#gotm march

[pixiedeadbeat]

50 years ago, Penny Priestly, Mayfair Magazine GOTM, March 1974

[corvidgames]

GBGL24 Backlog Status Update: March

March full stats

Backlog length: 49

Owned/accessible games: 38

Currently playing: 5

Baldur's Gate 3, Armored Core VI, Bayonetta 3, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Dragon's Dogma II

Next on list: Robocop: Rogue City

Games completed: 3

The Vale: Shadow of the Crown, Bluey: The videogame, Signalis

Games removed/DNF: 0

Games added: 3 Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, Ghost of Tsushima, Dragon's Dogma II

Hours logged: 30hrs 51m

By no means is my “next on” section a definitive statement on what I’ll end up playing from the log, but it’s what’s currently got my interest and what I’ll probably end up doing.

My full backlog, along with a few stats from other games I’ve played before starting this project, are all tracked with howlongtobeat, which I usually update whenever I finish a game or remember/find something new to add to the list. If you’re interested, that’s linked below.

Game of the month:

⚪️SIGNALIS🔴

See my full entry on Signalis here

I think this month has taught me that I really, and I mean REALLY, enjoy games that push boundaries when it comes to storytelling. There's something that scratches my brain just right when it comes to telling a story full of heart in an unconventional and memorable manner... From the gameplay mechanics of The Vale to the gripping mystery of Signalis, this month emotionally tore me to shreds.

It was hard to pick between those two games, both of which I gave a 100 rating to, but with the way Signalis has sunk its claws into me all month I have to hand this month's GOTM to it.

[rpgmgames]

March’s Featured Game: Abigail Fortune and the Dreams of Azure

DEVELOPER(S): Fusoloid ENGINE: RPG Maker MV GENRE: Adventure, RPG SUMMARY: Abigail Fortune's adventures continue in Paris! As she obtains information about a mysterious treasure called "Azure Dreams", the gentlewoman thief is joined by her old friend, Marguerite "Maria" Montblanc. Together the ladies must discover the true identity of the treasure, find out the truth behind the treasure's owner, and avoid falling permanently into the most wonderful dream...

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! I am Heidi K., also known as Fusoloid. I'm a Finnish university student, and I've been in the RPG Maker community since the early 2010's. I got much more active in following the community after I started developing my own games, however. I love art, studying cultures, and all in all, I'm here to be creative and have a good time!

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially? *Fusoloid: The Abigail Fortune series is, essentially, about the eponymous gentlewoman thief and her many adventures. I was inspired to make a story about a thief after binge-watching the first Lupin III anime series in late 2014, and after playing the demo of an RPGM game called Pumpkin Panic! around the same time, I decided to make it a game series on RPG Maker.

How long did you work on your project? *Fusoloid: I've been working on the AF series as a whole since late 2014. Proper work on Dreams of Azure started in 2017, after the release of the first game in the series, The Scarlet Fairy. Of course, even before that, I had outlined the major plot points and many of the characters, and even made some character sketches, though most of my efforts were focused on The Scarlet Fairy until it was released.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Fusoloid: Lupin III is the obvious biggest inspiration behind the series; major characters like Abigail, Marguerite and the Interpol duo of Cynthia and Neil were inspired by the major characters of Lupin III. Games like Persona 5, the Sly Cooper series and even the Uncharted series have inspired me in one way or another. Of course, I've been inspired by other pixel RPGs too, like The Witch's House, Dreaming Mary, Virgo VS the Zodiac and the LiEat series.

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *Fusoloid: One thing I've had challenges with Dreams of Azure is the more complex battle system I want to implement. Sometimes effects or features I wanted to include in the battle system weren't possible to implement, either due to the restrictions of the engine/plugin, or the complexity of the coding needed for it. Currently I've changed things so that these effects work differently than what I initially intended, but in a similar fashion.

Did any aspects of your project change over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Fusoloid: The story has probably changed the most out of all other aspects! The initial story was set in France like the current one, but the characters and story progression were completely different. Some time during 2016, I realized that the story wouldn't work as an RPG-style game too well, so I rewrote it to what it is now. Of course, that original story idea isn't completely abandoned yet...

