#buggy's book reviews

[buggywiththefolkmagic]

Book Review: Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer

TW: Alcohol mentions and tallow mentions. Poison Path things as well. This is: Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer Rating: 9/10 Pros: An amazing outlook into animism, herbalism, and foraging in a safe, sustainable and non-appropriative way! The instructions on how to garden were very to the point and explained some complicated ideals in an easy to digest way, I think one of my favorite quotes from the book that stuck with me while reading was,

“Just when I think magic has been cut down and paved over; a dandelion has pushed it’s way out of the cracks in the cement.”

I hope that quote helps you understand what sort of writing to expect out of this book! As someone that grew up learning planting from my Papaw who took classes on the subject after getting out of WWII through a governmental program and was a farmer before that, some of the information on growing was things I already knew. But for a beginner just looking into ‘wildcrafting’ or foraging or just plain growing your own herbs for witchy things?

Get this book.

The author, while an herbalist, breaks down each plant she mentions and includes plenty of warnings and suggestions for use both magical and holistically. She covers the poison path in a very easy to understand way while making sure you understand it’s not a beginner’s thing, and certainly not one to take without serious consideration first. The author takes careful note of Indigenous practices and makes sure to drive it home that their voices are to be heard over anyone else’s when it comes to taking care of American land. There are so many rituals and remedies included in this book that I have a feeling I’ll be referencing it quite a lot, and not just for the gardening and foraging tips!

Did I mention the entire 11 pages of a bibliography in the back?? No? Well there’s that too. My academic heart is thrilled.

Cons: Honestly? The only real con I have is that the author spends a chunk of time going over the Wheel of the Year which is a wiccan construct in a book that otherwise doesn’t have any wiccan imagery or practices up until this point. It feels…weirdly thrown in? But she also includes multiple folk traditions that were common amongst those particular time periods so…it is worked in but it still feels a little odd and jarring to me.

The author also mentioned the use of tallow as a commonly used oil for salves, which is correct but some people are uncomfortable with the idea and I understand that! Since the author has tincture recipes as well she does mention the use of alcohol in steeping purposes.

Overview: Animism, foraging, herbalism, and being safe to the environment. Good stuff all around!

[brucedinsman]

Book Review: 3 Amish Favorites by Brenda Maxfield

Book Review: 3 Amish Favorites by Brenda Maxfield

Honor’s Wedding, The Buggy Shop, Annie’s New Beginning 3 Amish Favorites by Brenda MaxfieldMy rating: 4 of 5 starsKindle Unlimited 3 Amish romances set in Hollybrook. The first involves deceit and a one-sided marriage, the second features deceit by an Amish man who gets a girl pregnant by telling her that they are already married in God’s eyes but won’t be responsible for the baby, and the…

[kcrossvine-art]

Hewwo! baps your face off! TODAY from the big book of Redwall cookin’, we have my fuckin favorite recipe thus far; Rosey's Jolly Raspberry Jelly Rock Cakes- The one that I've actually had ready to go for a few weeks now but I kept eating it too fast to take notes. Buckle into your buggies, hotshots.

(You can find the original recipe at the bottom if you’d like to follow along, and i plead you do)-

MY NAMES CROSS NOW LETS COOK LIKE ANIMALS

SO, “what goes in to a Jolly Raspberry Jelly Rock Cake?” YOU MIGHT ASK

All-purpose flour

Baking powder

Salt

Unsalted butter

Sugar

Eggs

Raspberry jam or jelly

Went to read this recipe and upon realizing i had every ingredient- from start to finish it took about an hour and half from deciding to make it to being able to eat it! 

AND, “what does Jolly Raspberry Jelly Rock Cake taste like?” YOU MIGHT ASK

Excellence. Pure comfort. Food that heals bones and hearts. Food that laces up scars. Food you make for your lover in bed on a cold rainy day.

Not quite fluffy, but very soft, smooth center

Crumbly, again soft, outer

Tart raspberry jam is the crown jewel of the piece. Mwah. God.

Rich and refreshing

The sprinkled sugar comes out not overbearingly sweet

Do try to eat/serve these warm, they keep well, but the jam will start to absorb into the pastry

Most jam or fruit filling works here, as long as it has some tartness, the world is your oyster. Grab your oyster fork. Feel weird about having an oyster fork. 

Like a molten lava cakes baby cousin-

. Used fine granulated sugar 

. Used salted butter (and only a pinch of salt instead of tsp.)

. Used raspberry jam

. Served with goat cheese caramel lightly drizzled

. Bumping the cook time up from 15 to 17 minutes let the edges brown a bit more which I recommend I think in the future I would like to also try pairing this with slices of strawberry, or perhaps fresh raspberries placed on top? Its hard to spitball pairing ideas because Most Things would pair fair!!

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Gentlethems of the Jury, we here at crossy wossys kitschy kitchy, welcome our very first 10/10

I so dearly need to communicate that I've had this art made for a good week now, I first baked this almost 2 weeks ago, and am just now getting around to writing the actual review. I like to have the food in my mouth to write about the flavor/mouthfeels section.  And I kept eating them too fast to take notes. I've used almost a whole bag of sugar making these on repeat and my teeth surely hate me but the heavens sneer enviously.

These fellas don't seem rather persnickety- I think one would have to actively try to mess up the recipe in a way where its no longer delicious. These are essentially scones with more variety in textures and flavors! The aforementioned latest batch was made at 4am halfmindedly with multiple perceived mistakes, and the only difference from the first carefully attended-to batch was that they were slightly less pretty to look at, both being absolutely mouthwatering. 

The low fussy-ness, low spoons (for me!), and delicious outcome that can pair with many drinks, makes this a flawless pastry in my eyes. a proud 10/10, with 1 being food that makes one physically sick and 10 being food that gives one a lust for life again.

🐁 ORIGINAL RESIPPY TEXT BELOW 🐁

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling the dough

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, chilled and cubed, plus additional for the baking sheet

1/2 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Raspberry jam or jelly

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400° F and grease a baking sheet.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingers (alternately, pulse the dry ingredients and butter in a food processor) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the sugar. Make a well in the centre, add the eggs and mix well to form a stiff dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and form it into a roll. Cut the dough into ten pieces, shape them into balls and place them well apart on the baking sheet.

