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nostalgebraist · 2 years ago

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comments on almost nowhere for new readers

A few points that may be useful to people who didn't read Almost Nowhere before it was complete, but who are planning to read it now. (AKA "archival readers," as opposed to "serial readers.")

(1)

You'll want to read it fast enough that you don't lose track of the plot.

But, you probably shouldn't read it as quickly as you can. If you "binge-read" it over a very short span of time, some of the effect will be dulled or lost.

When planning out the story, I thought a lot about the reader's evolving state of knowledge. "What the reader knows" was almost like a character unto itself, and an important one.

For example:

I tried to create a enjoyable, continual "rotation" of mysteries, with new questions arising at the same time that old questions get answered, repeatedly across the course of the book.

In between the point when a question is raised and the point when it finally gets a definitive answer, I often tried to create a succession of interesting intermediate states. For example, the reader might first encounter something important in the form of an enigmatic, unexplained name or phrase, mentioned incidentally. Later, the same term starts appearing more often, and gets more coloration, and this coloration is different each time, so that the sum total of "what the reader knows" traces out a series of different "shapes" over time.

So you'll have the most fun if you stop regularly to savor your current state of knowledge. The questions that haven't been answered yet, the partial glimpses you've seen of things you don't fully get. Maybe even go back and re-read earlier bits, if you like.

(1b)

All that said, I also want to caution against viewing the book as a puzzle you're meant to be able to solve on your own, like a "fair-play whodunit."

I intended it to be fun for the reader to wonder about how the questions will be answered, but there's no pretense of playing fair. And that "fun" is often more aesthetic and thematic than it is intellectual.

(2)

Almost Nowhere is divided into 3 parts.

You can see them if you look at the table of contents. In Part 1, the chapter titles are Roman numerals. In Part 2, chapters have verbal titles, together with Arabic numerals that start over from zero. In Part 3, the Roman numerals resume again.

The three parts tell a single continuous story, and share most of the same major characters. But each one is somewhat distinct in its style, tone, themes, and areas of focus, and each one extends the scope of the plot considerably.

Maybe the closest comparison-point is a trilogy of SF/F novels, where each of the sequels is clearly "its own book" that feels distinct from the other two books, while still continuing the story in a coherent way.

I mention this here in the hope that these transitions will be less jarring if you're prepared in advance for them.

(2b)

In another, more "spiritual" sense, Almost Nowhere really has just two parts.

The transition happens at Chapter 13, which could fairly be grouped either into the first or the second part, or both, or neither.

Why? Up through Chapter 12, my planning for future events had been fairly slapdash and vague. I was still in the "throw stuff at the wall so I can create the real story by looking for patterns in it later" stage of my unusual creative process.

After Chapter 12, I thought "okay, that's enough of that. Vague inklings of the future aren't sufficient anymore. It's time to get start being more serious about my planning. It's time to 'create the real story.'"

So I did a bunch of that, and it profoundly shaped everything from Chapter 13 onward. (I don't know how obvious this transition would be if you didn't know about it beforehand; to me it feels very obvious, but maybe deceptively so.)

It goes deeper than that. Chapter 13 is tonally different than any of the preceding ones -- darker, more personal, with a new focus on obsession, bittersweet reflection on the past, regret, resignation. And, semi-accidentally, that ended up setting the tone for the whole rest of the book.

It's not all like that afterwards, to the same extent. But that stuff is always there, at least in the background.

I don't know if this is actually useful to know or not, but I felt like mentioning it, so there it is.

(3)

Like Floornight and TNC before it, Almost Nowhere is a hybrid.

It combines elements from a number of different genres and story types that would not normally be seen alongside one another. At the same time, it doesn't really belong to any of the genres or story types that it draws from.

This aspect of my fiction tends to elicit bimodal responses. When I mix one type of story with another, it tends to come off either as the best-of-both-worlds or the worst-of-both-worlds, depending on the reader.

Some people see five individually good "normal" books, merged into one and singing in harmony. And people see five half-assed attempts to do five different things, without following through on the promises of any one of them.

For example, I noted above that I put a lot of care into setting up mysteries, and I expected the reader to be very aware of them. And I also noted that the story isn't very rewarding if treated like a puzzle that can be "solved" in advance.

But some people are going to see the mysteries, and the care put into them, and think, "ah, I know (and enjoy) this genre, this is a puzzle you're supposed to work out in advance." And these people aren't wrong; it does kind of look like that, especially at the beginning.

Likewise, Almost Nowhere has several chapters that explain math and physics concepts to the characters and to the reader -- either real ones, or fictitious ones that have some pretense of continuity with real math and physics. Sometimes these get very involved, in the manner of Stephenson or Egan.

A reader who sees this stuff, and thinks "ah, I know (and enjoy) this genre," is likely to be disappointed when they discover that the story is not really about math or physics in any deep way. Certainly not about real math or physics. The invented "physics" is closer to the core of it, but less so than some other things -- and anyway, there is more of pure fantasy to it than serious scientific extrapolation.

Like Floornight, AN is arguably "best" described as a fantasy story, and not the GoT kind of fantasy -- the highly aestheticized, thematic, emotional kind of fantasy, where "feels" and "vibes" are almost literally magic and drive everything from the inside out.

But if you read it for that genre, specifically, it may feel odd that it keeps lapsing into long descriptions of nuts-and-bolts plot mechanics, and into laborious explanations of made-up technobabble. Or into setting up "puzzles" that almost feel solvable-in-advance.

Or just, like, being written in this really weird, particular, often opaque style.

I can't just say "leave all your genre preconceptions at the door," as if it were that simple -- as though one could just do that by force of will. But be aware that the elements you recognize, from other fiction, may not be there for the usual reasons.

But they are there for a reason.

When I think about why I write, I often come back to an answer that Andrew Hussie gave on Formspring long ago:

Q: Do you enjoy your own work? I mean if Homestuck was made by someone else and not you, is it the kind of thing you would like reading [...]? A: I am making the kind of thing I would want to read. I am making the kind of thing I wish existed, but doesn't. Yet.

I am doing that, too. I'm taking elements from all over, and building something else out of them. It looks deceptively like the sources it draws from, but it's very different from any of them, underneath.

If it had already existed, it would not have been necessary for me to invent it.

(4)

As I mentioned in the last bullet point, Almost Nowhere is written in a very particular style.

This style gets better-defined over time, and more ossified, and possibly more extreme. (Chapter 13 played the same role in this process as it did in various others, for instance.)

At various times, I've said that Almost Nowhere is my favorite of my stories, or the most ambitious or accomplished one, or the one I like most on re-reading. And that is all true -- in certain senses, anyway.

But I don't want to convey the impression that I think the "Almost Nowhere house style" is like, the epitome of Good Writing or something. Or even that it's my best writing, necessarily. It simply is what it is, as much for consistency's sake as anything else.

(I confess there were times when I looked back on something I'd just wrote, and thought to myself: "I'm not actually sure this is, like, good. Maybe it isn't. But is is definitely Almost-Nowherey, that's for sure." And then I let it stand, for that reason.)

In the best-case scenario, you'll find that you greatly enjoy the "Almost Nowhere house style." If it's not to your taste, hopefully you will find it at least tolerable enough that you can access and enjoy other aspects of the book.

But if you find that really dislike the style, this book is probably not for you, sorry.

It's over 300,000 words, and they're all like that. I wouldn't want someone to force themselves through 300k words while hating every one of them, in the name of finding out what happens, or being a nostalgebraist completionist, or whatever.

#almost nowhere

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milkpumpkin96 · 1 year ago

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Sea of Stars Review

Sabotage Studio ambitiously pumped out a 90s-style RPG as a follow-up to their well-received title The Messenger.

I had not heard about this game until my father informed me that he majorly helped fun its Kickstarter . . . and then I became further intrigued after learning that Rainbowdragoneyes was one of the main soundtrack composers. It also turns out that Sea of Stars is inspired by some of my other favorite games, like Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger.

Knowing this information, how could I not give Sea of Stars a try?

[MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING]

OVERALL SCORE: 7/10

In all honesty, I adore this game. It has just the right sprinkle of 16-bit nostalgia paired with gorgeous level design, an epic soundtrack, and a silly and fun cast of characters. The game itself is fairly easy and Sea of Stars is devoid of platitudinous high-fantasy elements, which may be alluring to game players that do not often like/are not used to hardcore RPGs.

As much as I love this game, it is indeed flawed in several ways. But overall, Sea of Stars is a fun romp and an interesting prequel to The Messenger, in which the latter is a 2D platformer more akin to Castlevania or Metroid. One could tell that Sea of Stars was definitely more of a passion project.

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GAMEPLAY: 8/10

Unlike The Messenger, Sea of Stars is a turn-based RPG similar to other 90s titles like Chrono Trigger, Final fantasy, and Dragon Quest . . . but it also has the simplicity and playfulness that a game like Super Mario RPG provides. The creative director Thierry Boulanger himself stated that Sea of Stars was mainly inspired by some of the games listed above.

Sabotage Studio eloquently implements 16-bit graphics that appeal to nostalgic, old-school players yet are simultaneously pretty enough to grab the attention of anyone. There are a lot of neat mechanics to the game, ranging from cooking to puzzle-solving to combat to minigames, like Wheels.

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Like many RPGs, players have the ability to cook when camping beside campfires! I enjoyed this mechanic because the cooking itself was brisk, but it had cute graphics to showcase the process of making a dish, like cutting vegetables and stirring the pot.

Cooking is introduced once the Warrior Cook Garl joins the party. The process is very straightforward and one can find ingredients pretty much anywhere: if you see something sparkling on the landscape, pick it up and use it for a recipe! Dishes can aid players in various ways, such as the peach strudel (requiring peaches, diary, wheat, and eggs) which refreshes 12 MP in combat, and Papillote (requiring onions and potatoes) which revives party members from a K.O. state and restores 50% of their health.

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Sea of Stars also has some puzzles scattered throughout, albeit most are optional/extras rather than being a part of the main game. There are several little puzzles to solve in order to access certain treasure chests, and there are also bigger puzzles found in Solstice Shrines and Sunken Ruins. Some of these puzzles are surprisingly challenging, so they are certainly fun for audiences up to the test. In order to achieve the "True Ending" of the game, most of these side puzzles must be completed.

I appreciate the way Sabotage Studio implemented these puzzle-solving quests! They are optional, but challenging and fun for puzzle enjoyers or those willing to work for a better ending. Players have to use the minstrel bracelet and/or the manual ability to shift around the night to day cycle in order to solve these riddles for the most part . . . and a good sum of them cannot be solved until you progress a good amount through the game. I initially became worried that I could not solve the puzzles in the Moorlands when I first arrived there, only to find out I needed to be further in the game and I could easily backtrack there later.

