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fantastic-rambles · 3 years

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Sk8 Character Thoughts

Yeah, so y’all have to deal with me venting my latest obsession, lol. Sorry to everyone who followed me for other stuff, I will get back to it eventually. ^^;

I was gonna write out individual walls of text for everyone to be fair, but I decided that’s too much work and I’d go crazy before I finished (plus I’m feeling guilty for neglecting my fanfiction writing), so I’m just gonna bullet point some of the random things I think about various skaters (opinions and theories).

The order is the approximate order of which I like characters, though it’s not a strict ranking. I like most of the characters in the show to some extent.

Adam (Shindo Ainosuke)

I’ve already said a lot about him, you can check it out here and here. I’ll probably end up saying more about him before the show ends, too. xD

Yes, he is an absolutely awful person, but that’s what makes him amazing.

I will say that he needs a better costume designer. He looks like a clown. It looks like something that he designed when he was, like, five years old.

The mask is great though. <3

Cherry Blossom (Sakurayashiki Kaoru)

I love the super analytical types, but I also feel like Carla is a crutch for him. He’s a great skater, but if he didn’t have Carla, I don’t think he’d be able to compete at the level of the other top skaters. But all the more props to him for finding a way that he could compete at that level.

He totally had a thing for Adam before. But I think that even then, Adam was too fucked up to be able to have a romantic relationship, so nothing came of it. Because if Adam did actually learn what real love was like rather than confusing abuse for love, I don’t think he would have turned out the way he did.

It’s pretty clear that until he gets smacked by Adam, he’s still looking up to Adam and clinging to what they had before. And it bleeds into his non-skating life as well: when he did his calligraphy demonstration, I think that he hoped Adam would see it, which was why he picked that specific phrase and explained it--to let Adam know that it wasn’t too late to make amends (not that Adam would have given a fuck even if he did see it).

I love his character design as a teen, and I’m sad that he’s become more respectable-looking (though still hot af) as an adult. I’m a sucker for guys with long hair in anime/manga.

He is absolutely a weeb. He’s made an AI assistant who he calls Carla, which creeps out Joe (in a cute, lovable way, not in an Adam way), and he incorporates her into almost all aspects of his life. Like, he just happens to have an AI-augmented wheelchair handy, why?

He also dresses up like a ninja when he’s skating, goes around in a kimono in his daily life, etc. etc. Okay, maybe the kimono can be excused since he’s a calligrapher (though I’m pretty sure that’s not the norm regardless, except for maybe if the artist is at some sort of exhibition?), but people’s costumes seem to show off who they really are beneath the mask they put on for society. So Cherry secretly wants to be a ninja. xD

I’m not on any specific ship, but if I had to pick one to board, it would be Matchablossom.

Can we please have a spinoff that’s just about Adam, Cherry, and Joe when they’re teenagers?

Snow (Hasegawa Langa)

Frankly, Langa’s only up this high because I love his dynamic/rivalry with Adam. If Adam didn’t exist, he’d be below Joe, maybe below Tadashi.

Not that I don’t like Langa, but he’s just an oblivious skating nerd. He’s skilled and passionate, but I don’t really feel that he really stands out as a standalone character. He’s more of a foil for other characters (mostly Adam and Reki).

I guess what stands out the most to me is his ability to improvise when he’s falling behind, since his skill level is understandably lower than most of the other people he skates against. Like finding alternative pathways to the finish line versus Shadow and Miya, or using Joe’s strength to propel him forward. Or just, like, flying off the edge of a cliff to take a shortcut. That too. xD

His snow motif is pretty cool. (No pun intended.)

And I won’t deny that he’s cute. He’s actually the reason I started watching, because I saw some fanart of him and got curious. Came for the Langa, stayed for the Adam. <3

I feel bad for him for having a jealous jerk as basically his only friend though.

Joe (Nanjo Kojiro)

He’s such a teddy bear. <3

Joe’s the heart to Cherry’s brain, and I adore the way they balance each other out. I love Vitriolic Best Buds.

What surprised me, though, is that Joe seems to have a better understanding of Adam’s current character than Cherry does, since Cherry is so precise and analytical. Though the flashback clarified that some since it’s pretty obvious that Cherry is/was biased where Adam is concerned. Sure, Joe was also friends with Adam back then, but it seems that Cherry was the one most star-struck by Adam.

But Joe obviously knows and accepts that Adam’s changed, unlike Cherry, though he probably doesn’t know the reason why. He seemed to be expecting something to happen during the race, so it didn’t surprise him when it did, though he was sad/disappointed by it. It seemed like he was concerned and wanted to warn Cherry before his race (which is super cute), and when everyone else was flinching from seeing the assault on Cherry, Joe didn’t look away. I don’t think he knew exactly what Adam was going to do (I don’t think anyone did, lol), but he knew Adam was going to do something.

I don’t think he was serious when he said the reason Adam is avoiding their beefs is because he’s afraid he’ll lose, though. Yeah, he wants to race Adam, and he wants to win, but I think he’s more grounded when it comes to Adam, so he probably knows that Adam would beat him if it came down to it. Whereas Cherry legitimately thought he could win if Adam held back.

Also, his skateboard wheels are ridiculous. How do they even work?

Snake (Kikuchi Tadashi)

He got an ask post, yay, so not going to rehash it here.

I really hope that Adam realizes at some point that Tadashi is the only person who really knows and understands him, and comes to appreciate everything that Tadashi’s done for him.

Miya (Chinen Miya)

Such a brat, omg.

I get that he’s a kid, and kids are brats, and so it’s a fairly realistic depiction. I just hate kids. >.>

Pretty much the only time I’ll really like a child character is when they’re precocious as fuck and not child-like at all, which I get defeats the purpose, but that’s me.

Brattiness aside, he is skilled and appreciates Reki standing up to Adam on his behalf, so much so that he’s willing to spend his time training a “slime” just so Reki doesn’t get completely crushed by Adam. And he’s also willing to work with Langa to teach him the most difficult trick in skating (the Caspar Slide) for the same reason.

Ultimately, he’s a good kid, but he’s had some bad experiences that make it harder for him to trust people since he’s afraid they’ll leave him. He’s still willing to try, though, if people will give him a chance.

Also, the one ep when they go on vacation and Miya pretends Joe is his daddy (and Cherry is his mommy, rofl--hi Matchablossom!) to drive away the women Joe’s hitting on... hilarious.

Kyan Reki

An even bigger brat.

Again, yeah, he’s a teenager and teens are “just like that,” but I hate those kinds of characters.

Just because his friend is a skating genius, he gets all pissy and stops being friends with him? Showing up to cheer Langa on and then completely running away doesn’t redeem him in my eyes. I get that he’s disappointed that he’s not capable of skating at the level of the top skaters and frustrated that Langa surpassed him so easily, but that’s no excuse to take it out on Langa (or anyone else).

And everyone complains about Adam being possessive, but they just gloss over the fact that Reki repeatedly tries to force Langa to promise to not skate against Adam, even roping in their manager, when he knows that Langa likes accepting challenges and has fun doing them. He just wants to keep Langa to himself, and he’s jealous as fuck that Langa is obsessed with skating against Adam.

Langa even explicitly tells him that he’s not racing Adam just because he’s upset about what Adam did to Reki, but because he wants to do it. Which is the exact same fucking reason Reki gives for not listening to Joe and Miya, and Langa supports his decision then. Why can’t Reki do the same?

Yes, he’s traumatized because his friend who introduced him to skating was seriously injured and had to quit skating, and he got hurt skating against Adam, but just like for Adam: YOUR TRAUMA/BACKSTORY DOES NOT JUSTIFY YOUR BEHAVIOR.

Plus, the whole “we’ll never disappear from your sight” that he told Miya? Psych!

Like, seriously. He knows the kid has abandonment issues because people leave him because he’s too good at what he does, and then he just goes ahead and poofs, putting both Miya and Langa through the same exact fucking thing.

Though I’m sure that the power of friendship will give him a miraculous recovery and he’ll build a new board for Langa so Langa can beat Adam before Adam gets hauled off to jail. It’ll probably be a cheesy make-up where Langa says something about how he can only use Reki’s boards, so it’s like they’re skating together when he races or whatever.

I do respect his ability to observe other skaters and make boards that are perfectly suited to them, though. And he knows that he’d be good in that support role. But he wants to be the hero, so he’s suffering from eighth grader syndrome and lashing out because reality doesn’t conform to his wishes.

Shadow (Higa Hiromi)

Just fucking die already, ‘kay?