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don’t have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Fusoloid: I've worked on the series mostly by myself, but I've had some help from a certain friend of mine. She did the playtesting for The Scarlet Fairy, and also proofread and illustrated The Scarlet Emperor spinoff novella for me. I don't have any regrets about working (mostly) alone on the series, but I sometimes think I should learn a bit more about how Javascript works... a bit.

What was the best part of developing the game? *Fusoloid: Writing the story and making the art! I love writing dialogue and just writing down ideas for interactions that could be either funny or entertaining to the player or myself. Making the various character portraits is something I enjoy most about making the game's art, and I love conveying the different characters' personalities with their expressions and reactions.

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *Fusoloid: I often play other RPGM games to become inspired or to find new ideas, often times for puzzles and aesthetic stuff. For example, I would play Pocket Mirror or Dreaming Mary to get ideas for the aesthetic of Dreams of Azure's main location, and then play games like Ib or The Witch's House for puzzle ideas. Of course, I don't want to directly rip off anything, and I like doing my own thing and putting in my own twists as well.

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Fusoloid: While I do like all of my character in one way or another, my favorite overall character will probably always be Abigail. She's extremely fun to write, and it's interesting to write a character who disguises her true self under a multitude of different personas. However, at the same time, there's the same person at the core of every disguise, and I want to develop that core character with every new entry in the series. And also, I just love charming rogues with a heart of gold... ♥

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Fusoloid: There isn't anything I regret with The Dreams of Azure, but regarding my game development journey in general, I wish I had started with something small instead of jumping straight into a bigger project. The Scarlet Fairy feels really unpolished in retrospect, and had I known more about the engine beforehand, I think I could've probably created much more creative ways of progression, as well as more interesting puzzles.

Do you plan to explore the game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Fusoloid: Of course! The Abigail Fortune series will certainly continue after Dreams of Azure, and I already have a multitude of ideas on how the series will continue. AF3 will definitely come one day, but there will be a bunch more stuff coming out before that.

With your current project, what do you look most forward to upon/after release? *Fusoloid: The reaction from the fans! I love seeing how people talk about my stuff and what they liked and enjoyed about it. There's also just the incredibly satisfying feeling of being able to complete something and releasing it into the wild.

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *Fusoloid: The reaction from the fans, surprisingly. While I love seeing people enjoy my stuff, I'm also extremely terrified of releasing any big project due to my fear of being judged or unjustly critiqued. If it's something big and something I spent a lot of time on, having it be called bad or terrible would be the worst thing I could think of. I think this fear stems from years of bad experiences in my youth... I've done my best to work on this, of course, but I still notice myself getting very nervous.

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Fusoloid: If you're thinking about getting into game developing, start from small projects. These projects don't have to be any longer than 5 minutes, as long as you finish them and learn new things about the engine you're using. Secondly, when you start your first bigger project, WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN. From puzzles to dialogue to how the story advances, write everything down on a document of some kind so you can easily go through the progression of the plot without suffering and having to come up with things on the fly as you're making the game. And thirdly, BACK UP YOUR PROJECT FILES! Save 'em on an external hard drive, send 'em to an online cloud, send 'em to a friend; anything goes as long as your hard work will be preserved in case of disaster!!

Question from last month's featured dev @doc-saturn: What's something you learned while making this game? Is there anything you're trying to learn how to do right now? *Fusoloid: Parallax mapping! I decided to try out parallax mapping for the first time for The Dreams of Azure, and it's a lot of fun! The maps look a lot better than in The Scarlet Fairy, and it's fun to think of set pieces and decorations for the maps. However, making changes into the maps after having completed them can be a bit of a hassle...

We mods would like to thank Fusoloid for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!

Remember to check out Abigail Fortune and the Dreams of Azureif you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum

[nctriple]

𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓬𝓱

Good things that happened this month

The clothes I ordered arrived~ So did my accessories too! They make me feel confident and powerful 🤧

Had a one week streak of feeling happy and okay!

Watched Zootopia with friends <3

More accessories came~

Wore my new clothes and accessories out~ Took pretty candid pictures too!

Called my friends that I haven't properly talked to for months

Watched the emperor's new groove with a friend <3

Finally started my artwork for my portfolio!!

