#generative design blog

[kakief]

Why Artists Are Turning to Code for Stillness | The Way of Code & Generative Art

A still from the interactive response to the prompt “What if it was weightless?” — where sound, motion, and silence become an invitation to simply be. We often think of coding as something reserved for engineers—a world of syntax, logic, and technical skill. But with tools like artificial intelligence, the doors are opening. Today, even those of us who don’t identify as coders can explore…

[devotion-disorder]

Am I the only one who only thinks of the Scooby Doo collar when looking at Asa's? Once I saw it I couldn't think of it any differently and now everyone shall suffer.

(PS, I accidentally failed in a conversation with someone and brought up Vaginal Yeast Anon)

💀💀💀💀💀💀bro

but you have a point...have we ever seen Asa and Scooby-doo in the same room together at the same time? much to think about...

[front-facing-pokemon]

[carnyx-int]

The wait is over! (Finally) Introducing Carnyx Interactive, a BRAND NEW game development studio made up of queer and neurodiverse game and art industry powerhouses. Founded around the goal of amplifying voices hushed by colonialism, our games emphasize the innate worth in every being. 

As a studio, we are passionate about making the games we want to play, and driven by the lightning-in-a-bottle feeling of experiencing our favourite games for the first time. We’re very intentional about the stories we tell and choose the genres and gameplay that will best support those stories, rather than the other way around. This allows us a flexibility to creatively explore all ideas and the constant ability to grow our skills, game after game. 

The third pillar of Carnyx is mentorship - each of us is coming in with a unique set of experiences and skills, and we strive to create an environment where we both play to our strengths and leave space to mentor and be mentored in return. We grow best when we grow together. 

This ethos drives every part of our business - from the stories we choose to tell, to our approach to research, to the way we treat our coworkers - every person is worth the space and time they occupy. To this end, we strive to create and uphold an environment of compassion, where every voice and idea is considered equitably.  We’re very excited to share our journey with you! Stay tuned for our first two project announcements (one launching this year) and check us out at https://www.carnyxinteractive.com/ and https://carnyxint.itch.io/ for more information and dev blogs.

Also! Join our Discord!

[synthaphone]

Secondly, greater specificity always makes designs better. You might say, “but I liked it better in the earlier stage, so how can you say it’s better?”… well, because part of our goal is to make designs that most people don’t like. That might sound completely insane, but stick with me here. When designs are more generic, they have fewer potential “turn-off” elements, and tend to be more liked by more people. But if the entire game was filled with medium-temperature designs with minimal specific details, basically just animals with personalities, then the end result would be a game that nobody could really get excited about. Designs always need to have a weird element, something that drives some people away and attracts others. With 100+ Beasties in the game, we can afford to have 95 that you don’t even like, if it means that there’s 5 that feel specifically made for you. That’s the goal. And a well-established theme gives artists a blueprint they can follow to inject more details and visual ideas into a design to add that needed personality and weirdness.

I've been really enjoying Greg Lobanov's blogs breaking down the design process for the creatures in Beastieball, and this quote really resonated with me. It's great seeing a game with such a strong design philosophy, and I think the extra effort spent in designing the Beasties really comes through and pulls the whole game together.

[nightly-nightcat]

day 130 - creature from my screenshots

[purpleleafsyt]

My take on a Whole design

Plus a silly low effort comic

[isnt-that-wizardd]

saw someone post a bingo board wayyy back but haven't seen one since so i made my own version for this new season

(if you saw the same one I did when season one came out then some of the squares are repeats because they're so good but I don't remember who it belonged to do I can't give credit)

feel free to reblog, download, and share. have fun playing!

[a-d-nox]

human design: the heart

the heart is considered the source of your willpower and ego. it's also where your desires are manifested and your values are formed. your material needs can be found mapped out here as well.

paid reading options: astrology menu & cartomancy menu

enjoy my work? help me continue creating by tipping on ko-fi or paypal. your support keeps the magic alive!

defined: it's pretty rare to have a defined heart. strong willpower, following your heart, courageous, impressive, consistent, stable, takes control of the situation, arrogant, etc.

undefined: yearning, comparing yourself to others, knowing you don't have to prove yourself, ability to access the truth, etc.

gates

21 - controlling: control freak, higher up positions, seat of power, acts decisively, go-getter mentality, dominating, dependable, etc.

26 - grandiose: wealth, prestige, vigor, clever, egotistical, power hungry, exaggerating your ability, persuasive, etc.

40 - trustworthy: capable, strong, hardworking, efficient, tendency to isolate, craves alone time, small group of close friends, etc.