So, do not fret--you can always return back to areas and solve the riddles there at any point in the game!

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Another highly enjoyable game mechanic is the ability to set sail. Early on in the game, after exploring the port town named Brisk for the first time, players meet a charming pirate crew consisting of Yolande, Keenathan, Valtraid, and Captain Klee'shaë (the alter ego of eventual party member Seraï). You will go on a quests with them to obtain a famous ghost ship called The Vespertine, which can then be used to travel the seas to reach all of the game's destinations.

This ship is primarily used to travel to each location in the game and will also take you across the Sea of Stars itself! The sailing mechanic is not only useful, but easy and fun to navigate. With the Salient Sails relic equipped, you can move around even faster.

Players can also enter the ship and walk around the deck and cabin. Oboard, players can talk to characters, save their game, cook recipes, play Wheels, access their game statistics, and listen to the pirate crew's band (which acts as the game's soundtrack library).

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When it comes to difficulty, players can acquire various relics that adjust how challenging the gameplay is. There is no actual difficulty setting.

For example, the Guardian Aura relic reduces all incoming damage by 30%. The Tomb of Knowledge relic increases XP by 20%. The Amulet of Storytelling fully heals every part member after each battle. There are others, but all of these relics make the game easier (which is good for speedrunning or if you want to simply enjoy the story of the game).

Then there are relics such as Dubious Dare, which increases enemy attack damage by 40%, and Artful Gambit, which reduces the party's HP by 95%, but successfully timed hits deal double bonus damage, and successfully timed blocks reduce damage to 1. These relics make the gameplay significantly harder.

On default settings, Sea of Stars is not difficult at all. Although, I am embarrassed to say that I died exactly 13 times!

The relics I had equipped did not affect the difficulty of my game too much, only equipping them for mechanical purposes. The Salient Sails relic increased my sailing speed by 20% and the Sequent Flare gave me a visual cue that I successfully timed my blocks and attacks.

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My biggest criticism is that I wish the boss fights were more challenging. I found the bosses to be significantly easier than fights against multiple tougher enemies . . .

The bosses had loads of HP, so it may have taken a while to defeat them, but I rarely experienced any K.O.s and total deaths during these fights. I view this as a negative thing because I adore challenges and want to feel intimidated and frustrated by big bosses. I think that Elysan'Darëlle (whom you fight in the normal ending) was the biggest disappointment, in that I defeated her in measly minutes without issue. I was around level 21 when beating the game.

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Despite the lack of challenge, the aesthetics and combat moves the bosses of Sea of Stars provide are absolutely stunning.

The setup, the atmosphere, the anticipation, the twitching, the shapeshifting, the magic . . . all of the elements in every boss fight were unique, fun, and alluring. I personally enjoyed fighting the Dwellers (even though the plotline forces you to lose to the Dweller of Strife), and several of the endgame bosses the most (such as the Gun Goddess who resisted most magic-based attacks and shot the ever-loving hell out of my party).

The enemies became increasingly more difficult as you progress through the game. Surviving a group of three or more tough monsters can be quite the challenge. I suffered some of the greatest struggles in Brisk's battle coliseum, dying four to five times against the "Basic Basement Batch."

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The BEST fight in the entire game was against the final boss of the True Ending: Aephorul.

I find it rather unfortunate that players do not get to fight this coward at all during the normal playthrough of the game. Of course, Aephorul (A.K.A. The Fleshmancer) is essentially a God, and it is near impossible for even Solstice Warriors to actual kill someone of this caliber. Even in the fight in the True Ending, you do not actually kill him, but rather put him in his place . . . taking The Fleshmancer down a few pegs, destroying his ego and understanding of the nature of reality.

This was a long, gruesome boss fight. Aephorul has a lot of HP, and I was locked in battle for at least an hour. He has several stages to his boss battle, and at some point the fight transcends into a retro-style arcade game (like Galactica) where you fly into the air and shoot frantically.

I was not as big of a fan of this shift in gameplay. This happens in the Aephorul fight as well as the final takedown against the World Eater. Sure, it does spice things up and prevent the turn-based RPG style from getting dull, but it was not really my cup of tea.

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MUSIC: 10/10

Absolute kudos to Eric Brown, A.K.A Rainbowdragoneyes, as well as Yasunori Mitsuda, famous composer for Chrono Trigger.

The soundtrack is perfect, complimenting every character and setting quite well. To me, while sometimes the music becomes repetitive, it is never annoyingly so. Sea of Stars makes sure to avoid too much repetition by adding reprises to earlier beats, such as changing the main Battle On! track upon entering different areas (or by not even activating that battle music at all sometimes).

Of course, many tracks are reminiscent of classic Chrono Trigger music, and one may also recognize some callbacks/motifs to The Messenger. These callbacks can be noticed in certain area themes like Glacial Peak.

The music just feels motivating, encouraging players to continue trekking and fight on!

I am always a fan of battle music. Some of my favorite tracks include:

The Storm Calls for You!

Songshroom's Wonders

Doccari Village

Battle On (Day)!

Encounter Elite! (this song always gave me the chills)

The Frozen Peak (Night)

Garl's Theme--Dance of 1,000 Suns

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STORY 6.5/10

I have seen others say this before . . . the story just keeps going, and going, and going . . .

Overall, Sea of Stars harbors a classic tale of good triumphing over evil. The two player protagonists, Valere and Zale, are special heroes called Solstice Warriors whose objective is to wipe out Dwellers and protect the world from further harm. The warriors ultimately must save their world, traverse the Sea of Stars and save Seraï's planet, and then take down The Fleshmancer. Valere and Zale travel around with fun, quirky side characters

The story appears to be straightforward, but it is rather . . . all over the place. Every time you think you are near the end of the game, think again! Sea of Stars features several in-game climaxes, which is kind of nice because I did not want it to end in some degree, but also kind of confusing.

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This is the best summation of the plot I can provide:

Every once in a while, children may be born on either the winter or summer solstice. These children are called "Solstice Warriors" as they harbor a special kind of powerful magic, intended on being used to protect the world from evil. Solstice Warrior babies are dropped off to a village called Mooncradle, where they are raised and trained at Zenith Academy.

The story follows Zale and Valere, a summer and winter solstice child respectively, who train at Zenith Academy for years before heading out into the world. Zale harnesses sun-based abilities and Valere harnesses moon-based powers, and they learn how to utilize their powerful magic from other Solstice Warriors named Headmaster Moraine, Erlina, and Brugraves.

A great, ancient evil known as The Fleshmancer has created Dwellers of Woe and Strife across worlds and timelines, who harbor insane amounts of power that can only be squandered by solstice magic during solar and lunar eclipses. Solstice Warriors are trained to fight these beings during eclipse events.

Valere and Zale travel with their childhood best friend, the warrior cook Garl, in order to defeat the remaining Dwellers before they can transform into the even more powerful World Eaters in due time. Along the way, the heroes encounter a surplus of unique characters such as Teaks, who is a historian that informs players on lore, the pirate crew of Brisk, and Seraï, a mysterious fighter who eventually joins your party.

However, as Valere and Zale are heroically questing, the lives of solstice warriors Erlina and Brugraves take a turn for the worse. During the fight against the Dweller of Woe, Erlina and Brugraves betray their friends and their duties and reveal themselves to be worshippers of The Fleshmancer. They join the other Fleshmancer acolytes and halt the progress of the heroes from defeating the Dweller. This causes absolute chaos and the destruction of Brisk, preventing the Dweller of Woe from extinction and reviving the formerly defeated Dweller of Strife.

Eventually, the party discovers The Archivist hiding himself within the Archives . . . who turns out to be Resh'an, The Fleshmancer's former friend/co-alchemist. Resh'an agrees to fight alongside the heroes, but he strictly states that he cannot engage in battle with Dwellers.

When the party engages with the Dweller of Strife, it appears that they are horribly losing. In a desperate attempt, Seraï takes one of Resh'an's flasks and throws it at the Dweller, breaking the agreement between Resh'an and The Fleshmancer, and summoning the latter. The Fleshmancer, named Aephorul, then recruits Erlina as his lieutenant and sends Brugraves away, proceeding to mortally wound Garl. Resh'an uses his abilities to temporarily extend Garl's lifespan on "borrowed time" so that the warrior cook can finish helping Valere and Zale follow through with Garl's mission given to him by the Elder Mist.

After Garl dies, the party is permitted by the sky giants to cross between worlds over the Sea of Stars in order to reach the Fleshmancer's lair. The crew travels to another planet that is technologically advanced, and Seraï reveals herself to be a cyborg from this planet. She was on a mission to find solstice warriors to help free her people from the chokehold The Fleshmancer has upon them. Seraï's world is deprived from light and the moon has been sunken into the bottom of the ocean.

On this quest to save Seraï's planet and stop Aephorul once and for all, the party encounters some lost, trapped souls, including B'st, whom Resh'an makes a glass body for so that they can fight alongside your party. Valere, Zale, and crew eventually reach The Fleshmancer's lair after gaining the ability to fly and then have to fight Elysan'Darëlle, formerly known as Erlina.

Once defeating her, Resh'an convinces Aephorul to accept defeat and understand that his twisted life approach is inferior. Both alchemists then depart, and Zale and Valere begin to sense that a World Eater is forming. The two heroes give their heartfelt goodbyes to their friends, ascend to the status of Guardian Gods, and defeat the World Eater. Valere and Zale now permanently circle the universe as Gods to protect the world from further developments of Dwellers.

If players complete all the necessary side quests required for the True Ending, before beating the game, the party finds a device in the Moorlands that Resh'an built called the Chronophage. This can be used to travel back in time and prevent Garl's death. B'st takes Garl's place and takes the fatal hit from The Fleshmancer, but his glass body (and will to live) prevents him from the same fate of death. This replacement prevents a time paradox, allowing all party members to live.

In the True Ending, players fight Aephorul himself as the final boss after Garl provokes him. Elysan'Darëlle appears in this other world alongside a transformed Brugraves, and it is ambiguous of their fate. Zale and Valere still transcend into Guardian Gods and only come back down once a year on Garl's birthday.

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Hopefully, that summary made any sense. The plot is simple at its core, but events just keep happening and "twists" are thrown around, so it is really hard to verbalize a gist.

