; partly why he doesn’t attack the smaller people and Pokémon of the game’s dimension (he’s around 30ft tall). He could be encountered anywhere, so he wasn’t a full quest; just a fun “what the heck is this” moment to confuse players.

Also, while it wasn’t purposeful, Fortifiend and Majra both also matched the DnD aesthetic. That definitely helped them stand out as some of my favorites, and Fortifiend barely missed the final pass for the last round of commissions.

Then was the twin encounter of Feyerre, a Fire-Type igloo and snowmobile Pokémon, and Eyescse, an Ice-Type pyramid and four-wheeler Pokémon (probably the most Ultra Beast-esque concepts I came up with). They would be messing with the weather across the city, causing disturbances until the players eventually found one of them, in when the other would appear. Their ability would flip their weaknesses and resistances, and they would have an attack that could do the same to a target. And fun fact: there’s meaning to the color and number of their eyes! Feyerre’s are F.I.R.E (Fire=Red, Ice=L.Blue, Rock=Brown, Electric=Yellow), and Eyescse’s are I.C.E (Ice=L.Blue, Sea=D.Blue, Electric=Yellow).

But their defeat would incur the wrath of a mysterious Pokémon they had encountered a few times:

“As you turn around, you see a grey Charizard standing there. It stares at you for a moment, wide-eyed and unblinking. Then it begins to open its mouth, wide, wider, and wider still, stretching beyond what should be possible. Then a hand reaches out of it...

“Suddenly you’re falling. The lights and sounds of countless unknown worlds whir past you incomprehensibly as you plummet through time and space. You try to close your eyes to shut out the flurry of stimuli, but it’s impossible to drown out as your minds begin to feel the strain of the void. Then, after what feels like hours, time seems to stand still as the heavy rain of an unknown world hits your face. For a brief moment you are able to take in the desert that surrounds you before a flash of lightning illuminates the sky, revealing a titanic silhouette looming above you before you are once again thrown into darkness. And as you come to outside the warehouse (where you encountered Feyerre and Eyescse), in the distance, you hear what sounds like laughing.

“Fofofofofo...”

The final original encounter I had planned for Stage 2 was Meadew. It would have been wandering the city, spawning grasses and flowers wherever it went. However, while beautiful, the sudden growth would be causing havoc and destruction to all the buildings and vehicles it could root into.

Unlike the other Ultra Beasts, Meadew’s ability didn’t affect its weaknesses, but instead created Substitutes since I wanted a way for it to form its own adds (the concept behind its inception). However, it wasn’t without a Type gimmick; rather than an ability it has a signature status move called “Radiance” that raises its attack and special, as well as give it the Fire-Type, making it Grass/Water/Fire (the 3 Starter Types). It would invoke this after its adds were defeated, but could be talked down through diplomacy, unlike some of the other encounters.

=====

I’ve mentioned Rare Variants and Ultra Beasts, but there was a third Type of original Pokémon that could appear: Mutant Evolutions. Essentially, evolutions like Probopass or Leafeon where being in an energy charged area or coming into contact with a huge ore deposit (what I interpreted the Mossy and Icy Rocks as, since they became Leaf and Ice Stones in later Gens) could force an unusual evolution in a Pokémon already shown to be susceptible to unique evolutionary conditions. Due to a future encounter, I already knew there would be large Metal Coat and Ice Stone Ore deposits in the mountains to the north, so I wanted to do some test prototyping using each of those items, whether I used those evolutions or not.

Poliwhirl is already shown to be capable of multiple evolutions, all of which use items, so I thought having it come into contact with a massive amount of Ice Stone Ore (since it should be chemically similar to Water Stones) could force a Mutant Evolution. This is Policuti, from the Latin Cutis meaning skin, and Poli-Cutis would mean “multiple skins,” as it wears the shed skin of preevolution. And being freshly shed is why its skin lacks pigment. It’s just a cute little frog in a raincoat! Also, the swirl on its jaw is actually its tongue.

Since Magneton evolves into Magnezone through being electrically charged, I thought about how it might evolve if charged with Steel energy. I imagined it being magnetically attracted to the Metal Coat Ore, fiercely trying to pull itself away, being stretched and elongated in the process, resulting in the bullet train Pokémon Magneline. The Mutant Evolutions weren’t supposed to be anything important to the story or that they’d run into in the wild. They were more so surprises to excite the players who would be expecting something, well, expected. I had considered doing at least one for each player if they caught a compatible Pokémon, but as no teams were filled out, I was merely left with my prototypes. The only reason I had these two commissioned was because I was very happy with their designs.

=====

As we reach the end of Stage 2, the reoccurring group of rowdy Onix would return once more. Following them deep into their tunnels, our heroes would come across a massive chamber with a giant metal stalagmite and frozen stalactite in the center of it. The Onix would then appear, twisting around them, forcing their evolutions. One into Steelix, and the other into Glacix...

[mudwingpropaganda]

Queen Glory of the RainWings

Ye of terrible governmental implications! The replacement Dragonet of Destiny, her Majesty of the Rain Forest, and who knows what else. There’s a lot to be said about Glory, a victim of abuse, a part in the cycle of violence, and the child who knew better than an entire queendom of dragons. Glory is an unfortunate character, both personally and in the story as a whole. 

I have a lot of opinions about Glory. Bless yourself upon them if you deserve so.

Design Headcanon

Despite appearing colorful and bright, especially among her fellow dull scaled siblings, her scales are much plainer than a traditional RainWing’s. Most of which tend to have terribly neon scales correlating with their emotions. Glory tends to have disgusted green and irritable red scales reflecting her mood. The yellow is simply an accent, but mistaken by her subjects as muted amusement. Her scales easily flinch along to her emotions, but she finds that showing these colors gains the respect of her subjects, rather than lose it like she did with the guardians, who never truly did pick up on what these colors meant.

Glory has inspiration from a few different animals. Chameleons are out of the way. She also has a similar “beak” to a swan, a dark area on her face that she simply can’t change the color of. She also has dexterous claw talons, excellent for gripping onto trees or delicate dexterity. And the oddest thing about RainWings is that they initially appear wingless, similar to a draco lizard. RainWing ribs expand and and glide rather than the intense flying that most dragons do, which made her appear weaker than her fellow dragonets of destiny. She always keeps her wings flared, which is risky and makes her underside vulnerable, but it was better than being called a wingless serpent by her guardians.

Glory is a very cautious individual. She doesn’t walk until she knows where she’s going. She won’t begin to walk until she’s sure she can get there confidently. Glory is surprisingly prideful and avoids not to waste her breath, even if she chooses the wrong battles to fight.

Implication of Heritage

If I were to write Glory, I would completely boot out the idea that Glory was biologically destined for the throne. The whole moment where Grandeur spills her guts and explains the whole narrow-minded royal blood idea, that was stupid. Because it implies that all overcoming of adversity will be rewarded with the fact that all those who deserve it will be rewarded with their desires, not for hard work they used to achieve those goals, but simply because they’re supposed to.

Instead, I would make Kinkajou a convenient character in the scene to have a moment of importance, but it doesn’t mean she’ll be the new queen. But I’ll get to that later on. Grandeur will recognize Glory’s selfless and initiative as the prime reason she is more deserving to be queen. The idea that she’s fighting so desperately to help the NightWing prisoners, and that’s reflected by how she puts away the chance to win the Queen Competition for the life of this little dragonet.

Glory should have been Queen through initiative and new perspective, not the idea that she was “smarter” than the RainWings or that the RainWings were too “lazy” to have a functioning leader. She should have been a respectable character who overcomes her biting remarks to be truly selfless, put aside her needs and desires to help this tribe. Be the leader that Sunny would look up to.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

Glory doesn’t honestly get the proper respect as a grumpy character considering the trauma she’s went through and considering her entire life has been ruined as those who raised her repeatedly told her she shouldn’t exist and that they ought to kill her. Not as an empty threat! The acceptance of her situation seemed so understated (until it was revealed she had a plan) and no one really respects that she had the shortest end of the stick compared to the other Dragonets of Destiny. 

Along with that, I feel like it’d be interesting if Glory had an innate distrust or fear or SOMETHING of SkyWings. After being berated by a SkyWing guardian, being meant to be a SkyWing her whole life, Clay unintentionally claiming Peril as the missing SkyWing, and being prisoner and biggest prize of Queen Scarlet of the SkyWings, I don’t see why she wouldn’t be a little more afraid or hostile in a scenario with one. 

One headcanon of mine is that Glory has narcolepsy, a byproduct of not getting enough sun as a sun dependent tribe. She frequently lost control of her muscles during sparring practice with Kestrel, leading her to slither helplessly and worsen her image. She pardoned her sleepiness through consistent naps Under the Mountain, but it became harder to excuse after they left the mountain. Once the sun hit her scales on the marble tree in Scarlet’s clutches, she finally gave in and slept for a majority of that time, otherwise overwhelmed and unable to move. Unfortunately, along with classic form of narcolepsy, Glory also has hallucinations. She often interprets her hallucinations as Kestrel or Queen Scarlet, long after their deaths. Despite denying special treatment as the RainWing Queen, she does give into sun times to satiate the urge in her to rest.

Narcolepsy is also described as being triggered by high surges of emotion. Another reason why Glory does her best to suppress her emotions, to stay in control of her consciousness.

It can negatively affect relationships with other people by being triggered during these surges of emotion and as a result, Glory is not quite as emotionally connected to her siblings as the others are. As the consequences of the war subsides, she wishes to try making up for lost time and finally respond to her narcolepsy instead of be frustrated and angry with it.

Glory’s reign of the Rain Forest Queendom is characterized not by her inherent intelligence over the other RainWings. In fact, a majority of the beginning of her rule is learning the rich history and important traditions of RainWings from Duke Handsome. Due to her unfamiliarity with oral history, her first order is to try and record as much history and as many orders as possible to keep the RainWings’ respect and learn about her own culture. 

As well as that, Glory steels herself, with the sympathy of her siblings, Prince Jambu, Duke Handsome, and the other Queens, when ruling the NightWings. So easily could she take out her anger on these innocent victims of their own actions. But in the end, she learns it’s more important to be the bigger person and move forward in peace, not dwell in hatred.