I don’t even know what to say. He’s all caught up in his “antihero” complex or whatever (I don’t even remember if that’s the right term, and I don’t give a fuck), and he’s got a nasty personality. Like burning Reki’s board or threatening to have a guy tattoo “Dumpster Slut” above his girlfriend’s name.

You really expect me to believe that he’d treat his manager respectfully if they started dating when he does something like that? His polite florist persona is such a sham.

And he’s a shit skater. How the hell is he in the top 8? If they can throw in a random guy we’ve never seen before (Harry), then they could have just as well put in some other trash mob instead of Shadow, who only didn’t get knocked out in the quarterfinal round because he was racing a nobody.

Imo, all of his “cute” little tricks like throwing fireworks at his opponent or shining a laser into their eyes is worse than what Adam does. Once he does that, he relinquishes all control over the situation, so anything could happen, such as his opponent crashing into a wall or falling off a cliff, which could result in serious injuries or even death. On the other hand, Adam always remains in control when he’s trying to throw off his opponent by forcing them to dance with him and freaking them the fuck out by pushing their limits. Even when he’s holding Reki’s head about an inch above the ground, he won’t let Reki brain himself on a rock or something. And even when he smacks Cherry with his skateboard, his attack leaves Cherry conscious and so lightly injured (relative to what could have been) that he doesn’t even need to stay in the hospital. (I don’t think he actually needs a wheelchair, other than probably being a bit woozy from a concussion, maybe. And maybe not even that if Joe isn’t concerned enough to wake him up/keep him from being unconscious.) Yeah, Adam fucks with his opponents, but if they can get over it, they can get back on a board. There’s a good chance that won’t happen if they get in an accident caused by Shadow, other than for anime logic.

“What about Adam’s Love Hugs??” What about them? Yes, he’s not holding on to his opponents to control their falls, but the point of it is to make them flinch and fall backwards, against the line of motion. That naturally will decrease the severity of their physical injuries, unlike when Reki and Harry fall off the course at full speed versus Shadow.

The only reason he doesn’t have a higher body count than Adam (or even a literal body count) is plot convenience, since he’s not the villain.

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avoutput · 4 years

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Final Fantasy VII Legacy || Remake Review

This is the 2nd out of 3 articles. Find the first here.

Enough with the flowery language. No more ancient memories of times passed. No more wasted passages on the origin of Final Fantasy VII. I am not some little kid sitting crossed-legged in front of a 13-inch tube TV, but a man sitting in a lightly used office chair he found by the apartment dumpster several years ago. I have grown. The gaming world has grown. And Final Fantasy has grown. But is it the kind of growth you imagined? Does this game shed the dead weight of its numbered younger siblings? Does it recreate an experience from your childhood? Is it an innovative gaming experience that redefines the RPG like its genesis? Is breathing life into one of the most provocative modern gaming death’s worth the exhumation? These are the questions swimming in my head while I waited for the release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, a deeply marked touchstone in my life. And after having completed my run through the game, I had some thoughts I needed to organize and share. I need to decide: Is this a proper run, a proper update, a proper remake? Or is it just a repurposed chair found by the dumpster?

Let me clarify a few things. First, this is going to be a straight review of the game with little-to-no spoilers. Second, this is the 2nd in a series of 3 articles I decided to write, with the final article being a no-holds-barred, spoiler frenzy discussing the outcomes of this game and many other Final Fantasy’s. In this article, we are going to be looking at what the game did well, what it was mediocre at, and lastly, what was downright disappointing. Each section will bleed into each other a bit because the games components bleed into each other a bit, which feels a little odd for a JRPG, but this isn’t ye-old JRPG. Let’s get right to it.

RE-KWARK!-ABLE! I MEAN REMARKABLE.

Before we tear this game down, let’s spend some time building it up. The standout component of this game was very clearly the battle system. The transition is seamless and the frenzy begins almost immediately. What surprised me right off the bat is how easy it was to not only switch between characters, but how simply it was to tell them what to do. I thought slowing down the battle to issue commands was going to be a nuisance, but it really helped balance out the pace of the battle. You can assign 4 hotkeys that let you keep the battle going without slowing down to strike at an enemies weakness. I did find that it felt a little useless to assign anything other than your weapon skills, because spells take a little time to cast and most of the time you are going to want to pick a specific spell based on the enemies weakness, but that is totally up to your playstyle.

In the vein of the battle system, boss fights were engrossing and detailed. It felt like they spent a lot of time thinking about which moments in the Midgar timeline would make the best boss battles and how exactly they would design the bosses moveset and structure based not only on what the boss was, but where the boss was. In one chapter, you fight a boss that is nearby some train tracks. At a certain point in the battle, it will electrify the track, and if you are standing on it, you get major damage. Enemy types also had a pretty consistent set of weaknesses, so you didn’t have to go into the bestiary menu to determine what spell would most likely take it down. But on the other hand, the Assess ability is crucial in understanding some of the more minute methods to hitting the enemy weakness. It was actually a delight to try and fight both with and without it. Like everything else in the battle, the menu comes up with a single button press and no load time. It gives you time to read and strategize your attacks.

In some other reviews I had been reading, people had complained about a feature I loved. Using spells and abilities requires you to have your ATB gauge filled, which will fill with time, but fills much faster if you are attacking. The complaint was that the AI isn’t particularly good at attacking when you aren’t using them, and not only that, they don’t receive the ATB fill bonus from attacking, it simply takes them time. However, because transition between characters is instantaneous, I believe that the designers did this as an incentive to use each character as often as possible. This isn’t the only incentive for this either. Every weapon for each character has a single skill that can be learned from it. To learn it, you have to use a skill. Again, to use the skill the ATB gauge has to be filled. Most battles in the game go by quickly, especially once you know the enemies weakness, so you need to build ATB fast and activate the skill. Without telling you, the game basically created an environment where it's not only necessary to switch between characters and learn their playstyles, but almost necessary. What’s more, every character is somewhat unique, especially Barret and Aerith, and certain types of enemies (flying or distance based, ect) are much easier to handle with the right character. All around, the battle system is an absolute standout and easily the best part of the game.

Without giving anything away, another strong part of the game is the scenario design. I was driven to hear more, see more, and do more in this game. The characters a crisp and vibrant, even when they lack depth. They are undeniably “cool” or “cute” or whatever their main adjective should be for the given scenario. The voice acting in both the Japanese and English versions are great, though the Japanese version from time to time has a different take on some of the characters than the English, it's still a blast. Every moment that leads into a battle with a signature villain is thoroughly enjoyable. I don’t think you absolutely need to have played the original to enjoy these moments, but more on that later. What it really comes down to is this game has some pretty great pacing because even when it fumbles, it doesn’t stop you from wanting to play more. The battle system element just propels you forward and hearing what crazy thing is going to happen next is more than enough to make up for follies.

This is sad to say, but there really is only one more exceptional item to mention. The return of Nobuo Uematsu. The soundtrack of this game was already pretty well designed in the original. Coming back to it was more than just a nostalgic walk down memory lane. It was like coming home and realizing your parent’s upgraded your house to a mansion with room service, a full staff, and a kitchen that's open 24 hours a day stocked with everything you desire. And it isn’t just that the music was remastered, it flows in and out of the game with masterful timing. Multiple versions of each song were recorded so that movements in the song crescendo at the exact moment your Cloud lands a hit or Reno and Rude jump from a helicopter. It made every moment of the game feel like so much more than just an average confrontation. There are a few moments that even made me laugh. There is a hip-hop inspired Chocobo theme that made me smile both for how odd it was and how awful it should have been received, but somehow it just slaps. If you pay attention you might notice some of the music is more reminiscent of other entries in the series with two standouts in particular, one sounding like Final Fantasy XII and another like Final Fantasy XIII, two very different scores. But it felt right at home in this modernized version of Final Fantasy VII. There is also a music collection sidequest that is mostly made up of jazzy remakes of classic Final Fantasy VII songs. These are less remarkable, but still good for the most part. Part of the issue with these songs is it is played through some kind of fuzzy record player speaker overlay, which I found annoying and distorting.

MISSED THE KWARK! I MEAN MARK.