Had a sleepover with my friends, went to 2 cafes the next day and visited one of my friends’ workplace

Watched Howl’s Moving Castle for the first time (it’s so FUCKING GOOD HNNNGGHHH)

Watched Ponyo (I think I’ve watched Ponyo before but because I was so young when I watched it, I couldn’t remember the plot that well but anyways, IT’S GOOD!!!)

Finally finished and submitted my artworks for my art school registration stuff

Called another friend for the first time ever and they were okay with it

Kept receiving compliments about how cute I am and I’m 🥺

[therealvikingstrash]

In celebration of my newly acquired 333 beautiful heathen souls voluntarily looking at those posts I make, we will have a little fun!

This challenge will be a mix of writing, moodboard or art. Whichever you want to go with. 😊

The prompt's are a collection of sentences I came up with myself or were once said by a book/movie/show character. 

Rules and Prompts are below the cut!

Rules

If you tag correctly and warn about it, anything goes, rating, genre or kink wise!

It's apparent that I like smut and angst, but fluff, romance, comedy and bromance are also very welcome. 

Heavier stuff like violence, gore, dub/non-con are allowed, but need to be tagged! (Please no rape, I cannot always stomach it)

Pairings can be: F/M, F/F, M/M, Multi, Gen

Canon or AU timeline, whichever you like more, I'm game

Reader inserts(just try not to overdo the (Y/N) parts please, my brain can't read them without shutting down like an overused Windows '95 computer on a hot summer day), OC’s, character studies, crack pairings are allowed

Look outside, diversity is a thing and appreciated to be written about too! 

If you write a story, please do it in english, or put translations for the words you use next to them or at the beginning. 

No one likes a wall of text on here, so I'm begging you, use "read more"

You don't need to follow me to take part in this, but it would be cool ;D

Send me an ask, comment, or DM me the prompt(s)/character(s) you’re picking!

Tag the work using #vikingtrash333 and please DM me the link as well, because Dumblr.

You can participate as many times as you want, but each prompt can only be used twice before I cross it over!

"Officially" it will be open until the 3rd March '22, but there's no hard deadline

This post will double as a Masterlist so I’ll update it with your submissions

Vikings Characters to choose from:

Ubbe

Hvitserk

Amma

Gunnhild

Þorunn

Yidu

Aslaug

Helga

Halfdan

Aud

Thora

Alfred

Ivar

Judith

Prompts:

"I don't like your music and your face is weird." - art | fic -

"You bought a gun? What the hell do you need that for?" - art | fic -

"Love is just a myth." - art | fic - @flowers-in-your-hayr / @ritual-unions-gotme

"Would you believe me when I said it isn't what it looks like?" - art | fic - @comicsandcardigans​

"Can you tell me why our kitchen looks like the Winter Wonderland?" - art | fic - @shieldmaidenofingstad

"I don't feel so good." - art | fic - @ritual-unions-gotme

"The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew I would hate you forever." - art | fic - @punkrocknpearls​

"You know those tiny night light stars you put on the ceiling over your bed as a child? I think I swallowed one." - art | fic - @serasvictoria

"And then there were two." - art | fic - @losermultifandomidiot

"If only I knew what language you speak." - art | fic - @serasvictoria

"Mother would not approve." - art | fic - @youbloodymadgenius

"Blood is a good color on you" - art | fic - @artemiseamoon​

"I don't drink water. What am I, a tiny fish? Bring me mead!" - art | fic -

"I would love to learn how to do this!" - art | fic -

"I've never smelled this great before." - art | fic -

"Stop following me!" - art | fic - @adrille88​

"Are you threatening me?" - art | fic - @underragingwaves

"I wish I wasn't married." - art | fic part one | fic part two - @underragingwaves

"The sounds you make..." - art | fic - @quantumlocked310​

"I want you." - art | fic - @istorkyou

-

I've never hosted a Follower Challenge, so it'll be a journey 😊 Really interested in what you guys come up with! 💕

Images used are mostly from pinterest, screenshots I took and the Hvitty and Ubbe image is @underragingwaves screencap.

[triplexmile]

Starting a tradition where whenever there is a Friday the 13th I draw a chibi pic of the current “Girl of the Month” in some sort of Friday the 13th Movie inspired piece. Jubes was September (2019) and Bayonetta was December (2019) The next Friday the 13th isn’t until March of 2020 so I guess it’ll be Sakura’s turn, since she’s always GotM in March.