51 - brazen: shocking, has "the balls" / audacity, cheeky, surprising, pushes other people's buttons, etc.

no gates: overly generous, struggles with identifying value (especially for the self), open, modest, etc.

channels that connect from the heart to the throat

channels that connect from the heart to the self

channels that connect from the heart to the spleen

26 -> 44 - entrepreneur: enterprising by nature, skilled communicator, creative concepts, salesperson, persuasive, making a difference, master manipulator, charming, seeking the best of the best, etc.

channels that connect from the heart to the emotions

55 -> 39 - the glue: your word is your bond, trustworthy, honest, gets everyone on the right page, a hugger, reliable, stable, etc.

have ideas for new content? please use my “suggest a post topic” button!

return to nox's guide to metaphysics

© a-d-nox 2025 all rights reserved

[mistress-light]

The Art of Forspoken | Tanta Cinta ✨

[snowdropclan]

Moon 1 pt.6

Mapleface thinks Owletkit is helpful!

Owletpaw is nervous to receive his apprentice name, Mapleface encourages him!

PREVIOUS//NEXT

[mariopokemonuniverse]

Never-Before-Seen Leaked Concept Art of Pawniard and Bisharp

If anyone has the specific early sketch of Bisharp commanding Pawniard to attack an enemy (which was made according to an interview with Ken Sugimori), please let me know.

[vertigoartgore]

2002's Chamber Vol.1 #1-4 covers by cover artist Chris Bachalo (and co-creator of the character during his Generation X days of the 90s).

[loopyarts]

Shouma Ginzaki, I have so many thoughts on this little guy. That I wish to ramble about him for a bit. Mostly about things that I find interesting such as his character design but also my thoughts on him so far.

For context I am going off from just the demo alone, so I don’t have the full picture of what he will be like in the full game.

First off, the red marking on the characters foreheads seem to have some inspiration in both a red dot called a bindi and traditional Japanese kabuki theatre make up. A bindi has ties to Buddhism and is linked to the Ajna Chakra which is also known as the "third eye" or "inner wisdom". And if you’re an anime fan you might have seen at very least one character with a red dot in their character design. So there might be some pop culture aspects to the inspiration as well. Which is why some of the characters have such dot markings in their battle ready designs.

Another thing worth noting is that the colour red in Japanese culture is a pretty prominent and versatile colour with multiple layers of symbolism. Such as being associated with protection, joy, and strength, but also with passion, power, and even danger etc.

Finally, with Shouma and Mako they both have two dots markings above their forehead. It kinda look similar to geisha dot eyebrows or Hikimayu (引眉). It’s probably just a coincidence but I thought it was worth noting.

Shouma number is nine but interestingly enough it is written in upper capital Chinese Hanzi instead of Japanese Kanji. which is probably on purpose because in Japan the number nine is considered an unlucky number because the pronunciation (苦) (ku) is similar to (苦) (suffering). The association with hardship, pain and ties to bad luck/misfortune overall contributes to the negative reputation behind this number. Similar to how the number 4 similarly avoided in Japanese culture.

While in Chinese the number nine has the opposite reputation with it being associated with good luck/good fortune and can also mean long lasting and represents the maximum level of martial happiness and longevity. I just think that is a nice subtle detail in his uniform and weapon design overall with his number being nine and all. 

This probably means nothing but nine or more correctly eight phases of the moon can spiritually is often associated with cycles of growth, release, and renewal. Also the number Nine is symbolically represented by change and having a very empathic and compassionate soul. In numerology the number nine is usually linked to things such as completion, idealism, and a strong desire to help others. Which mostly fits Shouma personality in terms of his ideals and morals.

Also his star/zodiac sign Pisces is often associated with compassion, empathy, creativity, imagination and strong intuition but also a deep connection to the sub conscious. But also the weaknesses of the sign is being indecisive, sensitive, prone to escapism and their own inner turmoil. And melancholy behaviours feelings of sorrow and poignance; where they would rather go through and meditate on deep emotions such as despair/sadness rather than have no feelings at all.

Overall, the zodiac sign Pisces is very emotional driven sign and I don’t think it is a coincidence that Shouma as a character is written to be very driven by his strong emotional feelings and thoughts.

Anyway, this line of dialogue stuck out to me while playing the game demo. There seems to be a bit of a moon theme going on here? Or at the very least I think that the moon might be an important plot beat for this game story.

Which also lead to me noticing Shouma’s mecha also has some moon imagery on its design via the shoulders pads. Another interesting thing is that the chest of the mecha is designed with a Shiba Inu face notable a black one.

Shouma’s dog is probably not a literal black shiba ha ha. Although, his weapon having the chest be of the head of a black dog reminded me a bit of the Chinese mythology of the black dog called Tiangou/the heavenly dog. Which in the myth Tiangou either eats the moon or sun causing an eclipse but the moon is more notable one. Which could have inspired some design aspects to Shouma weapon perhaps.

Real quick, I will say that I haven’t looked too deeply or check to see if other characters have a subtle moon theme to their designs. Also, if you look closely on images of the other characters weapons they also have an although I will say a more subtle animal theme going on in their weapon designs as well.

Now onto his character design. First off, his backpack resembles a Kame/turtle shell get it because he’s hiding in his shell and need to slowly come out of it. Man, you gotta love the creativity Rui Komatsuzaki puts into his character designs overall.