Use your thumb to make a hole in the centre of each and fill the hole with jam or jelly.

Pinch the dough closed over the jam, sprinkle the rock cakes with a little sugar and bake them until golden brown, about 1 5 minutes.

Cool the cakes on a wire rack and eat them while fresh, preferably on the same day.

[scarareg]

Percy Jackson and The Olympians Season 1 Review (1/3)

What I like:

It has color! Disney tends to do their live actions shows/series dark or gray ,so I am pleasant to see colors popping up on the screen. Walker's eyes and the orange shirts are a highlight for me!

Set design is impressive! The team behind it did an excellent job. Each cabin is INSANE! Olympus is sooooo marvelous as well!

I was doubting of Lin being casted as Hermes but he proved me wrong and he did a great job

NICO DI ANGELO'S VOICE!

The credits are so cool and cute! Love the art!

Like the casting for Ares, Dionysus, Poseidon, Sally and Hephaestus

NICO DI ANGELO SCREAMING "BIANCA"

I can see why Walker was chosen as Percy. He fits the character so well,has the vibe,the mannerism,the eyes. My only complaint is the hair,they could and should have made him wear a wig. If Miley Cyrus could do it, Walker can! They have the money to buy one,there are not excuses

Seeing the Mythomagic deck was super cool! Love the design!

Cerberus!

In all seriousness,they foreshadowing the di Angelo siblings using their voices was smart AF, because casting them at this point requires a lot of hard work,time and money that may not pay off

Percy driving scene,love it!

The scene of Grover being pulled to Tartarus is really well done and faithful to the books, truly makes you feel the tension of the moment!

Sally in the rain while Logical by Liv Rodrigo is playing is incredible,completely in love with that scene! My girl just wants to feel a ounce of how she felt while being with Poseidon,it is so tragic!

The Lightning Bolt and Hades Helmet are sooo cool, really well design,I want them!

Ares bleeding Ichor!

The interaction between Poseidon and Percy was cute and I like what Poseidon said about Percy having trouble following rules, but that it was his fault because that is how the ocean is . Super wholesome moment!

Percy calling Kronos grandpa is hilarious

Stuff I feel conflicted about:

Even if I love to see what Mythomagic looks like, I feel that making it a demigod stuff instead of Nico's precious hobby takes away from him. The game is in part a connection to his past, to his era, his sister and a side that divides him from the rest. Nico feels like an outcast even among outcasts, and the other demigods feel he is kinda strange. Even Percy, who tried to be friendly, thought Mythomagic was lame. I don't know, I just think it should be only his stuff

What I dislike:

The entire cast looks nothing like their book counterparts and it is distracting to me. I am going to compare it to the One Piece Live Action to explain my feelings. With OP I did not need to be told who was who ; and I already was fangirling that Coby was in the background,or Buggy will be next episode, or Helmeppo is hot for some reason,etc. Here I was like "some dudes are looking at Percy,is he supposed to be Luke? I do not know. He may be,but I am not sure." And hey,look at that ,he turned out to be Luke!. I don't know,I don't love that, it takes away from the experience and characters

Percy was angsty in a way that feels out of character to me. Like,in the books he was sad that his mother "died",obviously,but he still had his kindness. Here, his anger was more reminiscent of Harry after Sirius died in the books. Trashing everything,yelling,full of fury. And it felt wrong for Percy to act like that. For example: in the books when Percy finally wakes up, he tells Grover that they are still friends and that he know he did everything in his power to help him and his mother. In the show Percy is super cold and actively distances himself from Grover until the quest is going to start, and it feels like Percy chose Grover to go with him because that's how the book go, yet Show Percy dont feel particularly excited for Grover to be there,he dont seems to miss him after their fight , nor thinks of him as his best friend. He said himself "finally I have friend" referring to Luke and the other guys in camp,meaning Grover was not. Which takes me to the next point

Grover is treated awfully by the writers. Everyone keeps telling him to go away. Chiron and Mr D. seem tired of him. In Lotus Casino, Percy and Annabeth acted like they were forgiving him for forgetting them,even if they knew it wasn't his fault that he didn't remember. The writers made the naiad give Percy four pearls only to make Grover lose one, which was unnecessary and just makes him look stupid or incompetent. The list goes on,you get the idea. Grover is not treated with respect by either writers or the narrative

We were told but not shown Annabeth's fear of spiders (that is another problem of the show,it tells but don't show), they didn't mention her passion for architecture and dreams of becoming an architect. Also,I don't love the idea of her listening to Luke's plan. My girl is supposed to still have hope for Luke to change his mind,she believes in his kindness and is in negation and defends him when people calls him "evil" for four books in a row. They taking away all these details ,plus she not having a crush on Luke feels like they are taking away what makes Annabeth herself while removing the side of her that is just a teenager girl. She is supposed to be kind as well, that is why people like Frank feel safe asking her for help because he knows she is not going to laugh of him. Here she is way more stoic. You can be smart and warm at the same time,Rick. It is possible, you wrote it that way 18 years ago

Sally yelling to Percy. I know that people say we should not trust Book Percy's POV because he sees his mom as perfect (fair point) but I think that if Percy has such a great perception of her is for a reason. Also ,I am willing to believe that if Percy says his mother never got mad and screamed at him for being expelled from schools,it's because is true. In the show almost all the flashbacks are her shouting at him. Book Sally don't do that because she understands,she knows who Percy's father is,she knows what having a child of him would mean,she knows that the magical and strange stuff that Percy experience is not his fault; that is why she is patient and kind,and what makes her such a great,mature,kind mother; and they took that away from her.

The acting was not the best in the first episodes. Now ,it got better as the show went on, but in the first 3 episodes legit feels like they are reading the script from a carbon board. I do not know if it is because of the directors or lack of experience playing the characters and that is why it improves later on or what, but it is really noticeable

They are skipping or cutting scenes really weirdly , just fading to black and showing the aftermath of situations. Like Sally's car crashing after the Minotaur attack. At one point we see the Minotaur coming, then the screen goes to black and next scene they are crashed. Or with the animal escape we see them in the car and next scene they are in the streets free. It makes the pacing feel strange, takes away the momentum and feels kinda lazy coming from such a big production.