Despite that, Glory is still apprehensive before directly meeting with SkyWing figures such as Queen Ruby. 

Glory and Tsunami probably have the closest relationship out of any of the other Dragonets of Destiny. Tsunami looks up to Glory as a queen and Glory makes fun of her lack of royal blood for it. Tsunami, after apprenticing with General Shark, also assists in the disciplining and order in the Rain Forest Queendom. Tsunami, Sunny, and Glory are the main royalty figures establishing a fairer justice system in the Rain Forest so there are no more Chameleons and that individuals like Mastermind have a place to go.

LGBT+ Headcanons

Glory, for a large part of the story we see her, is probably questioning her orientation. She’s never felt the right to be loved and never been able to emotionally connect with anyone enough to feel worthy of affection. Eventually, she comes out as a lesbian! Proudly leading her two tribes with acceptance and understanding. The Rain Forest proudly leads the largest Pride Parades with the SandWing queendom following closely behind. (Which means Deathbringer x Glory is not canon in my headcanons! He can ROT.)

Glory is also a trans woman! She did not embrace it easily with the role models she had growing up. She had always been told she was born incorrectly (for OTHER reasons, but it’s for the metaphor), but with the unconditional support from her siblings, especially her solidarity with Starflight, she was able to come to terms with her identity and be even more prideful because of it. Fully taking her destiny and her life into her own talons has empowered her more than anything after the events of the SandWing War of Succession.

[jimmythejiver]

For the first time in a long time I went to the movies in forever and then to Target. At Target I see some Godiva bars on discount yellow tags and I was ecstatic until I read 70% Cacao, Dark, Salted Caramel and was deflated.

Anyway that's how I felt about seeing The Green Knight. What you thought this was about chocolate?

No see since the pandemic I've been back on my perennial King Arthur kick. I've for a long time since I was a young preteen thought, someday I too will write my own King Arthur epic and it'll be gay, magical, gangster and culty too, but for now I'll make up my own stories for practice and then with every story I got attached too, it got too involved and convoluted to the point that when it came down to actually writing a novel, I threw it all away and made a space opera I only planned in two weeks and wrote in a month. Anyway...so now I've been writing this very gay, magical, gangster and culty take on Final Fantasy XV with my boyfriend and just fell in love with Somnus Lucis Caelum who nobody has any insight about him than to make him the Mordred to Ardyn's Arthur, which is a strange flex, but okay, I thought about what if I wrote a Dark Age prequel about Ardyn and Somnus, but Ardyn becomes king and Somnus his shogun and they play games of seduction and power because I'm twisted like that. Anyway...I was like I'm never going to write this and I have to keep making up characters based on FFXV characters and King Arthur tropes because there's not a lot of stories that take place during the Dark Ages, it's always some Roman Empire story, or High Middle Ages and FFXV gave no room for either society to happen after the fall of Solheim and the rise of King Somnus...so we left with Dark Ages, y'all, the King Arthur comparisons are obvious, but Ardyn is no Arthur and Somnus is no Mordred, Aera is only Guenevere if you make up an affair with Somnus, Gilgamesh is no Bedwyr/Bedivere, but uh...they both amputees and the oldest companions to their respective kings so...I guess. Anyway making an ancestor of Cor Leonis and deciding well he's Owain/Yvain, or am Ignis type as idk Sir Cai/Kay I guess, they both cook, but Cai's more like Seifer Almasy than any FF character... Anyway I'm losing people.

My plan was to just scrap the FFXV prequel, leave my Somnus ideas into Overtime (a gangster and gods story) and just plan an actual King Arthur adaptation. I'd have King Arthur the treasure hunter, leader of a warband turned founder of Camelot who fights giants, giant cats and dogheads, but also fights King Claudas of the Franks and King Aelle of the Saxons and Cerdic a Briton who puts in his lot with the Saxons, etc. It'd been a a glorified turf war, meanwhile Arthur's gotta make alliances with King Pelles, The Fisher King and his strange cult he's founded because, why yes I find the ends justifies the means prophecy of the Holy Grail Quest very culty because Christianity then does not resemble it now. Meanwhile you got the secondary plots of Mordred, Gawain, Lancelot, Percival, Tristam and other's going on because they matter and too many modern King Arthur stories sideline the knights.

So many have always sidelined Mordred as a final boss eldritch abomination in mortal flesh conceived of sin and give him no personality, or complex motives, or even just a relationship with Arthur. I also have noticed the general sidelining of Lancelot, or give him a chad villain upgrade if you must include him at all, and the villainizing of Gawain to the point that you don't even have to have Mordred, or Agravain as a catalyst shit stirrer in court, just slap Gawain's name on Liam Neeson in a top knot and you're good. Mordred can just be a child offscreen until last act...fuck that, while Morgan Le Fay can either be a villainess plotting her cabal through men, or a well-intentioned, ineffectual idiot. Fuck that.

Now Hollywood just be doing King Arthur first acts that suck ass, only for said director to get rewarded failing upwards by giving this same jerk the Aladdin remake. The tonally shitty, crammed in blockbuster mess of a cliche heroe's journey that sucks.

With that background I was excited for The Green Knight. I read an illustrative version as a kid, I read Tolkien's translation as a teenager, I read Simon Armitage's superior, but with liberties taken translation. I was prepped to go knowing that indie, or not they were going to make changes to weave the disjointed poem together. I'm excited that because this movie exists Project Guternberg's finally thrown Jessie Weston's prose rendition up on their website. I'll be reading that at some point when this blows over.

The movie adaptation makes a lot of...choices, many I wouldn't love, but would forgive had their been a payoff. There was none.

The journey was fine, the cinematography was a breath of fresh air after crappy slo mo, glossy action scenes ruined another. Guys, I don't think I want to see a Zack Snyder Excalibur, it'll marginally be better than Guy Ritchie, but that ain't saying anything. Leave Excalibur to the post-Star Wars 80s where it is impeccable for it's time. I liked Green Knight's breathable pacing, it's color palette's in the forests and mountains made up for the muddy grey of every Ridley Scott send up in the castles and villages in every other Dark Ages/Medieval story in the last I don’t know since the shitty 00′s. For all the dark tones when there was blues, greens, yellows or reds, they were vibrant in this movie to contrast the gloom of Britain. The soundtrack was good. This isn't all what makes a movie, but it enhances it so let's get to the story and what I did and didn't like.

Things I Liked: Gawain is still a novice in his career The Costume Dressing Everyone pronounces Gawain's name different. I pronounce it like Gwayne, or Guh Wayne, but here you got Gowen (like Owen), Gowan (like Rowan), or even Garlon who I'm pretty sure is the Fisher King's heir in some versions of that Arthurian story, so uh... The reference to Arthur slaying 960 men with his bare hands (Nennius for the win!) The Waste Land that is implied to be a site of a battle (an important aspect of the Arthurian landscape) The Fox companion No long grisly, drawn out hunting scenes. The Fox lives! No misogynist speeches

Things I'm Mixed: This being a dream, is the magic real? Are the giants? Is the Green Knight a figment of Gawain's imagination from a spell Morgan casted in him to hallucinate? Is Lord and Lady also figments? It's...a way to interpret the poem, but lazy and I don't see why it's got to all fantasy, or all dream...this movie makes it too vague you're stuck picking one camp than to accept it's a fantasy with dream and hallucinatory sequences.

Things I'm Meh: Morgan Le Fay as Gawain's mom. Look I fucking hate Morgause as a character and these two get merged and steal each other's aspects so much at this point the difference is who did they marry, King Urien or King Lot? Both are attributed to being Mordred's mom, Mordred is Gawain's brother...both practice magic depending on certain incarnations, both love and hate Arthur their brother and are in conflict with him. Saint Winifred. I actually liked this sequence, but I don't appreciate her as the tacked on wife in the later dream sequence as like...a contrast between the wife you should marry than the whore next door you don't respect anyway? I don't even know what lesson I'm supposed to get out of the damn dream sequence, or any of it? That Gawain should've married his girlfriend and then he'd be a just ruler? That he shouldn't be king? That he'd never have to make the same heartless, impartial choices? I don't know, he seemed like a king doing king shit because guess what? It never gets easier. Wars will be waged. The world didn't become better because he married the right woman, respected her and lived in obscurity. The world didn't become better because he made her his queen. We certainly don't know the world would be better Gawain had his head chopped off and dead XP They never reveal the Lord and the Green Knight as one and the same because of this shit.