[babyawacs]

the addresses ingermany were german minority arrival nurmeberg night sept 22nd19 89 then short twoweeks raststatt orfour then schreckhof  then a year masseldorn a turk bought the block for selfuse we had anew car fromsavings moved to sudentenst reet 29 thats turtle twoyears  then steige44/1 newblocks thats elephant midlate19 94 to late 1997 ? then  cemetarycorner? 1998-1999 then  themost chavtastic year july1999to end 2000 the screwbunch4  here on mcdonalds then intel mess therenovemb er 2000 since may2000maybe armytime  moved to verfassungsschutz fortress early 2001 -march 2002 they fielded a brandnew playstation2 overmybrother involved sicne novembe r2000.  for test because iplayed my videogames likenothing thenwhat that hornba ck corner mid 2002to november2002. then fourweeks nazi chamber holdout around ihk co rner hill then amonth in brothers place early2003 then brucknerstreet 13 elephant or p o p e pabst? papst? half ayear then solbergallee22 orso mid2003 to sept2003 that is doc corner snake? dragonfly co rner? with bike uphill  graduation th en gotme my ownfirst chamber age22 sept2003 to sept2004 the screwbunch4 messy bunch mcdonalds whatsaname  thesedmamgeerasers zwingenburgstreet admission first stud y january 2004 nointernship but chronsaeule s then off to study stuttgart september 2004 then a year stuttgart allmandring 14c 2004 to nov2004 then amonth or two b rothers chamber no wait mothers chamber rentby brother masseldorn whats the street a gain  twomonths thenoffmy chamber again threemonths interim in a chamber without good windows even shared with an engineeringstudent and another edu blueolalr guy th en gluckstreet 12 another chamber untilstudy  itb test  then offto study septem ber 2006-to november 2010 visitingmother during study once a month aweekend. plus hol idays graduation then november to february 2011 mothers chamber then off to study e astgermany february 2011 to february 2013 with mothers chamber visit here depressed a f since july 2012 graduation overcome down intelterrorised then brothers demis e early2014 then mother mid2014 then rent chamber as bgb roomrent contract jily2014 to now here with daytime chargingthe crimes xmas2009 nuertingnen study and onsit e july2015 on intensified m u r d e r attempts here all the time ever si nce shuffled  m u r d e r trick s harms shuffled scums in this the c lowns tried toplace their prostitution inteldependency where then their momfoolnes s where? whogives a rats asswhattheypretend why didthey get a c c e s s to rescueminors desperatemothers too and girls inlove alongthismess evenmoreso

the addresses ingermany were german minority arrival nurmeberg night sept 22nd19 89 then short twoweeks raststatt orfour then schreckhof  then a year masseldorn a turk bought the block for selfuse we had anew car fromsavings moved to sudentenst reet 29 thats turtle twoyears  then steige44/1 newblocks thats elephant midlate19 94 to late 1997 ? then  cemetarycorner? 1998-1999 then  themost chavtastic year july1999to end 2000 the screwbunch4  here on mcdonalds then intel mess therenovemb er 2000 since may2000maybe armytime  moved to verfassungsschutz fortress early 2001 -march 2002 they fielded a brandnew playstation2 overmybrother involved sicne novembe r2000.  for test because iplayed my videogames likenothing thenwhat that hornba ck corner mid 2002to november2002. then fourweeks nazi chamber holdout around ihk co rner hill then amonth in brothers place early2003 then brucknerstreet 13 elephant or p o p e pabst? papst? half ayear then solbergallee22 orso mid2003 to sept2003 that is doc corner snake? dragonfly co rner? with bike uphill  graduation th en gotme my ownfirst chamber age22 sept2003 to sept2004 the screwbunch4 messy bunch mcdonalds whatsaname  thesedmamgeerasers zwingenburgstreet admission first stud y january 2004 nointernship but chronsaeule s then off to study stuttgart september 2004 then a year stuttgart allmandring 14c 2004 to nov2004 then amonth or two b rothers chamber no wait mothers chamber rentby brother masseldorn whats the street a gain  twomonths thenoffmy chamber again threemonths interim in a chamber without good windows even shared with an engineeringstudent and another edu blueolalr guy th en gluckstreet 12 another chamber untilstudy  itb test  then offto study septem ber 2006-to november 2010 visitingmother during study once a month aweekend. plus hol idays graduation then november to february 2011 mothers chamber then off to study e astgermany february 2011 to february 2013 with mothers chamber visit here depressed a f since july 2012 graduation overcome down intelterrorised then brothers demis e early2014 then mother mid2014 then rent chamber as bgb roomrent contract jily2014 to now here with daytime chargingthe crimes xmas2009 nuertingnen study and onsit e july2015 on intensified m u r d e r attempts here all the time ever si nce shuffled  m u r d e r trick s harms shuffled scums in this the c lowns tried toplace their prostitution inteldependency where then their momfoolnes s where? whogives a rats asswhattheypretend why didthey get a c c e s s to rescueminors desperatemothers too and girls inlove alongthismess evenmoreso