They tell us but do not show the magic in this world and is frustrating! For example, in Narnia no one tells Lucy or us the rules but we see it. With the music cue we know the Wardrobe is special in some way. The she gets inside it and walks backwards,and keeps going and keeps going and keeps going, which is weird, and there are trees! Later, when Mr Tumnus plays his flute, we see that it's magical and makes Lucy fall asleep; and after that she returns to the normal world and we know hours have passed yet Peter is still counting, meaning in our world just have been seconds. In the Percy Jackson's world an easy way to show the magic is with the Mist, but instead they decided to just tell us everything with endless,boring exposition dialogue

Connected with the prev point,they never figure out who any of the creatures/monsters are (except from Echidna) and is boring. Every scene is the trio meeting them and immediately going "you are Medusa", "You are Crusty and here is all the information about you". Yes,the characters know them from myths, but each creature/monster has gone through changes to blend in modern times,making it tricky to be immediately recognizible, that's the fun of the books.

I also feel the world building was lacking. Like people who are watching the show without having read the books do not know there is no Hades Cabin or which Cabin is for which God. Bet some of them think the first three Cabins are for Zeus, Poseidon and Hades but no; Cabin 2 is Hera's and is and always will be empty because she is the goddess of marriage, meaning she is 100% loyal to Zeus. And please correct me if I am wrong, but they did not mention the Mist nor Ambrosia,isn't it? Because I genuinely can not recall. All these details are important and are missing. They are also wasting the opportunity of foreshadow future characters. Like how cool would be to see an 8 year old Will! Or get know Cabin 9 and Beckendorf, that would give Percy a connection with him earlier than in the books and make us book readers hype to see Leo's Cabin!

The friendship with Luke feels underdeveloped. Percy says "finally I have friends" but I feel he barely knows him and we dont even know the name of the other dudes who supposedly are his friends. The show could have benefited from having two full episodes taking place in the Camp and moving the flashbacks from episode 8 to episode 2, it would feel more natural

Luke not having his scar. The reason I think it is important is because for Luke looking himself in the mirror is a constant reminder of his father, his grudge towards him, his quest and the failure it was and the shame he feels about it. All those feelings boiled down inside him and is the reason he joins Kronos. Taking the scar away takes that complexity. See it as the equivalent of Zuko's scar in the Percy Jackson universe

Part 2 • Part 3

[blubberquark]

Wish List For A Dumb Phone

I have a dumb phone with 20 days of standby time. It's getting old. I might need to buy another one soon.

I only really need that phone for phone stuff. It's small and light. It's my backup in places where my smartphone does not have reception.

A replacement would need physical buttons, and have bar or flip phone form factor, preferably in a blight green or orange colour. It should be a dual-SIM quad-band with GSM for basic phone calls, SMS and MMS, and 4G or 5G connectivity. The web browsing or download speed doesn't really matter.

In terms of featurephone features, I don't need twitter, facebook, whatsapp, or any of those built-in apps. I want the ability to take pictures, play MP3 and OGG files, record audio, play audio, browse the file system, and assign audio files as custom ringtones. E-mail is optional.

The hardware features I want are an SD card slot, a 240p camera or better, a light, FM radio (DAB would be a plus), a replaceable battery, bluetooth for tethering and audio headsets, and USB-C for tethering, charging, and file transfer. It doesn't have to be USB-PD or USB 3.0.

There are some features that would be nice. It would be nice to have a playlist that I can sync with a desktop podcatcher application. It would be nice to be able to move contacts between the SIM card and the SD card in bulk, and to sync contacts with my NextCloud address book with a desktop application. It would be nice if I could mount my phone's file system via USB.

All these features boil down to this: My dumb phone is a bit beat up. I wish I could just replace it with a slightly newer model with USB-C, but otherwise it doesn't need apps or wlan.

There is no phone out there that is just slightly better than my old dumb phone, and can be charged via USB. Once you have all the hardware and features, you might as well slap Android on there, and a more powerful processor, and sell it on features.

It's sad. There are many dumb phones that are almost better than my old one. There is one that is just like my old one, but with 4G instead of 3G, but no USB-C. There is one that looks great, but all reviews say the software is buggy and bluetooth doesn't work reliably. There is one with loads of features that has a couple of days of standby time, not weeks.

There's also one that has all the features but costs more than a smartphone.

All I really want is a Nokia 215 with USB-C, tethering, and a comfortable way to sync my stuff to a PC.

[leonbastralle]

GAMES I PLAYED IN 2023 - SECOND HALF-ISH

here's part 2 of my little review of my 2023 games! somehow this is even more indie than the first half and honestly a lot of games w nonexistent fandoms on tumblr so be the change u want to see in the world i guess!

old man's journey: this is a rly short indie game with an interesting, though very repetitive puzzle mechanic that follows an old man as he goes on an important journey - literally but also figuratively by coming to terms with his past, and at some point the two end up being the same thing. the art style is truly lovely and unique, it gives me big children's book vibes, and the soundtrack is beautiful and touching and so is the story and the ending itself. as i said, the mechanic and actual gameplay could be expanded on, but i knew this going in and played it mostly for the vibes and in that it did not disappoint.

the last campfire: when i talked my wife into playing this i told her it's basically the pacifist puzzle version of dark souls and it truly is. you play as a little ember on their final journey to the last campfire, where all embers go when their light begins to fade. the path is challenging and a lot of embers give up. they become forlorn. it's your desire to help them, if they let you. this game is heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, such a gentle and touching story with a cast of diverse, likeable characters. the puzzles are all in all pretty doable, though they can get pretty intense at times, but there is a story only mode to remedy that! this one definitely is going on my all time favorites list.

lemon cake: who were you before you wandered into this bakery? doesn't matter, because the ghostified previous owner is now holding you hostage as her successor. this is a little sim/time management game w a super cute style where you upgrade your bakery, cafe and garden to keep making new delicious looking treats and serving your customers in the best way possible until you are worthy of your predecessor's famous lemon cake recipe. this game, as games of this variety tend to do, gets a bit stressful if you want to serve all of your customers before they get angry and leave while also needing to keep an eye on your ingredients and ovens and displays. i really liked all the upgrade options that make your life easier, and i loved combining all the cute pastries into new menus every other day or so to keep customers happy. a bit expensive for the amount of gameplay you get out of it but definitely worth it on a sale!