Things I Hated: Arthur withdraws from the challenge because he's old. In poem he takes it on and Gawain takes it so he don't have to and he finds himself more disposable than the king. Gawain only takes the challenge because of arrogance. Arthur and Gawain had no prior personal relationship. I'd not have hated this so much if it wasn't compounded by it cancelling out the first two things. Gawain is portrayed as having no respect for his woman, or any woman, maybe his mother? He has to be pushed by Winifred to regain her head. Gawain is portrayed as arrogant, covetous and ready to pass the buck, or the bare minimum than have any honor or decency. It didn't matter the kid in the wasteland was shithead bandit, the way Gawain acted towards him, when he gets robbed, it almost feels like he deserved it and Gawain doesn't learn a damn lesson. I'll admit him taking the sword to cut his ropes and cutting his hands was a neat sequence, it shows him go from stupid, to almost clever and having will to survive...you know traits he had in the poem, but he stops showing these traits or growing. Basically Gawain has to be dragged kicking and screaming to help people and shows no fortitude when facing temptation, or when showing respect towards others, it's exhausting. You don't make this kind of journey story without character growth. Why are you skipping this? Also is it just me, or is this like when you take Frank Miller Batman and transport him onto a Bill Finger story? This is at best Thomas Malory Gawain (and this is charitable) transported on the earlier Pearl Poet's story. Stop it. It's not tonally correct and goes at odds with the story and the set up characterization you'd need to tell it. Speaking of which, you know how I get through the oof... of Liam Neeson Gawain in Excalibur? By pretending he Agravain instead. Here...I don't even think Gawain could pass as Mordred in spite of his covetous nature, lust and entitlement. Why? because I don't think even Mordred is this dumb to warrant this hubris. Essel being invented as a tacked on love interest just to be shit on utterly and for what? I don't think I have much commentary here as there is no Essel I'm aware of to compare, or stack up. I just notice this trope of like...usually if you include a sex worker in Hollywood she often has a heart of gold, she often has her own sense of values that goes at odds with society, but is more true and less hypocritical than a privileged lady’s. I thought that's what they would've done with the added trope of back at home sweetheart to contrast and pit her against the despicable femme fatale of Lady Bertilak and her adultery and her ladyship...and I'm glad they didn't...but you did nothing with Essel than to shit on her for existing when you made her exist, you know. Lady Bertilak being portrayed as the seductress devil incarnate. Look I know adultery is a touchy taboo, but uh her and Gawain hit it off in the poem, dammit! Her values and his values come to clash, but here it's played off as Gawain is stupid and covetous and Lady Bertilak wants to prove something because...? If my brother's theory that she's a figment of Morgan Le Fay's magic, then I'll take this as a lesson of Gawain is impulsive and covetous and his mom knows it, but he don't want to fuck his mom, but he wants her power, and Morgan wants to teach him a lesson... I guess. Hey we don't have misogynist speeches in this movie, but we'll make sure to have the movie drip with it with no point, or commentary. Pass. Lord guilting, extracting and initiating the same sex kiss and only once. Poem automatically better that Gawain don't have to keep being reminded to keep his part of the bargain and he does it willingly more than once. What he doesn't do is give up his belt...gods how did we get more homophobic as a society that the homoeroticism here is worse? Catholics of the middle ages officially had no issue doing same sex, passionate kissing until it lead to sex. The Ending: The gods damn ending. In the movie as is, Gawain waits to uphold his end of the bargain and get his head chopped off. He imagines, even though we don't get any fuzzy or distortion to indicate this is a dream, but I already knew this was coming, he runs away and comes home, is regarded a hero, he sees his lady, takes her from behind and if you saw Brokeback Mountain (I didn't, but DJ has) you know this is a sign of disrespect to women. He gets her knocked up, pays her off for the kid she wants to keep, he is crowned king, marries the ghostly saint lady he helped retrieve her head earlier from a lake in the movie (this right here is the damn tip off). There's no more dialogue by this point and everything is montaging, so you know by now it's a dream, though nothing is out of focus. He rules as a heartless king, his whore son dies from war he waged, he has a daughter, his wife dies. Gawain then takes off the belt that would've saved his life and his head falls off. This would've been the one good twist, except... In this sequence of events he never had his head cut off so uh... now we back in present day. He decides not to bitch out, Green Knight in a sexy way is like "now off with your head," movie cuts to credits with no resolve...uh what the fuck? What the fuck? This is not good. You wasted the one twist in your dream when idk, you could've...

How I'd fix it: No dream sequence at all. No Incident At Owl Creek twist. Gawain comes home a hero and survivor of this game and ordeal. He wears this belt of shame. He becomes a well-renowned knight, but he bears a shame. One day he goes to take off his belt and his head falls off because he cheated to get this belt and to survive this encounter. There. Done. Improved your high concept movie that couldn't play any of the lessons straight from the damn poem without making everyone an asshole for no reason! Ugh! But nope you had to end it on we don’t know if Gawain lives or dies...because...it's dream magic made from his momma's witchcraft...?

Last Thoughts So then post-credits scene because Marvel because Pirates Of The Caribbean existed. A white girl who looks nothing like Gawain's daughter we see who didn’t pay off, or any child I can remember through this whole movie picks up King Arthur's crown that dream Gawain inherited and puts it on her head. Who is this girl? Are we gonna have an indie equivalent of of the Marvel Movie Universe/Universal Horror Monsters thing with ancient British legends? We gonna get a Life Of Saint Patrick next that crosses over? I don't know. What is this?

[delves-n-denizens]

Magic

The Magic System proposed by Delves & Denizens is based on additional Assets, and is designed to modify as little as possible of the Core rules.

It is obviously based on the color wheel of Magic: The Gathering.

Each color is represented by a Magical Discipline, or school. A character can be a practitioner of one or more Magical Disciplines.

⛨

This hack consists of five new Assets:

Protection

Illusion

Darkness

Chaos

Nature

These rules also change how Ritual Assets are accessed. By default they are locked for every character, and get unlocked as you buy Magical Discipline Assets.

Additional Rules

When you pick a Magical Discipline Asset, you get to pick an additional upgrade for free (Initiate is always filled).

Ritual Assets cannot be bought freely. You have to get the Ritualist upgrade on each Magical Discipline to gain access to a limited list of Rituals. You gain a free one with the upgrade, the rest are unlocked to be bought with XP as normal.

The Invoke Ritual was left out on purpose; Its mechanics were too redundant with the ones in some of the Disciplines.

Places that resonate with X type of Magic

The obvious is to interpret this with the classic biomes of Plains, Islands, Forest, Mountains and Swamps, and their related variants. But it’s more interesting to interpret the resonance with the concepts of each color.

For instance, a cemetery might resonate with black, but also a town where most men are gone, dead in some faraway war. Or in the hallways of a guildhouse filled with corrupt politicians.

Red mana might be available anywhere where passion or ecstasies run rampant. Or where fury fuels the battle rituals of a berserker tribe.

Blue could be present in large libraries or havens of lost knowledge. Or where illusory magic protects something.

A temple dedicated to a god of justice could resonate with White mana, as well as a peaceful village where evil is unheard of.

A henge with spiritual connotations could harbor Green Mana, the same as the town square of a very traditional culture.

When in doubt, Ask the Oracle if a certain place resonates with X type of Magic. Make it Likely or Unlikely depending on the previous explanations and the context of your fiction.

Is Magic OP?

Some of the advantages provided by the upgrades in the Assets are very powerful mechanically speaking, specially those that let you spend X Mana. If balance is a concern in your Guided games, or if they seem overpowered for your solo/coop play, consider the following:

You can make Mana tapping more difficult, by either limiting the places where it is available, or limiting the maximum quantity to be absorbed, OR give a -1 to the roll if the place “has a faint amount of resonance” with a particular color. Making Mana a scarce resource will limit the power of magic.

You can make failures harder or even catastrophical for the caster, should they score a miss in a magic related roll. Have the character Endure Stress on each miss or get really nasty when they Pay the Price. Or have the character trigger a roll on the Mystic Backlash Oracle table on each miss. You can envision your Magic as dangerous or wild as you want.

[blubberquark]

Different Aesthetics of Procedural Death Labyrinths

Mike Rose asked on Twitter:

Here's a question: How do you feel about the word "roguelike"?

There was a point a few years ago where it was a huge selling point! I feel like these days, people sigh at the term a fair amount

Would a game being sold as a roguelike make you excited now?

There’s an obvious explanation, but I think it’s wrong: There are just too many rogue-like games now. The novelty has worn off. People are fatigued by all the roguelikes, and those who aren’t fatigued have all their rogue-like needs met by twenty roguelikes in their Steam libraries that they haven’t played yet. Let’s call this the “saturation” theory.

I much prefer this idea: The people who wanted the word “roguelike” to only refer to roguelike games according to the Berlin Interpretation were actually on to something. Nowadays, there are roguelike shooters (Heavy Bullets, Tower of Guns, Receiver), roguelike platformers (Spelunky, Flinthook), roguelike twin-stick shooters (Isaac, Our Darker Purpose, A Wizard’s Lizard, Nuclear Throne, Enter The Gungeon), and roguelike space battle strategy games (FTL: Faster Than Light). So the term “roguelike“ doesn’t just refer to Cogmind, Dredmor, and Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup any more. The Steam tag “roguelike“ is near useless. Let’s call this the “ambiguity” theory.

I’m not sure if roguelikes would be doing better on Steam if we stuck to the Berlin Interpretation though. For one thing, then we would be looking at a completely different set of games, led by Cogmind, ToME, Caves of Qud, Dredmor, and ADOM. I’m not sure if these games are doing better or worse than in 2013, and that question is a different one from the one Mike Rose asked.

If we just assume for the sake of argument, that roguelikes in the spirit of the Berlin Interpretation are selling as well now as they did then, it could also be the case that literally nothing has changed, but over time, the term “roguelike“ started to encompass games that were less and less successful, commercially. Maybe there is no effect to explain causally, and the perception is only created by definitions changing over time. It’s basically the Will Rogers phenomenon.

But maybe the ambiguity and broadness of the word “roguelike“ is about aesthetics, not mechanics. Old-school roguelikes have a hunger clock, a trade-off between exploration and moving on, dozens of items and interactions, procedural generation, secrets and traps, unidentified potions, and similar things. But a hunger clock is not by itself important. It is not even part of the Berlin Interpretation. The ambiguity actually applies to the aesthetics of play, not to the mechanics.

To demonstrate the idea of aesthetic ambiguity by example, I am grouping games that are dynamically and aesthetically similar, but mechanically different:

Spelunky, Noita, Streets of Rogue, and FTL are not turn-based, but they are all very much in the roguelike spirit, the *hack-like spirit even. There is a trade-off between exploration and safety, items can be picked up and dropped, and a single overpowered item early on can start a positive feedback loop that will win your run. There is always a trade-off between risk and reward, and things can get out of hand quickly if you run into the wrong interaction between mobs, level geometry, traps and items. You can to some extent decide whether you play aggressively or peacefully. A hunger clock or similar mechanic is sometimes needed to curb stalling and excessive exploration or exploitation of game mechanics.

Cardinal Quest and Hack Slash Loot were coffebreak roguelikes. They were about roguelike turn-based combat, not about interactions between items or exploration and finding clever solutions. All runs in the first Cardinal Quest are pretty much the same after a while.

Red Rogue, Dungeons of Dredmor, and Cogmind borrow heavily from old-school roguelikes like NetHack. The game mechanics are intricate, there are lots of numbers, and monsters can pick and use items in Red Rogue. There is no alternative to combat in Dredmor. It’s bore of a *band than a *hack. You have to kill monsters to level up - but there are many ways to do that. Dredmor is designed for people who played Diablo and want something more demanding, not for people who played Nethack and want something more casual.