Some story elements are left ambiguous, however. The relationship between Resh'an and Aephorul s never fully explained. Players get to see brief flashbacks of the two alchemists before they became immortals, which leads to a potential understanding that they were certainly more than just "business partners." It is also not fully known where the two run off to after the final fight, and when it cuts to the corrupted Erlina and Brugraves, they are roaming an unknown place/planet. I am also not exactly certain how Seraï traversed the Sea of Stars originally and became part of a pirate crew. Nonetheless, the ambiguity is kind of fun and up to interpretation, perhaps leading into The Messenger.

Even though the plot length was overly long, I cannot complain too much. I really did not want the game to end!

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Though to be frank, completing Sea of Stars with the normal ending is . . . kind of a disappointment.

The Elysan'Darëlle boss fight was a bit too easy, and her attack patterns were rather predictable and boring. When I defeated her, I thought, that's it? It then became a shame that Valere and Zale would not engage with Aephorul at all--of course, the game recognizes that it would be weird if mortals could kill a God so easily (which occurs in other video games), but defeating his Lieutenant did not seem like it would destroy the entire mindset that The Fleshmancer had been harboring for centuries. Was that all he had? Of course, we do not know of the dialogue that Resh'an had with him following the brawl.

After the boss fight . . . that is it. I felt a bit conflicted about this. This was the only time where I was perplexed that there was no more story elaboration following afterward. The game essentially ends. Valere and Zale sense a World Eater, and you must fight it (but this battle is simple and quick). Then, the end.

Zale and Valere revolve around the world as Guardian Gods; they left their friends and ended the conflict with Aephorul so abruptly. "Abrupt" is the best term for the normal ending. It was not bad in any sense, as it is a simple good versus evil story in the end, but something felt missing.

The true ending is definitely worth anyone's time. It does not make the end of the story magnificent or anything, but it feels better. I believe Garl was a missing key element in the normal ending and his presence makes dialogues, battles, and story elements more fruitful. His persistence triggers an actual fight with Aephorul, who is much more difficult and interesting to battle.

The Chronophage may be a cheap trick, an overdone time-traveling cliche, but it was overtly an homage to Chrono Trigger and it brought the best character in the game back to life! With Garl's resurrection, you also unlock a quest to retrieve an invitation to dine at the Golden Pelican. Having this moment at the dinner, in which all of Zale and Valere's friends and traveling buddies are invited, makes players feel more connected with these characters and more saddened at the prospect of having to near-permanently leave them endgame.

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The characters in Sea of Stars are mostly enjoyable, equipped with their own nuances and humorous dialogue.

Zale and Valere are the player characters, and you can choose to have either one of them as the lead of your party. Overall, the two are not much different from each other, and out of any characters in the game, lack the most distinguishable personality. It is kind of strange that they do have a considerable amount of dialogue, but they are lacking in individuation. They are supposed to be the embodiments of the Gods Luana and Solen but these particular namesakes/ideas are not fully fleshed out.

Zale is sweet, friendly, and easily humored. He seems to use laughter to cope with all sorts of emotions, laughing when he feels grief and sadness as well. He was foretold by the Elder Mist to "stare at the night inside of him," meaning to come to terms with his more negative, pessimistic emotions. When Garl died, he became whelmed with grief and unlocked the ability to fly in a passionate emotional outburst. He continued to struggle with this grief by not being able to get Garl out of his head, but Zale is overall a fairly headstrong person.

Valere is also helpful and friendly, but a bit more emotionally cool. After Garl's death, she begins to meditate a lot, which is also what she does to conduct her ultimate attack. Valere is headstrong like Zale but also seems to be more inclined to leadership, being the more effective communicator.

I have to say though, I highly appreciate the way Sea of Stars portrays Valere and Zale's grief. They process these emotions differently, and it takes time, and never quite goes away.

Then we have Seraï, who is interesting. She is kind of the cliche mysterious character with a double identity, but it is played straight by having her alias as Captain Klee'shaë . . . and the fact that Garl, Zale, and Valere knew she was leading two lives near the very beginning. Seraï is kind, a bit quiet, but also hot-headed. She warms up to the main cast eventually but always harbors suspicion and impatience with Resh'an. During the fight against the Dweller of Strife, she gets very fed up with Resh'an's limitations and steals one of his bottles to throw at the Dweller. Overall, Seraï means well and her goal is to save her home planet from the utter doom and misery it is facing. Later, there was the big reveal that she is a CYBORG! I kind of saw it coming based on her combat abilities, but still. This created quite a weird shift from fantasy to sci-fi. Most of Seraï's backstory occurs in the the final third of the game, which helps to keep the story interesting.

B'st, who you acquire later in the game kind of as Garl's replacement, is an absolute cutey. He's an unexpected alley and quite the tank. He is optimistic, strong-willed, childlike, and intelligent. He is a soul who was ripped away from his mortal body, left roaming the world alongside other lost souls, but after the initial encounter with him, Resh'an developed B'st a glass body. The body functions as long as B'st maintains a purpose and will to live. I think that he is a fine character . . . he is no Garl, but still cute. I also enjoy B'st's relationship with the little pet crab the party acquires after finishing the coliseum.

Now Garl . . . if anything, Garl is the main character. He gets shit done.

Garl is kind-hearted, funny, and brimming with optimism. While Zale and Valere lack strong personalities, Garl, their collective best friend, acts perfectly as the character with a voice, and conduit for players to actually experience the world-building. He is well-liked by nearly all of the cast, being fully allowed by Moraine and the Elder Mist to accompany the solstice warriors despite him being a magic-less mortal. Garl deems himself a "warrior cook" and cooks dishes for the party, as well as bakes a giant bread to awaken The Sleeper which was the task that then granted the main party permission by the Sky Giants to traverse the Sea of Stars. Garl was liked so much that after Brisk was destroyed by the acolytes, and some of the peoples had to be migrated to a new island, the migrants asked Garl himself to christen their village. He named it "Mirth."

When Garl was killed, it was almost have if the entire game was deprived. This character really brought some substance and relatability to the playthrough. After he was offed, I felt as if the story began billowing too quickly and all the characters felt more disconnected from each other. As stated, Garl was the ultimate conduit bringing everyone together, so rather than "friends" the cast was just simply a battling party.

B'st was an okay replacement, but then it got really weird and jumbled when Resh'an abruptly exited the party. If you choose to complete the True Ending, Garl's resurrection really feels like luster was reinstalled into the game and I started to care again. His presence utterly changed the endgame for the better and it made Valere and Zale's ascension to Guardian Gods more bittersweet.

Now Resh'an . . . oh man. I am unsure if I like Resh'an or not!

He is an alchemist, and former partner of Aephorul; an old, decrepit body that had sought to create the Elixir of Life millennia ago. This attempt was successful, and both he and Aephoral were granted godlike immortality at the price of their living flesh. Resh'an is reserved and respectful, but also arrogant and a bit of a stickler. He has come to terms with his immortality and chooses to respect all existing life, as opposed to Aephorul, who grew bitter of his fate and envious of living things.

Resh'an is also known as the Great Eagle, as he flies around in his eagle form to watch the world and drop off baby solstice warriors to Mooncradle. He is also referred to as The Archivist, because he spent centuries isolated in The Archives, creating, watching, and cataloging multiple timelines/parallel universes to see when, if, and how The Fleshmancer could be stopped.

Overall, this character seems mysterious and cool, and I enjoy using him in combat with his double-hit offensive moves and petrichor healing. Although, you cannot use him against Dwellers, according to his own rules. Resh'an's backstory is definitely the most allusive . . . but players do get to witness a flashback and a bit of an explanation of the Tale of Two Alchemists from the historian Teaks.

You would always wonder why in the ever loving hell Resh'an kept letting Aephorul slide: this man conjured millions of realities and just kind of waited around . . . even though Resh'an has the full power to end Aephorul's life, which no one else does. Instead, Resh'an chooses to rely on solstice warriors. You get the inkling that the two alchemists were more than just coworkers or friends. Because sure, two completely platonic dudes want to achieve immortality together. Also, Resh'an is kind of a clueless bitch and has this weird mental "uh-oh" moment towards the end of the game, and just leaves your party.

Aephorul himself, in the same light, is quite mysterious but also charming. Yet, he is also a clueless bitch and seems to be passively manipulated rather easily (such as by Caël and the other clockwork kids). He steps down from interfering in Zale and Valere's timeline in the end of the game because his poor little ego was brutally wounded.

Aephorul regrets the achievement of immortality, so he disparages all of life and seeks flesh (flesh-mancing, developing flesh castles and all), which is likely to fill this emptiness he harbors. You wonder if he had always been more on the evil side even before developing the elixr of life, as he gifts Resh'an his eagle form via dubious means.

There are a plethora of other characters, such as Teaks, Caël, Yolande, Malkomud, and Moraine, but discussing them would take quite a while. In all, the cast is diverse, silly, and enjoyable to interact with, but most characters only have surface-level personalities.

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SETTING: 10/10

Sea of Star's 16-bit graphics are visually stunning and pleasingly colorful, the settings in particular. I enjoyed traveling anywhere and everywhere: the jolliness of Brisk, the purple grasses of Mooncradle and its gorgeous Celestial tree, the quaint snowiness of Mirth, the variety of Mesa Island, the whimsy of Songshroom, the eeriness of Wraith Island, and so much more.

There are so many added visual details, including things that lurk under the sea, which players can witness as they sail around. There is a refreshing sense of freedom that you can return to any location at anytime, which is made even easier at the very end of the game after unlocking the flying ability.

I did not think that the locations in Seraï's world were as visually strong, but it had this relevant downtrodden aura and steampunk look. Players can feel the melancholy and isolation roaming through these techy, junkyard-looking levels.

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The most impressive, shocking visuals came from literally sailing across planets, through the Sea of Stars itself. Holy cow. The twinkling of the seas, the galactic skies, and the ominous wormhole(?) encroaching. . . players are in for quite the creative surprise. As you approach Seraï's planet, there is a sudden shift from 2D to 3D at it works so well. The moment felt magical and spectacular and easily earned the title of the most beautiful backdrop of the game.

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COMBAT: 7/10

The combat operates like any turn-based RPG with a level-up system, but with its own quirks. Players have an HP bar and an MP bar for magic-based attacks. There is also a combo gage that fills as enemies and players land attacks. And, there is an ultimate attack gage that fills as players use combos and complete magic-based attacks.

"Turns" in the game are per individual character, not by party and enemy groups. After Valere herself (for example) attacks, one turn has been passed. Enemies will have a little countdown above them signaling how many turns it will take for them to begin attacking. This usually ranges between 1-4 turns.

When a character's HP falls to 0, they do not "die." Instead, they get knocked out and will be able to get back up after a certain amount of turns. These little K.O. stars revolve around the fallen member's head, and depending upon how many stars there are, it equals how many turns it will take for a party member to get back up. They can be revived sooner with certain recipes, B'st's warble ability, or Resh'an's ultimate attack. For the most part, players are revived with 50% HP.

