#giant squid studio

[wecantspeakbutwecandraw]

one of my fav Abzû scene. i fell in love with this game a long time ago and it still has a place in my heart

[geekcavepodcast]

Sword of the Sea Announcement Trailer

Giant Squid Studios' newest title, Sword of the Sea, is in development for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam.

"You are the Wraith – resurrected in a desolate world and tasked with restoring life to it as you explore submerged ruins and the vibrant, varied cultures within. Surf through sinking tombs, mysterious shipwrecks, and petrified battlefields - and bring giant shoals of fish and creatures back in the process. But beware- this land is also home to massive leviathans that will stand in your way." (Giant Squid Studios)

[an-aussie-button-masher]

Game On, Cool Off - Five of the Most Relaxing Games to Chill Out With

   Having a tough day? Need something to chill out and unwind? Some people play more high-octane action games to relax, like shooters or roguelikes, but sometimes you just need something a bit more low-energy, or something to do on those rainy days with no internet. Enter the calmer, therapeutic games that are perfect for exactly those occasions. No worries, no enemy players to get shot at by or teammates to get yelled at by, just a fun relaxing time solving puzzles or exploring vast open worlds. Accessibility and convenience are an important factor for these games, especially when you want to play on the go or without needing a clunky laptop or console to lug around. I’ve listed here a few games that are a great match for those that need that peaceful time to forget any troubles and lose themselves in the most chilled-out video games on the market. Enjoy!

Dorfromantik    It always helps when a game looks as cosy as it feels to play, and Dorfromantik is as mellow as it gets. Even the name translates to “village romanticization”, with a comfy rural landscape aesthetic and quiet simple music. The game is a turn-based puzzler, focused on building a quaint little village one hexagonal tile at a time until you run out of the given tiles. There’s a few challenges that add tiles to your collection, which generally revolve around building a village or forest of x many tiles before running out of space. Other challenges can unlock more types of tiles, such as lakes and new buildings, so there’s something for both casual players and more focused completionists. The game also features a creative mode, with unlimited tiles of the player’s choice, allowing you to create stunning vistas and sprawling cities of any shape and size. While the game can get a tad repetitive after a while, it still remains fairly fun and relaxing and it’s always good for a short round of building whenever you need to unwind. 

Slime Rancher    Farming simulators are often as calming as they are addictive, and Slime Rancher (as well as its’ newly-released sequel) adds an unmatched level of adorable to the mix. The scenery is beautiful, the artwork is ridiculously cute, and the only thing in the game that’s even mildly threatening, the player-hungry Tarr slimes, can be disabled right off the bat. The game is great for casual farmers looking for a cute, fun way to pass the time, while the more advanced unlocks and endgame secrets are perfect for the hardcore completionists that are looking for something that’s both enjoyable and takes an incredibly long time to 100%. The whole game starts as a straightforward farm sim - find slimes in the wild, bring them back to your ranch, keep them fed, and collect their…produce, called “plorts”, and sell them off. It’s very quick to get used to, and soon you’ll find yourself falling into a calm, almost rhythmic routine as you balance maintaining the ranch and going out to explore the Far Far Range. Once you start uncovering a few of the well-hidden secrets scattered across the Range, there’s suddenly a new sense of mystery and wonder in the game, and before you know it, you’ve been wandering about the adorable world for entire days straight.

ABZÛ    If you’re in more of an exploration mood, then try diving into the gorgeous, vivid waters of Giant Squid Studios’ ABZÛ. Almost the entire game is set in a vast, colourful ocean teeming with practically every species of marine life you can think of, each possessing lifelike AI that reacts to the player and environment around them in a way that genuinely seems real. The simplistic artstyle and whimsical music brings an adventurous feel to the game, even when it brings the player down into the dark, foreboding depths of a massive trench. There’s a semblance of story to the game, told entirely through environmental cues and is mostly up to the player’s interpretation - the real focus is simply having an enjoyable swim in the sea, with no breath metre or pressure warnings to stress you out. It’s a short adventure, to be fair; the game will probably only take you a solid afternoon or two to “finish”, but it’ll be a very calming afternoon nonetheless. ABZÛ’s availability on the Nintendo Switch makes it all the more convenient if you’re on the move as well - it’s like going on a scuba diving trip from the comfort of your nice dry couch.

Sable    Open-world games are often a favourite for chilling out, and not many capture that personal, player-driven adventure feeling as well as Sable. The game follows young Sable as she embarks on a coming-of-age pilgrimage across the vast desert surrounding her home village, on a path that is entirely up to the player to decide. Unlike many open-world games, there’s no to-do list or giant flashing “go here” marker on your screen; once Sable hops on her trusty hoverbike and takes off, the only guide on where to go next is whatever catches your eye on the horizon. It’s probably the most unstructured, directionless adventure you can imagine, and it’s incredibly therapeutic. The charming artstyle and interesting crumbs of worldbuilding are part of what makes the game so memorable, and the subtle, gentle ambient music makes it an almost meditative experience. The occasional wonky bit of physics does bog down the trip from time to time, but if you can get over your bike deciding to spin out every so often, Sable is both a fascinating and calming journey from start to finish.