the gardens between: this game follows a pair of childhood friends through their memories together as they prepare for the move that one of them is about to go through and the inevitable goodbye that will precede it. super touching game with a really cool and unique puzzle mechanic in which you manipulate time and objects at different times throughout the puzzles to get to the solution. can make you kind of dizzy because the levels are built like spirals so the camera does a lot of spinning, but i'm sensitive to this and was fine when i went slow and took breaks.

book of travels: hoooo boy this is a big one. this game is marketed as a tmorpg (because the servers are TINY) and it definitely makes it work. most of this game is just exploring around, doing little tasks and finding your way since the game doesn't tell you at all what to do, it's all up to how you play it. do you want to do some combat? figure out what the fuck happened in kasa, the closed capital? become a fisherman? just trade and collect cool looking things? the braided shore is your oyster and it is a beautiful one with the painterly art style and great music and ambiance. still in early access and therefore quite buggy sometimes, but definitely one of my faves w a lot of potential.

capybara spa: made by the same person as lemon cake, you can really see the similarities in terms of the cutesy style, but i think it's a lovely thing to look at. this is just a little clicker where you run a spa for capybaras and their little critter friends and keep levelling up to add more and more spa options and extras to give them the special treatment they deserve! i assume this game could get a bit overwhelming since there's a lot to keep an eye on at all times, but there are no time constraints and no punishment so you can take your time and get sucked in for hours, which this game is very good at doing.

tiny echo: in this point and click game you play as a funky little guy w an eye for a head who delivers letters to their spirit inhabitants with a minimal amount of puzzling involved. i mainly played it because i wanted to check out more games by the book of travels devs, and it was a nice experience, though it also doesn't really stand out for me. very short game, maybe a bit short for the price, but i played it from a shared library so skdjfhksdjf

cosmic wheel sisterhood: i got nothing bad to say about this one. you play as an exiled fortune telling witch who breaks after years of solitude and forms a forbidden pact. the cast of witches (and other creatures) is diverse, i liked both the characterizations and the interactions between characters (also a lot of them are very hot so that helps). the big mechanic of this game is that you use elemental energy to craft your own tarot cards from a selection of card backgrounds and elements and then you use these to tell people's fortunes, which in turn gives you more energy. depending on your selections, the cards will have unique names and different meanings, and i enjoyed seeing all the cards i or others could come up with. the story is intense and emotional, but to me, definitely in a good way. though there are several outcomes and so far i've only tried one. definitely replay value there. just be wary because despite including trigger warnings, they forgot one for cancer so be informed and do not be like me ADJHKAJSDHA

planet zoo: i tried this after i saw my wife play it because growing up i was crazy about zoo empire and zoo tycoon. i don't have much to say about this one because though you have a whooooole bunch of freedom in designing your zoo, the enclosures and even every single building, that freedom was a bit overwhelming for me so i never ended up rly getting into it. also not a huge fan of big capitalism expansion packs system, but hey. it definitely is a pretty, very neat game.

cats & dogs organized neatly: it's like static tetris. but with animals. you click on them and they bark and meow and you can SPIN THEM MANY TIMES as jazzy music plays in the bg. as you go you unlock more funky little boys n girls and they all have funny little bios and names. i broke my brain on some levels but didn't mind looking up some solutions in favor of the vibe! i enjoyed both of these and will definitely play the birds sequel that's set to come out this year! another german dev shoutout these were great games. they're very small and quite cheap but you can also get these on sale for like 2 euros KSJFHAKSFA

toem: truly the year of photography games for me, but i think vibe wise this one was my favorite. just a funky lil guy in a black and white world going on their first photography pilgrimage to toem, the famed natural phenomenon of their world. i loved all the little quests, the different worlds and the endless filter options and the soundtrack was great too. honestly greatly recommend, i don't own this game but i plan to buy it to replay!

pupperazzi: yet another photography game! this one's all about dogs, and it's delightful and wonky and just a good casual time with less story elements than the other mentioned photography games. not groundbreaking but great fun.

luna the shadow dust: this game follows a young apprentice mage back up the tower that he's grown up and studied in to face the consequences of his past mistakes. lovely art style, music, and puzzle mechanics, especially the use of light and shadow. i've wanted to play this one for a while and i'm really glad i did, i liked the story a lot even though it got quite sad.

alba: WAIT this one too is a photography game that i honestly might like even more because its story is so touching. you play as alba who is visiting her grandparents for the summer. the natural reserve on their island is about to be sold to be turned into a hotel, so her and her friend decide to start a petition to save it and help clean up the island and rescue animals in need as well as documenting the wildlife to change people's minds! truly one of the most heartwarming games i played in my life, 10/10 i cried at the sad part sdjkhksd

röki: this one's...a lot. the main character of this game, tove, lives in a little cabin with her dad and her very whimsical little brother who she's basically taking care of on her own because her dad has been incredibly depressed since his wife passed away. when a mythical creature attacks their house and abducts her little brother, tove has to enter a magical mirror world. there she has to help all the other mythical creatures in hopes of reawakening the forest spirits, who have been plagued by nightmare parasites, and finding a way to get her brother back. lovely puzzles and wintery vibes, but a truly heartbreaking story that gets more and more messed up every time she faces a nightmare parasite and with it, more of her past and the events that lead to her mother's death. despite the heavy undertones this is still a good game if you're ok with some tragedy and slight horror elements askjfhakjsfas

stardew valley: i forgot to add this one in the previous post bc i actually played it in early 2023. not my first time and will not be my last time either. still a queen among farming sim peasants and i'm looking forward to restarting our little farm w my wife after the next big update!

[theliterarywolf]

The way people disavow major studios yet still almost exclusively consume media from them actually reminds me of the current community around the Sims 4.

Like there's been a lot of rushed, buggy, and lacking content lately, and folks are consistently talking about it. Yet I'll still see like "Oh wow that's not enough content for that price. Oh well, I'm still pre-ordering it lmao!"

It's really perplexing for me as someone who just won't pay money for media unless I really love it. I mean it might also be a side effect of me being a lifelong sailor of the high seas, but it means that when I DO pay for media it's almost always indie stuff, and I have more to spend on things I really want to support to begin with.

Is it really just the convenience factor? Do people have more of an issue with going through unofficial methods now?