Having members being able to revive themselves after a certain amount of turns may make the game easier at times, but it is kind of a cool mechanic. It does not really make the gameplay much easier when versing a multitude of enemies at one time. Players can also equip relics to make the game more difficult anyways.

In combat, there are timed blocks and attacks. You press a button in order to perfectly block an enemy's attack and to deal more damage/strike more than once. Doing these timed attacks released mana, which can then be harnessed by characters so that when you select a basic physical attack, it also includes magic damage as well.

I am personally a big fan of RPGs that have timed hits. It makes me feel more involved, and more like I am actually playing a game, rather than just watching characters fight.

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You can use two or three party members in combat, out of the six you eventually gather. I never really favored any particular character, but perhaps most often my party included Valere, Zale, and Resh'an.

Garl is good for healing and has good physical defense, Resh'an was able to execute both arcane and poison damage (as well as group heal), Seraï has stealthy attacks, B'st is a tank and can revive party members, Zale deals solar and blunt damage, and Valere is a strong magic user that can deal lunar damage.

Although, Objectively, Resh'an is the most powerful party member by far, even when he leaves you only the puppet version of himself. His ultimate ability alone heals and revives all party members, as well as deals a significant amount of arcane damage.

Valere and Zale have to be used against Dwellers, as no other party member hardly does any damage against them. Resh'an cannot be used against a Dweller at all.

There are certain instances where a specific character is useful, and players are able to swap around party members in the midst of battle (unless they are K.O.d). Enemies may have these "locks" building up to a powerful attack. Players can break these locks with certain kinds of abilities, which will vanquish that enemy's next attack. For example, an enemy may have 1 lunar magic lock and two sword damage locks. To break them, use Valere's moonerang or crescent arc attack (lunar), and use Seraï's or Zale's physical attacks (sword).

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I enjoyed the combo and the ultimate attack mechanic. To unlock these moves, players must find scrolls hidden in treasure chests all over the map. Utilizing these moves really spices the gameplay up and creates all sorts of combinations.

The combo moves require two or three party members. The first one you get is called "solstice strike," involving Valere and Zale, which is basically just a physical attack but both members strike at the same time.

My favorites include soonrang, which is a buffed-up version of Valere's moonerang but includes Zale as well. This attack strikes all enemies indefinitely until you miss timing the hit, and deals both solar and lunar damage. I also enjoyed Seraï and Zale's "X-strike," which attacked all enemies with sword and solar damage, as well as Valere and Resh'an's "arcane moons" which is available at a low cp cost and hurts all enemies with arcane and lunar magic.

Every individual character has their ultimate attack, which would trigger a brief cutscene and unleash hefty, all-encompassing damage. They are fun to witness and rewarding to use once the gage is filled (although unfortunately it hardly helped at all during the battle against The Fleshmancer). Resh'an's ultimate, in which he ascends to the skies as the great eagle, is frankly kind of broken, because not only does it deal significant damage, but it also heals and revives the entire party!

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ENJOYMENT: 9/10

Though I have mixed feelings about the abruptness and ambiguity of the ending, I overall thoroughly enjoyed playing Sea of Stars.

The game offered even more content than seemed promised, and you can tell the amount of passion and love the game developers put into this title. It is certainly a leg up from the also well-received game, The Messenger.

The best parts about Sea of Stars are definitely its graphics and aesthetics, the soundtrack, and the variety of game mechanics. Although the combat kind of gets repetitive after a while and the story is all over the place, it was still a fun adventure nonetheless.

As a side note, there is a minigame within Sea of Stars called "Wheels," which is like a strategy slots game. It was invented by The Watchmaker and there are several champions throughout the game that you can challenge, and when you win, you collect more figurines/classes to play as and go from copper all the way to the platinum wheels level. I have to say . . . it may look complicated, but Wheels is highly addictive.

TOTAL TIME SPENT: 50 hours

OVERALL SCORE: 7/10

PLATFORM USED: Nintendo Switch

DATE OF COMPLETION: March 2024

#video games #video game review #sea of stars #sabotage studio #solstice warriors #indie goty 2023 #this review took forever haha

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britesparc · 2 years ago

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Weekend Top Ten #613

Top Ten Moments in Jurassic Park

So for no other reason than I want to get it done before the end of the year, this week I’m talking about Jurassic Park. This year is the thirtieth (thirtieth!) anniversary of Jurassic Park. And Jurassic Park is one of the most important films of my lifetime; so important that I genuinely think of my life before 1993, and after 1993. It really was a year.

Jurassic Park is when I fell in love with film. I was always into watching films and stuff like that, but there was something about the synthesis of so many of my interests: Steven Spielberg, the guy who’d been involved in some of my favourite films, from E.T. to Back to the Future to Roger Rabbit; dinosaurs, which were cool; science fiction in general; “grown-up” novels and fiction; blockbuster cinema; special effects; and the whole filmmaking process in general, amped up by all the “making-ofs” I consumed, and especially the fact that I devoured issue 50 of Empire magazine, with its big ol’ T-Rex on the cover. All these things came together, the hinterland between a childish enjoyment of entertaining pastimes and an adult appreciation of an artform; the moment when I dived headfirst into something, wanted to peek behind the curtain, wanted to examine the human beings who’d made all this possible. I’d had a bit of that with comics, learning the names and of writers and artists on Transformers, but now my love of cinema exploded.

It helped that Jurassic Park is an absolute blast, of course.

So as this is the film’s thirtieth year, I wanted to celebrate before the year was over. And it feels apt to go back to a very early format for these Top Tens and list not just my favourite moments, but my favourite moments as represented by a line of dialogue. This was incredibly hard, and not just because there’s no easy line to represent the bit with the kids in the kitchen. But like life, I found a way.

That’s funny coz it’s like a line in the film.

Anyway, unlock the gate, don your yellow poncho, grab a spoonful of jelly and join me as I welcome you… to Jurassic Park. Make sure you’re back here in 2027 for the sequel! More of the same but with Pete Postlethwaite this time!

“I hate being right all the time.”: surely the centrepiece of the film is the barnstorming, paradigm-shifting T-Rex attack. We can talk all we like about the slow ratcheting of tension; the rain, the goat, the goggles, the claw on the fence, “He left us, he left us”, and – of course, of course, of course, the ripples in the water. But as the beast snaps (that sound!) through the fence, and strides purposely onto the road, Ian Malcolm – famous naysayer and doom-monger – regrets so many of his life choices.

“Clever girl.”: probably the film’s most famous line? We’ve been told all along how smart the raptors are (it’s basically the first thing Alan Grant does); they open doors, they move in packs, they solve puzzles. So when they get the drop on park warden bloke Muldoon, it’s little surprise, but he still has the decency to celebrate their success.

“I think we’re back in business!”: Jurassic Park is a sci-fi adventure movie, sure, but it’s also a horror film. There are moments of sustained tension and outright terror, and then there are also jump-scares; and this is the daddy of them all. Ellie has a moment’s reprieve before a bloody big raptor head smashes through the wall behind her. Famously made Princess Diana jump in the cinema.

“Unless they figure out how to open doors…”: another of the showcase CGI scenes, the fidelity of the raptors as they stalk the children in the kitchen was something unprecedented back in ’93. It’s another masterclass from Spielberg, as we have multiple moments of ramping fear, culminating in the frantic dash into the walk-in freezer. And don’t forget, the sequence really begins with that excellent shot of the jelly on Lex’s spoon!

“I’m gonna run you over when I come back down.”: pour one out for Dennis Nedry, the big slobby oaf who’s greed got everyone eaten. Including himself! In a rather gorgeously wet scene full of mud and rain, he insults a tiny, weird dinosaur before it opens a huge, terrifying neck fan and spits big horrid gobs of phlegm at him. It’s a really creepy scene with a freaky jump-scare at the end. In the book he gets disembowelled! It’s well rad.

“Shoot her!”: the opening scene is, I think, rather undersung. It’s a combination of the misty, sweaty jungle setting, and the businesslike routine of the workers. “Loading team, step away.” It all seems mundane and peaceful until the raptor attacks and we instantly see the power of this beast, even if we don’t see the beast itself. Really spooky.

“Welcome to Jurassic Park.”: so many of these moments are terrifying, but the film also has a great sense of awe and wonder. Yes, part of that is the characters seeing dinosaurs for the first time; but it’s also the wonder of this new CG technology that is able to render the animals in such stunning fidelity, like nothing we’d ever seen before. The way the first brachiosaur is revealed, looming gracefully high up in the frame, merrily chewing on a tree, is stunning.

“You didn’t say the magic word!”: I’ve already singled out Nedry for his wet, messy demise, but he’s a great character throughout, his greedy brand of sarcasm undercutting the serious technical wizardry. Arnold trying to break into his code (whist chewing through dozens of cigarettes) culminates in the cheesy animation of Nedry wagging his finger.

“I’ve decided not to endorse your park.”: this final line is a nice zinger as we see our heroes on their way to freedom and safety, but really it represents the entire denouement of the film. Originally, Hammond was going to come in and kill the raptor with a bazooka; but once they knew they could really deliver on these CGI dinosaurs, we have a return to the film’s true hero – the T-Rex (hey, she ate a lawyer; as Weird Al said, it proves they’re really not all bad!). bursting in out of nowhere like the Close Encounters mothership (seriously, how did no one notice her?) she bites a raptor mid-leap, tosses the other one through a skeleton, and gives a big ol’ roar.

“That is one big pile of shit.”: yes, another moment of levity among all the running and screaming and being digested. They stop to find out what’s wrong with a poorly triceratops, and it results in Malcolm staring at, frankly, an enormous bit of poo. It’s funny.

Really disappointed I couldn’t find room for the dinner conversation (“Condors!”), the intro to Nedry (“Dodgson!”), Lex hacking the park (“Unix!”), or sadly anything from Mr. DNA. But what do you expect? It’s a fantastic film.

#top ten #1993 #film #movies #jurassic park #spielberg #dinosaurs

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srfmpyear2 · 1 month ago

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Final Evaluation

This project I originally wanted to focus on improving character concept skills and character modelling, but due to burn out and poor time management I chose to focus my concept skills. With drawing, I took into account how long I might take to produce multiple sketches or possible choices along with exploring them fully. Ethics, I thought of my character's game PEGI rating and whether it’d be an Indie or AAA feature. Cultural considerations, I researched gothic fashion’s history to get ideas for my character's appearance. Sustainability, I saved the amount of paper used by drawing mainly on my ipad.