the addresses ingermany were german minority arrival nurmeberg night sept 22nd1989 then short twoweeks raststatt orfour then schreckhof then a year masseldorn a turk bought the block for selfuse we had anew car fromsavings moved to sudentenstreet 29 thats turtle twoyears then steige44/1 newblocks thats elephant midlate1994 to late 1997 ? then cemetarycorner? 1998-1999 then themost chavtastic…

[teamsports2day]

Rawlings Heart Of The Hide PRONP4-2BGB 11.5" March Glove Of The Month GOTM BUY IT NOW – Rawlings Heart Of The Hide PRONP4-2BGB 11.5" March Glove Of The Month GOTM

[pixiedeadbeat]

50 years ago, Anita Hemmings, Mayfair’s GOTM, March 1973.

[jobo-art]

GOTM - March

[walkonwalkonwithhopeinyourheart]

Vote for Gini for GOTM, would be a deserved reward for our most consistent midfielder this year via /r/LiverpoolFC

Vote for Gini for GOTM, would be a deserved reward for our most consistent midfielder this year https://ift.tt/2EqYVeL Submitted March 02, 2019 at 02:43PM by sreeramr via reddit https://ift.tt/2TtFKKQ

[rpgmgames]

March’s Featured Game: acai cOrner

DEVELOPER(S): moca & Mitty ENGINE: RPG Maker 2003 GENRE: RPG, Adventure, Surreal SUMMARY: acai cOrner is about Mizuki, someone who has fallen into the sewers and who happens to find their favorite electric guitar! Upon obtaining the guitar, Mizuki turns into a magical girl who must defend herself against spooky sewer creatures using the guitar's magical powers.

Download the game here! Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! *moca: Hi, I'm moca, a Starbucks barista aspiring to be a writer and game developer. I have been making RPG Maker games for about six years now, with my first two projects being a Pokémon fan-game and a Corpse Party fan-game. Those two happen to be my two favorite franchises as well! I have also created the RPG Maker game MOMOKA (IGMC 2018). I have founded a group called 'Team Shibu!' dedicated to making horror games! Our current project is a RPG Maker survival horror game named 'Katharsis'.

*Mitty: Hey there, I'm Mitty! I've been working with Moca on several games for a while now, helping with mostly graphics! Please support him, as he is very kind and hardworking!! I'm also the main developer of a game called "Marinette", so I hope you'll check that one out too, when the demo is released!

What is your project about? What inspired you to create this game initially? *moca: acai cOrner is an experimental spooky RPG Maker game that only uses 4 colors! You are a magical girl with a just-as-magical electric guitar that you use to fend off spooky sewer slimes and other weird enemies you find in the surreal sewer system. It's half exploration and half RPG battles. What inspired me to create acai cOrner initially was to actually get myself back into the groove of making games again. I had just recently came back from a hiatus and found myself having trouble getting back into the development of 'Katharsis'. That's when I decided to make a short, experimental game to get the juices flowing.

How long did you work on your project? *moca: acai cOrner was finished in just about under a month!