I'm just really fascinated by folks that continuously support companies and such they clearly don't appreciate anymore

Bruh, what is going on with The Sims? I keep seeing people saying that all the new games have been ass but are still buying them AND all the content packs?

I honestly don't know why people still preorder games.

And I'm not talking about Wishlisting a TBA title on Steam, I'm not talking about buying a bundlepack the day of release, I'm talking about people dropping full price before a game comes out.

Because not only has the past decade or so in gaming shown us that you're essentially telling Triple A companies that all their crunch and fractured release plans are A-okay... Most preorder 'bonuses' aren't shit, I'm sorry. I still remember that criminal preorder stunt GameFreak pulled with ScarVio.

And, yes, I know that other regions had the special edition statue as their preorder bonus, but the fact that that wasn't universal doesn't help

I will say this, though, to connect this back to mainstream movies and television: a lot of people just... Don't know how to sail the seven seas. That combined with the fact that certain sites go down or get infected with malware all the time has kind of made this environment where piracy has gone from an open secret to people doing moral grandstanding about 'You can't pirate that content*! Think of the poor studios!'

(*The only time I'll say this is for independently published books. Especially since a good chunk of indie writers will gladly drop you a free copy in exchange for a thorough review or something)

Because, as I've mentioned before, the vast majority of piracy isn't a matter of not wanting to pay but a matter of not having a means of access to do so.

I'll once again bring up a personal example: I wanted to watch Turning Red last year but I refuse to get a Disney+ account. I pirated it, ended up liking what I saw, and when the Blu-ray came out, I purchased it.

But you have so many people going 'Wow, can't believe this studio won't stop making shitty movies! I'm going to go buy a ticket to see how shitty this movie is! Wow, this movie sure was shitty! Wow, can't believe the shitty movie just got confirmed for a sequel, how did this happen~?'

[thienvaldram]

Book of the Snowstorm Review Compendium

Part 1 - Foreword, Previously on the Multiverse, Magic Bird of Fire, Dinosaur in the Snow

Part 2 - Neither Warrior Nor Thinker, Jenny Over-There’s Wonderful Life, Claus Rosen Bridge

Part 3 - Still Proceeding, Abstract Tales,

Part 4 - The Ties that Bind, A Buggy Little Holiday, Two Auteurs

Part 5 - Trauma and Tinsel, Love & War,

Part 6 - The Goblin the Witch and the Kitchen Sink, Revelry of the Redacted

Part 7 - The God Who Came For Christmas, Presents, The Cathedral of Winter

Part 8 - Just Dropping In, Conspiracy-1263 and the Christmas Conspiracy, Our Bleak Midwinter

Part 9 - The Gift of the Renegades, The First Noël, Our Finest Gifts We Bring (1-10)

Part 10 - Our Finest Gifts We Bring (The Rest)

[brostateexam]

Am I disappointed that people I know and otherwise like are buying Hogwarts Legacy...? I mean, kind of, but people aren't obligated to agree that a thing is antisemitic or that supporting HP is inherently transphobic. I can talk to people about this stuff but ultimately they'll do what they like and I don't consider it like an instant friendship DQ to take a wrong approach to a piece of media.

I am, however, disappointed that the news that the game just kinda blows doesn't seem to matter to people. It really is the ONN video about how some people have a cheese eating gene that will lead them to eat literally any kind of pizza including pizza made from garbage found in a dumpster, except with nostalgia and affinity.

"It has beloved IP from my childhood so it's good!"

What if we didn't pay money for games that professional reviewers said were unfinished and buggy with sparse content and repetitive gameplay even if they happen to feature a setting from a formerly beloved children's book series. What if a game being original and well made and good actually mattered.

[manonamora-if]

ive been looking at the ifcomp and i think im gonna do it. any advice for a firsttimer? what should i expect? what was your experience?

Hi Anon!

First of all, congrats on taking the leap! I know it can be quite daunting to participate in one of the biggest and oldest IF Competition there is currently. Takes quite a bit of guts to do it! Yay, you!

Suuuper long ask answer because you asked questions requiring long answers, where I probably repeated myself multiple times.

IFComp Advice

What to expect?

What was my experience?

TLDR: it's hard but also fun. Def recommend at one point (unless ranking makes you go blerg... then do the SpringThing or an unranked game jam).

IFComp Advice

I do have some advice for you, especially if you are planning on submitting a game to the IFComp this year, which is less than a month away:

Be Ready for your work to be judged and reviewed by people. Some will be harsh, some will be kind, most will be fair. If you are not fully open to criticism, especially negative one, the voting period will sting like hell. It is also fine not to read any review or comment about your entry, but a head's up is important.

Be prepared to rank low. If you follow the advice below, you probably won't end up last place. But the competition is stiff. Authors often spend a year or two on their entries before they submit. If you know you can't handle rankings, go for the SpringThing instead. More chill.

Submit your intent to participate NOW! The deadline is Sept 1st, but it's easy to put it off and forget. And intent to participate doesn't mean you have to submit something. You can back out at any moment (even during the voting period).

Check the rules and timeline of the comp (@ifcomp). You don't want to disqualify yourself by mistake...

Keep it short: 15 to 30 min of gameplay. There is less than one month left, and you want plenty of time to make sure your entry is as polish as possible! I took 3 months last time and it was a buggy mess on Day 1 of the voting period.

Use a program you know, or a simple one with good documentation or guides. You might have time in a month to learn how to use a complex program, but I wouldn't recommend it. List at the end.

Create something simple but airtight. You are racing against time. Shooting for the moon with something complex could work, or it could land you in the bottom. Usually, it is best to create a game which is doing little, but doing it very well, than submitting a behemoth that can't even do its core gameplay loop right every time (dissing myself, yes). Sam Ashwell has some good article for choice-based, Emily Short for parser puzzles.

Your prose should have as little grammar mistakes as possible. Pass your text through as many grammar checkers, and maybe some human testers (beta). The more eyes you have on it, the better. Hate to say it but, avoid word crimes there...

Have some impactful interactivity, that makes sense with the story. Puzzle, branching of variation, etc... Even if all of it is fake, and you are pushing the player through a linear story, the player shouldn't feel like they are just flipping pages of a book. I am not talking about the quantity, but the quality of the interactivity. Emily Short has some great article about that stuff.