I chose a Gothic-Victorian theme as I’m really into Souls-like games, their dark themes and wanted to explore something I hadn’t fully done before; pushing myself further with character creation, learning new techniques that intimidated me. I’ve learnt how impactful the slightest detail or change can be to designs and how much thought goes into them. My original intentions changed overall as I did hope to model my character, but some problems slowed production time. So I decided to focus on artwork, getting it as best as possible. My line of investigation was character design, art styles and shape language.

Primary observations, experiments, initial material developments and technical engagement supported the process to my final outcome. Investigations helped me with knowing my theme along with pushing to learn those new techniques to improve my work, making my ideas justified through research and exploration. Other people’s processes, work and methods are what gave me inspiration and got through the tough part of creation. I researched, watched people’s method for character creation and anatomy; allowing me to ignore my perfectionism and enjoy the process of getting the product to something I was happy with. These all helped me improve my art skills.

Processes and skills I explored, adapted and developed were drawing techniques, anatomy studies, colour schemes and character creation. These were all appropriate to the development of my project as these helped structure my process and outcome. The skills I've been most interested in were character creation, as so much goes into it like researching specific characters in media and what makes them unique as a character. I would say I’ve been very effective in attempting to learn and master these techniques. I've gained so much knowledge every step of the way, through many mistakes and interruptions in addition to research.

Significant aspects that required resolving during my project to progress, were trying to think of outfit ideas along with initial character concepts before choosing a final option. I think I adapted relatively well to unforeseen problems that appeared. One main factor that influenced my ability to solve problems was experiencing art-block from burnout, as I didn’t want to get back into my creative process as much; I overcame it by slowly pushing myself to get back into the swing and get to a point where I did enjoy my work again as I was determined to see this project through.

I selected my chosen method of procreate to produce my final outcome as it costs nothing for me to use it, I was very familiar with the application I was using, along with procreate becoming an increasingly popular application for digital art; digital art is also one of the main ways industry work is showcased nowadays. These outcomes relate to my audience as it was created to be familiar to souls-like enjoyers along with fitting that world and environment, this also appeals to my demographic. The character and story was designed with Bloodborne heavily inspiring a lot of the elements.

I looked at many ways I could represent it, for example how artists present their work on art stations portfolios. In the end though I decided to go with all my work on character sheets displayed together, along with a slideshow going through it all next to it. This would be appropriate to my professional practice as it is industry standard to have your work included in your portfolio or laid out nicely during showcasing so that it can all be seen. I’d say I’ve been fairly effective in communicating my ideas through my blog work, which justifies my reasonings.

Aim and objectives I was interested in developing this project initially were character concept, modelling and exploring Zbrush. Overall, I’ve been effective in reflecting on development and realizing when I misjudged my time management. Then creating more achievable targets for myself, getting it as good as possible. I wanted to make sure I gave updates and targets often, but admittedly I did slip up. I think I’ve been fairly good with receiving feedback on my work and making sure it fits my theme along with thinking about the considerations. This all helped with getting new ideas and exploring more options.

#evaluation #reflection

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kingsmoot · 1 month ago

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Oh oops I actually misread that and didn't realize you were asking for ocs! Would love to hear 6, 46, and 62 for Helicent 🩸(p.s- do you know the story behind the bradmore screw? I feel like helicent would really enjoy it haha)

so i had never heard of this and your ask made me spend a very enjoyable hour pn youtube and wikipedia learning about the surgeon who dug an arrowhead out of the middle of prince hal's face. that was so cool and interesting!!!

tysm for mentioning it i looooove learning about stuff like that.

6. How well do they cope with the reality of their mortality

very well, i think! helicent is still young (she marries lucamore at about 27 and reunites with rodwell at 30) but death and mortality is never far from her mind due to the nature of her fixation. she is not interested in preventing death or aging, they're both processes she finds very interesting to study and observe. she does not want to die, because she is so motivated to continue on with her work she wants to have as much time in this world as possible to pursue it. but dying by her own hand if/when forced into circumstances she cannot abide is her first and only option. she will not live in a manner she feels confined or limited in, and the range of problems she would solve with suicide is wider than most people's. helicent sees life as a brief opportunity to pursue what she values, so it's important to her to maximize her time in the world by staying true to her own aims and interests. the fact that her life will end one day is a given to her, and makes her that much less willing to accept anything that feels like a waste of that limited time.

46. To what extent does shame or guilt influence their psyche

to no extent at all i don't know that she has ever felt either of these emotions. they certainly do not dictate her decisions or her view of herself.

62. Which of the following do they have the hardest time accepting: affection, money or help

probably affection, but not because she feels unworthy of it she just finds most displays of affection sort of gross and uncomfortable because she does not return the feeling. even rodwell and lucamore, who she loves and values very deeply, are often too affectionate for her taste. it's not that she doesn't love them back it's just that she doesn't express this through like... physical touch or words of affirmation or acts of service or quality time. heli doesn't really express her affection much she just feels it. dimly.

she is kind of averse to human warmth in general, both physically and emotionally. it doesn't move her or make very much sense to her. but she recognizes that rod and lucamore express their feelings towards her in these ways so she does accept it and return their gestures because it is necessary for her to do so in order that they understand her affection. but it's not a natural process for her to externalize her emotions this way she has to very consciously put forward the effort to do so.

#ask tag #ask game tag #anon tag #irl medeival tag #helicent bolton #🫀🗡

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krittayasgame · 2 months ago

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Fi-shine Racing Game Post-Mortem

Originally, I set out to create a game that was going to be fun and interesting, 3D racing with a different kind in it, the underwater theme. Fishes were racing against each other in a fascinating ocean filled with dangerous predators and pesky obstacles - this concept was stimulated by classical car racing games. First and foremost, it was the plan to dive into 3D game creation utilizing GDevelop, but at the same time, I had to tweak my approach to match the tool’s limitations resulting from the impossibility of easily editing collision markers on 3D models. Nevertheless, my reorientation enabled me to still get the job done by focusing on a top-down 2D view with 3D elements which made the game dynamic.

Design Notes

At the very beginning, I was all in for giving the game a deeply 3D look, thus achieving a high level of immersion, but GDevelop’s inability to allow for changing the collision of the 3D model made me rethink the aspect and stick to a 2D view. This way, the project became friendlier in terms of design, nevertheless, despite going into 3D touch for the fish, the 3D aspect still was there. The main purpose of the game is for the players to get through a hectic sea environment being chased by enemies and still be in the race to stay along.

A wide range of fish enemies and a setting that had the feeling of being underwater were a combination of factors that made sure that the game was all the more interesting. The design of the game was a charming touch.

What Worked Well:

Core Mechanics & Controls:

The play's basic controls and mechanics functioned as required. Players are allowed to speed up by pressing the W, A, and D keys with a mechanic of a cooldown in between. The enemies that appear randomly are there to increase the variety of the game and as players achieve some progress to make it harder also it adds to a fun and challenging experience.

Art and Theme:

While I be working in 2D, using 3D fish was a smart decision. The theme of the underwater world, that is, with such lively fish and other sea creatures as crabs and reefs, was for the game to have a rather special and cute atmosphere that was in full agreement with the game’s plaything nature.

Challenge:

One of the key issues that I was unable to solve was the malfunctioning of the 3D models' colliders in Develop. Due to this, the collision detection has become inaccurate so that players will be unable to avoid the bad fish. The collision system of the game still presents difficulties, while the effects on the user are both the original and some addition.

What Could Be Improved:

Collision System: If I had more time, I would focus on refining the collision detection system to make it more accurate and fair.

Game Levels: More levels and varied enemy behaviors could increase the game’s replay value and challenge.

Audio: The addition of more sound effects and music could help immerse the player further into the underwater theme, making the game feel more lively.

Playtesting and Feedback:

During testing the game, the feedback of the players to the game's appearance and underwater nature was more than favorable. At the very beginning of the game easily, at least, sea horses and octopi are about to be added and the play island will be additionally formal.

The game's health system and instructions from my side failed to make the player understand the gameplay.

Regardless of that, the group of players strongly recommended that more hurdles be introduced, as well as levels, to enable the game's realization as going beyond words appearing on the screen.

It was pretty clear that the problems related to the collision misled the game's natural complexity, and the precision of the instructions to the player turned the act of playing into an enjoyable pastime

My New Knowledge:

In the process of this project, I got the insight of a creative way of problem-solving to discover solutions to problems and also of the necessity of being flexible with the tool's restrictions. When GDevelop had no option for 3D model collision editing that matched my requirements, I still found a way to make the game alive by implementing 3D elements in 2D environment. Both game user experience (UX) and the feedback I got from the players were major. They have helped me to not only verify the changes in the game but also to better understand the user experience in game design.

Final Thoughts:

Fi-shine was a challenging and big project for me. It was my first time working with 3D assets and game mechanics in a 2D environment. The collision system turned out to be one of the most difficult parts of the game but the visual appeal and the game theme were convincing. The player's response definitely pointed out the flaws in the game and I am now aware of the ways in which I can improve the game and make the more efficient. In the next phase of my game, I would mainly concentrate on sorting out collision problems, then decide on the next levels and certainly, I would enhance the whole game experience using the user's feedback.

#game design #racing games #fish #swimming #post mortem

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chirpingchorus · 3 months ago

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also wait 17 for the fic ask because I'm really curious what other people do in their process (I'm starting to think I do something weird LOL)

Link to the ask game if you want to play, too!

17. Talk about your writing and editing process It's completely different for longer vs. smaller fics! I'd say a longer fic is anything more than 4k words or so, but I can't say for sure.

(Rambling in the form of enumerated lists under the cut!)

Almost all of my smaller fics are under 2k and written for prompt challenges. I follow a pretty regular process when writing these fics.

1. Decide on an idea. Rarely, I'll know right away what I want, but I usually make myself come up with 16 ideas as quickly as I can and then put them in a bracket script. I've come up with some pretty unpredictably enjoyable ideas that I wouldn't have thought of if I were just picking the first or second idea that came to mind. Coming up with a lot of ideas also gives me time to refine the older ones in the back of my mind, or combine ideas.

2. Draft the fic. My smaller pieces are usually angsty and introspective, so I go right into a first draft with both dialogue and description (not always what I do--more on that later). Almost always done in one sitting. I don't usually know how these are going to end, I just start with an idea and see where it goes. This is especially fun when the ending is something I'd never have predicted at the start.

3. Little edits. Right after finishing the first draft, I read over everything and change anything that doesn't feel write. I might do this two or three times before leaving it be.