I would say that almost everything else in this game missed the mark in some way or another. Some are just shy of a home run, others are baseline grounders, and some are just straight fouls. Either way, they could have used more attention or a different direction in my opinion. And I want to start with something I almost never complain about in video games: the graphics. Talking about graphics is usually pointless. People who are after ridiculous levels of fidelity always seem to believe this either makes or breaks the game. In Remake, that might actually be true for once. I am not a graphics designer, but one thing I noticed and couldn’t stop noticing is that there were so many different levels of graphical fidelity all smashed into one place. In some scenes, there were gorgeous details, like the entirety of Aerith’s house area, but then you get to the flowers, it's like 1997 again. In other moments, like when looking down at the Midgar Slums from the upper plate, it is clearly a very flat and stretched image meant to look three-dimensional like the other things around you, but the image was just off. Doors on buildings would look like garbage compared to the floor or walls in the room. It was just very clear that a once over on all the different assets would have helped out quite a bit. The problem wasn’t that the graphics were good or bad, but that they were inconsistent. It was like looking at photo-realistic drawing with some Picasso in the middle. The character models were so well done, when the interacted with this space, it was just jarring. Again, not awful, just missed the mark.

With such a well maintained battle system, you would think the menu system would be equally flawless, but it wasn’t. The main UI where you would outfit your party was a bit of a mess. For one, there was no way to go from upgrading your weapon to equipping it or vice-versa. They had completely separate menus for both that didn’t lead to each other. Then there is the upgrade menu itself, wherein you select upgrades in a similar way to FFXIII crystal upgrade menu. When you choose the weapon, it takes you to a completely different screen and makes this loud noise and transition effect. It's annoying to read and to navigate. You can bypass this by having the computer choose your upgrades for you, but that really felt like I was missing out. It would have been a huge improvement just to list the abilities and have me choose from the same menu I chose everything else. It was unnecessarily fancy and kind of an eyesore. Equipping materia got a small upgrade from the original game, wherein you can press a button to see and switch out materia with everyone, but this should have just been THE menu, not an extra button press. They also should have categorized the materia, letting you choose which type you wanted to look at instead of having to scroll through line after line. The menu also doesn’t give you simple information in places where you could use it, like what chapter you are in. To know, you have to go to the save menu. It could have simply been listed next to the playtime in the bottom corner.

There are even certain materia that are hard to understand, specifically the Enemy Skill materia. In the old game it would list which skills you had obtained. This one didn’t give you any idea what you had obtained and what exactly was obtainable. After a while I figured out that in the bestiary, although it would tell you which monster had a skill you could get, it wouldn’t exactly say if you had it. Turns out that if the skill was highlighted green on the enemy skills screen (another button press away), you didn’t have it, if it was blue, you did. Then, to see which skills you had in total, you had to go to the party screen and it would be listed under your abilities if they were wearing the materia. Not only that, the skill would have a different name than the skill the enemy used, the naming convention wasn’t 1-to-1. Add to this, materia sometimes have very obscure instructions or descriptions. The battles can go by so fast, it's hard to even notice the effect of them if something isn’t exploding or outwardly obvious. In fact, many of the instructions are weird in the game. If you die in a series of fights where they are linked, it will ask if you want to go back to the first fight or the last fight. Choosing the first actually sends you back to before you started the series and you can adjust your equipment, which is fine, but in a normal fight, if you die, you can only go back to the fight and it doesn’t let you modify your equipment. It's a simple inconsistency but the text and cursor placement also make it hard to understand exactly what is going to happen.

Finally, all the smaller issues. There are too many places where the game has you “walk” for no particular reason. You just slow down. I thought it might be due to loading, but it happens in places where no story or anything appears to be happening next. Summon materia is already maxed and it doesn’t feel like it helps all that much, even when the enemy is weak to them. The game design is set up so that whichever character you are currently playing as the only thing enemies are interested in attacking, especially if someone isn’t using provoke. So, your summon simply attacks, and to do it's better attacks, you have to sacrifice ATB. Mostly this is fine, it creates balance, but i’d prefer they came and left like in the original. In fact, I have hated all summon mechanics since FFX. They need to come, do damage, and be gone. But I have to admit, this is the best marriage of the two versions. Next, the choices you make that alter certain outcomes in the game are so far away from the thing you are altering, and at times not clear. This could have been more fun had they given you a bit more of control or some kind of gauge to show you what was going on, but in a way, it was true to its roots, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Lastly, having to aim the camera to interact with items that are just outside of its view is just annoying. That coupled with the random moments you have to hold “triangle” for a series of switches always rubbed me the wrong way.

DOWNRIGHT DISAPPOINTING… uh.. kwark.

Final Fantasy VII Remake obviously has a great foundation and pretty great framework. The music is great, it's a blast to play, and the characters really resonate. But there are still some aspects of this game that make it feel a little less than game of the year. These complaints might be less of an issue than I am making it. The game is what it is, and I am easily going to clock in at about 90 hours for both regular and hard modes. Still. STILL. There are just a few things that were completely disappointing, and not just from an old fan, but as a current gen gamer.

My biggest complaint is married together and baked into the design of the game, namely Midgar and Chapters. Final Fantasy has always felt like it was about exploring not just a story, but the world it exists in. In the first 9 entries to the series, this was done by giving the player a chance to get lost on its world map, looking for towns, roaming through forests. You had to use your imagination to fill the gaps, but that wasn’t a bad thing. As the entries iterated, the worlds got bigger, and so did their stories. They had lore and depth. With the release of 10, this all changed. In the 10th game, the story was suddenly on rails, the only direction you could move in was forward. It took all of the exploration away in favor of level design and pacing. I remember thinking that this was the beginning of the end for a series I loved. With the release of 12, it felt a little better, but mostly it was just an offline version of the massively popular MMORPG formula. It felt more rote and less like exploration. With the 13th entry, it was back to the rails. It began to feel like the creators sought only to make an experience where the characters and story where the vehicle, and the world was just the background. In 15, this would change somewhat, but it was also an experiment for them that ended in failure. They tried to give us an open world governed by a chapter system. But, despite their best efforts, they couldn’t breathe life into the world of 15. They tried to spread the world and its characters across too many dimensions. There was an anime series, a full length movie prequel, missing chapters introduced as DLC, and even a mobile game. A broken chimera. I think the success of 10 and their failure to create a modern, open world game is what ended up making 7 Remake what it is. A game on rails.

Before the games release, the game designers touted that Midgar was now a place that could be fully experienced. For me, this couldn’t have been further from the truth. It was just a series of narrow hallways masquerading as a city. The people in the background make noise and act like they live there, but they don’t move, goto work on a schedule, ride the trains, or even run stores. You can’t interact with them. They are just mouthpieces. Because the game runs by chapters, you have almost no ability to explore anything that doesn’t have to do with the immediate story. The characters will chide you for going the “wrong direction” and the game will outright stop you from wandering too far. “No no, you fool, the GAME is over HERE”. In the original game, Midgar is partially just an introduction to the world, characters, and battle system. But really, it was the beating heart of the entire game world and story just as much as the characters that live in it and run Shinra. The remake seems to have forsaken that in favor of story beats. Outside of a few distinct places, most of Midgar just feels like window dressing. Wall Market is obviously a delight, but the entirety of Midgar should have been like Wall Market. You should be able to get lost in the back streets or take the wrong train. Shinra headquarters gives you little glimpse into the way people on the upper plates live and work, but yet again they are just mannequins.

Games today give you vibrant open worlds to explore. You can jump on rooftops and glide over large swaths of land. The way in which Midgar was designed leaves little to the imaginationa as compared to the original. The graphics are crisp and every pipe and air conditioner feels like they might actually do something, but you can’t follow that pipe anywhere or walk down alleyways and talk to vagrants. Old games got a pass on size and depth because their limitations were obvious, often baked into whatever the genre was. If it was a brawler, you walk down streets beating people up. In racer, you play the track. But RPG’s were one of the few where you would be expected to explore the edges of its world. With new generation games, the choice to stop exploration in a RPG feel less like a limitation of raw power and more like a design decision. I would have preferred a game in which Midgar was a place to see and explore and interact with. Where I could haggle with one vendor over something found in another. Where I could watch the day cycle send people back and forth work. But Midgar wasn’t their focus. Telling you a story was. And as fun as that was, it was so disappointing to find that the original game gave you more by letting your mind wander past its graphical limitations than the remake did do by making the decision to limit your ability to physically explore visible areas. Instead of letting a visible wall stop you from going somewhere, an invisible force just puts a stop to your antics and tells you to get back to work. Maybe it's just psychological, but it is maddening. The physical world of 7 was just as important as its story and characters, but the story got to lead the show, and to me this feels off balance and off brand.