Monument Valley    For the more puzzle-oriented players out there, few games can match the style, challenge, and ingenuity of Monument Valley. Each level is a self-contained puzzle ripped straight from M.C. Escher’s sketchbook, with bizarre perspectives and twisting angles that will amaze at every turn. It has a unique polygonal artstyle and almost every movement is accompanied by little musical cues, making each level feel like both solving an intricate mechanism and composing a song. The developers, Ustwo Games, demonstrate an incredible amount of creativity across the entire game, with each puzzle feeling different from the last and adding fascinating new mechanics without overwhelming the player. There are plenty of headscratchers throughout the short run of levels, but there’s never anything truly frustrating that snaps the player out of their calm focus; finishing a level always gives a sense of proud accomplishment rather than tired relief. The relatively short length of the game combined with its availability on mobile devices make Monument Valley highly accessible and convenient, perfect for a quick, easygoing day of puzzle-solving at any time and any place.

   Ah, nothing like video games for some nice refreshing relaxation. If you have any feedback on the article, or another chill game you’d like to suggest, feel free to share it! Likes and reblogs are appreciated, and thanks for reading!

[abhorrenttheorizer]

This has been sitting in my drafts for 11 months it's like carrying a baby to term except it's a dream about ABZÛ... and tiddys

I had a dream in which Giant Squid was about to release "ABZÛ 2" sometime in January of this year, and I was in a Discord server talking only about that for some reason. I watched it's trailer, and from my memory there were more ground levels, the Diver could run, and there was a little teased feature in which the Diver was now able to defend herself, although with what I forgot, as well as being able to quickly get herself out of dangerous situations (such as suffering pressure damage?????) via an "airbag" feature. I was very excited about this, and was trying to look everywhere on the web for a price range, but all I could find were thousands and thousands of memes relating to the "fact" that now she can fight back. I sifted through hundreds of images of our robotic friend breaking into people's houses, stealing fishtanks, and running around cities with machine guns/bazookas a la GTA causing uncountable levels of chaos. I became frustrated and dejected due to not being able to find a price and made some memes of my own.

I can only remember 3 at the moment that I "made", one in which the Diver was arguing with a Tesla, some cursed traveler x diver ship art I'm not even going to attempt describing, and the last one I remember the most clearly, because it's the climax to the plot of my dream.

Yet another cw for nsfw humor:

I animated a really elaborate shitpost in which the Diver's foot was caught on a cement block, and she was rapidly sinking to the bottom of the ocean (I forgot to mention that you could die and "lose the game" in this "sequel", by having your parts crushed or blown out by sinking or resurfacing too quickly). There's a focused shot of her noticing a pulltab on her chest as she's sinking, and she promptly pulls it.

I spent an embarrassing amount of time animating it, and I posted it to the "memes" channel in the weird hype train discord server. I was promptly HARD scolded (they were trying to get me into a voice call so they could yell at me through video), humiliated, and banned for "posting innappropriate content" and some other snowflake shit I can't exactly remember.

Knowing my humor, of course I drew her floating back up to the surface with comically large airbag titties. The last few seconds of my "animation" were of her staring at her "airbag feature" and then slowly glaring at the "camera" before the video ended.

There were some L337 H4XX0RZ on the server, and they managed to hack into my computer and delete the animation I worked so hard on making. I was so pissed at the whole situation I started crying.

And then I woke up lol xd.

[flutter-fin]

OOO, love this companies games!!!!

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Of Fear and Statues

Based on some of my fears manifested by watching a certain analog horror series :')

(Enjoying a lot of fun for the upcoming Halloween season 😅)

Hey, at least Gordon will suffer with me XD

@teapotteringabout @skymaiden32 @knyee @janetm74 @the-original-sineater @amistrio @thundergeek59 @riallasheng @katblu42 @yarol2075 @mariashades @room-on-broom

-0-0-0-

Virgil had always wondered why Gordon - a once military man within WASP and a fearless rescuer of International Rescue - was too darn nervous when around statues. More specifically, ones from their mainland.

It was something that he noticed since the Little Squid was a teenager.

He remembered the first time that happened: when Alan wanted to look at the Statue of Liberty, the 16 year old Gordon turned pale as a ice.

"Don't go! T-There's a giant ass horned snake in there! He'll zap you out of dimensions!"

What the heck?! Was everyone's first thought.

What was that "snake" was he talking about?

And why freaking out over a monument that just stand there? And existed for a very long time and representing the liberty of their people... for a certain time.

Usually, strange rumors and scary stories that his school friends would tell him just give Gordon something to make the old age "Unsolved Mysteries" joke.

But, since then, he was terrified for even seeing a face of one of those legendary pieces of sculped art.

Thankfully, his fear had eased for the poor Little Squid. And it seemed - at least what Virgil thought - that his phobia was long forgotten...

Until recently.

Coincidentally, Virgil was sculping a beautiful gargoyle based on a Kirin, when he heard a scream booming through the Tracy Villa!

It was Gordon's...

With wet clay on his face, hands and art apron, the pilot of Thunderbird 2 rushed out of his art studio towards his wing-man's room.

When he eventually arrived, another scream nearly made the poor Virgil deaf for a moment.

Then there was a loud crash.

And then there was silence. The Fish and the Tank simply stared at each other.

Beside a trampled Gordon, lay a film box that used the house a file cylinder, a discarded bowl of caramel-flavored popcorn, and some spilled spinach juice on the floor.