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *moca: I had always wanted to make a Yume Nikki-like game and thought this was the perfect opportunity to try. So for the more surreal parts of acai cOrner, I took inspiration from Yume Nikki and a Homestuck random planet generator. Gameplay wise though, I took inspiration from a RPG Maker game called Ghost Suburb 0! I really loved how unique it was, especially with the timer and no dialogue aspect. I knew I wanted to do something with a timer, so I tried a rogue-like approach with the gameplay.

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *moca: If you played any of my previous projects, you know that acai cOrner is vastly different than anything that I have ever done. I'm so used to using words to describe the violence in my games, so when it came to making the story, I had a lot of trouble. It wasn't until I looked deeper into why people like these types of games that I had realized that people like to interpret the story on their own, guided by exploration, to enjoy these games. After that, I let loose a bit and made something more open-ended. Another challenge was the difficulty. I was the only one playtesting the game, and since I knew the game front and back, and had no trouble getting the ending. That's why when I sent out demos to friends, I was really discouraged to hear that the experience was mostly frustrating and rage quitting-inducing haha. I worked closely with their feedback and made changes accordingly to make the experience less frustrating but still difficult. *Mitty: I think I was going through a weird artblock during the development of the game, so for some of the illustrations and backdrops for each area's fights, Moca sketched out the basic idea of what it could look like, and I just put my spin on it! It made the work much easier and faster!

Did any aspects of your project change over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *moca: Well, the game was meant to be short so there wasn't room for any big changes. Sure there are a couple gameplay changes and enemy tweaks, but not anything mindblowing. I added in the idea of making four surreal worlds kinda last minute, if that counts, haha.

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don’t have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *moca: In the beginning, it was just me! I didn't think I was gonna need any outside help since this was supposed to be a relatively easy project to release, but the further in development I got, the more I realized the game needed pizazz. The four color limitation wasn't enough for my lack of graphical talent. That's when I contacted Mitty about helping with the games battle backdrops and sprite animations! She is also a member of Team Shibu!, but we have collabed together even before that. Her art really made the project shine and I enjoy working with them on games! *Mitty: Moca contacted me, and I wanted to help! We are working together on another game called Katharsis, so we are quite familiar with each other. I like working with other people, especially if I'm not in the lead, it releases a bit of the pressure I feel sometimes ahaha

What is the best part of developing a game? *moca: To me, it's seeing everything come together and just... working exactly the way you envisioned it. As a game developer, you section the game off into parts to make development much more organized and faster but seeing it all come together in the end. Pure bliss *chefs kiss*. *Mitty: I like a bit of everything, but currently I've been enjoying animating and spritework, as well as map assets' designs a little more than usual!

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *moca: Mm... not really! I have an idea of what the engine can do, so when I do go out of my way to player other RPG Maker games, it's usually for writing inspiration rather than gameplay inspiration. Ghost Suburb 0 is something that I accidentally stumbled upon and immediately fell in love with it the minute I played it haha. (Fun fact: the developer of Ghost Suburb 0 is apart of Team Shibu! and is in charge of monster design!)

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *moca: There is a rat in the game that is internally called 'Ratthew' who leads you into a funky room. I relate them the most. *Mitty: I relate to the land sharks the most on a spiritual level. They are pretty much confused beans, and that's very relatable.

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *moca: I wish I added more random spooky events and trap rooms. But the game was also supposed to be short and I knew that if I kept adding more and more things, development was never gonna end haha.

Do you plan to explore the game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *moca: Well, by the time this interview comes out, there should be a new update for the game. The update should include 100% custom music by a talented composer, and a nerf in difficulty. As for sequels, who knows! The next time you see acai cOrner may be in 3D.

What do you most look forward to upon finishing the game? *moca: Definitely the fan reaction! The satisfaction of seeing your work being noticed by people and actually enjoying makes me happy. It's also the relief of just... finishing something! *Mitty: For this particular project I was obviously looking forward to seeing what people said about the little animations and such ahaha! I also was curious about the reaction to the timed difficulty mechanic, I had never seen anything like that before Moca presented it to me, so I had no idea on what people's feedback would be.