THE TAKEAWAY

This is a good game. A well made game for the most part. It's rough in places, but not so rough that it really hurts the end result. Final Fantasy 7 Remake is actually a showcase of talent that comes out of Square-Enix and despite the fact that I feel like they either bite off more than they can chew or completely misunderstand their core fanbase, they are still great artists. I often question whether game designers at big companies are customer service machines that should give us the product we demand or artists that deserve to create in a space that we support. Remake reminds me why I am both supportive but vocal. They may never hear me, but I want to know I said something. Still, it ends up being more than the sum of its parts. The game hums along like a well made machine. It takes time to remind fans of key moments, interjects tons of surprises that don’t entirely offend its base, and ultimately is never boring. What more could you ask from a game? Well, as it turns out, a lot. And I have so much more to say about the actual story content of this game and of Final Fantasy as a whole. If I didn’t mention some aspect here, it's probably because I want to discuss it in a way that may ruin the story, so look for the 3rd and final entry next week.

#Articles #Final Fantasy 7 #Final Fantasy VII #Final Fantasy 7 Remake #Final Fantasy #Nobuo Uematsu #FF7 #Review #JRPG #Voice Acting #Tifa #Cloud #Aerith #Barret #Jessie

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olympus-summit · 4 years

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Ready Player Zero || Charon + Mina || Trial 6.2 || Re: All

(cw: themes of dehumanization, loss of agency and cloning discussed)

“Let’s see, where do I begin? Right, what happened two trials ago. Now that you’re aware of your status as artificial intelligences, you should know that computer viruses wreak fucking havoc on people like us. And that was no ordinary virus, no. In her time at the Summit, Pandora had many nasty little tricks and surprises to keep the councilors obedient, and I really thought I'd gotten all of them when we deactivated her.” Monty grumbles, walking over to flop onto his gamer chair. “In her push to escape for the very last time, she unleashed what I’d like to call Pandora's Box.”

He shrugs. “On the nose? Sure, but now you’ve also had first-hand experience with their effects. The overwhelming pain you were feeling was her trying to force you back under her control, erasing any agency you might have had over your mind and limbs. Had it run its course, you’d all revert back to become loyal, docile and submissive councilors, making any and every excuse of the Summit to continue the way things have been for over the last century. So... you’re welcome, by the way. Can nobody get a fucking thank you around here?”

The roboticist, exhausted, pinches the bridge of her nose. “You can do a good thing and still hurt people too. You haven’t given them any reason to thank you. Need I remind you that you acted antagonistic to make us despise you? That includes your misguided attempt in sparing myself from self-hatred once I learned the truth. Though... I’ll thank you for the explanation, Monty.” The woman sighs, in a way far more world-weary than someone her age should consider possible. “If you’re really an erstwhile pupil of mine, then I trust you to stay objective. I may no longer look like that ‘crotchety’ old woman or have her later memories, but I think I’ve taken the fast track into that development.”

Charon groans, tossing up his hands in surrender. “Alright, objective, got it. Sorry. Anyways, Pandora. The big boss around the Summit until about two months ago, and a nasty piece of work. I should know, I created her. Or will create when I get to twenty-five, which I did a long, long time ago.” He rolls his eyes as he consults his iRis. “In my and/or his defense, based on the contract details I was able to unearth, Titan Administration offered Montgomery a blank-check to ensure that his family was made for life, in exchange for working a third year at the Summit, as a staff member this time. They needed a quick and practical solution to their councilors unexpectedly dying, and you already know how that turned out.”

Glancing towards Shinobu through his shades, he continues. “It was supposed to be only temporary. They needed a proper council to fill in the blanks, and none of the council of 2100 wanted to stay the full extra year when they had plans back home. So instead, we picked eighteen of the most prolific councilors who had ever served and then made AIs out of them to be their replacements. At some point, Titan Administration realized that they could hold a fucking monopoly on their Council spots, as long as they just kept cloning councilors that were popular with the public and explained nothing to us as their glorified meatbags, other than what our purposes were for that year. They’d take over determining the fate of the world through us. Pandora was meant to be their overseer and link to the world, a self-learning and omniscient presence that kept them all occupied. Kept them distracted.”

He turns his attention from Shinobu to Nemesis. “Under her management and Titan Administration keeping things on the hush, they made the whole world reliant on the Summit and its legion of artificial councilors - not that we would have known the difference. And because they were under her control, nobody questioned it. Nobody could be made to question it, not even with code - you might be the most prolific hacker around here, Nemesis, but you would have never offered to tackle it in the condition you were in before. You would have just shut me up the normal way."

Charon finally stops talking after getting in one last opinion. “That’s what the Summit would’ve been for you. That’s what the Summit was for me. You know what I’m talking about, right?”

The roboticist lifts her head, sending a glance around the room to those knowing of the situation and not. She sits up.

“Mhm. That’s your tenure in the previous Summit with Prometheus, I imagine.” The scientist breathes deeply, fiddling uncomfortably with the frayed strings of her sleeve. “Just so you all know, Monty -- or ‘Charon’ -- had already existed for a year prior to our revival. Upon Pandora’s virus destroying him, the information he held about Titan Administration, his bevy of modifications on-board I’m still uncoding, and his memories of Prometheus were all lost. We’re only granted the memories that we would have had entering into the Council so long ago. For that reason and more... we needed him as he was back.”

She looks around the room, showing sympathy for her reeling peers, but fatigue at what the past few days have been like.

“I apologize that I didn’t consult the Council on finalizing his decision, but at this point that’s… more a gripe with myself that I’m willing to take up with you all at a later point. I won’t entertain debate on that right now unless it's relevant to Prometheus and Epimetheus’ identities. F-For the sake of staying on-track.” Her gaze lands to the center of the room, a frown pulling at her lips.

“It’s funny, really. Even over a century since my death I still can’t avoid getting tangled in things far too great for me, or being cheated and lied to at every turn,” the worried crease in her brow softens into something gentler, “You have the right ideas, you just need to put it together. I, uhm… there’s a lot I didn’t really hear or have the chance to catch up to yet, but I can clarify more now thanks to the necklace being gone if you just ask.” A brief pause, “...You guys are close so you may benefit more from asking me to sort pieces of the puzzle than asking me for the full answer.”

It seemed like they were done for now, but Charon seems to ponder the thought of asking one more question judging by his body language. “Side note, yeah. You can take control of the Forge. What’s next? What are you planning on doing with it, knowing what you know now?” For a loaded question, it’s remarkably free of mockery, coming from one of the original progenitors.

#submission #chapter 6 #trial 6 #mina #charon

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nobszone · 7 years

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So I was checking my notifications to see which of my posts got the “ @takashi0bump” when I remembered I had this series of asks laying around in my inbox for the past month or so, and I figured now is a good time as any to go over them.

Before we get started, let me apologize to the anon for taking this long to answer. I’ve had a lot going on both on and off the site, and you asked quite a bit here. So I needed a while to get to a point where I felt I was able to properly answer your questions.

So, let’s begin.

First let’s talk about business regulation, and then I’ll give you some of my thoughts on the 2016 election, or at least thoughts that I haven’t had a chance to express yet (anyone who saw my long back-and-forth about a month ago knows I’ve already expressed quite a bit).

I consider myself a Capitalist for two reasons. First and foremost, I believe in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Secondly, as anyone who’s been following this blog will tell you, I’m a huge proponent of individual liberty.

Out of the three economic systems (Capitalism, Socialism, Communism), Capitalism is the one that gives individual people the best chance at achieving wealth and success for themselves. You look at famous American success stories like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Nelson Rockefeller, Howard Hughes and so on. These are all stories that I don’t believe could’ve happened in a Socialist or Communist system.

But I also acknowledge the system isn’t perfect. It has its flaws and failings, some of which have been pointed out in great detail over the course of the last decade. I also am willing to concede that because of the increasing automation of the labor force as well as the development of technology such as AI, Capitalism itself may no longer be viable in as little as 20-30 years.

Because when your workforce is composed of robots, what do you pay them?

Anyway, that’s for another discourse. My point is that while I don’t think Capitalism is the be all end all perfect system for mankind, it’s the best one that we have under the current circumstances as it allows for the most individual freedom as well as gives individual citizens the best chance to achieve wealth and success.

So with that in mind let’s talk about where I stand on regulation.

I’m...mostly against the government interfering with the private sector, but I’m completely open to certain types of regulation.

For example:

Environmental, to ensure that business activities don’t result in serious pollution and/or environmental catastrophe.

Fair labor rules to enforce my above stated belief in an “honest days work for an honest days pay” (though I will freely admit I’m more in favor of right-to-work laws than unions).

Anti-trust regulations to break up monopolies and keep competition alive.