On the screen of the television, was a rather terrifying looking menu screen. The visuals replicated that of analog film nearly half a century ago, the colors were black and white. A certain statue of a warrior lady with a sword in her hand, flickered in and out in the background of the static. Along with some other strange anomalies in the semi-dark sky and a muffled vintage music was playing.

The older brother reached for the remote, convientely thrown at the edge of the doorway and turned the TV off.

"Gee Wiz, Virgil!" the aquanaut broke the silence, finding his breath, "that face paint of yours made me think you were 'Freedom' coming to chop my head off, bro!"

After another moment of awkward silence, the artist slowly put his hands on his hips, with the most deadpanned expression that rivals that of Scott's.

"Gordon? What on Earth were you doing?" he stood before the curled up joker for a brother.

"Trying to face my fears... The last ep of season one still killed me!" Gordon smiled with embarrassment as he gave the Tracy Puppy Eyes.

Virgil took the box and glanced at the cover. And then suddenly, all of the puzzle pieces just clicked into place!

He had found culprit of Gordon's odd fear, written in two words:

Monument Mythos

[sasoxichomoshi]

are the pathless and abzu related? yes, and this connection is way more important than people give credit for (i will be rambling now)

visual cues are everywhere; the beheaded shark statue right at the start of the game, the purification process and the spirit realm architecture all nods to the previous game as the shells and the locked door at cerno's domain are literal imports from abzu, which are all sweet references present in the pathless

everything that concerns the spiritual realm has a touch of abzu (pantone abzu blue when)

i'd also add that i have autistic urges to just write about how the pathless feels like this result from accumulated knowledge/experience from past Nava games - the pathless has both the 'myth of creation' and the journey of the hero combined in order to tell this lil story with these silly characters (i see it all as if giant squid team woke up one day and said "what if we made like a fancy fanfic yknow" really best decision ever), however knowing myself it''d just feel like nonsense rambling (even worse than this) and a bit off topic, but i had to mention or my skin wouldn't stop itching

anyway back to the two games -

i have this recurring impression that abzu allegories and symbolism are woven in the fabric of reality in the pathless - it's not about them directly, but are foundational for whatever is being told here and now

you cannot, in full consciousness, tell me that these are just easter eggs in the pathless that giant squid introduced because it's a past title from the studio; not when there was giant effort in blending the two games sensibly - abzu is brought up in the symbolism, the color palette (red/blue), in the environment, and it's even present in the soundtrack

in short, tying the universe of the two games together was intentional

but despite visually tied, it still made no sense to me; ok we share the color palette, we wander around with the help of a tall one, we defeat the bad one, what else there's to it? is it just the start of the giant squid MCU? giant squid cinematic universe? or gaming universe? (i feel stupid)

regardless, as i answered the question to how, i wanted to understand why - and to make sense out of it all, i resorted to a feature unique to the pathless: written text

what is so important to tell the player that you need written text, something you were avoiding in all your past games but that suddenly you bring back out of nowhere to tell a story in a way you havent done before? i can just assume some topics were too necessary to just left it implied (at best), or never explained (at worst)

one of the reasons i have written this blog post until this point (the main reason, actually) is that i feel there's a bit of an overlook of an essential part in the established the pathless n abzu crossover (can i call it that?), something that permeates everything, but it's not really visible in a literal way

--

as i played the game, godslayer perspective and motives stood out - they are the focus of a good part of all the tablets and dead people's memories - and as i dived deeper into the abzu connections (pun not intended) certain lines got too remarkable:

so,,, godslayer deems this world broken because it's made out of pure chaos, ok i guess it makes sense uhhh wait wait im having flashbacks i have seen this befo-

uhh oooooohhh ok ok get it i can see some parallels ughhh woooow just wow omg

the underlying factor here is that chaos is origin, foundation for both games universes (tho we can all see that at this point it's the same universe)

in abzu, by ordaining chaos the diver brings back life; in the pathless the ordained chaos, the one that constitutes all life, is at risk because someone decided that having everything made out of (essentially) chaos wasnt really suitable for the second industrial revolution i guess

note: if you know nothing about abzu i recommend reading this post cause it explains a bit about what chaos means in abzu, hence it's relevant to the pathless too

and understanding the chaos that impregnates existence as a whole is central in the pathless, which brings us to another focal point the game brings up: religion

you see religion a big deal in the pathless in the sense that it defines factions; you pick a side, and it's what drives the line of action of almost everyone in the island - the pathfinder quest against the tall ones, the godslayer followers vs the tall ones followers, entire communities dedicated to their local gods, and so on

superficially, it's easier to go to the "bad vs good" route where godslayer must be defeated to keep the order and the light and tall ones good guys whatever, the problem of this line of thought is: too much black and white and no gray to be seen

the pathless final message speaks about decision making: you are free to trace your own path (and this message is reinforced through game design and the title and at the final boss fight, you can name it) however, here lies the detail: similar to the chaos surrounding us, it goes unnoticed that the will to take a determined path comes from within

that's why religion is a hot topic in the pathless, it's what allows people to trace a path in a chaotic world, literally

the myth of creation - the eagle mother, the branch, her children - in itself is a form of understanding reality, religion - prayers, sacrifices, lines of conduct, contemplation - is also a form of grasping the real, and from this understanding, this particular view of the world, you are invited to take action; you cultivate the land and you build temples dedicated to your god