Don't have bugs. Should be obvious, but you know... I didn't follow that one and got (rightly) roasted for it in the reviews. Test your game (and have people test your game) A LOT.

Style your project a little bit (if possible). It doesn't have to be fancy, but as simple as changing the colour of the background and the text, maybe the font of the text as well (!!! it should still be readable) can go a long way. Also appreciated but never mandatory: different formatting for different bits of text, some animation in the text, having images, having audio, having accessibility settings (theme, font, visual, audio)... Again, those are pointers. Leave this for last.

Credit where credit is due. Code, assets, beta-tester, etc... anything you did not make from scratch, or anyone helping you along the way, should be added in a credit page. Also credit yourself for what you did :P you deserve to show off your efforts!

Test your game relentlessly. Yes it bares repeating, I've done that mistake. Don't be me. Test your stuff again. Have people break your game.

Edit your submission page with care. Have a grabbing hook for your synopsis, an eye catching image, and any relevant documents the players would need (i.e. walkthrough). DON'T FORGET TO ADD A WAY FOR PLAYER REACH YOU FOR BUGS!

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Have fun! If you have fun making your entry, it will show in the writing and how the game is constructed.

Hypertext/Choice-based: Twine (Harlowe, SugarCube), Ink/Inklewriter, Moiki, ChoiceScript Parser: Adventuron

Oh... and good luck. You'll need it :P

If you are thinking of next year instead, most of these advice applies. You can just rule out the intent submission for now, the length of the game (1h gameplay is usually the sweet spot), and the program to use (though take one you understand). The rest could work for any comp honestly.

What to Expect?

The IFComp period in an exciting time where many people gather to play games and talk about them. Many people submit stuff yearly, sometimes with good results, sometimes it's atrocious. Sometimes, authors who haven't been seen in a while reappear to show off their labour of love or review other people's games. It can be very intense and overwhelming if you are participating (author or player).

As an author, you should expect (not exhaustive):

deadline (intent/game/voting),

potentially getting comments for bugs (and having to update, which you are allowed to),

seeing reviews and discussions about your entry (mainly on the IntFiction Forum, but sometimes on blogs too): good stuff, negative stuff, and people missing the point entirely or having bad take, or takes you didn't think about.

seeing people rating your entry on the IFDB (rating =/= vote, but can be a flawed indicator)

feelings galore (good, bad, ugly, anxious), especially stressing about the results

having to remind yourself that no one can judge everything completely objectively (expect when it comes to bugs, it is or it isn't), and that people vote for what they like.

following the rules on the IFComp website

a special private group on the IntFiction forum to discuss with other authors when the voting period starts, as well as posting reviews,

maybe get a prize at the end? (depends on your placement)

Honestly, it can be pretty rough. This is not an easy competition. Most people have been working on those projects for months or years. Some have for just a few weeks, but their pieces can be out of this world. Only the organisers have an idea of who is competing ahead of time, and how competitive it could be from year to year (i.e. did big names come out or not).

While reviews and ratings can give you an indication of how your game is faring with players, you will not be able to know until the votes are actually out (case and point: me, thought I did much better than reality). Either way, it will be a surprise, good, bad, disappointing...

Speaking of reviewers, most will try to be as partial as possible and going into every entry with an open mind. But, there are harsh reviewers out there, as well as kind ones. It is not unusual to see blunt reviews, especially if something ticked the player (bugs usually).

But also, it's loads of fun! You have a bunch of very serious people debating on minor things, newcomers trying out the comp and sometimes even reaching the stars, oldcomers popping by for a cup promising they will review ever game and then disappearing after three, a lot of very very very good games to play, so many different perspectives on what if IF, and feeling like you have a voice in what should be crowned the best of the competition!

It's weird, it's serious, it's goofy...

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best... but most importantly, have some fun. And do what's best for your mental health!

What was my experience?

I think I've talked about it quite extensively in my Post-Mortem for The Thick Table Tavern. Read that before the end of this, for context.

And almost a year after this experience (on this day, I was frantically writing), I think my feelings have changed quite a bit. I went into the competition guns-blazing without understanding the importance of things (bugs/grammar especially) and thinking I had done the absolute most and breaking the genre, believed I did sooooo much better than any other entry, got very dramatic when the first non-positive reviews came in, and was about to throw my shit when I saw the 1s in the voting curve. I am only a bit over-exaggerating here.

I definitely deserved the placement I got. Don't misunderstand, I am incredibly proud of what I achieved there! But... there were major issues for sure. And I've come around to recognise those.

Those 1s-2s were warranted, those negative comments were warranted: the first version was buggy as hell (which I think was the version in the mass downloadable packet? and I updated the game like 20 times), there are still a bunch of issues with the prose (I learned my em dash lesson!), the pacing is aaaalll the way off (I thought I was being cheeky, but didn't always land)... This was something way different for the comp, maybe more experimental than people expected (I mean, who does a click-only bar for a text-based comp...)? But most importantly, while it looked polished, you just needed to play a few minutes to see the varnish crack...

To say the least, I got slapped back to reality. HARD. This was a mediocre good-looking game. Real pretty, big flaws. And that's ok (not putting myself down). Not every game can be winners (unless it's La Petite Mort or DOL-OS :P), not every game will work as intended. You can rack all the trophies all the times. Sometimes you're just at the bottom.

All this might sound hella negative, but I am incredibly grateful for this experience. I have learned so much about game creation, coding, writing, what to do and avoid... There are things I probably wouldn't have learned had I not participated (or not as early). I have created friendships (and rivalries /jk) and found a community where I feel comfortable being this experimental with my work (hey, it worked for DOL-OS!) and continuing breaking the codes. It's renewed my drive to create and do more: games, experiments, trying new program, but also for the community, helping out, creating guides and templates, giving advice...

And I've found a bit of love for reviewing stuff it turns out.

I've made my peace.

And I have plans for a new pretty weird game for a future IFComp ;) I will make people cringe again :P Hopefully not because of bugs!

Final sidenote: I am still not taking my advice. No one tested DOL-OS before it was submitted, and it won. But also, other games placed poorly... I am still speed-running through competitions (not the IFComp this time), and tripping all over all the time. I still submit thing thinking I'm the hottest stuff and that no one else will be better than me. Completely delusional here. Be better than me, for your sake.