Net Neutrality to ensure the internet remains free and open (Have you all called or emailed your representatives and/or senators, by the way?)

Safeguards to ensure that people buying property or taking out a loan can actually afford to buy said property or pay back said loan (this is mainly to try and prevent a repeat of 2008).

So, some oversight, but not necessarily to the extent that you’d see in a non-Capitalistic system.

I know it’s popular for folks in my generation to rail on about the “evils of Capitalism” (while typing their rants using technology made possible by Capitalism), but there’s certain areas where I think the private sector is much better suited to excel than any government program would ever be.

One example is healthcare.

Let me say up front that I don’t disagree with the idea of a universal high quality healthcare system. Hell I don’t even disagree with the idea of free healthcare for everyone. I think that giving everyone access to high quality healthcare at an affordable price is a goal we should be working towards.

But my issue with acts like the ACA and other systems like the NHS in England is the economics of it.

At the end of the day, a healthcare system that is of high quality, universal and comprehensive while still being affordable is an economic impossibility.

Basically think of the healthcare market as being like a supply and demand curve that you learned about in your Econ class. The “supply” in this case is the number of doctors available, the quality of the care, etc. The “demand” of course is the people needing healthcare. The equilibrium point is where the two meet.

What the ACA and the NHS try to do is set what basically amounts to a price ceiling. They’re saying “okay, health care of <x> quality will not cost any more than <y> dollars.” Which sounds nice for everyone. More people get access to higher quality care, doctors still get paid, everything is peachy.

Problem is, for said price ceiling to be effective, it has to be set below the equilibrium price. So now there’s a gap between the supply and demand lines: a shortage.

In this case a shortage could mean anything from lack of available doctors, a decline in the quality of the care given, waiting times for surgery, things like that.

And if that’s a trade-off you’re willing to make, more power to you. For me? I think it’s counter-productive.

So with that in mind, here’s my radical idea for helping expand healthcare coverage:

Let insurance companies compete across state lines.

Right now, it is illegal to buy health insurance out-of-state. I think lifting this little restriction will do wonders in helping to alleviate the healthcare crisis in America.

While I can’t be certain, I think that private healthcare could indeed become a perfectly competitive market, with all insurers falling towards an equilibrium price. If someone in one state is charging an astronomical amount for coverage, and someone in another state is offering the same coverage for half the cost, people in the first state should be able to buy from the second state.

In a related story, this would also help people in the LGBT+ community. If you live in a state that denies you coverage because you are a non-heteronormative citizen, you should be able to buy from a state that does not discriminate.

Now I don’t know if this would actually work out, the economics of this can be figured out by people much smarter than I am. But I do feel this is an instance where the private sector can do a better job than the government.

Another area I feel the private sector succeeds is in technological development.

Apple and Microsoft come to mind, but the example I like to use the most is SpaceX.

I want you all to repeat this to yourself once a day for the foreseeable future: Elon Musk is taking us to Mars.

SpaceX has only been operating for 15 years, and already they have technology that only made it to the drawing board for NASA. In a year they may be ready to send manned missions into Space, while NASA’s own spacecraft is still at least 2 years, possibly 3, from its first manned flight. And a lot of this is because SpaceX doesn’t have to answer to any bureaucrats in DC. They’re free to use their budget however they wish, while NASA is only given a sliver of the federal budget, and has to justify every dollar they spend.

In a related story, I’m cautiously optimistic about Trump’s plans for NASA. While it seems he has a very basic understanding of how spaceflight actually works, he does seem to have a legitimate interest in manned spaceflight, which is more than I can say for the last administration.

But I digress.

So I hope that clarifies my position on the free market.

Anyway, now I’d like to talk briefly about some trends I’ve noticed on the left and the right in the wake of the election. Since this post has gone on for quite a bit already, I’ll try to keep this part relatively short.

I find myself in a unique position, where for the first time in my life I am legitimately annoyed by both political parties.

The GOP seems to have looked at how the Democrats all but ceased to exist in 1968 and said to themselves “Lets do that.” They’ve made token statements of annoyance at Trump’s antics, but aren’t willing to do what it takes to reign him in. Sadly, I predicted this would happen, as the GOP is mainly trying to tread water until they get through the midterms next year. Sadly this has allowed for some more...fanatical members to make some noise on the federal and state level, people who basically want to say or do anything and they don’t care who they offend in the process.

Meanwhile the Democrats are a total mess right now. As I’ve said before, I cannot believe they actually rejected Socialism before the Republicans got a chance to do so. But that “Feel the Bern” faction that got...well...burned in the 2016 primaries is still angry and vengeful. You have people like Michael Moore calling for all the neoliberal Democrats to be ousted, and to make the Democrats a true Socialist party. At the end of the day, the only thing the Democrats even have to say to the American people right now in regards to why they should vote for them in 2018 is “We’re not the GOP.”

So yeah, you can see why I’m willing to take potshots at both the left and the right at this point in time (much to the imagined horror of high-school age me who was a raging neocon who absolutely would have voted for Donald Trump if he had the chance, but that’s another story).

But here’s something really interesting I’ve noticed.

As the anon in the ask said, there’s a lot of people on the left who feel that they aren’t welcome there anymore, even though the left is the side that, in theory, should be supporting of them. And a lot of this has to do with the fact that there’s this major “our way or the highway” attitude right now with the liberal elite. And you’ve all heard me express my annoyance with the left’s tendency as of late to (as Tom Walker’s Johnathan Pie character so expertly put it) “believe in diversity as long as it’s not diversity of opinion.”

For better or worse, I haven’t seen that on the right.

I mean, there’s been a couple prominent examples of former Republicans saying they can no longer associate with the GOP. Joe Scarborough being the most recent example (though, honestly, who could blame him?), but the fact is that there’s still a lot of differing ideas and philosophies in play right now for the GOP.

Paul Ryan is a big fan of Ayn Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism, he also supported the auto industry bailouts of 2008 and the Dodd-Frank act.

Rand Paul is a Libertarian (when he feels like calling himself one) who wishes to ban abortion entirely, and while he is not an advocate for decriminalizing marijuana, he is against mandatory minimum sentencing for drug crimes.

John McCain has come out against universal healthcare (also favoring a free-market solution) and Net Neutrality, but he’s also been one of the most vocal proponents of Native American issues as well as one of the most hawkish voices on the right in regards to Russia.

Donald Trump...well...nobody really knows what he supports, as his statements on his political views can range from inconsistent to downright incoherent, but he has consistently supported medical marijuana, term limits for Congress, and manned exploration of space.

Reminder that the Log Cabin Republicans also exist.

The point is there’s a lot of room on the right for differing viewpoints. And I’ve found that even if people can’t completely agree with the GOP on everything, they still don’t have an issue at least relating to them. I personally don’t see eye-to-eye with the Republicans on everything, but I have no problem voting for them, or describing myself as being conservative on certain issues.

And, most importantly, at no point have I ever felt alienated from my more hardcore GOP friends because my beliefs didn’t align with the party.

So, all things considered, it seems that when it comes to diversity of opinion, the Republicans are doing a better job. Why is that? Well I think it’s because both parties, at their core, have a very different philosophical approach to how they wish the United States to be. Though to be clear, this doesn’t just apply to the US of A, this applies to the left vs right debate pretty much everywhere.

The left’s political philosophies (starting at moderate Liberalism and going all the way to Collectivism) put more emphasis on what’s best for the group. The old “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” cliche. The left’s approach to a problem is to basically say “okay we’re going to try one solution and one solution only, but it’s going to be the solution that benefits everyone in some way.”

In a related story, this is why I think a lot of millennials are gravitating towards the left. Thanks to the Internet, we are the first generation in the history of humanity to have actually been part of a truly global community. And it’s not just in politics where this group mentality comes into play. Hell half the time there’s fandom drama, it’s because someone said something stupid and everyone else decided to get together to prove how wrong they were.

It’s important to realize that our parents and grandparents didn’t have this kind of global community. In fact, for about half a century, they were taught to fear the other, the foreigner, the people with the incompatible lifestyle who were out to destroy you.

This is why I think they gravitated towards the right, because the right (starting at moderate Conservatism and going all the way to Objectivism) focuses more on what’s best for the individual. Whether it’s success in the free market, the right to own a firearm, the right to pick your healthcare provider, etc. The right is more focused on individual liberty. Their approach to a problem is to basically say “okay, everyone try the solution that they feel works best for them.” So that’s what I think it comes down to. And both mindsets have their pros and cons.

The left would restrict individual liberty, but they would also aim to make a world where everyone is treated fairly and has the same quality of life.