you take action based in what you believe, and you can see it better in the dead followers you can commune with through the island, they are fierce in their beliefs, which leads them to make a stand or fight back

it also stands out how the tall ones are imbued with negative traits; nimue shifts moods like summer rain, kumo is terribly jealous and childish, sauro despite everything will resort to violence, cernos is too shy, heck even eagle mother as gentle as she is let atrocities took place before any meaningful action was considered

all the tall ones have their virtues and imperfections because in the end they are also made out of chaos, essentially they are not that different from any tree on the plateaus; but, as the tablets about the masks state, they see things beyond this realm, and with this knowledge they try to guide those that dont see it - it's like this for their followers, and hunter is also guided by them

godslayer is no different, he took a path lead by his beliefs, beliefs those that reject the idea of having life from chaos, which lead to his obsession of fixing what he deemed broken; from his perspective, he suffered in the hands of the tall ones and their followers which made him believe that anything of their nature was treacherous - he failed tho, failed to understand that a single path would lead to perpetual suffering (as some memories states, "i was not meant to bloodshed"), which was a fate his followers had bittersweetly tasted

in this scenario, hunter is special: she's an outsider, she doesn't comprehend her mission just yet neither knows those lands; she's facing chaos in its pure form and in order to make sense of her new reality, she takes the eagle mothers advices; upon taking on the trials of the island she witnessed chaos in its many forms, and she assimilates it, not good nor bad but a 'in between' - that's why (from my understanding), on purifying the godslayer final form, her eyes glow in bright blue not because she's some 'declared since birth' allied of the tall ones, but because it signals purpose, she understands the chaos, the one that causes life and death, and she embraces that view from within and translates it into strength to fight back and endure

there's not a single creature in this world that doesnt feel lost and be it whatever creature - human, tall ones, demons, animals, everyone is trying to make sense of this confusing world we live in, be it through any path at hand - and religion is just one of the possible ways in the sea of infinite available paths

as hunter explores deeper into the island, she bonds with the tall ones but make no mistake, she's not really a faithful follower - and she doesn't need to be - cause she has the understanding that the tall ones represent this organized chaos necessary to the flux of life, she respects them

pathfinder, unfairly treated, will look at the tall ones and see just lies, refusing their guidance, he will strive for a new path not taken before and ignore any previous knowledge about the world, he will build up a single vision for a brand new reality absent of chaos because that's how he was conditioned to see and absorb the world around him

(and that makes godslayer feels even more tragic, having the possibility of seeing the world through new lenses by wearing the mask of the ancients yet he persisted in his views and ignored the reality as it was - chaos neatly woven - perhaps out of hate and sorrow for all past injustices; even in the end he resisted to accept the world that nurtured him, as he too was made out of chaos - and for that he's forgiven)

you and i can both worship sauro, but in the end we will look at the surrounding chaos from different perspectives and i will decide that pottery is the way to go while you see the sword as the suitable option; as the truth stands, this is a pathless land - there's no defined answer

the pathless, beyond the 'pathless land' lesson, has something more to tell - that perhaps the path is already established and to you is given the choice of going forward that path or re-evaluate and change directions;

if i had to define the pathless i'd say it's about what touches the eye and where you rest you hand (which can also explains why the eye is an ever present image throughout the game); through perception you grasp the world around you, you create your views and based on it you take action - will you release the bow string? will you strike with your sword? will you cultivate the land? or will you shed blood? what have you seen that made you act like this?

what a chaotic world

anyway, i have too much to say and no one to listen so my only options are write Big Blog Post or bang my head against the wall if you read until here (complete madness) thanks for enduring until the end

(cant wait to see the pathless references in sword of the sea i have faith)

[darka-art]

I was working on a new banner for a website, and it ended up so well I couldn't help myself but share it here too!

Enjoy the Abzu landscape.

🛑

© 2022  Abzu belong to Giant squid studio.

Art is mine, do not trace/edite,use as NTF or clame as your own.

[canmom]

post-animation night 177 comments

brief thoughts on kizazi moto (more substantial tomorrow perhaps): visually that was so lush. we're really full post-Arcane/Spiderverse nonphotorealistic stylings here, with a powerful dash of Trigger/Flying Bark-esque Neo Kanada School as well. this was like a cross-section of the current big styles in animation and it kicked ass for that. I'm not entirely sure what the production pipeline looked like - the Irish film board was apparently involved somehow! and maybe some Irish studios so it wasn't a purely African production - but it was an extremely impressive showing all round.

narratively, putting it right beside Fatenah kinda highlighted the places it wasn't willing to go. though I had heard the directors had a lot of freedom, there were some very consistent themes running throughout the anthology - nearly every film involved parent-child relationships, many of them revolving around a kid hoping to prove themselves in the eyes of their society/ancestors. the uglier side of history is touched on lightly: one film shows us a flashy cyberpunk city from an alternate timeline where 'Great Zimbabwe was never colonised', complete with 'the most advanced justice system in the multiverse' (a giant robot bird that chases our protagonists), but doesn't expand on that as more than a colourful backdrop. the last film gets closest, presenting a mother-child pair of two gods who are wounded by extractivism and retreat from the world - I appreciated the understated bleak implication of its ending.