[buggywiththefolkmagic]

Book Review: Folk Magic and Healing, An Unusual History of Everyday Plants

This is: Folk Magic and Healing : An Unusual History of Everyday Plants by: Fez Inkwright! Rating: 8/10 Pros: ILLUSTRATIONS!!! I can't begin to say how stunning this book really is. It's clearly zeroed in on UK plantlife, but the sheer amount of folklore and old 'healing' usages mentioned in this book is well worth grabbing it up! It begins with a great breakdown of plantlife and how they were crucial to people before common medicine was the way of the world. Cons: Hm, I'd say the references used might be a bit of a con, the author does include references and sources however I feel for the sheer amount of information in this book it doesn't have nearly as wide a variety of sources cited. But considering the author's a folklorist in her own right I'm mildly okay with that. I also didn't go into this book expecting most of it to be encyclopedia like, but I'm also okay with that! Buy? If you're interested in Britain's usage of herbalism and how it ties into their naming and folk tales? Do so! As someone who's interested in herbalism as a whole and folklore as a whole it was a refreshing read! A lot of those plants have been transferred over to the US so it's helpful here but maybe not as much as some others.

[mel-addams]

Seeing Redfall get absolutely awful reviews is like watching one of your best friends get actively worse because of their possessive partner who isn’t right for them at all

Hey Anon, I'm not sure I totally get your metaphor—I think Redfall is the friend, and reviewers are the partner who "isn't right" because it's not their type of game? But yeah, it does suck to see, and I'm skeptical of a lot of them. So many having short playtimes, and/or criticisms so vague that it's unclear what their actual issue with the game is, feels a little suspicious to me.

I'm not saying the game's perfect—I've had some minor bugs myself, and sometimes when I get to a new area/run far enough it'll freeze for a second as things load—but what big game doesn't launch a bit buggy? There's too many moving parts, and too much variability in folks' computer configurations, there's always gonna be something. I do look forward to some patches to see if it fixes the freezing for me, but I find it playable enough to still enjoy until then.

I also play games for story, rather than gameplay, so that could be another differentiating factor for me. While I do generally enjoy getting story via cutscenes and don't mind loading screens, so I'd also personally have been fine if it wasn't open world, I do also like good written lore and environmental storytelling. There's been some interesting highlighted notes about what the folks in Redfall experienced, some cool in-universe fiction I know Dev's book is out there and I NEED TO FIND IT, and even some not-highlighted written stuff that adds even more to the setting. I've also seen both amusing and heartbreaking environmental storytelling.

For example, in the Shadetree Supper Club parking lot, there's a stack of boards that make a ramp up to a low barrier, with an overturned golf cart on the other side. In front of the golf cart was a bottle of vodka—so someone got drunk and tried to launch a golf cart off a ramp, which failed hilariously. But there's no blood, so they walked away from the attempt. Further on, in the building, you can find a written note (the title's something like "Don't be Afraid #1"), with two sleeping bags set up next to a large bike and a small bike. Are they okay, that adult and the kid they were trying to help not panic about the dentist? I don't know, but probably not, and it breaks my heart. Further in, at the bar, there's two dead civilians—but also a few dead cultists, which you don't see often, so those folks actually managed to hold their own for a bit when the shit hit the fan.

And that's just in that one key area. Sure, there's open space on the roads and forests, plus totally boarded up houses. Given what's been happening in the town, I find all that fitting. But if you take the time to look at the areas where there's clusters of cars, or spot something among the trees, or observe the placement of things while you're inside buildings, or read posters and notes that aren't highlighted? There was a good bit of deliberate attention put into all of that, to show what life was like over the past several weeks in Redfall. (And if you haven't yet, give a go at staring at the in-game eclipse every now and then.) Hell, even the currency is called "support," and the junk you pick up is stuff that would actually be useful for the survivors. So even some of the mechanics are arranged to underline that the point of the story is centered around trying to bolster and save Redfall's community.

There's plenty of story to absorb, and emotions that it can evoke, if you approach it the way they've presented it.

[thenixkat]

Dragons to review, let's do the new Aether dragons from Flight Rising.

Ok so I haven't been on Flight Rising for a few years more or less. (Caught myself spending my real ass money on shit in the game and decided that no, I need to take my ass elsewhere)

My first thought upon seeing these guys was 'meh'.

3/10

I can see that they're going for moth vibes but, meh. It doesn't stand out to me compared to the other Flight Rising dragons. It's not buggy enough interesting or cool or cute. It's just... a dragon.

According to the text its large eyes give it a wide field of view and these big baby doll eyes don't communicate that. Wasp eyes or dragonfly eyes with some ocelli could have communicated that but we don't get that here. Also, it lives in/dens in dark enclosed places and this design doesn't communicate that. Things like long thin antennae and/or long whiskers could have communicated that. Also apparently they like to eat books and those don't look like the teeth of something that chews paper.

It's just... a dragon.

(One head, six legs, four wings)

[vio1315]

Man, idk how to express my thoughts lately

Thinking that maybe I just dislike art, but rather love artistry?

Not entirely sure but it's like

When I watch people discussing the sort of cinematography in a scene, or how the composition is indicating this or that

or hear people talk about consistent symbolism and all this

It's like

A thrill. It makes me want to make things.

But if I watch the actual scene or go through the media myself

I just do not care?

It is often that I torrent emotions and the like from others, so not sure if it's connected to that, but I'm not really sure why else it'd be that I can go through hundreds of pieces of art in various mediums and just

not care at all

And the things I do care about are generally considered mid at best from the majority of people

The thing that got me into kagepro was Mekakucity Actors which most people dislike

And it is kind of jank in a lot of places

Yet that was something I was passionate for. Yet I end up avoiding My Hero all this time, which must be something with polish?? Didn't really care for the modern Trigun.

The Rakugo anime? Yeah, hooked on that. Its target audience of 12 whole people. (It was a lot better done than MCA don't get me wrong)

One of my favorite pieces of media in general is Marble Hornets. A found footage yt series made on 0 budget and among people who mostly had limited acting experience at best

Favorite movie in recent times? Luca. Split like 50/50 on how people respond to that.