The right may not care about those social protections and some people would be better off than others, but they would also aim to make a world that had unlimited freedom and choice.

And this is the important part. Do yourself a favor and write it down on your desktop or something so you can see it every single day. Because in times like these, this cannot be stressed enough:

Neither the right nor the left are inherently evil. They BOTH have villains: the extremists who want to do EVERYTHING one way.

Whether it’s the alt-right or the cntrl-left, those camps just want to stick to their way and their way only. The truth of the matter is that just going one way gets us nowhere, and as much as people in both of those camps like to mock centrists, the answer really does lie somewhere in the middle.

I like to think of America as like a car driving down a road. For the most part, we try to stay in the center. But every so often the road turns or shifts, and we have to adjust to the left or the right to stay where we need. But we should never ever make a hard left or hard right, that would end in disaster.

Alright, so that’s the end of this wall of text. If the original anon is reading this, I again apologize for taking so long and I hope I was able to give you satisfactory answers to at least some of your questions. As for the rest of you, I hope you at least learned a little bit more about how I view the world we live in. If you yourself have any questions about my views on all this, feel free to ask!

#Really Quite Frankly #politics #American Politics #ask #Capitalism

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socielengagementactsc-blog · 6 years

Text

REFLECTION (preparation phase and after phase)

PREPARATION PHASE

So, on 9/2/18 we have our very first meet with our supervisor which is also our lecturer, Dr.Amizah. She gave us some guidance and divided us into two groups with equal number of students. After that, we sat in our group and we had our very first meeting. We have self-introduction before we start our meeting to get to know everyone. In this meeting, we had our committee selection for this project and I have been selected as the treasurer for our group. My task is to make sure all receipt is recorded and claim the money for it. At first, I’m worry I couldn’t do well in this position because is my first time of being a treasurer but with the help of others I managed to go through all the difficulties I have experienced. In this meeting, we have try to decide whether we should go for orphanage home or school. So before we start our project, we have do some survey of a few orphanage home and school. Therefore, all of us are given a task to go back and do some research which is better. I’m actually stress because is a very big project but we managed to handle it. At first we have selected a school to do our social engagement but it is not really encourage by our supervisor due to some difficulties we may encounter if we carry out in school. This problem has make me worry as we are out of time. So on our second meeting on 23/2/18, we finally come to a conclusion that is we carry out our social engagement in orphanage home that is Shelter Home For Children and it is agree by Dr. Amizah. I’m glad that our decision is accepted by Dr. Amizah.

And we start to prepare our proposal and submit to Dr. Amizah before deadline. We launched our project of Social Engagement in Shelter Home For Children for 7 days that is 6/4/18, 7/4/18, 14/4/18, 20/4/18, 21/4/18, 27/4/18 and 28/4/18 and we are required to go at least 4 days minimum. We start to plan all activities that is appropriate for the children during our meeting and budget as well. And we also sacrifice our time to buy materials that are require for the activities that we are going to held in the shelter home. We even have small meeting to follow up with our progress before the start of our visit to make sure everything goes well. From preparation phase, I have learn a few values that is we must always tolerate with each others ideas and try to respect others by listening to everyone opinion and appreciate everyone hardwork. We even must have a good collaboration with each others to make sure the project work. From here, I really feel that the bond between us are getting closer and we are trying to get along with everyone ideas as well.

- Kelly Ng Zhi WeI, SIQ170008 -

At first, I feel a bit reluctant to do this social engagement program as it takes a lot of time for the preparation. We had a few meeting and we divided our workload. Most of my group member were very helpful and responsible. They all did their part and even help others with their part.

I realize that in order to have a successful program, we need to prepare thoroughly. Teamwork are the most important aspect in this preparation period.

- Noraqilah Zainudin, SIQ170022 -

During the planning phase, we had faced some challenges and difficulties. One of the challenges was the period that given to us to come out with a proposal that consists of all the details of our project was quite short. Initially, we planned to do a 3 days 2 night project in a secondary school, but unfortunately we could not find a date that suits to all of us. So, we decided to do visit to orphanage. I felt that visiting to orphanage is new to me because I never go to orphanage before.

Besides that, we also had several meetings in order to plan the activities that we want to carry out and to update the progress of each bureau. After the proposal had done, my bureau member (Zi Earn and Zhijie) and I went to the office of shelter home. We introduce our project to the person in change of shelter home. We explained the objective and programme of our project to the person in charge. After that, we sent our proposal to them.We managed to book the dates (every Friday and Saturday in April) with shelter home.

The job scope of my bureau is to find location and transportation. We decided to book car from the apps “Grab” or “MyCar” because the location of shelter home is very near to University of Malaya. It is also convenient to us because we will have our project until night for every Friday. Before visiting the shelter home, the member of programme listed out the things that we need such as colour paper, marker pen, scissors and many others. The members who are free will go out to buy together.

- Lee Ai Ning, SIQ170009 -

During the planning phase of the project, honestly, it was very exhaustive yet worth it. We have dedicated a lot of time towards the project including meetings and proposal writing. I have learnt that commitment is the most significant component when we work in a team. If anyone had not given the commitment as much as they did, the project would not succeed as it is today.

- Nurhanani binti Abdul Rapa, SIQ170026 -

During the ‘election’, we should not practice ‘who volunteer to hold this and this’. All the members have to vote to be fair. For example, if problems arise from the leader, people would point at the leader for not know how to handle organisation yet still volunteer to be the leader. If we vote for the position, all members have to be responsible with their choices.

Not all members help to give ideas for the programme. They just be there in meeting but their soul and mind nowhere.

- Puteri Saffawani Mohd Yunus, SIQ170028 -

For our social engagement course, we decided to do a volunteering work at Shelter Home. A first meeting was held to appoint the high committee and form bureaus. We were assigned tasks to prepare for our visit to the Shelter Home. From the hectic preparation, I learnt the importance of communication, not only among the bureau members, but between the bureau also. And I also understand the importance of cooperation between the members.

- Nurul Syuhada binti Awang Da, SIQ170027 -

I truly believe Social Engagement provides us a very good opportunity to do what we supposed to do as a citizen in Malaysia. We get the opportunity to do our little part to contribute to the society. After discussing and meeting with our committee, we decided to visit a shelter home at Petaling Jaya. It is actually very challenging to me as I do not have experience in dealing with kids. However, it turns out they are really loving kids who are innocent and cute. I was heartbroken when I get to know their story of the past. I try every way I could to put on a smile on their faces. Besides, we try to conduct game sessions that are knowledgeable and meaningful so they can learn something positive from all the sessions. Apart from that, this project not only benefits the kids but affect students meaningfully. We get to know how to deal with the organization, conduct game sessions with children and even spread the positivism. Words are important when we are talking to children. Lastly, I really appreciate every moment I have had with all these children in this 30 hours social engagement project.

It is on 9/2/18 we have our very first meeting with our course coordinator, Dr Amizah. She explains to us every single detail of the social engagement course and provide us guidance. We were separated into two groups to carry out our very own project. After that, we conduct meeting separately. In our very first meeting, we discussed about the structure of our committee. I was elected as a director of my group and I was more than happy to help. As the meeting continued, we listed out all the position and the job scope with respect to each bureau. As a director, I help to clarify and distribute the works evenly. At first, we decided to visit a secondary school so we can have meaningful session with some of the youngsters today. However, life is difficult and we met some constraints and restriction in accommondation and time that we decided to move on from this idea. After several meetings, we decided to visit the shelter home. After contacting the organization and knowing they look forward to collaborate with us, we kicked start the plan. We started to discuss the schedule, flow of the activities and programs that are suitable for the kids, It was a memorable experience to work with all the committee members as we all enjoyed the process. After vigorous discussion, our plan was accepted by Dr Amizah.

- Teo Jun Hong, SIQ170032 -

This Social Engagement Project is very good to us because it will teach us how to become a better person. In this project, we can choose which we want to do some social activities.

On 9th February 2018, we have our first meeting together with our coordinator, Dr Amizah. She explained about this project and gave us chance to discuss first. We 30 students of Actuarial Science separated into 2 groups. I became a secretary with help from Aqilah who is vice secretary. At first we had a difficulty a bit to find a location that accept our proposal. However, we managed to get Shelter Home for children in Petaling Jaya as our location. We had several meetings and preparation for activities.