Rogue Legacy, Flinthook, Monolith, Enter The Gungeon, Nuclear Throne, and Heavy Bullets are completely different beasts. They are real-time, and use execution skill/twitch skill. Two runs of Enter The Gungeon are more similar to each other than two runs of Streets of Rogue. There is no diplomacy or stealth in these games.

In none of these games - in none of these categories - is the procedural level design responsible for most of the variety in gameplay. The procedural generation is essential so every run feels different, with different monsters, different loot, different rooms, but these don’t need to be unique to the run, or particularly creatively generated. You can re-use the same rooms, the same loot, the same monsters every run, as long as the player doesn’t know which room is behind a door, which monsters are lurking behind the corner, which piece of loot is hidden where.

Skills and loot are making runs different from each other, and the interaction between your character build/loadout and the procedural generation makes an individual run exciting and unpredictable.

Picking up Mom‘s knife in Isaac is a run-transforming moment. Two Noita runs with the same wands will feel pretty much the same. The high-level biome structure in Noita is fixed. The secrets are always in the same place. The procedural generation in Noita forces the player to always explore each biome to find every wand and health-up item. It forces the player to ration limited-use spells like bombs, rather than saving them first and then dumping them on the big monsters in known places.

Spelunky is perhaps the game where the level generation is most important: There are so few items, and in a single run one could probably acquire most of them. Then again, a single missed jump can mean certain death. Bad level generation can be bypassed by bombs, which are a limited resource. Health is even more limited, and you almost never use it as a resource, never intentionally trade it for anything else.

In FTL and Streets of Rogue, there are different play styles enabled by different items/weapons or mutations/systems. With the right loadout, you can try stealth, and with the right alignment (in FTL, with the right crew), you can use diplomacy instead of violence. And you can always decide to flee or skip an optional quest. FTL, Spelunky and Noita do not require you to clear challenges or fight bosses in order to advance to the next level.

In Isaac, you eventually spiral out of control, you barely scrape by, or you die. If your initial conditions are favourable, you can afford to explore everything, you don’t need to spend money on heart containers, and you can spend heart containers on devil deal items. In Gungeon, your run is all set when you pick up a good gun. These games have three dynamics: Losing trajectory, winning trajectory, and winning hard. If you’re on a losing trajectory, you need to economise and preserve your health. If you’re on a winning trajectory, you need to clear every normal room, play reasonably well, and think twice about optional challenges. Most of the time, your success depends on your moment-to-moment play, twitch skill, dodging and shooting, unless you become so powerful you can kill every enemy in the room before one of them gets to shoot.

Nuclear Throne is on the other extreme: You must kill every enemy in the level to advance. Each level is open, connected, and samey. There is some strategy to picking up weapons and choosing mutations, but the game is a twin-stick shooter with randomised levels, and you will never avoid a fight or get powerful enough not to care about dodging attacks.

There is a spectrum of emergent-ness (I know “emergent” and “emergence” are words, but this is meant to be a quantity you can compare between systems), with Nuclear Throne on one end and Spelunky or Streets of Rogue on the other. Isaac has a lot of variety based on the different items, but that variety is not emergent from interactions between items and the procedurally generated levels.

Games with more emergentness have more complex interactions between items and mobs/ememies, more general mob/enemy AI, and more complex environmental interactions. In Isaac and Nuclear Throne, everything tries to kill you and that’s it.

Minecraft, Proteus, No Man’s Sky, and MirrorMoon EP are procedurally generated, but not roguelikes, roguelike-likes, or rogue-lite games. Unlike roguelikes, they can actually do interesting things with their procedural generation. Minecraft can have unique mountain ranges like you have never seen before, and complex interactions between blocks. MirrorMoon EP has complex procedurally generated puzzle planets. Over several days. but within one playthrough, you will be able to craft every tool, see every biome, and mine every block in Minecraft. You can make totally novel contraptions out of honey, pistons, and redstone, or you can find interesting landscape, but never both in one. You will never find naturally occurring redstone machines. Minecraft doesn’t go for unique interactions between your build and the level generation.

Although Minecraft is full of deep and complex systems, they will only come into play when the user engages with them. Any chain reactions are set up and then set off by the player. Minecraft and No Man’s Sky are sandboxes. The mechanics are broad and complex, the procedural generation is intricate, and there are many ways to play and things to do.

Rogue Legacy is a fun game, but it doesn’t do a particularly good job at evoking the aesthetics of rogue, or the aesthetics of metroidvanias, for that matter.

Most new procedurally generated death labyrinths described as “roguelike“ are neither mechanically or aesthetically like Rogue or Nethack. They don’t need to be. Nethack already exists.

More and more games on Steam are aesthetically coffeebreak roguelikes, or designed tightly around moment-to-moment execution skill. If there are pre-defined, pre-designed rooms balanced for enemies with certain attack patterns, there is no room for emergent interactions between mobs and the environment.

Mechanically, Hack Slash Loot, Powder, Cogmind, Cardinal Quest I, Dredmor, and Nethack are “real” roguelikes. Aesthetically, Nethack, Spelunky, Streets of Rogue, Dredmor, and FTL are “real” roguelikes.

Now imagine somebody bought a “roguelike” on Steam, and that “roguelike” was Rogue Legacy. It even has “rogue“ in the name! Will Cogmind make this player happy?

[cartoonfangirl1218]

EoA name meanings

I was listening to the @themagicwithinpc podcast and I’ve been just amazed by how detailed oriented the EoA team is. It’s like they have our meanings behind everything. And since I’ve seen a few posts about the meanings of the Los Cuatros Amigos, Isabel and Esteban, I decided I would see if they put that same amount of detail to minor characters. And I found out, they have.

Luisa Flores: Spanish/Portuguese origin meaning “renowned warrior.” And how! We have seen Luisa when she is angry or competitive, you don’t want to mess with grandmama bear, 

Francisco Flores: Spanish/Portuguese form of “Francis,” meaning “Frenchman or free man.” So I suppose it is a tribute to his former vigilantism and keeping Avalor safe and free. 

Armando Gutierrez: Armando's name means "army man" in any language. Gutierrez is of Jewish-Spanish origin meaning Son of Walter and derived of Gutierre meaning "he who rules. This seemed like a joke until I remembered Armando’s very brave actions against the supposed chonopos in Blockheads. As for his last name, he is chief of the castle so he rules the staff. 

Higgins: "Higgins is of Irish origin meaning "intelligence" which I suppose could be a fun irony that the creators chose for him.

Alonso Ramon: Alonso has Spanish-Germanic origins and has a variety of meanings such as "eager," "noble," "ready." Ramon is a Spanish sure-name meaning "counsel protection." Alonso’s first name is perfect. His whole song was about how tough it was to be a royal and how he wanted to be free to have fun. I would like to think his last name indicates that he will grow into a wise king like his father. 

Valentina Montanez Torres: Feminine form of Valentine and meaning "strong, vigorous, powerful." All perfect adjectives Manual would give his princess. Montanez means mountains and Torres means towers in Spanish. Perhaps we will go to Paraíso some day and see that the castle has lots of towers on a mountain? 

Marisa: Latin origin meaning "star of the sea." No explanation needed. She is a beloved treasure out of the sea and in. 

Marzel: Seems to be taken from the French name, Marcel which means "little warrior.” While we don’t have enough of his personality to go off of yet, he is the protective type. So warrior it is. 

Pescoro: Italian origin derived from pesci meaning fish. No doubt to reference his sirena status. 

Camila:" Latin-origin. Meaning "young, ceremonial attendant." I did not find this to fit at all with Camila's high status as queen and how she is clearly on equal ground with her husband. So I searched the flower meaning. Camillas represent different stages of love, and were used in marriage ceremonies to promote faithfulness and long lasting devotion. Depending on the color they can also represent passion, desire, excellence.

Daria: Greek and Persian origin meaning "maintains possessions well" and "sea."  Uh yes she does. She guards Coronando with her life against those torpedos. 

Cristobal Flores: Spanish form of Christopher, meaning "bearing Christ." I think this was supposed to be one of those really ironic name. Or just referencing Christopher Columbus who committed genocide on the native peoples in pursuit of gold which you could argue is what Cristobal was willing to do to his family and the sirenas for Shuriki.

Carla Delgado: Carla's name has many different meanings depending which origin you take it from. So I chose the ones that best fit her which was the Italian for "free man" and "strong." 

Victor: Victor's name is of Latin origin for "conquerer" or fittingly enough, "victor." Delgado is a Spanish sure name meaning "thin, slender, dainty, exquisite."

Fiero: Italian origin for "proud." Which is what made him take his rejection of royal wizard position so harshly. He felt his pride and abilities were being disrespected. Plus he continues to see himself as superior to those he is working with like the Delgados. Not that I blame him. 

Rafa de Alva: Rafa is a Spanish name meaning "God has healed." While De Alva means "of Elf." While the first one seems to fit common hc that Rafa would use her magic to heal, I’m not sure what to say about the Elf last name. 

Alacazar: Derived from the Spanish "alcazar" which is any fortress built by the Spanish moors and Alacazar was the last barrier between Shuriki and Elena, as he went to protect the royal family. Plus Alcazar is the Spanish verb “to reach” which he definitely reached high fame and knowledge, 

Daniel and Scarlet Turner: Daniel is a Hebrew name meaning "God is my judge." Scarlett is another type of red. Turner is a French-originated neame meaning "starling." While I’m not sure how to interpret Daniel’s name, I think Turner could indicate how sailors use stars to figure out the direction of their ships. Or just indicate that their daughter will be a star someday. 

Julio Guzman and Carmen Guzman: Julio is Spanish for the month of July, it also means youthful. Carmen is a latin name meaning "song.” Julio’s fits perfectly but I’m not sure about Carmen. I suppose we need to hear her sing more but now the Carmen opera makes sense to me. Anyway, Guzman is Spanish form of "Good man” which is perfect because Julio is a good man of commonor status chosen to be a Magister for the needs of the people. 