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *moca: How people will handle the difficulty. The game isn't supposed to be completed on your first playthrough, but in 2-3 playthroughs. There are rooms and places that are meant to waste your time that you should ideally skip the more you play. By later playthroughs, you should be shaving time and be better. I understand that it's not handled as best I could, but I think the experience should still be challenging and hopefully fun! *Mitty: I was a little conflicted on the timed mechanic, I loved it because it's pretty original and helps set an interesting athmosphere of worry and unease, and also seems to tell a bit of the vague story; and at the same time I don't like it much because I prefer more story-driven games and the vagueness mixed with the mechanic feels different from what I'm used to playing! I think it's more of a personal taste kind of thing, it was an experimental jam game, after all!

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *moca: Take it easy! Take short breaks throughout development. And most importantly, have fun. If it's a hobby and it's making you overly stressed, just take a step back!

Question from last month's featured dev @ressurflection: What would you say is the weakest part of your game development? *moca: Procrastination. I'm so bad at sticking to my own schedule, it's something that I try to keep in check when working with a team especially.

We mods would like to thank moca & Mitty for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!

Remember to check out acai cOrner if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum

[junker-town]

Did Anthony Davis really shave his unibrow?

Hmm....

Anthony Davis shaved off his unibrow on Saturday, but I’m having a tough time believing it’s real.

Here’s the video that the artist “formerly” known as “The Brow” posted on Twitter.

The people have spoken, time for a little change... pic.twitter.com/i5GiGdMei9

— Anthony Davis (@AntDavis23) March 31, 2018

Before we dive in, let’s take a step back and see how we got here.

Three days ago, AD put a poll on Twitter asking people whether he should shave his famous unibrow off. Fans voted 51 percent in favor.

Should I shave my brow?

— Anthony Davis (@AntDavis23) March 28, 2018

So why could this be fake?

First of all, let’s check the date... It’s the day before April Fools day.

If that doesn’t do it for ya, rewatch the video.

Right before Davis is about to show us that he’s really shaving the brow off, the camera cuts out.

That’s pretty suspicious, fam.

If that still doesn’t convince you, check the towel he’s holding.

It’s some pretty convenient advertising for Red Bull.

Why’s Red Bull such a big deal?

Because Red Bull sponsored a pranking video with Davis just last month.

I probably should have noticed that the maintenance guy was 6'9... #gotme @redbull pic.twitter.com/g64PuMaxNT

— Anthony Davis (@AntDavis23) February 28, 2018

If that STILL hasn’t convinced you, zoom into the video. It really looks like Davis is wearing makeup over the unibrow.

Sorry for ruining the fun, but I’m just not buying that this is real just yet.

[rpgmgames]

March’s Featured Game: Ceress and Orea

DEVELOPER(S): plueschkatzeart ENGINE: RPGMaker MV GENRE: Puzzle, Adventure SUMMARY: Ceress is sentenced to death, because she's in love with the 'wrong' person. But stubborn as she is, she calls out to an old deity, demanding a chance to change this unrighteousness.

Can Ceress overcome death to be reunited with the woman she loves, Orea?

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! *Hi everyone! My name is Plueschkatze, which might be hard to say for anyone that’s not used to German, so feel free to call me Plue!

I started using RPGM in 2016, but I’ve been into game development since 2013. Last year I published two games and both have been products of teamwork for game jams. They are ‘The Beast Named Eliza’ and ‘Dear Edwin’.

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially? *Plueschkatze: Ceress and Orea is about love. It’s a short game (about an hour) that follows Ceress, who is overcoming death to be reunited with her Love, Orea. It’s an adventure game, inspired by many of the amazing modern adventures/walking sims. You’ll traverse a cave system, which is basically a spirit realm. And yes, it’s about the love of two young women. Love itself is such a bittersweet experience, because it can mean happiness and pain all at once. I hope you can sense some of that bittersweetness within this game, but I wanted Ceress and Orea to be mainly a somewhat relaxing experience, that helps people to escape their stressful day for an hour. It has also given me the opportunity to grow as a game dev and tell one of the many, many stories that are in my head.