- Muhammad Faiz Hilmy Bin Hazam, SIQ170017 -

Based on this social engagement programmed, I learned that the cooperation in an organization is important to ensure that the program will runs smoothly from beginning until the end. Although at first, our group had trouble to find a suitable place or location to carry out this social engagement program but we were able to sit together and discuss on where we will held this program. Every each of us bring out an idea about the place near the UM that can we held this program. Teamwork and discussion among members played an important role to ensure the program runs successfully. During this programmed, I learned to recognize the personality of a multiracial person. Furthermore, at Shelter Home, I also learn to think quickly and prepare something in advance. For example, children at Shelter Home are very naughty and most of the activities are difficult to follow by them and this requires us to think the other ideas or activities on that day. In addition, we must respect the background and what are the children face before this. For example, at Shelter Home, most of the children were neglected by their parents and this remind me always to take care of the conversation with them. Next, the time to visit the Shelter Home is not divided correctly among us and this is our weakness and I learned something from this which we must always give the full commitment to our program. Overall, from this social engagement program is, I learned the most important things which as human beings, we must love each other especially the children who are younger than us and respect the older person. This is the most important lesson that I learned because not there are many people outside there did not get the affections from someone especially their parents. We must grateful because our parents still with us and we can have their affection.

- Mohd Afiq Irfan bin Mohammed, SIQ170016 -

Social Engagement provide us a very opportune moment for us, a student to contribute something to our community in Malaysia. We get to be a part of a model citizen in our country by doing some good social activities.

On 9th February 2018, the first meeting with our coordinator, Dr Amizah happened. We separated into two groups after she explained Social Engagement course. In the first meeting with our newly-seperated group, we list out appropriate position for the project and give out the position according to the most suitable for our member. I became one of the bureau member of multimedia and technical and with Adriana as the head. After much difficulty in deciding the place for the project, we managed to find Shelter Home for Children in Petaling Jaya as our final decision. We had a multiple meeting and preparation for the activities.

- Muhd Nazman bin Nazrun, SIQ170020 -

"The innocence of children is their wisdom, the simplicity of children is their egolessness. The freshness of the child is the freshness of your consciousness, which never becomes old, which always remains young." – Rajneesh

Everyone was a child before. Thanks to this course, for giving me an opportunity to reminisce my childhood memories.

9th February 2018 was the day we had our first meeting with our coordinator, Dr. Amizah. Since I’m not used to remembering faces, I still cannot remember some of my groupmates’ names at first. Thankfully, as the time gone when we interacted with each other, I can remember all the short names of my groupmates finally. Initially, we planned to organise a camp at a secondary girls’ school. However, we found many problems. As we need to fulfil 30 hours for this course, a three day and two nights camp would become very tiring. Besides, we can’t find three consecutive days that were suited for all of us as we were very busy participating in residential colleges’ projects and university’s events at that time. So, after some discussions, we decided to change plan and looked for orphanages. As I’m a committee from the Department of Logistics, it was my job to look for orphanages. Finally, after some long searches, we found Shelter Home for Children, which located at Petaling Jaya. The person-in-charge, Mr. Benjamin was very nice and friendly. Thanks for his short briefing, we learnt more about the children at Shelter Home. According to him, Shelter Home is not really an orphanage, but a place for the unprivileged children.

- Lim Zi Earn, SIQ170014 -

First of all, I feel that our journey to decide on the projects theme was not that smooth. At first, our team agreed to go to school for three days two night and we had targeted some schools for our project . However, at last, since most of us cannot match our time for the project due to college activities, we decided to continue our project with orphanage, and it will be a good deed to visit the orphanage. Before we start our project, of course then we need to plan and do a proposal. We had encountered some problems and hardships when we need to confirm the orphanage we are going and the activities we need to carry out. After this, we went to the Shelter Home to discuss our project with the manager there , and successfully we booked for almost every Friday and Saturday in the month of April . Basically , we would be there from 230pm to 930pm on Friday, while 9am to 12 pm on Saturday . Thanks to all team members’ cooperation and especially our high committees, finally we can kick start our project.

- Lee Zhijie, SIQ170010 -

We had our first meeting with Dr. Amizah and the rest of actuarial students on 9th of February 2018. Dr. Amizah then explained to us on how to conduct the activities, what kind of activities, which place to go, what should be done first and the due dates we need to keep in mind. We then separated into two groups. We first had a brief introduction among the members of the group and then we select the high communities and also head of the department. We then proceed to discuss about the activities that we want to do and where it will be. Unfortunately, not everyone contribute to this discussion. We then come up with two proposal. First is to conduct a camp two days one night at boarding school nearby and the other one is to go to the orphanage. But we are unable to find suitable school to conduct our activities so we proceed to conduct activities at orphanage. However, we still faced difficulties to find orphanage that are free to welcome us to come there. Fortunately, after searching and calls a lot of orphanage, Shelter Home accepted our proposal. We then adjusted our time and dates to conduct our activities suitable with the children’s schedule and also our schedule. We faced a lot of challenges but we managed to overcome it.

- Nur Adriana binti Che Johari, SIQ170023 -

I feel like the hardest part of preparing for this project is timing. Everyone had different schedules, different priorities and different commitment. To have 15 of us, gather at the same time seemed impossible. But after a lot of sacrifices, compromising and prioritizing, everything went a lot smoother. We started our plan with a trip to school, which seemed a lot easier and it will only take up around 2-3 days. To be frank, when we started this project, we wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. I wanted it to be quick but efficient and well-managed. But after a few days of trying, we did not manage to find a perfect school that fit the criteria we were looking for;- less than 10km from UM, boarding school, able to provide time for us on weekends. So, we proceeded with our next option, orphanage. We looked into Rumah Hope, which seemed like a great fit. However, we couldn’t find the time aligning to their schedules. Thankfully, we had another option which is the Shelter Home. Our logistic team immediately contacted the management and managed to secure a spot for us. We prepared our proposal which contain our programs and activities for every Friday and Saturday for a month. When we finally had the time and place fixed and secured, everything was starting to come together.

-Jasmine Faiqah, SIQ170007

Shelter Home 1 Petaling Jaya. A place that change my perspective towards the true meaning of life…

Friday, February 9, 2018

All of first year students of Instutute of Mathematical Sciences University of Malaya gathered at DKM1 to hear our first briefing on Social Engagement course. Dr. Tan Ta Sheng explained the formats before we were divided into groups according to our courses. Dr. Amizah Malip were assigned as our supervisor. After hearing the briefing, I admit that I sigh a bit as I think this course is such a burden and mundane because I cannot see the relevance of this course and we have to perform tedious task involving the community. When our first group meeting is conducted, we decided to go to Shelter Home in Petaling Jaya which is occupied by abused and neglected children from broken families and poor background with age range of 5 to 12 years old. I did not really agree with it because as the youngest in my family, I do not blend in well with small children because I do not have experience in it but I still respect my group decision.

We did the planning and preparation for one month and I can see that although our group consists of different races and religion, we made a good teamwork, support each other and get along really well. Besides, we believe that courage, sacrifices, determinations, commitments, talents and guts are the elements needed to build a good teamwork to create a great output. This shows our maturity and commitment towards this project. However, we encountered some financial and miscommunication problem but we manage to overcome them wisely. I cannot deny that having conflicts in group is a common thing but what matters is how we overcome and rectify the problem rationally. Fortunately, our project preparation runs smoothly without any hiccups because we hold the concept of teamwork which Michael Jordan once said that ‘Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships’.

- Arifah binti Mohd Noordin, SIQ170001

AFTER PHASE

Overall, I have gain a lot of new experience and knowledge. Besides that, the bond between 15 of us get more closer throughout this program. We really help each other throughout this program no matter what difficulties we face. Even we face a few problem but with the collaboration and sacrifices of everyone we managed to do it. This memorable program will be always remember by me. I’m grateful to the kids in Shelter Home for their willingness to spend their time with us. I’m thankful to the university for giving us the chance to have this type of project. I think that we should continue this course in future so that they will learn new things when they get involve in this project and get to know different people from different background. This program will also help to make people we help to be more happy in their life. If I have a second chance to be involve in this type of activity, I’m willing to join because is the time where you can gain something new.

- Kelly Ng Zhi WeI, SIQ170008 -

After the program ended, we already grow attach to the kids.I have learn a lot of thing from this experience. Of course teamwork is important, but be the important one in the team is much more important. I value people around me more after seeing how the kids there take care of each others as they grow up together in one house.