Prof. Mendoza: Basque surename meaning "cold mountain." No idea what that means for her? I guess it could be because lots of ruins like temples are found at mountainsides. 

Olivia: Latin name meaning "olive tree" and we all know that the olive represents wisdom and usefulness which is exactly what Olivia strives for her wizard training. To become wise and to be helpful to others. 

Rico Villalobos: Both of Spanish origin Rico means "brave ruler" and Villalobos is "town wolf." Rico is a brave guard in battle and I suppose his bullying behavior could be compared to an alpha wolf trying to be in charge of the pack. 

Hortensia Paloma: Latin for "of garden" which made no sense for her character so I looked up the flower meaning again. Hortensia is Latinized form of hydragena which symbolize boasting, not thinking of others, vanity, prosperity, understanding between two people. Paloma is Spanish for dove, those symbolize purity, and gentleness which doesn't fit her at all in my opinion.

Amara: Latin for "everlasting.” It doesn’t specify what is everlasting so I choose to interpret that she has everlasting loyalty and friendship to Isabel. 

Cristina: Latin for “follower of Christ.” Not really sure how to interpret this one to fit her character. 

Quique: Spanish for "home ruler.” Quinque was the ruler of the classroom before he gained the friendship of Isabel so maybe he will be a big authority figure when he is older. 

Tomiko: Japense origin for "happiness child" which fits Tomiko to a T.

[mizcalculate-miztery]

THE EGOS STAR WARS AU

Inspired by @reverseblackholeofwords comparing her version of the Host to Yoda.  I... may have gone a little bit overboard at first and then got reeeeaaaally lazy as I went on ^_^’ Tbh, my Star Wars knowledge isn’t super extensive (I know the most information about the Jedi and Sith, and not a ton about non-Force users), but I tried my best! 

Many of these ideas are based on Reverse’s interpretations of the Egos!  Please go check out her writing if you don’t know her.  She’s amazing!  Some ideas are based off my own interpretations of the Egos, so if something doesn’t match perfectly with Reverse’s universe, that would be why.

And now...

STAR WARS- EPISODE YOUTUBE, ATTACK OF THE EGOS

Starring the Iplier Egos!

Darkiplier

-Sith Lord 

-Incredibly strong Force abilities 

-Less adept with his lightsaber (which is normally dark red, but will occasionally flash blue, or purple when connecting with another saber or blaster bolt) 

-Has two Force ghosts (Damien and Celine) that he has bound to himself to increase his power (check out the “Sith Inquisitor” quest line from Star Wars: The Old Republic for more information about this concept)

Wilford Warfstache 

-Smuggler, armed to the teeth with blasters and vibroblades 

-His favorite blasters are his DT-29 heavy blaster pistol, his Model J1 "Happy Surprise" Palm Blaster, and his X-30 "Lancer" target blast pistol 

-Has some Force abilities, but its use is rather unpredictable and chaotic

-Flies a Class 720 freighter

Bim Trimmer 

-Newly initiated Jedi Knight/Force sensitive individual 

-Unbelievably strong untapped Force abilities that he either doesn’t know how to use or can’t fully control 

-A very average lightsaber duelist, his lightsaber is a blue-green

Dr. Iplier 

-Medic with an engineering background 

-Actually quite competent and has invented several more effective stimpacks

-Also able to repair droids

Googlepliers 

-Re-purposed and malfunctioning assassination version Protocol droids (similar in personality to HK-47 from KoTOR)

Blue: Base model, most balanced; most able to control his secondary objective

Red: Aggressive model, strongest; most likely to activate secondary objective

Green: Knowledgeable model, answers questions fastest; most likely to malfunction

Oliver: Diplomatic model, most organic; most likely to physically break

The Host 

-“Old” Jedi Master

-Concealed in his cane, has a golden lightsaber that he rarely uses

-A strong Force user, but especially adept Jedi Seer

-He lives in isolation somewhere in the Mid Rim. Some believe he lives on Kashyyyk, others Naboo; in reality, he lives in a library deep in the mountains of Naboo

Ed Edgar 

-Bounty hunter

-While not a Mandolorian, he managed to scrape up some Mandolorian armor and weapons that he uses in his main arsenal

-He says his ship is of a Corellian-make, but its specs are unknown, so most people he tells that fact to think he’s lying (but the ship is in the Corellian style, so no one’s been able to prove him wrong yet)

Silver Shepherd

-Low-ranking officer

-Equipped similarly to an Imperial officer

-Most of the time, wears his battle armor

Yandereplier 

-Assassin/bounty hunter

-Mostly works on their own for their own purposes 

-Quite often broke, but if they happen to have a personal target that coincides with a bounty, they will collect 

-Has an arsenal similar to that of Cad Bane, including a wrist mounted flamethrower and rocket boots

Bingiplier 

-Modified Security/Protocol droid 

-Basically a non-lethal and more annoying Google

???

-Unknown Force user, possibly a Gray Jedi, possibly a Light Sith, either way, this person is a neutral party Force user that several of the Ipliers know of, but no one has seen

Ft. the Septic Egos

Antisepticeye 

-Dark-side affiliated Force user (NOT A SITH)

-Has several cybernetic replacements and enhancements

-Uses a Mandolorian darksaber 

-Hangs out with the Googles

Chase “Bro Average” Brody 

-moisture farmer Pilot/Smuggler 

-Wields a DC-17 hand blaster 

-Has flown several starfighters, but now flies an “Ugly” starfighter he built himself out of X-wing and TIE-interceptor parts 

-For any smuggling he does, he uses a Helix-class light interceptor

Dr. Henrik Schneeplestein

-Medic, famous for prosthetic work

-Slightly shady business practices (known to help criminals), but generally considered a good doctor

-Also managed to create a serum that can temporarily weaken Force abilities; the exact length of time it weakens for is dependent on dosage and how Force sensitive the individual is

Jackieboy Man

-Heavy-weapons trooper 

-Similarly equipped to Imperial heavy troopers, specializing in melee combat, with armor that provides light resistance against lightsabers

Marvin the Magnificent

-Light-side affiliated Force user (NOT A JEDI) 

-Often provides young Force sensitive individuals on the Outer Rim their first exposure to the Force through his shows

Jameson “Dapper” Jackson

-Cantina owner on Coruscant

-The cantina is called “The Dusty Holodisc”

With special guests…

Peevils

-Former Sith Lord who taught Darkiplier 

-Skilled Force-user and quite an adept Duelist 

-Has been hiding for years due to her former apprentice’s rise to power

Natemare

-Force user 

-Descendent of the Nightbrothers and Nightsisters of Dathomir, and learned in their practices

MadPat

-Eclectic engineer/scientist 

-Infamous for his FZB droid line and several… questionable experiments on organics

[companionwolf]

I spent two hours giving characters from Lazarus verse symbolic flowers. Under the cut bc It’s Kinda Long.

Meanings range from their modern interpretations to some Victorian age ones. They also might not be exactly correct; I did a method of ‘pick and choose’ from across the results searching the web gave me.

Lazarus: Red poppy (pleasure/sacrifice/remembrance), purple carnation (capriciousness, whimsical, changeable, unreliability), blue hyacinth (ignoring specific meaning of the flower, taking the general meaning of hyacinths which is games, rashness, rebirth)

Kelly: Liverwort (confidence), eldelweiss (daring, courage, noble purity), phlox (unity)

Martinez: elder flower (zeal), red hyacinth (playful), crocus (youthful gladness, cheerfulness)

Vinson: cherry blossom (gentleness, kindness), alstroemeria (commitment and care), white chrysanthemums (truth)

Carter: Red columbine (anxious), oleander (cautious), yarrow (healing)

Getman: Nasturtium (patriotism, conquest, victory in battle), dogwood (durability), Zinnia (thoughts of friends)

Jones: purple columbine (resolved to win), anemone (forsaken, expectations), red spider (death, reincarnation, lost memory)

The HOD: Laurel (ambition, success, renown), lavender (devotion, distrust), dahlia (divinity and elegance)

Miller: Rosemary (remembrance), rue (regret/sorrow/repentance), heather (solitude)

Peterson: red clover (industry), sweet violet (modesty), iris (inspiration)

Smith: Rhododendron (beware, dangerous), black rose (death, farewell, elusive), carmine rose (deceitful desire)

Harley: delphinium (big hearted, rash, bold), Chinese pink (perseverance), oats (music)

Volya: oak (liberty), osier (frankness), pine (time will cure)

Barker: Fraxinella (fire), tansy (declaration of war), yellow violet (rural happiness)

Danielle: flowering almond (hope), mountain ash (safety), clinquefoil (maternal affection)

Baker: Cress (stability), broom (humility, neatness), coral trees (pride)

Alicia: holly (domestic happiness), white hyacinth (unobtrusive loveliness), lotus (eloquence)

Yvonne: Aconium Napellus (enemy in disguise), African marigold (cruelty), scotch thistle (retaliation)

Yao: Ivy (endurance, dependance, faithful), blue violet (watchful, faithful), myrtle (love, home, duty)

Fang: Pine (hope, pity), petunia (resentment, anger), dracaena (inner power)

Geming: oak leaves (bravery), sycamore (curiosity), walnut (stratagem)

Valkyrie 1 (the young woman): Fennel (strength), black eyed Susan (justice), birds foot trefoil (revenge)

Valkyrie 2 (the young man): hollyhock (ambition), oxlips (pensiveness), wild plum (independence)

Valkyrie 3 (the old woman): Hazel (wisdom), pear tree (affection, comfort), acacia blossom (beauty in retirement)

Valkyrie 4 (the old man): blue rose (impossible, unattainable), fish geranium (disappointed expectations), protea king (change, transformation)

Valkyrie 5 (the child): fern (fascination, magic, sincerity), primrose (youth), lilac (memories, innocence)

[jelliemaygayas-blog]

Leyte,Philippines.

Leyte is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region, occupying the northern three-quarters of Leyte Island. Its capital is the city of Tacloban.

History of Leyte.