I think while the creators were probably not given too much overt creative restriction, they were surely aware this was to be broadcast in English on Disney's streaming service, and tailored their stories accordingly. so you'd probably avoid "Disney is the face of American imperialism: the movie". Disney money is a bit of a double-edged sword that way.

besides parent/child reconciliation, we had a lot of ancestors and more than a few gods. a few stories centred on coming of age rituals; other had a more or less central focus on social media fame and its corrupting effect. at times it verges into the preachy - characters who stand between two families, or between humans and aliens, and resolve to honour both sets of ancestors - but the presentation is more than engaging enough to make it a compelling watch, regardless.

there's a lot of wonderful lighting, set design and architecture throughout. Mọrémì had a very cool desaturated style with toyetic, colourful 'soul-stealing giants' that put me a little in mind of Absolver.

Stardust had a bit of a Star Wars feel, almost feeling like an extra Visions short, but the injection of Islamic architecture was very effective.

a certain Arcane/Riot influence is very overt in many of the films - not just in the widespread use of paint textures in the CG environments and the approach to light and colour, but also with plot elements like the neon-drenched surfer gang in Surf Sangoma (episode 4) - which was definitely a fantastic-looking episode with the wonderfully out-there premise of a world where you have a squid suck on your face to gain surf skills. (just say no to squids, kids! you don't need 'em! rely on your magic ghost mum instead.) but I think this is something that's true in the animation industry more generally of late - the last few years have really kicked the door open to 2D stylings in 3D (paint textures, reduced framerates etc.). no doubt having a Spiderverse director as exec producer played a role in that too!

all in all I really enjoyed this anthology, and I'm super excited to see what comes next from the studios involved.

Fatenah meanwhile was fantastic, and an absolute gut punch. the fact that the hospital seen in the film has been in the news for being emptied out at gunpoint in the last week gave it a special level of 'oof'. its style may seem disarmingly simple, but the puppet-like styling ends up bestowing a huge degree of weight to the characters. the scenes of the border checkpoint, the monotony of cages and guards, and the concrete environment resembling a Half Life 2 map, were very impactful. highly recommend taking 20 minutes to watch this film.

[fiomeras]

AUGGGHHGGHHGGHHHGHHG GIANT SQUID STUDIOS SWORD OF THE SEA........

[otherworldlyoddities]

Ok so first off. This au started with BANTIM because my friend kept making Splatoon jokes and I was like hmmmm what if.

Just some like. Info on who is what first off (all colours listed are their original colours, now everyone except Henry and Joey has black ink)

Joey Drew: inkling (purple)

Henry Stein: inkling (yellow)

Sammy Lawrence: octoling (green)

Jack Fain: salmonid

Susie Campbell: inkling (light blue)

Norman Polk: eel (laser eyes) (red)

Daniel “Buddy” Lewick: atlantic wolffish

Bertrum Piedmont: spider crab

Lacey Benton: inkling (pink)

Wally Franks: cleaner wrasse

Allison Pendle: angelfish

Thomas Connors: octarian (brown)

(I don't talk about a lot of these guys much, but Wally is the janitor, Jack is the lyricist, Allison replaced Susie as Alice's voice actor, Thomas helped build the ink machine, and Lacey was Bertrum's assistant. In this au Allison and Tom voice Alice and Boris respectively for the news, which is animated after Joey takes over.)

Ok so the main plot is Joey still runs an animation studio, and it's still kind of falling through and losing money and Joey is mad about this. Also, Henry left the studio like four years prior which made him real mad. So he decided to start experimenting with stuff to bring his cartoons to life, and he actually succeeds after finding some remaining crystals that haven't dissolved and using them to bring Bendy, Alice and Boris to life (Bendy is a cat, Alice is a rabbit, and Boris is a wolf. For reasons.) but this wasn't enough for Joey so he got Tom to help him build the ink machine. He also stole the great Zapfish to power it but whatever that doesn't matter. Anyways Joey used the ink machine to slowly sap colour from the inky guys, turning their coloured parts black and pretty much mind controlling them. He has all the colours in a giant ball in his evil lair. Also, the Ink Demon is a manifestation of the lack of colour, it is the opposite of the colour ball. Yeah :3

So anyways. Henry hasn't left his house in four years nor has he watched the news in also four years. He has been really sad because he misses his friend and feels bad for leaving Joey Drew Studios. Anyways his wife tells him to go get milk and he says ok and pretty much as soon as he leaves Bendy jumps out at him and tells Henry he ran away from Joey because Joey was being evil and stealing colours and Henry needs to go stop him or everything will be bad. (Important to note: instead of black, Henry is still greyscale but his ink is white) So Henry is like ok and goes with Bendy to the studio where Joey seems him coming and promptly ejects him to Bendyland.

So the first area is the theme park! Here the enemies are mostly like. Squid tentacles. Kinda similar to octarians but not sentient they are just kinda there. Lacey is also there, and she's attacking Henry just to try and get him to leave because it's not safe here and Henry is just like yeah I wish I could leave. He tries to escape but his exit is blocked by Bertrum who is like. Actually just a giant crab right now he's also attached to the floor. So Henry fights him and Bertrum mostly just has cool spinny attacks. But yeah Henry wins and Lacey jumps down to tend to Bertrum's wounds and Henry leaves Bendyland.