How long have you been working on your project? *Plueschkatze: I created the RPGM project folder in November 2017, and I’ve been developing CaO full time since January 2018. So I’d say CaO has been in development for about 4 months now.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Plueschkatze: Yes. Games like, Life is Strange, To the Moon, Telltale’s the Walking Dead, and many other modern adventure games and walking sims influenced what I want from games. They are the main reason I don’t have a combat system in my game, because it’s only telling a story. It’s more like taking a walk, than heavily action packed gameplay. Even titles like, The Last of Us, Fragile Dreams - Farewell to the Moon, Zelda Twilight Princess, and Breath of the Wild had an influence, at least to an extent, and the beauty of abandoned and overgrown places inspired a few of the maps. Though I wouldn’t compare CaO directly to any of these named games.

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *Plueschkatze: Oh, yes. There have been many smaller challenges. From buggy plugins, to not being sure how to effectively show and tell what I want the player to experience. And also being limited on time and money. I’m a freelance artist and am currently living from savings. I’m hoping that CaO will sell well enough that I can keep making games afterwards. The future will show~!

Regarding bugs… I contacted the creators of the plugins and all of them have been very nice people and fixed them for me! If you provide them enough information to quickly get an idea what they need to fix, the chance is pretty good they’ll do it within a short time. This community is great, and most people are very willing to help each other.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Plueschkatze: It hasn’t changed THAT much. A few ideas for the backstory changed, especially for one of the characters. But overall it’s been a pretty straight forward process.

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don't have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Plueschkatze: I’m solo developing on this project. While I enjoy teamwork with like-minded people, I also very much enjoy working alone. But I’m sharing my progress with a few friends, which is a joy. Having people around me that share the same passion (game dev) really has a huge impact on my productivity!

What is the best part of developing the game? *Plueschkatze: Normally it’s world-building, but CaO doesn’t have much of that, because it’s such a short project. And as an artist, it’s of course the art part. ;3

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *Plueschkatze: I don’t have much time to play games. So I usually only play the games I really, really, really badly wanna experience by myself. The last one was actually Zelda Breath of the Wild, and I avoided footage of some that I’d love to play in the future (like Nier: Automata and The Last Guardian). But I tend to watch let’s plays and streams while I’m working. I also follow a lot of devs on twitter and check forums to see what other RM and indie devs are working on. I see myself less as a ‘RPGM Dev’, and more as a general indie dev, because I wouldn’t mind switching to another engine, though I really, really love how kind hearted this community is. The engine is also really easy to use.

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Plueschkatze: The deity is my favorite, since they are fun to write. But I feel very connected to both Ceress and Orea, I love both girls.

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Plueschkatze: Because I’m not done (the last 20%!), I can’t tell yet. So far I’ve really enjoyed this journey and you’ll ALWAYS have parts that you could improve. Nothing will ever be perfect. At least not to everyone. The biggest challenge is to know when to stop and call it done. Many devs get way too lost in their process.

Once you finish your project, do you plan to explore the game's universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Plueschkatze: I don’t have plans for a sequel (or prequel), but one never knows.

What do you look most forward to upon/after release? *Plueschkatze: This is my first commercial release. It’s also my first game that will be on steam. I’m really looking forward to that experience and to learn from it, so it will be better the next time! I’m also SUPER curious how people will react and if they’ll enjoy the game. Thinking about it makes me really nervous, ha ha ha!

Is there something you're afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *Plueschkatze: I’m afraid of rude comments. Ugh. But who isn’t, right? I’m also afraid of being unable to keep making games, because I enjoy it so, so, so much. But I have to pay my bills, so more freelance work means less game dev time for my own projects.

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Plueschkatze: If you’re serious about gamedev, try to learn. Do not only watch RPGM tutorials, but also some about character development, world-building, documentations about the era you’re game is set in, etc. etc. Also, network with other game devs that are in a similar position as you and that are like-minded. Sharing knowledge will help you improve and grow a lot! Also share your progress. Good feedback will not only help you improve your game, but also encourage you to stay motivated and to actually WORK on your game.

Question from last month's featured dev @lonestargame: What's the most ambitious thing you've tried to do with the engine? *Plueschkatze: Uff. I think there’s nothing overly ambitious/complex within my current project, so this is a tough one for me! Ha ha.

We mods would like to thank Plueschkatze for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved! 

Remember to check out Ceress and Orea if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum

[pixiedeadbeat]

Rachel Broome, Mayfair Magazine GOTM, March 1976

[pixiedeadbeat]

Roxy, GOTM Club International March 1975.