Leyte /ˈleɪtɛ/ is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.Politically, the island is divided into two provinces: (Northern) Leyte and Southern Leyte. Territorially, Southern Leyte includes the island of Panaon to its south. To the north of Leyte is the island province of Biliran, a former sub-province of Leyte.The major cities of Leyte are Tacloban, on the eastern shore at the northwest corner of Leyte Gulf, and Ormoc, on the west coast. The island was once the location of Mairete, a historic community which was ruled by Datu Ete. Before being colonized by Spain, the island was once home to indigenous animist Warays to the east and other indigenous animist Visayan groups to the west.Leyte today is notable for the geothermal electric power plants near Ormoc.However, Leyte is most famous for its role in the reconquest of the Philippines in World War II. On 20 October 1944, General Douglas MacArthur waded ashore on Leyte, saying, "I have returned", but the Japanese did not give up so easily, as the ensuing Battle of Leyte proved. The convergence of naval forces resulted in the four-day Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history.The Leyte Provincial capital is the seat of the provincial government where there is a historic mural depicting the First Mass of Limasawa in the Orient and the landing of General Douglas MacArthur.The MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park in Red Beach, Palo, marks the 1944 landing by the American liberation forces. It also has a lagoon where a life-size statue of Gen. MacArthur stands. MacArthur's true landing took place at Dulag, Leyte.Lake Danao is a violin-shaped lake hemmed by cloud-capped mountain ranges.Kalanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte is a virgin island with pure white sand. The ecological atmosphere of the island had been preserved by the municipality.The Sto. Nino Shrine and Heritage Museum boasts the painting of the fourteen stations of the cross done by Filipino artists and a bas-relief of the legend of the first Filipino man and woman (Malakas and Maganda).The San Juanico Bridge is the longest bridge in the Philippines.Leyte Island is the birthplace of the Tinikling dance, popular throughout the Philippines.On Friday, 8 November 2013, Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) destroyed 70-80% of the structures in its path on Leyte province. An estimated 10,000 people died and up to 620,000 people were displaced across the region. Culture and their Tradition

Ceremonies are frequent: nature and ancestral spirits are invoked for good harvests, Christian customs and holidays are upheld and fiestas comprise prayer, food and drink, dance and music. Typical cuisine includes traditional Filipino favourites such as adobo, crispy pata, sisig and kanilaw augmented by local seafood such as shrimps, scallops, lapu-lapu, blue marlin and crabs cooked in a variety of styles. As the Visayans say, the only way to walk is to dance, and the only way to talk is to sing!

Today, Padre Burgos is a small fishing and agricultural community at the south-western tip of Leyte. The area possesses outstanding natural beauty and open, friendly people. The coral reefs of Southern Leyte are some of the least disturbed marine habitats in South East Asia. Sogod Bay provides plentiful catches for the local fishermen and the area is rich in tuna, flying fish, herrings, anchovies, shell-fish, and mackerel. It is also a feeding ground for pilot whales, melon-headed whales, dolphins and whale sharks. 

On land the farms produce hemp, copra, corn, rice, tobacco, bananas, papaya and pineapple. Nipa and mangrove abound in the swamps and rattan and timber adorn the mountainsides which teem with wildlife including the majestic Philippine Eagle, the world’s largest. Writers and Contributors in Literature

Adeline Virginia Woolf (née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) was an English writer who is considered one of the foremost modernists of the twentieth century and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Born in an affluent household in Kensington, London, she attended the King's College London and was acquainted with the early reformers of women's higher education.

Having been home-schooled for most part of her childhood, mostly in English classics and Victorian literature, Woolf began writing professionally in 1900. During the interwar period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a central figure in the influential Bloomsbury Group of intellectuals. She published her first novel titled The Voyage Out in 1915, through the Hogarth Press, a publishing house that she established with her husband, Leonard Woolf. Her best-known works include the novels Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927) and Orlando (1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One's Own (1929), with its dictum, "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."

Woolf became one of the central subjects of the 1970s movement of feminist criticism, and her works have since garnered much attention and widespread commentary for "inspiring feminism", an aspect of her writing that was unheralded earlier. Her works are widely read all over the world and have been translated into more than fifty languages. She suffered from severe bouts of mental illness throughout her life and took her own life by drowning in 1941 at the age of 59.

Jane Austen (/ˈdʒeɪn ˈɒstɪn/; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism.[2][b]

With the publications of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma(1815), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818, and began another, eventually titled Sanditon, but died before its completion. Her novels have rarely been out of print, although they were published anonymously and brought her little fame during her lifetime.

A significant transition in her posthumous reputation occurred in 1833, when her novels were republished in Richard Bentley's Standard Novels series, illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering, and sold as a set.[4] They gradually gained wider acclaim and popular readership. In 1869, fifty-two years after her death, her nephew's publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced a compelling version of her writing career and supposedly uneventful life to an eager audience.

Austen has inspired a large number of critical essays and literary anthologies. Her novels have inspired many films, from 1940's Pride and Prejudice to more recent productions like Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Love & Friendship (2016).

Jane Austen's use of biting irony, along with her realism and social commentary, have earned her great and historical importance to critics and scholars.

Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish[1] satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet and cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.[2]

Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost prose satirist in the English language,[1] and is less well known for his poetry. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms – such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, the Drapier – or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles.

His deadpan, ironic writing style, particularly in A Modest Proposal, has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian". @maamdoralakwatsera

[wikitopx]

Take your pick from tourist attractions that range from classical music concerts by a world-class symphony orchestra to perfecting your tan on a pristine beach.

As one of the original 13 colonies, Massachusetts has preserved more than parts of historic sites from ancient times. But it's not all history - in Boston's vibrant Faneuil Hall Marketplace, you'll find fashions as new as tomorrow. Landscapes are just as varied, and as you explore these must-see sights, you'll find rolling mountains, waves crashing on rocky shores, green pastures and farmlands, deep forests, and beautiful little postcard-perfect villages that Norman Rockwell immortalized in his paintings.

[toc]

1. Freedom Trail

Some of Colonial America's most iconic landmarks mark Boston's three-mile Freedom Trail as it winds through the old city's narrow streets to connect 16 historic monuments and attractions.

Follow the red brick line and brass medallions in the pavement, from the Visitor Center in the Boston Common all the way to the 54-gun frigate USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides," at the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Along the way, wander through two old burying grounds to find the graves of Paul Revere, John Hancock, and the first female to step off the Mayflower. The Old State House, Boston's oldest public building, was the scene of the infamous Boston Massacre when five colonists were killed by British soldiers.

A few steps off the Freedom Trail, at 1 Milk Street, is the birthplace of Benjamin Franklin, a location marked by a bust of a patriot, who was born here in 1706.

2. Cape Cod Beaches

Cape Cod is a long, curving peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic, protecting Cape Cod Bay with its northward curve. Most of its 560 miles of shoreline are long white-sand beaches, often backed by dunes of waving seagrass.

Many of them are crowded in mid-summer, but there is enough sand for everyone (although not always enough parking for their cars). Look for the more uncrowded beaches on the quieter north shore, along Route 6-A, near Sandwich or Brewster.

Chatham and Orleans both have beautiful white beaches on the Atlantic coast. Cape Cod's beaches are among the most beautiful places in Massachusetts.

3. Minute Man National Historical Park and Lexington Green

You can follow the route taken by the British regulars as they marched from Boston in a move that would begin the American Revolution. Battle Road is now part of Minute Man National Historical Park, which also includes North Bridge in Concord, where the Colonials engaged the British in battle.

North Bridge Visitor Center shows artifacts, uniforms, and a historical film, and at the end of the bridge is Daniel Chester French's famous Minuteman statue.

4. Faneuil Hall

Built-in 1740-42, Faneuil Hall was given to the city as a market hall by merchant Peter Faneuil. Along with a market, it was a place for public meetings well-used by colonists protesting British taxes and other grievances.

In the mid-19th century, it was the scene of anti-slavery meetings, rallies, and speeches. The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Museum on its top floor preserves paintings of battles, along with arms and uniforms.

5. Mayflower II and Plimoth Plantation

In December 1620, separatists from the Church of England, called Pilgrims, landed at Plymouth after failing to reach their original destination in Virginia, making Plymouth the first permanent European settlement in New England.

You can step back into their world at the living history museum, Plimoth Plantation, where costumed interpreters (who never leave their 17th-century persona) re-create the experience of living in early colonial America as they go about daily tasks of gardening, building, cooking, and military training.

Craftsmen used authentic tools to make objects popular in the 17th century. Plimoth Plantation also explores the lives and culture of Native Americans at its Hobbamock's Homesite, a re-creation of a Wampanoag village, where you'll see dwellings, gardens, and artifacts.

Here, descendants of the area's first inhabitants demonstrate how their ancestors lived before and after the colonists' arrival. Be sure to visit the full-scale reproduction of the Mayflower, Mayflower II, birthed at Plymouth Pier, to learn about the historic voyage from costumed guides representing the passengers and crew.

You can visit Plimoth Plantation on a day trip from Boston.

Address: 137 Warren Avenue, Plymouth, Massachusetts

Official site: www.plimoth.org

6. Salem's Historic Houses

While early homes full of period furnishings are thick on New England soil, few places can offer the number, quality, and variety of those you can tour in the former China Trade port of Salem.

What's more, they represent a wide range of Salem's history and culture, beginning with the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and including the House of Seven Gables, immortalized in the book by Nathaniel Hawthorne whose 1804 birthplace is also open.

The 1642 Witch House was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin, who presided at the witchcraft trials, and it's the only remaining building that's directly connected with the trials.

7. Whale Watch at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Among the top ten whale-watching sites in the world, the Stellwagen Bank has one of the world's most biologically productive ocean environments.

At this underwater plateau in the Atlantic, at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay, you may spot several different species of whale, along with Atlantic white-sided dolphins, harbor porpoise, seals, and other marine life.

More than 50 individual humpback whales have been identified and named by researchers, all dependable returnees each summer. Many of them are females that bring their new calves to Stellwagen Bank to feed in the food-rich waters and teach their calves to hunt.