The next stage is the City Square. You see this part introduces Buddy (who gives you weapons and tips) and also the greyscale Inklings, who are just like. Black instead of bright colours and wear goggles that make it look like their eyes are glowing. They also attack you. Henry fights his way to the news station and asks Allison and Tom what's going on and Allison is like oh yeah hi so Joey's kinda crazy. Anyways you really shouldn't be here if we don't attack you Joey will probably do something bad to us. So that boss fight takes place on set, and theres like. A ring of water that Henry has to jump over and Allison and Tom just send waves of enemies at Henry, starting with just regular ol' tentacles enemies and then tentacles that try and push you into the water then greyscale Inklings. So Henry wins and Allison is like cool good job, you are obviously the right guy for this job and you can go do this. So Henry keeps going.

Henry is just in a different part of Inktopolis now, heading towards the entertainment district which is where the studio is. This part is real similar to the last part, except the whole place is completely drowned in ink, and this time the boss is Norman Polk, who used to be either an inkling or octoling but is now a giant eel with glowing eyes that eats people. His fight mostly takes place on platforms that you can like. Jump to and shoot from since the whole this is surrounded by ink and Norman is like. Swimming in the ink. Norman starts by going under the ink and jumping out at Henry and trying to bite him, then spraying ink at him, then submerging the platforms and making Henry swim while he tries to bodyslam Henry. Henry gets out though,

The final area before the studio is the entertainment district. Here you are not only attacked by greyscale Inklings carrying guns, they also have musical instruments that spray ink at you. The music here also seems more personal. So Henry makes his way to the big ol' stage at the very end of the long, winding street, and has to fight the band that has made all the music he has been hearing up to this point (Sammy, Susie and Jack). They are all up high, sitting on fake clouds suspended from the ceiling. Sammy monologues a bit but Jack ends up jumping down first. His section is mostly him setting up turrets to attack Henry until Henry takes him out. Sammy then jumps down and plays a violin, doing this funky pied piper thing and summoning the greyscale band members to attack Henry until he takes Sammy out. Susie's part mostly takes place in the air as she'll drop down for about a minute to use a singing attack, then she'll jump up to the fake clouds and snipe at Henry. So yeah he defeats them and FINALLY he can get to the studio.

Henry goes into the studio and is faced with all the enemies he had faced before just more. There's also a mini boss, the Butcher Gang (technically there are three of them but they make one mini boss) but other then that it's the same. He makes his way to Joey's "lair", and confronts him. Joey monologues about how it's so much better now that he holds all this power and blah blah blah evil stuff and starts egging on the Ink Demon to attack Henry. The floor is actually mostly covered in rainbow ink. Also. You see the stages of this fight mirror the previous boss battles. The first stage has a lot of spinning and stabbing, the second stage is fighting through hordes of enemies, the third stage the Ink Demon tries to bodyslam Henry, and the fourth stage Joey snipes at you from above. Joey also has sprinklers that make certain areas untouchable. Anyways. Henry is getting overwhelmed and really regretting going in alone, but just when all hope seems lost...everyone he defeated and saved shows up! You see. Jack, Sammy and Susie are armed with The Old Song (this universe's version of the Calamari Inkantation) and help bolster Henry. The power of it also breaks Joey's gun somehow so he has to go down onto the floor (he was previously in a control booth) and use a roller to attack Henry. Joey also absorbs the giant or of colour he had so he can be more powerful. His ink is rainbow now. Anyways Henry ends up overpowering Joey and the Ink Demon ends up eating Joey, which causes it to explode because it technically destroyed the colour ball keeping it alive. So yeah! Colour and sentience is restored and everyone goes home!

But you see. There's also lore around this! You see in Joey Drew Studios you can see a lot of things branded Aperture. This is because Joey and Cave were buddies and had an alliance. Cave was actually spared from the greyscaleing because he was giving Joey power eggs so that's. Something. Anyways! Below is a list of all the canon companies we have thus far (Inkwell Studios is the rival company to Joey Drew Studios, and it's the company that "made" Cuphead so that's why no employees are listed)

Mann CO.

The Administrator: horrorboros

Miss Pauling: inkling (lavender)

Saxton Hale: cohock

Mister Bidwell: chum

Mister Reddy: chum

Jerry: inkling

Spy: inkling

Scout: inkling

Pyro: seahorse

Solider: octarian

Demoman: pistol shrimp

Heavy: cohock

Medic: cleaner shrimp

Sniper: octoling (raised by salmonids)

Engineer: hermit crab

Redmond Mann: inkling

Blutarch Mann: inkling

Grey’s Gravel CO.

Grey Mann: inkling (grey)

Olivia Mann: inkling (olive)

Aperture

Cave Johnson: inkling (orange)

Caroline: octoling (blue)

Doug Rattman: sea urchin

Black Mesa

Breen: octoling (ice blue)

Judith: octoling (green)

Colette: inkling (maroon)

Gina: octoling (ivory)

Gordon: clownfish

Barney: blue lobster

Kleiner: sea anemone

Eli: parrotfish

Azian: swordfish

Magnussen: flying fish

Russel: steel eel

Inkwell Studios

Joey Drew Studios

So yeah. Aperture does the salmon runs and it is actually even more messed up because a) there are just salmonids. Living among everyone. And b) Cave does hire salmonids for testing. But yeah you see he was friends with Saxton, but Saxton didn't like him anymore because he was preying on the weak and Saxton has an actual moral code so like. He stopped beings friends with Cave and Cave was like ok then! There's nothing stopping me from stealing eggs then! So he does that. Caroline hates this but she's terrified to be put of a job.