All the books I like are from like the 50's idk

Sable (the game) did something to me

Yet that was just a step above a walking sim depending on who you ask, and a bit buggy

Like

obviously I like some mainstream stuff too

mostly games

But there's a definite pattern. Just not sure what it means or how these two pieces of information fit together.

Like why is watching reviews so much more artistically motivating compared to actually engaging in media directly?

Heck my whole art inspo folder just about is full of things I don't care about anymore. I can't really find art I like anymore mostly, and even less so that I want to emulate

What exactly am I looking for with art that I struggle to find, but do find in analysis?

Not super sure

[risu5waffles]

Watching @soupum 's stream yesterday was definitely the highlight of a pretty murky day. The kid has chops; i had a great time, we all supported a good cause, it was heartwarming and fun.

Which, let me tell you, i really, really needed. Had a headache start setting in round the end of Tuesday's shift, and it just kept kicking my arse even through aspirin most all Wednesday. i've been getting headaches more frequently recently, and that bothers me. None of them, thank Entropy, have been migraines; it's been a while since i was getting those on the monthly, and they really kicked the stuffing out of me. But still, in the end, regular old garden variety headaches can be just as enervating, and any continuing change in health for the worse is a cause for at least light concern.

But it was my day off, and i couldn't just watch a stream all day, as good a time as it may have been, my brainmeats wouldn't have let me hear the end of it. i got some recording and editing done to catch us up to next Friday. i'd really wanted to work on my big project, but the spoons and thinking power just weren't there. This one's important to me, and i really don't want to fuck it up.

So, i thought, why don't i toss together a little hub, quick-like, you know? Nothing too flash, maybe practice a bit wiv parallax (i will always go to bat for a good endless scrolling parallax). This was not exactly not a brainmeats-intensive thing to do, and it certainly wasn't quick, but it was low stakes enough that it didn't amp up my anxiety, and let me feel i was being productive for myself, not like a thing i had to do.

i like how it turned out, really. For a real simple set up, it's relatively effective. i'm going to want a few more layers of depth to really make it look good, and i think the water and land layers here should be swapped, so it doesn't look like the train is up to its windows in a river, but yeah, it works. Something i figured out working on the big project, that little Savannah section of it, is if you've got your cameras tight enough, you really don't need to be emitting all that many things as once. When i did this for the old review show, and i think the environmental pieces were traveling almost to the end of the create mode space before getting destroyed, even though we were using an viewable area not much larger that what we see in this set. That was simply way too much, and it played all holy hell wiv the thermo.

The set is haunted tho'. Like, i had so many weird buggy things happen trying to put together this train. i was lucky that i thought to at least snag footage of the entire car getting deleted when i rewound, but, like, that was the third time it had happened. i have absolutely no idea why. Something deep in my profile is seriously fucked. i suppose it's not surprising since it's been active since almost LBP1's release, and has been used across two regions' games, two systems, and a handle change.

Fun fact, this is probably the second or maybe possibly third time i've ever used the phrase girlcock, so you can log that in your lore books, i suppose.

[yumeka36]

Yumeka’s adventure in the Frozen Realm (Disney Dreamlight Valley) - part 5

*if you haven’t seen part 4 of this series, click here*

This is the final part of the 5-part series where I explore the Frozen stories in Disney Dreamlight Valley!

Continuing from where I left off in the previous post, Anna told me that Elsa seems frustrated lately about the mystery of the ice cave seal.

I visited Anna at her house that night to discuss further and found her lounging around, lol.

We decided gifts would make Elsa feel better - Anna suggested a book of portraits from Arendelle, as well as making Elsa a birthday cake (even though it’s not her birthday).

I got what I needed for the birthday cake ingredients and, with Remy’s help, we made a lovely cake~

Elsa was surprised at first for randomly getting a birthday cake, but she soon realized it was just another token of love from Anna.

Anna was delighted that Elsa liked the cake. When I told her that Elsa mentioned how they used to build snowmen together, she suggested we do the same!

Later on when I went looking for Elsa, I found her and Anna once again out to dinner. She had the below interesting dialogue when I asked her about the dresses she wears around Arendelle (perhaps she’s referring to dresses such as her winter dress from OFA and her lavender dress from the prologue of F2).

Meanwhile I was also helping Kristoff with a few things, namely helping him open a stall in the village. After I helped him get his sled out of some ice, he offered to give it to me since he can now afford another one! Great addition to my Frozen items (though I’ll probably move the sled outside - it’s not exactly an indoor item, lol).

Later on, Elsa reminded me that we still have one more crest to find in order to open the seal in the ice cave. Seems like her memories about it are coming back! I met her there the next day so we could investigate further.

As we took a stroll through her ice cave, more of her memories came back - memories that will help us find the final crest!

Thankfully Anna’s memory of the event is more clear! She hid the crest somewhere in her house.

After getting a clue from Anna, I found the crest inside the clock!

And sure enough, upon placing the final crest in its place, Elsa regained more of her memories.

The “magic links” were very specific, but relevant, items. Thankfully it didn’t take me long to gather them all.

After placing the items on the pedestals, the seal was finally broken! And with it, the ice around the nearby treasure chest disappeared.

The item inside the chest was actually one of Elsa’s ice gowns...and the reason it was so special was because it contained the first snowflake that ever fell in the valley - a snowflake that Elsa created!

Elsa nearly brought tears to my eyes as she went on about what a great friend I was for all the help I’d given her. And because of that, she insisted that I keep the dress.

Fancy dresses aren’t really my style, but I at least tried it on in front of her so as not to be rude.

And as a way to conclude my adventures with the Frozen gang, I gathered what we needed to make the “snowman family” and reported back to Anna...

With that, we all huddled together for our new family photo!

Anna was beyond grateful and gave me one of her dresses, reminiscent of her coronation dress. Again, not my style but a lovely memento nonetheless!

And that’s a wrap! This concludes the quests for the Frozen characters. Although I still have a lot to do as far as the other characters, I only wanted to post about the Frozen quests. However, I may write a full review of the game if/when I feel motivated.

For those of you who’ve enjoyed this 5-post series, thanks for sticking around! It was a lot of fun to make. Despite being a bit buggy in its early access version, Disney Dreamlight Valley has been a joy to play. I highly recommend getting it, especially next year when its free and updated version.