8. Old Sturbridge Village

One of the state's most visited tourist attractions, Old Sturbridge Village re-creates life in New England as it was in the early 1800s, in more than 40 historic homes, craft shops, stores, malls, and farm buildings brought from various places to this 200-acre site.

Costumed interpreters demonstrate daily tasks of farmers, blacksmiths, housewives, and craftspeople, and offer hands-on activities for children. A working farm demonstrates early farming and gardening, complete with back-bred livestock and heirloom plant varieties.

You can also see two operating mills using water power to process wool and saw timber for buildings.

Address: 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, Massachusetts

Official site: https://www.osv.org/

9. Tanglewood Concerts

The Boston Symphony Orchestra decamps in the summer to Lenox, in the heart of the Berkshires, where Tanglewood becomes a magnet for musicians and music lovers from late June through August.

In the Koussevitzky Music Shed, Ozawa Hall, and other venues throughout the campus, various resident and guest musicians rehearse, learn, and perform.

The concerts vary from the full symphony orchestra to chamber groups and soloists, and from student groups, such as the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, to top-name performers like popular singer Tony Bennett and operatic soprano Renée Fleming.

10. Island Life on Martha's Vineyard

Nowhere in the state can you experience a more idyllic laid-back island life than on Martha's Vineyard, only five miles off the southern coast of Cape Cod. You'll feel the island's relaxed vibe almost from the moment you board the ferry from Woods Hole or New Bedford.

"The Vineyard" has six small towns, miles and miles of beaches, lighthouses, weathered shingle houses, sand bluffs, protected waters for kayaking, and plenty of ocean for sailing. In its low, rolling landscape, you'll find working farms with farm stands selling everything from just-picked strawberries to fresh eggs.

In its villages, which have a real year-round life of their own, locals mix easily with summer people, some of whose families have been coming here for generations. You may get a glimpse of some of their "cottages," as they refer to the posh estates built by wealthy New York and Boston families.

More ideals for you: Top 10 things to do in Marsala

From : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-things-to-do-in-massa-709043.html

[tinysharkcomputer-blog]

Performances will begin at the St. James Theater February 22, 2018. In a close distance from the hut you can find many vital ski resorst like Białka Tatrzańska, Bukowina and Zakopane. Time invested under previous Teaching fellowship Program consultations may count towards called for work experience hours. En visite à Lisbonne, sa ville natale, le customer de PSA annonce un strategy d'investissement massif dans le berceau historique de Peugeot. Click OK, after that rejuvenate this Yelp page and also attempt your search again. As component of its effort to offer international makers with the methods to enhance precise design drawing and paperwork interpretation throughout their supply chain, ASME expanded its geometric dimensioning and also tolerancing (GDTP) workers certification program this summertime to line up with its newest 2009 Y14.5 Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing standard. 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B. the record podhale including the depositions of witnesses versus one charged of a criminal activity. The Podhale State Higher Vocational School (PPWSZ) has actually developed participation with a variety of companions in the area. Actually indicates not, however is made use of by Gorale of Poland to refere to melodic concept of song household. Police in Rosemont have released all security video clip received from the resort where 19-year-old Kenneka Jenkins was discovered dead in a fridge freezer over the weekend break. Exactly how experts' preference is applied depends upon the choice technique the firm chooses to make use of when filling its Pathways works. Bajeczne miejsce w sąsiedztwie lasu i górskiego potoku, domek usytuowany w pobliżu szlaku na Turbacz najwyższego szczytu Gorc oraz jednego z nielicznych w którym nadal możesz cieszyć się swobodą cisza i prywatnością zarówno pieszo jak i rowerem, wokół domku rozlega się spora działka na której można pograć w siatkówkę badmintona czy piłkę nożną oraz poleżeć w wannie z gorąca wodą hull gwiazdami czy zapalić góralskie ognisko Zimą możliwość zorganizowania kuligów najbliższy wyciąg narciarski 1km. The indoor preserves its baroque personality, particularly in the altar and also side churches, although numerous items are reproductions of wood originals lost to fire. Equipments theory sometimes seems to refer to information in this feeling, presuming information does not necessarily include any kind of mindful mind, and also patterns flowing (because of comments) in the system could be called information. In the center of Market Square is the historical town hall from the nineteenth century that houses little museum exhibition. A public source (such as a link on the firm's web page) which has information about the best ways to attend/apply for the occasion and also the best ways to apply if interested celebrations can not participate in the occasion. We make certain that you make the most from your bus journey by partnering up with trusted bus business from around the globe such as Greyhound, Megabus, Eurolines, ALSA, iDBUS, National Express as well as many others. Device Requests normally inquire in relation to Apple devices, such as an apple iphone, iPad, or Mac. We'll immediately send you a link to our Offer Finder! Bet on Tottenham to beat Swansea and make the most of improved 25/1 chances! Google's speaker appears not likely to collaborate with Amazon anytime soon, so a wide union with various other sellers like Walmart will have to be adequate. Click Choose what to clear below Clear browsing data. Thanks to our affordable air travels, you'll have cash left over for all Nowy Targ's extraordinary nighttime home entertainment, bargain-hunting, and dining establishments. Choose a resort listed below or slim your search utilizing the filter to the right. Nowy Targ was highly rated for mountains by 7 guests from the USA! The initial is an information leakage susceptability, which could assist the enemy establish the specific version used by the targeted tool and change his exploit as necessary. It was reported around 11 a.m. at the bridge on French Street simply southern of 14th. Enjoy interactive as well as engaging stories, rich with picture galleries, video clips, as well as animation. The chalet itself is excellent: modern-day, tidy, as well as, the majority of precious thing: THIS PUT IS SO QUIET !!! The intent of the Pathways Teaching fellowship Program is to establish individuals for possible positioning right into the permanent labor force, or to supply them with a possibility to discover Federal professions while still in institution, yet not to effectuate placement right into yet one more developing program. National security-related requests are ruled out Gadget Demands or Account Requests as well as are reported in a different classification. See the links listed below the weather forecasts for various other cities, towns and towns near Nowy Targ. Powersports lovers competed their snowmobiles on the lawn in different courses for an opportunity to win prizes. A regional cars and truck dealership is assisting to elevate cash for cyclone victims. . Where they will certainly be satisfied by the Golden State Warriors. A rural Detroit male who invested 16 years in prison for killing his initial better half begged guilty Wednesday in the slayings of his two children as well as 2 stepchildren as well as in the abuse of his second partner. The sponges are likewise marked such that an X-ray can spot them, allowing doctors to extra easily eliminate them later on. Task part-financed by the European Union within the Regional Developmend Fund. Nowy Targ experienced no much less than 5 big fires, throughout which a minimum of fifty percent of the buildings were totally damaged. Eric Schaeffer guides the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler musical that consists of Holly Twyford, Bobby Smith, Will Gartshore, as well as Broadway vet Florence Lacey. Our team believe review payments and also building responses will highlight a vast array of point of views and experiences, which is crucial in helping guests make notified choices concerning where to remain. Most of the books were created by survivors from the community, or individuals from the community who had actually immigrated prior to the battle, and were mostly released between 1945 and 1975, as well as usually written in Hebrew or Yiddish. Program beneficiaries work with brand-new strategies to harvesting and also releasing data to strengthen campaigning for and also make it possible for lobbyists to utilize data and modern technology to maximum impact. provides travelers the inside track to the very best price cuts and deals, also at the last minute. On top of your Chrome window, near the internet address, click the environment-friendly lock identified Secure. Zakopane is a small tourist community located at the foot of the Tatra hills, concerning 20 kilometres additionally southern than Nowy Targ. Climate Nowy Targ - Weather prediction: - for today, - for tomorrow, - for a week, - for a month. All competitors should schedule spots in the event by calling Adam Kieta by Thursday mid-day, at the most up to date. Time S.A. nie ponosi odpowiedzialności za treść wypowiedzi zamieszczanych przez użytkowników serwisu. The new vector is referred to as BlueBorne", as it spread out with the air (airborne) and also strikes tools through Bluetooth. This indicates a Bluetooth connection can be developed without combining the devices at all. Volusia lifeguards saved 61 swimmers from the area's coastlines Sunday, as authorities are supporting for huge Labor Day groups. You could even pick your favorite locations to receive personalized bargains. UNITED STATE Legislator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania was among six participants of a bipartisan team at a supper with President Trump reviewing tax obligation reform Tuesday evening. We help tourists locate a bus, plot routes, and book intercity bus tickets around the globe. Electrical energy comes just from solar batteries - in minimal quantities in an all-natural way - 12V (at the home 220V inverters are readily available, so for that reason charge the cell or use of a laptop is no worry, but do not take along for example. Put the complying with code right into the HTML of your web page. As this wave started to have children a need expanded in the middle of their ranks to recreate the Polish Scouting experience, as well as to take a little bit of the Polish landscape in Western New york city. To use these substantial sources, a binary power cycle for electrical power as well as warm production is thought about by group of scientists. Throughout calendar year 2015, Apple got 1,986 UNITED STATE Account Requests and also supplied some data in 82% of these requests. Trainees who efficiently finish the program may be eligible for conversion to an irreversible work in the public service. Il va notamment rencontrer le Premier ministre socialiste qui, put gouverner, à su rassembler. Don't believe way too much - just go for it. We extremely advise Smolenisko. Nowy Targ is in the heart of the huge basin Orawa - Nowy Targ, regarding 24 km north of Zakopane on the path to Krakow and goes to Latitude: 49 ° 28 ′ N, Longitude 20 ° 01 ′ E, Altitude 585 to 680 metres. Please stay clear of making use of obscenity or attempts to approximate profanity with creative spelling, in any language. The company could not pass over the veteran on the basis of the factor offered if OPM does not sustain the demand. If they have an outbreak and also it is revealing itself in signs and symptom, MARQUIS will NOT KILL coccidia.

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Negotiated Response - Can video games be considered as an art form?

To survey the art within the game ‘Journey’ developed by Thatgamecompany, via the PlayStation Network, two key theories must be analysed. 