Nothing really happens at Black Mesa luckily, they just do funky science and come up with cool new stuff. Colette and Gina also have a band together because Decay Girls goes hard as a band name. Speaking of bands, Aperture has an orchestra that's entirely it's test subjects, both RED and BLU are bands in their own rights, and Saxton, Bidwell, Reddy, Jerry and Miss Pauling all play salmonid type music and are directed by The Administrator.

Also the story of the Team Fortress comics does still happen, Grey still attacks Mann CO. with robots, ends up killing his brothers, then steals Mann CO. from Saxton by exploiting Saxton's moral code that won't let him fight a child. So yeah that whole thing happens. It happens kind of far away though so it's not catastrophic.

So anyways salmonid territory is the Australia equivalent, and golden eggs are the australium equivalent (australium is gold that can extend your life, make you stronger, do all sorts of stuff.) Sniper was raised by salmonids, so he had believed for years he is one and was really devestated when he found out he wasn't. He was even more devestated when he found out his biological parents were using golden eggs to try and power their rockets (Sniper had previously developed a grudge towards Spy as he believes Spy has participated in salmon runs. So yeah. He doesn't like filthy child thieves). Heavy comforts him and tells him that even if he is an octoling on the outside, he is a salmonid on the inside. Then the Classic Mercs show up and shoot Sniper so like.

But yeah that's what's shaking.

OOOOOO THIS IS SO COOL HOLY SPARKLES

Does. Does your friend have a Tumblr by any chance? They seem like one of the coolest people ever and I’d like to meet them if possible.

[subliminalrats]

An Open Letter to JK Rowling

I wrote this for a writing class and thought ya’ll might like this

Dear JK Rowling, 

         My parents did not like your Harry Potter books, nor did they like you, but despite that I became obsessed with your books, largely thanks to the help of my friends. When I was in fifth grade I wrote my first book, and it was largely based off of the first Harry Potter book. Your books gave me something to hold onto tight and declare my identity as “Yes, I love the Harry Potter books!” I cannot accurately describe the way I would get so excited when my dad would take me to Emerald City Comic Con and see Harry Potter merchandise. When I went to Los Angeles to visit my Grandmother one year she surprised me by taking me to Harry Potter world in Universal Studios, and I practically vibrated with joy. I sunk more money into the Harry Potter franchise than I did into my education. 

But there was another reason I loved your books, a reason I didn’t understand until now. As a child I fell in love with the beautiful and tough Nymphadora Tonks, a love I couldn’t understand until I understood my own gender identity. I’m a genderqueer man, assigned female at birth. When I was thirteen, reading about Hermione getting her teeth shrunk, I would be even more excited to get my Hogwarts letter, thinking that when I would go to Hogwarts I could shed the parts of my skin I hated, such as my breasts. Then, when Tonks was introduced in Order of the Phoenix, I was absolutely in love. I thought “Yes! A character who hates their name, and can change their body to how they wish to see themselves!” I felt represented! I felt like my turquoise hair and hatred of my name was included in a story of fantastical magics and inclusion. 

When I was bullied in middle school, I told myself that one day I would go to Hogwarts and all of the bullies disappear. I told myself I could learn magic and be accepted for who I am. I wanted to be recognized, and Hogwarts was the place to go to be recognized and respected. I could have friends that accepted me for who I was, and I could swim with the giant squid in the lake. 

But then, when I was about fourteen years old, my heart dropped into my stomach. I learned that the woman who I cared about more than I cared about my own family, considered me to be a “girl tricked by the patriarchy” , and eventually I will grow out of these intense feelings of depression and hating my body in the same way I grew out of my baby clothing. I learned that you, Joanne, would rather befriend people working with neo-nazis than accept that a person assigned born with a vagina might wish for it to be some other way. No Joanne, I am not denying my sex, if anything I am acutely aware of my sex due to the fact I am emotionally scarred by seeing my identity denied by people in power.

I hope that one day you can be willing to listen to us. I also hope that you do not call this an attack on you. I only wish to start a conversation.

Most sincerely,

       Julian

[kdramaxoxo]

Lots of people have opinions about the new kdramas lacking something the earlier ones used to have. Something about “catering to the global market”

What do you think?

I think it's complicated anon.

I do think that now that Netflix and Disney are leaning into k-dramas hard, a the shows that get picked up by them are a bit different. And those companies are HUGE so of course the things they put out are going to get the most reception.

Not all of these shows are BY Netflix of course, since some are just bought from networks, but there are so many k-dramas that feel waaaaaayyyy more violent (Squid Game, Kingdom, Extracurricular, Sweet Home, All of Us Are Dead) etc and racier (omg i sound like i'm 90). And if you think about it, Netflix mostly just works with Studio Dragon so you're going to get a certain kind of production if you have a contract like that. And we really don't know the ways in which companies who work with these giant corporations have to pander to them. (Same for regular networks like TVN etc but it's a larger scale.)

And don't get me started on this whole Season 2 nonsense! The only show that did well with a season two was Kingdom and I KNOW it's the global market that's changing that for k-dramas. #thehillidieon #thanksihateit

On the other hand, time moves forward and things change.