- Noraqilah Zainudin, SIQ170022 -

After our project has finished, we start to distribute the part of the report to each of us. We also start to do the video and slide presentation. After the project has ended, I feel that our bonding between teammate become stronger. We get to know more each other. I also learned to appreciate what I have now. I feel very grateful that I have parents who love me so much. I think that social engagement should be maintained in future because it is very meaningful. From this project I learned a lot of things such as communication with others, cooperation with others, ways to organise the project and most important is I learned to care for others.

- Lee Ai Ning, SIQ170009 -

During the post-project phase, it was definitely another episode of exhausting period but again, it was totally worth it. We have dedicated a lot of time for post-project meetings, completing the report and presentation. However, at the end of the project, all the hard work paid off as I felt that we have managed to complete the project before the dateline. Besides, the project was indeed a wonderful experience for me as it has taught me a lot about teamwork, commitment and responsibility.

- Nurhanani binti Abdul Rapa, SIQ170026 -

I love this group because everyone willing to do report together. We share and divide the work.I sympathized with the kids because they lack loves and cares. They seek attention from someone older than them. Love as older sister and brother. One of the activities i enjoy the most is origami. The kids are behaving and seem interest to create animals, love, ship etc. I could still remember Suzanne’s word ‘this flower for my mother. This love for my sister’. Can u image this kid has to live without mother and father! I definitely would involve in volunteering activities. Social engagement has opened my eyes about the unlucky society that need our help. So why not I contribute my energy and time for them?

- Puteri Saffawani Mohd Yunus, SIQ170028 -

After went to the Shelter Home, it change my attitude towards kids. Before we visit the shelter home, I thought the kids are troublesome especially when they crying and demanding. But kids in Shelter Home are so independent and sensible. They grew up helping each other like brothers and sisters even though different in skin colours and races. Furthermore, I learnt how to be grateful for what I have. I still have my family who will support me whenever I feel down. I can just call them whenever I miss them. While the kids’ one and only family are the people in the shelter home. But they are grateful for what they have, they share everything they have without complaining. I hope one day, we can do volunteering activities with them again.

- Nurul Syuhada binti Awang Da, SIQ170027 -

In a nutshell, I had gained a lot of experience and knowledge. On top of that, our committee became stronger that are like a family. I am truly grateful to have this opportunity to spend time with all these loving kids. Because of my background, I am very empathetic to people who are not fortunate enough to even receive proper education nor the care of their family. To help them, I plan to actively volunteer in charitable works before I am financially sound to support them financially. I plan to be a temporary mentor to educate, guide and advise the children and teenagers in the shelter home. It saddens me to hear child like me who is physically and mentally healthy saying his biggest dream is to have a stable job in McDonald as a waiter. It should be a collective responsibility of the entire society to prevent which the exploitation and marginalisation of these population by the evils. As a part of the society, I must contribute my part.

- Teo Jun Hong, SIQ170032 -

In conclusion, I learned something new through this project. At first, I think they are same like orphanages however I was wrong. They actually not have same emotion as orphanage because they were abandoned by own parents. They really need love from their precious parents but they cannot. I feel so sad because they did much things just to have have our attention. They really excited when we come and teach or play games with them. My hope is please do not ignore them. They are humans too. They need true love from their parents and once we entered their life please stay longer and do not forget them. I am so happy because I managed to help them for certain aspects even a little. I wish they will grow up and become successful person.

- Muhammad Faiz Hilmy Bin Hazam, SIQ170017 -

Overall, from this social engagement program is, I learned the most important things which as human beings, we must love each other especially the children who are younger than us and respect the older person. This is the most important lesson that I learned because not there are many people outside there did not get the affections from someone especially their parents. We must grateful because our parents still with us and we can have their affection.

- Mohd Afiq Irfan bin Mohammed, SIQ170016 -

In conclusion, I learned much during the course of the project and dealing with kids is an experience I very much appreciated. I got a bit misunderstood as I thought the shelter was an orphanage but it actually a shelter for abandoned kids who parents left them there. I hope that I give much of the attention they needed as the project went. This truly opened my mind as kids like this existed throughout the world and I truly hope that they will be loved as much as normal kids do in their lives and I hope that I can do more things like this when I am much more able in the future. I am also glad to have been a small part of the lives of the kids here.

- Muhd Nazman bin Nazrun, SIQ170020 -

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Although sometimes it is a hard chore to be with the children, the things children received, at last, are uncountable. Sometimes children only want to hear a line of encouraging words from you, but not thousands of lines of instructions. The time spent with children at Shelter Home was really amazing to me. After the visits, I have become more patient when handling with children.

Lastly, I would like to say a lot of thanks to Dr. Amizah for the smart guidance throughout the course. And also, to my group mates, I really appreciate the awesome collaborations and great contributions given, be a team from the early beginning until the last. Rather than speaks more, you guys do more. The alternative suggestions given during the meetings have made me think deeper and more mature now. I really hope I can visit Shelter Home again to be with the children after this course ends.

- Lim Zi Earn, SIQ170014 -

Now we had done with all the visits, but the bonding and love and caring for the orphans are built. I hope I had the chance to visit them again, to make them happy again. Even though I can’t go to them, I will pray and hope they are doing fine. I really appreciate the chance to go to the orphanage which I had never been before. I am satisfied to help more people live better no matter in small changes or big one. This is indeed a nice thing that worth the time to do.

- Lee Zhijie, SIQ170010 -

This project had taught me a lot. How to handle kids especially these children. They are different from other children outside there that still have their parents by their side. We cannot simply treat them the same. There are things that we shouldn’t talked to them about. They are sensitive and they want love from people around them. They are scared to get attached to someone as they felt that one day, that person will leaved them. This probably why it was hard for them to open up to us and be comfortable around us in the beginning. But as time passes, I tried my best to hear them and understand them until they opened up to me. It was getting a lot more easier to control them. This project also reminds me of how important teamwork is. A leader should make sure every things has been settled from all perspective. We shouldn’t only care about the work inside our bureau. Every work, connects with one another. One should not be selfish and gives excuses. Everyone should contribute and remember their responsibilities. The secret of excellent project is the people inside the community. It shall consist of people who worked together, helped each other, respect each other, fall together but get up again TOGETHER.

- Nur Adriana binti Che Johari, SIQ170023 -

I ended this project with a heavy heart. Saying good bye was the hardest. But what kept us moving was hope and prayers, that the children we play with, studied with will grow up to be healthy and successful. This project was eye-opening, it made me realized that the world does not revolve around me. It also encourages me to be more informed and well aware of whats happening in the world and outside of my circles. Kids are important, hence the saying kids are the future. But little did I know that kids give more meaning to life. They opened up not only my eyes but also my heart. Engaging with them made me realize the power communication and how it’s a two way street; talking & listening/understanding. Im so glad they trusted me with their stories and background. Other than that, I also learned the importance of teamwork. We wouldn’t have completed this successful project if it weren’t for our amazing leaders and teammates. Everyone played their part to make this project a memorable one. It also help us grew closer to one another. All in all, this project has molded me and my teammates into a better person.

-Jasmine Faiqah, SIQ170007

-Teo Jun Hong, SIQ170032

Based on my observation throughout the session, I learn new things that change my perspective towards life. Dealing with abused and neglected children is not an easy task. As we know, their hearts are fragile and sensitive as they have gone through things that we do not, during our childhood times. They deprived for something that was taken away from them such as family love, which makes them feel aimless with the absence of parents as role model in their life. We can conclude that their life is quite a mess because they are lack of attention from parents and people (including volunteers) come and go in their life which make them feel scared to attach to anyone. Leading a lonely, confused and miserable life can really affect someone’s attitude as I can see that some of them are hyperactive, rebellious and scared to communicate with outsiders like us but as time goes by I can see good improvements in many aspects especially their behaviour and attitude toward us.

All in all, I value this course as not only a University course but it is beyond that. This course is not restricted in the four corner of lecture halls or tutorial room, it brings me to the moe meaningful outside world and taught me to be grateful and appreciate what I still have in this life. Our last day with them is a day to remember. We are so grateful that we successfully completed our project but at the same time, we feel sad to kiss them goodbye. Jason, a 9 years-old boy asked me “Are you not coming back tomorrow? Please come here always” and it really touched my heart but there is nothing I can do with. Hence, I want to highlight that once you have entered their life, please stay longer.

Last but not least, this project has changed my point of view towards volunteering and social engagement activity. I learned that we do not live in the world on our own as we belong to the society. Humans are created to complete and support each other. Humanity is one of the value that seems to be eroded day by day. Through this activity, I developed my interest in doing more and more volunteering activities as I feel responsible to be a person who is beneficial towards the society.

Thank you.

- Arifah binti Mohd Noordin, SIQ170001

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