4 (optional) (but ideally not). Larger edits. Like I said, I tend to draft in one sitting. This 'one sitting' is usually late at night when I think I'm writing gold. After looking over it over however many times, it seems perfect... but I don't feel like moving it over to AO3 and dealing with all those italics tonight, so I'll leave it for tomorrow. This leaves tomorrow!me to see what I've written again and find things like plot holes and points that don't go anywhere. This is the downside of not using an outline. It's not much of a problem for these smaller fics, but I usually end up having to do edits of the plot, adding and removing entire mini scenes. This part requires less feeling and more thinking. I'll read it all a few times afterward, then deal with the AO3 formatting.

Then, for the COMPLETELY different beast that is a longfic... I only have one at the moment (though I'm tormented with ideas of more), but I used to write a lot of original work using a similar process in bygone days

0 (optional). Vibes. Sometimes, I only have a vague idea of what I want to write. I don't have a plot with a surefire conflict yet, but I know who's involved, and I'm starting to think of scenes, themes, tone, eventual plot developments, the like. I come out of this phase with a lot of ambition, as well as a summary that's probably no more than ten words.

Logistics. With most premises, obvious questions spring to mind. Why do the main characters find themselves in this plot? How do side characters react to these events? Why can't the conflict be solved so easily? How is it going to be solved eventually? If I have an idea for a scene that's not related to advancing the main plot, is there a way I can justify it or make it relevant in the future? Oftentimes, answering logistic questions like these will come up with a lot of the remaining plot for me. After solving a lot more of these questions, I have a general shape of the story, with a very clear inciting incident and conclusion, as well as a midpoint that's there in spirit.

"Vague Outline of Things". The logistic questions tell me which scenes will be crucial to the story, and I'm not worrying about most subplots yet, so figuring out the order is usually easy.

"Big Fat Through Line". Around this point, I need to ask myself who these characters are, what they fear, what they want, and what they need. A lot of this is covered on the surface level in the logistic questions, but this is where I hop in my armchair, grab my notepad, and reaaally examine the goobers and their flaws. Some of these flaws are shared between MCs, and others are individual. Understanding these will (ideally!) allow emotional beats to hit better and give the story some deeper purpose beyond whatever silly premise I've started with. I think it was around this point that I had to restructure the plot... A lot....... It was going to have a very different ending at first, but it didn't suit the characters and the story I actually wanted to tell.

Refine! Repeat steps 1 and 2 as many times as needed as more questions come to mind about an ever-expanding cast of characters. Here, I start worrying about subplots. After doing this enough, ordering events gets difficult, and I'm dealing with a large and jumbled list of scenes that still don't have the pulse of the story I want... I'm probably still lacking a definite midpoint. But we can't go on vibes for that any longer.

"Vague Outline of Things", but I have subheadings, bolded and italicized the title, and changed the font, so we're serious now. I move my old list of scenes somewhere closer to the bottom of the document and put this on top, below potential summaries and titles. Now that I know what flaws I want to accentuate and address, it's time to put this story through boot camp. Each subheading is a type of ‘standard’ scene I know I need, whether I have it (inciting incident) or not (midpoint!!!!!). I’d guess there are about fifteen of these total? For the ones I have, I fill them in with what I know happens. Easy enough. For the ones I don't..... This is where I really get stumped. I do the plot structure equivalent of soul-searching. Often, I know what I want on an emotional level, but I don’t know how to do it. I might not have two or three of these ~fifteen scenes, but these are typically ‘reaction’ scenes that should come naturally enough. I don’t need everything planned out here, but now I’ll know what emotional beats I’m building up to, as well as what subplots will be most important to establish.

"GOOBERgrid". If you thought my planning couldn't get any more overbearing, you were very, very wrong. It's time for the GOOBERgrid. Every scene in the story gets a row on the grid. There's a column for perspective, setting, summary, and every subplot in the fic. On the grid, I also have to cover scenes that I don't share with the readers immediately, but are implied or revealed in passing at a later time. (I give these a grayer background!) Scenes that were on the formal story beat list are made a different color. These beats will sometimes turn out to be more than one regular scene. Here, everything is 100% concrete. This is also where I start filling in the gaps between larger beats. Eventually, every scene in the fic will be on this grid. But I don't complete the whole thing off the bat--I think it's better to discover some things along the way and see what's natural. So I plan until I'm at least a scene ahead of where I'll be ending a chapter upon publication. I also try to detail the next two or three formal beats, as well as whatever scenes between I know I'll want ahead of time. And now we can start writing, like, for real. The process from "let's make a document for this idea!" to "let's make another document and start actually writing this idea" took me 26 days. I had a lot of free time, and wasn't doing anything of note most weeks but finishing my KH playthrough and working on the outline. If I got this idea in the middle of a semester, I really don't think I could've powered through the outline. Some things really did take days of brute-force thinking to decide on, and I don't usually have that time. I loosely drafted a couple bits of scenes on my outline when inspiration struck. Two of them in particular have a chance to show up after some editing, but the rest were just awkward tests that won't see the light of day. Anyway... Onto the actual writing!

Draft 0.5. I originally called this draft 0, but I put way too much thought into it for it to be draft 0. In this draft, I don't write any description, just dialogue in a script-like style. Sometimes, often at the start of the chapter, I'll use gerunds (-ing words) to describe a character's motivations with each line they say. This makes for snappier dialogue, but it gets very cumbersome, so it's more of a reliable kickstarter. I write the whole chapter, however many scenes it is, occasionally reading everything from the beginning to change whatever sounds weird. It finally starts to feel real. This took about ten days last time, working in evenings whenever I could.

Draft 1. Nothing much, just filling in the description... My worst enemy. All the outlining in the world can't make this any easier. Took about another week for one chapter.

Minor edits. Thanks to my meticulous planning, I shouldn’t have to do any edits beyond the phrasing of description. When I finished my draft 1 of the first chapter, it was. Very late. And I wanted nothing more than to publish it and go to sleep for a couple hours. So I read over it once, probably changed some things, formatted it, and set it free. And then you’re done writing, uh, one chapter of a ChirpingChorus longfic! Now you have an outline that’s about three times the length of the chapter you published. Only took…. About 40 days and 40 nights of constant hyperfixation and asking yourself what a midpoint really is. My fics may be silly, but I take the planning process veeeeery seriously, and I do hope it’ll take less time in the long run.

#chirp #writer mutuals please feel free to rb the post and play along so i can send you asks!!!

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thegospelofstjohn · 5 months ago

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"Sarah." From the Gospel of Saint John, 17: 6-12.

Jesus prays, a way of "drawing the soul out." This is not a process of priming a pump, it is an exhaustive effort to mine the truth out of the weird stories and language of the angels who know us better than we know ourselves.

Life on earth was created by these supernatural beings. Their language and their skills and their intentions are perfect. We are the only aspect of their genius that repeatedly fails to comply with the natural order they have envisioned. Jesus says it is a must for every human being to solve the puzzles they have given us and become perfectly moral and ethical beings. Not one pleasure have they denied us in the proceess, but they do ask we behave romantically towards other living things. Jesus has always emphasized this:

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

6 “I have revealed you[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.

8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.

Holy Father, protect them by the power of[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by[c] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

Recall glory, called Judah refers to the transmission of the ethics of the angels from one hand to the next. Across the generations and all around the world, man is tasked by God to contribute to the enjoyment of the very highest quality of life he can create. This is the way the Scripture is fulfilled.

The Values in Gematria are:

v. 6-7: I have revealed what has come out of this world. The Alefbeis are the basis for all enlightened human experience. They are incapable of steering us wrong. Everyone must learn how to compute their personal outcomes using the Alefbeis.

The Number is 21092, איץב, "it will hurt, be sore, you will suffer, but you will be smart."

v. 8-9: I gave them the words and they accepted them. The Number is 14412, ידתיב‎, "what you did is yedativ, you knew Him and His Opinions."

God does not opine. He speaks confidently at all times. His most important assertions are found in the Book of Leviticus, Chapter 19, called the Great Hillels, AKA the "golden obligations."

Now I have purposefully published these numerous times, waiting to see if they might sink in. But still you struggle. Take that filth out of the White House using the laws I have given you and stop acting inert, useless, powerless, ignorant, and futile all of the time.

v. 10-11: You are still in the world. The Number is 10897, קחץז‎, kicha tzez, "get going."

v. 12: None is doomed by the Scripture. The Number is 13325, יג‎שךה, yadshara, "The Hand of God is Sara, the government."

"Root שרר (sharar) has to do with rigidity resulting from the absorption and retention of liquids (called turgor in plants), liquidity in economy, or data in IT and so on — and the ultimate effects thereof. The promise of Jesus', that streams of living water would emerge from within (John 7:38), tells of a curing of social lymphedema, when pools of stagnant wealth (whether fat, cash or data) are re-released into society to benefit all (for more on this, see our article on the noun δουλος, doulos).

Noun שר (sar) means chief or ruler (someone in whom a society's wealth is concentrated). Its feminine form, שרה (sara), denotes a princess, noble lady or perhaps a ruling class collectively. The denominative verb שרר (sarar) means to be a chief."

I do not want to watch the world shudder one more second as normal ordinary persons prepare to deal with the immoral and cruel behaviors that have been a persistent and pervasive problem in the US Government. Governments were not given by God for the purposes of corrupt calculations, they are designed to save and prolong life. This is another of Jesus's strongest assertions.

So once again, I have to repeat my comments from a decade before, someone with a bagde, go to an HP printer with plenty of ink in it, print out the arrest warrants, and take them and numerous pairs of handcuffs to the White House, SCOTUS, and Congress and start protecting the lives the badge has committed them to protect.

You are not going to watch Donald Trump and the Mormons ruin multiple lives a second time and do nothing. The US Gov is in arrears in its responsibilities and the DOJ is going to help it catch up or the government cannot be allowed to operate.

Donald Trump's actions on January 6 constitute terrorism and as such his second term as President of the United States of America is null and void. Further, as he is the head of a terrorist organization, the Republican National Committee and also the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints among others, under the Magnistky Act, he is not allowed to own property or a bank account.

Persons concerned about the happy go lucky approach of the Department of Justice towards Donald Trump etc. can sumbit complaints to the Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe which has jurisdiction over North America as well at this address: [email protected] and insist Mister Trump be disciplined under the authority of the Magnitsky Act.