We don't know if some of the more sexual or violent shows would naturally be created because of audience desires or just general interest in these kinds of shows? A lot more k-dramas have queer characters (love this for us!) and I attribute that to representation being more excepted and demanded by the audience (global and not). And if Netflix makes these dramas (Itaewon Class, Run On, etc) and a lot of people watch them, I'm there for that?

Plus random people irl ask me about k-dramas now BECAUSE they are on Netflix! Like, that would never have happened 5 years ago. I mean it sucks that Squid Game is literally the only thing people will try but hey...maybe they'll watch another one after that?

So basically, yes there are some definite changes that probably have to do with the global market (or just Netflix!!) which is frustrating in a lot of ways but good in others. Y'all know I'm always mad at Netflix/Disney+ for not doing certain styles of k-dramas right but there ARE some definite benefits to having them embrace Korean/Japanese/Chinese/Thai dramas.

Sorry for the long long answer anon!

[radioactivepeasant]

More fake screenshots via monkeying around with Studio Mir screencaps! This time I borrowed Reidrich from the Witcher movie to use as a base for Damas

Original for comparison ⬇️

What is he worried about? I don't know. The possibilities range from "caught a Marauder spy in the city" to "did I just see Jak trying to feed the Giant Squid by hand?!"

[icology]

Hi! I just started playing Shadow of the Colossus and I got to say it’s probably one of my favorite games now. But I was wondering do you know any other games, of course other than Team ICO games, that have that same vibe as exploring the forbidden land. Where it isn’t really lonely as it is quiet. I been trying to find any other games that create that same vibe that it creates but it’s probably what makes SOTC and hence any other Team ICO game special.

Hello friend!

There are quite a few games that emulate the setting and vibes of the forbidden land in SOTC. I'm not sure if there is one that can match the exact feeling it invokes, but there's a few that I think get pretty close to it. Tap on the titles to watch the trailer if you wanna take a more detailed look:

Praey for the Gods by No Matter Studios - a SOTC inspired boss rush where in addition to slaying giants and exploring a barren land you also have survival elements;

Rime by Tequila Works - A puzzle adventure where you need to explore a beautiful island and make use of everything surrounding you to progress through the story;

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Classic Zelda meets SOTC and its core mechanics, giving you a beautiful open world, giant beasts that are defeated by solving their puzzles, and a simple but effective story;

Journey by thatgamecompany - Has a gorgeous world that you can traverse and explore using only a couple of in-game actions. Features an absolutely outstanding soundtrack and a very unique feature which is the ability to meet and cooperate with other players via online play;

Sky: Children of the Light also by thatgamecompany - social adventure game where you can explore the vast world or just relax and connect with others. the best part: it's free to download and play!

The Witness by Thekla, Inc - Open world, puzzle based game with gorgeous scenery in which you must solve a series of puzzles (which increase in difficulty very fast) to uncover the mystery of the story, all while exploring the deserted island it takes place in;

Elden Ring by FromSoftware - this one no longer needs an introduction, but in case you don't know, its creator was heavily inspired by Team Ico and it shows in the vast open worlds and outstanding boss fights that are now FromSoftware's trademark!

Sable by Shedworks - open world game with a unique, striking art style in which you explore a desert planet on the main character's journey. This one is puzzle and platform based;

Death Stranding by Kojima Productions - narrative driven game a la Kojima where you must deliver packages back and forth across the country but as boring as it sounds in text... it really isn't. The gorgeous scenery, story and soundtrack make for a very unique experience.

These are the ones that come closer to the SOTC feeling in my opinion, however, if you also want something that resembles Team Ico but features a more linear world like Ico or TLG, you can also try:

Limbo / Inside by Playdead (platform based games, leaning heavily towards horror)

Little Nightmares 1 & 2 by Tarsier Studios (also horror, featuring mechanics very similar to Ico)

Abzû by Giant Squid (very similar to Journey, feels a little more claustrophobic as it takes place underwater)

Gris by Nomada Studio (stunning puzzle game with an emotional story and amazing soundtrack)

These are the ones I can think of right now, but I'm sure there are quite a few more that might be what you're looking for. If any of my followers has another suggestion, feel free to drop it in the replies so we can help them find something they will love!

[highly-important]

I haven't heard anyone connect all these (I'm sure someone already did,) but I just wanted to make a post about the coffee theme in the Splatoon 3 lobby. The lobby, of course, has the little cafe on the second floor. But did you notice that the lobby terminal is a giant coffee dispenser?

The new spawn points are espresso machines.

EDIT: This is from the second art book. Apparently the spawn points were always based on espresso machines.

Cafes have always been close to the lobby, perhaps in a reference to this. In Splatoon 1 the cafe was below the news studio. In Splatoon 2 the Cafe was between the lobby and the Deep Sea Metro entrance. And in Splatoon 3, the Cafe is up a staircase, between the lobby and the news studio.

Sea Scroll 2 in Splatoon 1 explains that Octarians use kettles as transport devices between stages. I believe levitation is also Octarian tech, and most Octarian tech is also stainless steel. The new coffee themed spawn points could be a hint at how Octarians are integrating into squid society.

But either way, I think this dedication to themes is really interesting in Splatoon, the weird internal logic is what helps make the setting such solid world-building. (I will update this post with some new pics once I actually download my Switch screencaps)