The main theories which will be evaluated are postmodernism. Expanding on the idea that if video games are art, they undergo some postmodern phase where they question form and subjectivity. Games are meant to be escapist entertainment whereas Marxism would contradict that idea. I’ll look at how video games are perceived via the two theologies chosen. The concept of video games as a form of art is a constant debate within the entertainment industry. Though the creation of games include a variety of expressive features like, graphics, storytelling and music. Nevertheless, philosophically, video games being considered as a work of art still remain ambivalent. Even when art based games such as ‘Journey’ are critically judged even though it is a highly praised game for its visual and auditory art. I first encountered the game through a ‘let’s play’ video on YouTube, after watching several minutes of the walkthrough I found myself lost in the aesthetically pleasing world and character design. Unlike many games, ‘Journey’ focuses on controlling a robed figure in a vast desert, on what feels like a self-given quest to travel and explore towards the mountains in the distance. Though what made the game unique was that you can encounter other anonymous players that are on same journey, meaning players can assist each other and their only means of communication being musical chimes. ‘Wintory chose to base all of the pieces on one theme which stood for the player and their journey,’ The orchestral tones when activated turn the dull pieces of clothing on the figures into a vibrant red which also affects the world around the player as you progress through the levels immersing us in a sea of electronic sound. The short twenty-minute video I previewed was enough to make me buy the game myself. As I started playing, what occurred to me was the idea that when I played it felt as if I was a part of a concerto where I, the character, was the soloist while the rest of the environment around me represented all the other instruments, starting off with a solo which slowly then builds up to obtaining the full orchestra. As you progress through your journey, the story expertly reveals a cryptic tale on both the backstory to the world and its many desolate ruins, and some bearings of the mystery on your identity and why you are traversing towards the mountain in the first place. In journey, the story is described without the use of words or text, ‘this narrative remains up for interpretation through its conclusion and is likely to frustrate those looking for more concrete answers’. Though the real plotline is all about the locations you have explored in the vast world. However, as you venture through the game it evokes you to feel the sense of isolation. Journey’s most innovative feature is the way it lifts that sense of loneliness through cooperative play. You can interact with other players if you play online as you go around in your travels. Join them as they advance, or separate and leave them behind. Adventure together by taking them to hidden secrets you discovered, or solve puzzles together. When playing cooperatively, you can achieve objectives easier and also you will quickly notice the way you can help to recharge each other’s energy by working together and you will have an easier time moving through the world. ‘It is not a subtle metaphor, but it is a powerful one.’ Furthermore, linking to my choice of theories, ‘Journey’ displays some postmodern creativity through their structural features which include variability and unpredictability, the blurring of subjectivities between an embodied player and a virtual being. Additionally, before asking the question ‘is a particular game postmodern?’ it is not at all made clear that when we discuss about games we only really know precisely what it is we are referring towards.       ‘However, just how much ground is shared between different video game specimens? A game of bowling on the Nintendo Wii might best be understood in terms of its real-life counterpart, as a sport that coincidentally happens to be digital rather than embodied. But if Wii bowling is best understood in this way, why is it that Call of Duty, which is also a simulation of a real-life activity, cannot be understood as a straightforward replication of actual war? When thinking about game styles, we must acknowledge that different games, though superficially similar, may be better understood according to different models, sometimes from outside the field of video games entirely. Even as we do this, though, we should not impose metaphors from other fields unreflectively. In particular, we need to be especially cautious not to over-extend terms like “narrative” or “text.” A game like Mass Effect, with 250,000 words of dialogue, might well be studied logically, but if so it offers a very different type of “narrative” to that of Minecraft in which the only story is that which the player writes for themselves through their own methods of creation.’ This possibly links amidst the media objects that video games challenge our efforts to judge between different stylistic and formal qualities so that we can, say, ‘judge one artefact as modernist, another as realist, and another as postmodernist’. So the precise question is centered towards the evaluation of whether ‘Journey’ is just another example of many games, that are basically just for aesthetical pleasure, distraction and relief from unpleasant realities or is it just there to fuel the unquenchable culture industry? Will games ever have revolutionary potential or is it just an act of escapism?   Likewise, Asserting the idea that all video games are postmodern then that means this indicates that through dissimilar examples of games, averagely, there is a decrease based on which we can judge depending on finer aesthetic differences between other examples, or can we conclude that games are, in general, examples of postmodernist ‘texts.’  I say that games don’t need to have a specific unique gaming system nor complex storyline to be considered entertaining.      ‘The basic idea for the game, as designed by Chen, was to create a game that moved beyond the ‘typical defeat/kill/win mentality’ of most video games. ‘In addition, the most popular games are exclusively rated on their complex battle systems, intricate puzzles, or branching upgrade systems and if players are looking for that sort of feature, then, Journey is likely a disappointment. Though if you are open to just plain aesthetical player experience and also to the ‘nebulous realm of how a game might elicit emotion and the artistic potential of interactive narrative.’ Then Journey is the game for you. In addition, I say that story/aesthetic driven games are more pleasurable and more worthwhile than gameplay driven games,      ‘If the game is story driven then it will probably have a strong initiative factor for the player to start playing the game (if the story has a good start and also a strong motivational factor to keep the player playing until the end (of the plot is interesting). At the end of the story, the game may also have a strong publicity because the player will be recommending the game to his friends for its really great ending.’ However, the disadvantages are if the game is so limited to small mechanics with little to no evolution at all then it’s most probably better off that the game is produced as a visual novel or movie. On the other hand, casual players (people who play for the sake of having fun) prefer gameplay driven games which are focused on the main game mechanics and developing it according to the game experience.      ‘It is easier to create a story that matches a game mechanic than creating a game mechanic which matches a story. It is also easier to add the fun factor to a game when the gameplay is being thought from the start.’ Which concludes, that I defend both the importance of story-telling in the games design because it is a strong factor in which motivates me to complete the game. But, at the same time it is also important for the game to have the ‘fun’ included so that’s why gameplay can’t be fully ignored either. Postmodernism: The study of video games to a large extent have mainly been ruled by a debate between narratology and ludology; and that the main discussion is that whether videogames are an evolution of an established narrative form, or if they are a ‘revolutionary rupture’ that insist on an entirely brand-new analytic model. Ganzala Frasca approaches the ludologist’s approach,      ‘Video games imply an enormous paradign shift for our culture because they represent the first complex simulational media for the mass’ When in fact this is taken from a different approach by Jan Simons who considers that the ‘freedom’ that the ‘ludologists’ simulation’ brings are proposing that narrative stories are limited by the creator, only ‘as much as computer-generated simulations are constrained by the algorithms written by the designer of the model’ In-between these two keypoints are where video games reside as of now. As we experiment existing notions of fixed narrative production along with the steady subject-object areas spread among modernity, still in different ways, we are still not able to fully break away from them either. Though somewhat, the recent system of interactive narrative grants access to a certain quantity of negotiated meaning development through play and ludic experimentation. Furthermore, even though there is a predefined set of rules, videogames can as a result be viewed as a part of a larger movement which is greatly popular in the new media. Gradually wearing down the old top-down monocratic systems of meaning production, whereas outside a familiar position it is simple to engage with. Marxism:   Since Journey does not have a clear plot line, it mirrors a Marxist utopia. ‘The multiplayer component of Journey was designed to facilitate cooperation between players without forcing it, and without allowing competition. It is intended to allow the players to feel a connection to other people through exploring with them, rather than talking to them or fighting them’ Furthermore, the game doesn’t follow a clear traditional set of game rules such as ‘protagonist versus antagonist’ with the ‘saving the day’ plot. But in saying that it does borrow elements of traditional gameplay structure like puzzle solving and multiplayer questing though this is also something that would occur in a Marxist utopia since the game has no struggle of conflict since there are no opposing teams      ‘The plan was to create a game where people felt they are connected with each other, to show the positive side of humanity in them.’ So the other players you meet within the game are entirely an individual and is defined by who they really are opposed to who society dictates that they should be. Therefore, everyone is an individual and there is no social status and players can truly achieve equality. In Conclusion the two theories, post modernism and Marxism on the indie video game ‘Journey’ developed by Thatgamecompany displays postmodern creativity through their structural features which include variability and unpredictability and a Utopic Marxist idea of players that can play and enjoy aesthetically pleasing games that don’t exactly need to be gameplay or story based to be enjoyable. I find no fault with simple, accessible design, and the simplicity over the course of the game expands on the impact of the journey’s conclusion. That players go through an arduous quest with the feeling of achievement and ordeal in the pursuit of highly scripted moments of beauty. At the end of the day, it is a worthy playthrough, though the less linear pathing through the events might have increased my involvement in the experience. Bibliography Alluvium, 2013. Are Video Games Narratives Postmodern?. [online] Available at: http://www.alluvium-journal.org/2013/05/13/are-video-game-narratives-postmodern/ [Accessed on 04 December 2015].Wikipedia, 2015. Journey (2012 video game) [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_(2012_video_game) [Accessed on 05 December 2015].Gameinformer, 2015. Journey [online] Available at: http://www.gameinformer.com/games/journey/b/ps3/archive/2015/07/21/journey-review-beauty-trumps-complexity.aspx [Accessed on 06 December 2015].Gamasutra, 2010. Story Driven vs. Gameplay Driven Game Design [online] Available at:http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/GabrielLievano/20100527/87415/Story_Driven_vs_Gameplay_Driven_Game_Design.php [Accessed on 02 December 2015].Metamodernism, 2010. The Limits of Postmodern Theory (from a gaming perspective) [online] Available at: http://www.metamodernism.com/2010/11/07/the-limits-of-postmodern-theory-from-a-gaming-perspective/ [Accessed on 02 December 2015].Karl Marx. Capital Volume One, 1999. Section 2 [online] Available at: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch03.htm [Accessed on 06 December]. Frasca, G (2003) ‘Simulation versus narrative: Introduction to ludology’ in Mark J.P. Wolf and Bernard Perron (eds) The Video Game Theory Reader. London: Routledge pp 221 – 236 McLuhan, M and Fiore, Q (1996) The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects (Digitalized edition. 1st edition 1967). San Francisco: Hardwired Jameson, Fredric. Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1991). Print.