Shouma’s boots also have a bit of a turtle-like pattern and with them being green, it looks like he has little turtle feet. His boots also partly resemble wellies, which are commonly associated with children at least in fiction giving him a childlike feel to his design. Plus they’re also outdoor boots and are usually quite popular with dog walkers as well.

Finally, his cap in terms of shape resembles either a frog, bear or hamster which adds even more to the animal theme to his overall character design.

I’m honestly curious with how Shouma’s dog, which is most likely a Shiba Inu and Sirei are connected somehow and it’s also interesting how he’s the only one that didn’t technically fight. Like there has to be a reason for it right? I also think Shouma is more important than he gives himself credit for, although I may wrong who knows. 

I don’t know if others have noticed this but Shouma to me seems to be a very peacemaker type of character. He doesn’t like conflict and always puts others comfort and needs first before himself a far good amount of the time. Plus, the way he talks about his dog in optional dialogue. Makes him appear to have a selfless and kind hearted soul underneath all the self esteem/self deprecation issues of course. 

I also think Shouma appears to be pretty good at reading the room and how others might be feeling. On the rare occasion he chimes in, he has some pretty possible ideas and theories on what might be happening in the current situation. But given how many times he’s gets shot down or told he’s stupid for thinking or saying anything at all.

Which probably breaks his confidence to where he feels he shouldn’t have said anything at all. Which is why he’s just accepts it and doesn’t push against it. Because he truly believes he can never be right on something but also insists on being a peacemaker making him unable to truly take on conflict.

Overall, from what I’ve seen so far, Shouma seems to be a very gentle soul. Who is way too harsh on himself but I do have faith that he will develop as a person as the story progresses. It probably won’t be perfect and I don’t expect his self esteem problems to just magically go away, that takes time. Honestly, Shouma so far is very relatable to me as someone who has gone through similar hardships as a teen.

Shouma has so much potential to be such a lovely and compelling written character overall and I look forward to see what the writers have in store for him in the full game. (He’s so autistic coded to me but that could just be me projecting a little onto him ha ha…)

Lastly, gameplay wise Shouma has the potential to be pretty op as a unit depending on how his abilities and moveset functions in the gameplay mechanics. 

He is a counter defender and his ability shut-in gives 1+ attack with every emery that hits him. Which could have potential to be stacked if his ability can get even stronger. Reflecting back attacks is his key, so Shouma ideally will probably excel being throw at enemies head first and focus on crowd control. 

Shouma will probably work best with the more frail units. Leading the enemies onto him while doing chip damage and letting heavy hitting units dish out the big hits. He’s also will probably have good synergy with the healer/support units as well but overall. I think he will probably be one of the better units in the game due to his ability to do crowd control in a game, where crowd control is key. Also depending upon on how his ability works he could also be quite a decent boss slayer as well. 

Anyway, that concludes my little slightly mentally ill ramble on him. OvO’)

[chimerakei]

golden kamuy oc time YAY

i'll be honest, i don't really proper lore or a backstory for him atm, he's just basically a self insert for myself but like... idk i plan to have more fun with him and eventually try to develop him as a character (who just happens to resemble me loll) i'll try to have a bunch of organized information for him somewhere soon

i do have some basic info though!

i think the current main idea i have in mind is that tsurumi is the first person to recognize kamiya as a man (which is a big deal to him!) alongside some other stuff that i'll eventually properly flesh out hopefully. idk if he's like... officially part of the actual 7th division but he is aligned with that group for sure. idk i feel like making it all work out realistically will be a hassle but !! idc we have fun here that's the priority! kamiya likes to do undercover missions a lot as it aligns with his skills well and he's also just used to pretending to be someone he's not soooo.. yaaa

for personality and behavior and such: either seems quiet and distant, or is the most sweet and silly thing ever. kamiya uses this range to mask himself around people (for example, undercover missions). despite his reserved disposition, he's actually an extrovert who tries to get on everyone's good side & hates being alone. he's been through a lot and tends to take his feelings out on himself a lot (especially as a response to anger). kamiya might end up especially clingy to those he enjoys/tolerates the company of. this man craves physical touch sooo bad you have no idea

skills include: good hearing and speed, skilled with bladed weapons (bayonet) and decent with pistols/revolvers, musically and artistically inclined, good at blending in and disguising himself

flaws/stuff he's bad at: poor vision, completely unable to swim (and even float in some cases), difficulty with handling cold temps, not the best with rifles and such, mental health is.. not so great! pretty bad! he just reeaalllyy tries to mask it

extra bonus info: cat coded but NOT LIKE OGATA ! he is like a pathetic domestic cat that jumps at the slightest sounds and demands attention and cuddles. kamiya is no wildcat that's for sure lol.. oh also when it comes to being undercover, kamiya doesn't mind disguising himself as a woman! he likes the excuse to get dolled up and look pretty.

OKAY rambling done... thank youuu if you read all that, you are awesome

[racoonstudies]

3-02-2025

Writing assignment of general psychology

Discovering what makes us, us.

I have to write in a bigger handwriting than usual to fill up the notebook (the smaller handwriting is from a sociology project from 2023)