This will allow victims of January 6 and October 7 to get their revenge on Trump, his sons, Ivanka, Jared, Elon Musk, the entire Republican Party, the Mormons, the January 6 pardons, all of them. It will be fun, so write today.

youtube

#Youtube

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opgworldsschool01 · 5 months ago

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kushanna · 5 months ago

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i always felt like the truth system/"logic" in umineko was so unreliable and subjective and inconsistent as to be almost entirely useless as a method of puzzling things out, i could only really arrive at potential solutions through primarily character/narrative analysis personally... but i digress

i think the truth system did work for me, but it didn't work instantly. the advice i received the most was always to "keep thinking" and "don't stop thinking", but the hardest thing for me was not necessarily thinking, but knowing how to think. it always seemed like umineko wanted me to think in a certain way, follow a certain logic in my thinking, process the information that was given to me in a certain way, but it never directly taught me how to do that. i had to learn this by myself, learn how to think in the way the story wanted me to think, and only after i did that i was able to look at the truth system almost as if i was "predicting" what it was trying to tell me, to see beyond the truths what kind of possibilities would be applicable and expected on a narrative like umineko's. so while the red/blue truths seemed straightforward to me, the "logic" i had to grasp in order to use those truths effectively WAS subjetive. in hindsight i also understood some of those truths would only have meaning to me personally after i already had some knowledge of the mystery, so yes, arriving at potential solutions after you have character/narrative understanding. i don't think we had similar experiences regarding this cause the puzzling and solving was very enjoyable to me all the way through, but i do agree

#not sure how much sense this made but this is something i think about often ever since like... episode 2 #ask

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m1ckeyb3rry · 8 months ago

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Oh wait I’ll check on the Noel noa color thing but also FRENCH FLAG LMFAOOOOOO im crying that’s too funny to me you should just use that regardless of character color Edit: ok yeah no character color specification so FRENCH FLAG IT IS

LMAOO otoya fr would be tweaking “you like the fucking donkey suit more than my sheen costume???”

SHSHSH welp either way character development yk!!! HAVE FUNNNNN but yess I’ve got some halloweekend plans to go out with some friends!! Our group decided on the power rangers LOL so we’ll be doing that I can’t say I can see myself having an event that’s on Mira lore levels but very excited anyways LMAO

True…at least the additional times are popping off….anyways….

Trueee the art style has changed so much LOL plus now that barous more established as Isagis rival im sure they’ll yassify him

I agree especially in the manga lately the eyes are getting huge LMAOO but relatively they are larger but not to a point where I really noticed or let it bother me tbh I think ops eye style is weird but whatever I guess

LMAOAOAOA atp we’re gonna cycle through all the other characters and get converted after their miraverse debuts bllks just gotta trust the process and let Shidou find their soulmates with his antennae LMAOOOO

YES THAT LITERALLY WHAT HAPPENED LMFAOOOOO to date you’re still the only one I ever sent something too either because some people had requests closed or I just wasn’t feeling like I had the balls for it at the moment oops but yeah anyways I haven’t seen AS many Karasu cameos recently but maybe if I find a good one I’ll try another but real glad we’re staying strong!! Also real x2 familial/platonic Barou is SOOO GOOD I LOVE pursuit Barou unironically maybe my fav version wait ikwym though I think I’m the same where I wouldn’t actively wish for Barou to be the male lead and get the romantic plot but Karasu on the other hand…so real for otoya though he’s definitely grown a LOT on me too!! WAITTT OTOYA PURSUIT VERSION??? No way…I would’ve never imagined it being for otoya at first that’s crazy but this is where the side stories/spin offs have their time to shine LMAOO nagi main and then side story branches problem solved but yeah swerving is a struggle because at the same time I feel like having the side characters all be opps would make it less enjoyable too if you just hated the rest of the cast LMFAO

Omg our 1/3 year anniversary?!?! Wow wait I can’t believe it’s been that long this is crazy but YES spread the closeted loser otoya agenda!!! Maybe we’ll get less cheater fics of him because of bfb!!! OH YEAH that giant rec post LOL I did giggle reading seabird though the banter and mini beef was really funny no fr if sae was like that I could see myself converting but alas

The perfect balance between meme and hot edit >>> careless whisper unironically one of my fav audios at this point third selection/u20 yuki in my head forever and always also speaking of the way he’s still benched in the manga….

- Karasu anon

LMAOOO CAN YOU IMAGINE I DID A GRADIENT WITH THE FRENCH FLAG TOO 😭😭😭 idt ibispaintx lets you do that with the free version but it would be hilarious 😫 anyways i always forget noa is french for some reason HAHA maybe because he coaches bm which is a german club OKFJDJD but yeah we may have to go with french flag blue then (or maybe a color will drop by the time i get to that req)

HELPP IMAGINE OTOYA IS SEXY SHREK (somehow) and this is karasu:

the entire time his expression is just like 😒😒😒 because he did NOT want to be the donkey but it was that or lord farquaad but that would’ve entailed having to pretend to be shorter than otoya the whole night and he couldn’t handle that (i’d still take him dressed like that ngl)

POWER RANGERS IS SO CUTE I HOPE YOU HAD FUN!! and that you stayed safe and nothing too crazy happened LFJDJS

the art style has improved sm it’s so crazy to look back at the earlier chapters of the manga and see the difference in all of the characters especially barou nagi and isagi!! those three look the most improved i think LDJDJS but fr the additional times have been slaying they’re my fav parts of the episodes

HELPPP not us turning every bllk opp into wingmen 😭😭😭 tbf shidou was never really an opp though he was just irrelevant kinda like aiku so ig the promotion makes sense 🧐 but so true who’s next…wingman chigiri or smth…chigiri set me up with nagi PLEASE

OADJSHSN FEELING HONORED can’t believe i was your first/only request 🙏🏻 i haven’t been seeing much karasu either (not that i really read fics though) i think that means i need to get back to work 😓 you know what they say if you want to read it you have to write it ☝🏻 but yeah barou and yukimiya are kinda in the same boat for me where i really like both but i wouldn’t SWERVE for them unless the dynamic with them is more compelling than the main lead’s dynamic

YUP pursuit was originally meant to be for otoya that’s why he’s also a ninja in it!! kinda like hollyhock lol it actually predates hollyhock too i came up with the idea for it in the beginnings of the miraeita era so that explains it but yeah it’s crazy to think about how different the story would’ve been if it had been for him…i feel like a lot of very iconic plot lines wouldn’t have been as good with otoya sadly LMAO like the aegislash arc just wouldn’t fit otoya as well as it does nagi sadly 😭 and agreed that’s the thing with writing opps as side characters is i just don’t care abt them so either i’ll be annoyed OR i’ll convert and they won’t be opps anymore

I KNOWWW IT’S CRAZY you sent the req for fwtkac at some point in early june so if you count that then it’s been like five months but if you go by when i actually posted fwtkac in like mid-late june it’s been about four months either way it’s insane KDHDSHA but yeah seabird made the rec post so it got a boost from that ig…ngl i’ve never really been able to figure out why some stories do/don’t get notes because the one shots i think are silly goofy dumb get way more traction than my more serious works 🤷🏻‍♀️ but i also don’t really care that much about notes so it doesn’t bother me it’s just curious 😭 as long as i get one or two people telling me they like a given story i’m happy with it HAHA maybe i can say that as someone who’s blown up on wattpad and ao3 already but I actually had less fun with my writing when i had more readers than less so i’m not the kind of person that really craves getting readers or anything like that…like whenever i see those posts complaining about how those blurb posts/two sentence headcanons get 10x as many notes as well written stories i’m just like eh because it’s true and i do find those fics annoying but at the end of the day what people choose to like/rb doesn’t change the quality of what i’m writing any yk 🤔 i know my stuff is pretty decent so why would i waste my energy complaining about not getting enough recognition when i could just be happy with what i DO get (plus i write for fun and just happen to share it because i can not because i write for validation so there’s no reason to stress)

LMAOOO IF CANON SAE WAS LIKE SEABIRD SAE I’D FR LOVE HIM to be fair i think it’s just that we never get to see him through any lens but rin’s pov so it’s always the most emo version of him HAHAH because tbf i don’t think any character could’ve pulled off seabird the way he did yk so it must be somewhat in character 😰 at least we can hope so

memes aside careless whisper is lowkey a really good song LRJDJSSN but yeah yukimiya truly one of the men of all time…kaneshiro bring him back 😢 GET HIM OFF THE BENCH ASAP

#answered asks

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7outerelements · 11 months ago

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Playing Tears of the Kingdom has been a mixed bag. The world is usually dense enough that exploring is interesting, but the world's verticality makes horseback riding inefficient and eventually I wind up having to run distances I'd rather ride through. There's still a persistent feeling of wonder when I find something visually stunning or practically useful (the lake underground is a particular standout), but eventually that's going to run out. So what else is there?

The combat is fun but frustrating. Lizalfos are especially irritating to fight, and this game still hasn't solved the problem of enemy health scaling punishing you for playing the game. I like killing things, but it's a lot less enjoyable when I'm fighting tier three enemies with a traveler's sword tied to a rock. I know the solution to this is to use more valuable disposable items to boost my damage output, but I'm not used to thinking of monster parts as damage sources so it's a hard habit to get into. Dodge timing is still wonky from BotW, and big enemies hit like trucks so it's too easy to get one-shot in the early game, but in all it's still fun to whack things and do clever things with arm powers. Yiga ninjas are especially interesting to fight, and are a welcome relief from 'blins and 'fos. The inventory limit system and Korok seeds are still irritating mechanics that damage gameplay, though.

The story is difficult to follow, in multiple ways. It's not clear what's going on, and this game is difficult to take on in a straight line. Emergent stories and side quests stand out more than the mainline narrative, and those range from somewhat charming to mildly annoying, which is a step up from BotW's quests which were occasionally agonizing.

The only time I really get annoyed with TotK is when I'm stonewalled by physics-based Garry's Mod bullshit. Putting things together is a pain in the ass, and a significant chunk of playtime is spent doing it. The sense of joy from a device working as intended is more than wiped out from the frustration of things not working quite right. Devices not cooperating and getting randomly one-shot are the most frustrating parts of this game, and they're both features of integral parts of the core game loop. It's like a hamster wheel with caltrops glued inside at random places, which sounds like something you could probably build in TotK.

Stepping away from punishments, the game's loot reward is difficult to pin down. There are certainly more and varied currency rewards - Zonaite, crystalized charges, treasure maps, other more esoteric rewards - but there are still chests with arrows or random gems inside, which can feel lackluster. It's better than BotW's constant weapon rewards, and the rupee economy feels less tortured this time around with more types of wealth. I would actually prefer more food and elixir-based rewards because I hate the cooking mechanic so much. A six-ish button input process to make a single healing item is unconscionable, and if I could import an estus flask and throw all of my rice balls and meat skewers into the fire, I would.

I don't appreciate optional busy work (like taking pictures of items), but worse by far is the way the game wastes my time with mandatory actions. I need to collect light spirits, not leveling up is going to kill me often enough that I'll rage quit the game, but every time I level up it means sitting through or skipping several cutscenes - a problem from BotW they failed to learn from. The amount of time I spend watching the same cutscene I've been served dozens of times before is nauseating, especially since the timer will continue to climb until I've spent more time NOT playing this game than I have spent PLAYING some others.

It's not a total shit show. There's lots to like about the world and the ways Link can interact with it. Parts of the game were clearly made by very clever people. But it makes me miss Zelda games that were made with a different design philosophy.

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stardust-in-my-mind-blog · 10 months ago

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New opportunities are available now for routines and being able to do tasks that won't be interrupted by needs of littles. I can now let myself design my day around my energy and be able to hyperfocus on executive and administrative tasks I was never really able to with all the chaos and the unpredictable nature of a neuro-spicy household and managing my own emotions and demand avoidance. All while going through a divorce and all the fun stuff that comes with that. Right now it's managing our egos. I'm fine unless he gets emotionally immature. Then my wits and knives come out and I start to let him know exactly what pattern of behavior he is showing me, how long it has been going on, where I have it documented, and how it has affected me until I began healing it. If I have enough executive function, though, I just gentle parent him like the kids and kind of validate without letting any personal aspect of myself engage with the bullshit. Then I affirm that the next wife can train him out of his toxic habits, that my only concern is getting all of us out of here alive. If I design a routine that meets all of my needs, all other functions that have suffered or regressed since the burnout should resurface and I can integrate them in a way that allows me to both summon them and be confident in my abilities. My environment before would be disrupted most of the time within 15-20 minutes, so it was difficult to really sink into any task with a lot of focus. Since I'm transitioning to this time with kids at school, this is the perfect time to create something I'm happy with to follow for the rest of the year. The above steps are a great start. I can now go to temple for day time meditations, which will also help with my ability to focus and calm my spirit - which then opens me up to more abundant thinking and less self-doubt and limits. The chronic urgency may have stemmed from knowing I always had such a limited time to truly let myself focus with my entire brain. And because so much of childcare is chore work and problem solving problems that are mostly emotional regulation and conflict resolution driven... there just wasn't any dopamine or motivation for much else. That can change now, especially since that urgent pressure has all but completely vanished. The trapped feeling too has gone away. This process should be smoother than I thought, but I do need to make sure to put intentional thought behind it. Bought three journals since the store I usually get them in isn't carrying them. Excited to begin new ways of thinking and routines and projects. Have been getting on indeed daily to train body into not seeing the website as the enemy or a complete listing of everything that will likely reject me. This is a big improvement. I still sweat a bit, but I don't have all the internal discomfort. My mind still swirls around a bit, so I just read listings without having to engage with them, and let myself just be in the environment. Job hunting exposure therapy. Still think remote will be best. Have been brainstorming with chatgpt about different job titles and talents I have that might interest me. Excited to started journaling about all of that in the new notebooks. I got a cerulean blue, a peachy coral, and a juniper green colors in the notebooks. I should also pack up more of my room. When I start to feel anxious or have intrusive thoughts, it usually means I need to do cardio and move my body. I try to do that after the kids come home so it kind of balances all of us in the energy. Sometimes they want to dance too so it makes for a good connection activity. I enjoy the silence. I enjoy the longer focusing. I'm able to watch and read things for longer now without feeling like I'm going to be forced to leave just when my brain starts working on a fascinating concept. It makes everything more enjoyable. This is all going to work out very nice.

What I learned about my brain and routines as a person with ADHD and autism:

The number one strategy that I've been implementing is

Eliminate any and all decisions to avoid being burnt out by 10 am

My partner turns on the radio as soon as he leaves for work, so I'm not met with the decision of putting on a podcast or music as soon as I wake up

I have the same breakfast every day and this might change, the basic concept here is, that it doesn't require any fresh ingredients so that I always have breakfast available even if I forgot to get groceries because I take my meds in the morning

Moving to the bathroom is a little tricky sometimes but when I'm there, I can do everything I need to do to get ready in one room and in sight so I remember to actually do them (including my clothes because I undress anyways to shower)

I simplified my wardrobe so every shirt goes with every pair of pants so it doesn't really matter what I pick, it will always look (somewhat) put together

Also, dressing to be comfortable instead of dressing to look nice was a huge thing for me. That simple mindset shift truly eliminated so many decisions I was making and that were truly tiring me out

What also really helped, is, that I stopped tying my routine to a certain time. Now, I realize that this is a privilege because I don't work at the moment but this truly changed things for me because it became a lot less daunting once I eliminated a lot of decisions. I don't have to mentally prepare myself to get ready anymore and I consider that a huge win because I have a lot more energy throughout the day.

I realize that these things are not new in any ways, shape or form but I have a very hard time unlearning things I was thought as a child. Maybe seeing that other people do things "differently" helps someone else.

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shrimp-salt · 2 years ago

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This is me clowning, also breaking my silence.

I’ve seen people having different opinions on Inside Out 2; that sequel is like this, sequel is like that. Most of the time, we see how people always ask why Anxiety is an emotion when we already have Fear, or why we don’t see adults have those emotions.

And please note that I’m not here to answer those questions; I’ll just let the movie do it itself.

As an Inside Out enjoyer, I would like to share some thoughts and theories on the sequel since I find it pretty intriguing.

Posters.

As we can see, there are many small changes to the environment in the poster. The background in the 1st movie is filled with colors of the 5 emotions, while in the 2nd movie, it’s blank, like a white space. Joy’s expressions are different too; in the new poster, she’s just surprised as if she’s trying to process something.

“Big changes. New emotions” because puberty hits Riley, and I think adding new emotions to this phase is a nice idea.

It can be a bit complicated to understand since there are different emotional theories.

So there are terms called "Primary Emotions" and "Secondary Emotions."

Primary emotions are direct emotional reactions to a situation, and they are called primary because they come first. It is your very first reaction to a situation or event, and they alert you about your needs.

Secondary emotions are the emotions that are often felt after the primary emotion has been experienced. They are the reactions to our primary emotions and are often habitual or learned responses.

The purpose of secondary emotions is to cover up the sensitive primary emotions with something less sensitive. In this way, they are a way of protecting the self from being vulnerable.

Below are some other main differences between primary and secondary emotions.

Primary emotions

+ Are instinctive and natural

+ Functional

+ Can be painful or pleasurable

+ Can be harmful when reacted to

+ Are sensitive and vulnerable

+ Are rooted in the deeper parts of the brain

+ Can help keep us connected with others

+ Can help guide our actions

Secondary emotions

+ Are learned or habitual

+ Protective

+ Defensive and avoidant

+ Can be better controlled than primary emotions

+ Can numb emotions

+ Do not listen to what the emotions are asking

+ Comes from a place of learning, e.g., ‘I should not feel sad’ or ‘I should not feel any anger.’ This is not the same as self-control.

+ Are motivated by pain reduction

+ Linger around long after the event has happened

+ Generally, leads to distance and disconnect from our goals, values, and people

In the poster, the four emotions appear underneath the five core emotions. So according to the Secondary Emotions Theory for Inside Out 2, Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment, and Envy can be those "secondary emotions," as they will ‘help’ Riley react to the emotions she feels or protect her from feeling ‘vulnerable.’

Plus, Anxiety and the rest seem to just "move in," but not born from the dark like Joy was. Where were they all the time?

Before puberty hits Riley, what she felt wasn't too complex for the five basic emotions to handle. But now, she is more aware of herself and the surrounding environment, how she would react to it. She may feel more self-conscious.

Live right and live honestly... Like we have to have something to rely on. I think that often when teenagers reach puberty, they want to be more independent than dependent, like they don't need anyone. How we feel, we can solve ourselves, so the other four emotions were born to do that. Maybe Riley will go through the same psychological change…

Now speaking of Fear and Anxiety, Fear's job is to get the body prepared to fight or flee. While Anxiety's job is reacting to the emotions versus danger in the environment. Anxiety is a stop-reaction to the impulses that fear and other core emotions create inside the body. For instance, Fear mobilizes energy for movement, and Anxiety pushes it back down.

Envy can be secondary emotions to Disgust, Anger, and Sadness. Actually, there may also be Fear, but not much.

Embarrassment probably works with the four as well.

Ennui can mask Anger, Fear, and Sadness…

Either way, unlike the rest, Joy doesn’t seem to have a secondary emotion in the movie. But we do know that Joy tends to mix herself with the other basic emotions more.

However, in my opinion, if the new emotions become secondary emotions to Joy, then Riley will likely experience mental issues instead…

Now coming back to the poster, the blank space behind the emotions could mean that maybe Riley doesn't really want to feel the primary emotions and the secondary emotions rise up to fill that space for her.

Conclusion

This is a complex topic to talk about and Inside Out 2 may want to carry this out so we can have a simpler look to it. In the 1st movie, it’s more about getting to know the voices inside your head, and embracing Sadness to find happiness again. And it's not easy to make a film that exploits the psychology and physiology of this age group, it's very difficult to portray the relationships in your mind vividly. That just makes me intrigued more of how they will portray it in Inside Out 2.

Now some thoughts on the plot.

During puberty, the new emotions will prevent the core ones from touching the console or they will have some conflicts.

So the plot can go like this, I haven’t thought too much about it so feel free to share more with me! Here goes.

At first, it can go smooth,when Riley seems to have more self-control and the core emotions are okay with the way the new emotions keep her calm through changes in puberty. But then they'll realize that it's actually not good for Riley to repress her emotions and how the four emotions drive her may go in an extreme way. She hits puberty, she experiences lots of things, the four take the lead, the five are okay but then they're not okay, or they're just okay since someone did a better job than them and they could go playing on the beach or something.

Or they just fight from the beginning and until the end then learn how to work together, which I'm not very fond of unless they found a good reason

That's all for the plot based on the Secondary Emotions concept I can come up with for now!

P/s: I read the lyrics of Crazy Train, the song that is used in the trailer. It's interesting.

Mental wounds still screaming

Driving me insane

I'm going off the rails on a crazy train

I know that things are going wrong for me

You gotta listen to my words, yeah

Heirs of a cold war

That's what we've become

Inheriting troubles I'm mentally numb

Crazy, I just cannot bear

I'm living with something' that just isn't fair

Mental wounds not healing

Who and what's to blame

I'm going off the rails on a crazy train

Special thanks to the article that helps me in this.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/primary-and-secondary-emotions.html#:~:text=Primary%20emotions%20are%20immediate%2C%20instinctual,experiences%2C%20beliefs%2C%20and%20thoughts.

#inside out #inside out 2 #theory #emotions #this is me clowning

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