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100dad · 3 years

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HOW TO DO VEGAS KID-FRIENDLY??

HOW TO DO VEGAS KID-FRIENDLY?? 8 tips for Dads with Kids in Vegas

My first experience in Vegas was a shock to the system. I flew in around 5pm Vegas time from Florida with my wife a few days ahead of our trade convention. We wanted to get settled in and have a little fun before the trade show began. I had big hopes for Vegas and I had seen National Lampoons Vegas Vacation featuring Chevy Chase so I was ready. I went ahead and decided to book a nice dinner at Joel Robuchon the night of our arrival. At 3 hours difference, I smartly booked a 9 o’clock slot because we normally eat around 6. It was Vegas’ only 3 Michelin star restaurant and I’m a sucker for nice restaurants. There’s something about low lighting, white tablecloths, and at least 2 lips per glute cheek that I find very stately, sophisticated…. overall just an immensely enjoyable experience. Day of-- we fly in. We hail an uber and check into the Bellagio. Beautiful architecture and an oversized entry with amazing art, stores, and eye grabbing décor. Our room was normal, nice, no weird smells, nothing gross by any means. Nice view of the pool area. I assume it’s the standard room. We wander thru the main floors taking in the sights and sounds while getting our bearings on how to navigate this huge and complex network of walkways with flashing lights and the right amount of happy yelps and frustrated groans… I was tempted to play a couple hands of blackjack….if only I could find a table that had minimums under $50 a hand. I mean it is Thursday….. I would learn that the tables would never be less than $50 a hand and I just don’t care enough about gambling all that much so I abstained from those tables. It’s getting later and I’m exhausted. “I’m ready to sleep”, I tell my wife. But our reservation is in an hour we should get dressed and head over to the MGM where the restaurant is. “I don’t know why I’m so tired, its only 5 at home.” I’m going to paraphrase her response here.

“Oh wise and all-knowing amazing husband with a great body and even better mind you seem to have made an incredibly rare miscalculation. Don’t worry, I still find you smart-- you just had a lot on your mind. But the time difference goes the other way. You didn’t book us for a dinner at 6pm our time. You booked it for midnight our time. I forgive you and love you regardless!” We arrive. It's small. Very nice. Very French. We sit. We open our menus. I turn Ghost white. $500 a person was not what I was expecting. I instantly looked for a way to escape without being noticed. $1000 for food before taxes, tips, drinks….I’m not ready for that…who would be?? That seems like a poor use of funds. Besides I had only budgeted $1000 for restaurants for the week. I was expecting $2.99 all you eat buffets! I saw no such thing…. I saw $100 brunch buffets. Chevy Chase lied to me. We found a more modest $250 a plate option. It truly was an amazing culinary experience. While gut-wrenching financially it really was world-class…..I hesitate to even call it a meal because it really was more of an experience. Eventually after a few remarks about the incredibly high price of almost everything…I was directed to Fremont part of Vegas where I was told I would find the $5 a hand tables and some cheap buffets. That’s a bit more my style.

We spent a week in Vegas. Enjoyed a trade show. Met up with friends. Tried all the Gordon Ramsey restaurants. Walked all around the strip and inside all the amazing hotels with their crazy designs and world-class architecture, stores, art, and décor. The one thing I was firmly resolved in by the end of my trip was that Vegas was NOT a place to take kids. Too many naked bodies, suggestive posters, blatant advertisements, drugs, foul language, and just plain crazy people wandering around. Fast forward a couple years. We are on the 100% Dad tour. My wife lets me know family is flying in and the best location is going to be Vegas. We are going to Vegas with a 10, 8, and 5 year old. I was pretty firm in my approach that Vegas is not a place for kids. But I was willing to open my mind and figure out how to do Vegas in a way that minimizes exposure to kids and allows everyone to have a good time. We stayed in 3 places. We had a stay at Thousand Trails RV resort off the strip for a week. Nothing special about the park. That area of Vegas is on the rough side. I learned Vegas is bigger than just the strip. They have other massive casinos, not on the strip. They were promoting the cheap buffets and seemed to be the local spots. We then moved over to Circus Circus RV park on the strip. They have the only RV park on the strip. Again, nothing amazing about the RV park besides the location. We were staying in early June during a heatwave so inside an RV on black asphalt with high around 110 we were not going to stay cool in an RV. RVs can only knock the temperature down about 20 degrees off the outside temp. We had a room next door at the Hilton Grand Vacations. Here is what I liked about it for families…it was clean, the air was not smoke-filled, the layout was simple, and there were no advertisements on the walls. In a very real sense that made it a nice place for a family to stay. Nice, clean, and free from obscenities. Because it was a nicer hotel without a casino or direct access to the fun the strip hold there were fewer crazies there. They had a nice pool and a little eatery and shopping mart, which is really all a family like ours needs. Circus Circus was heavily favored by the kids. They thought it was amazing and loved the adventuredome and the midway carnival. It was built in the 1960s and shows that age in some places but they have remodeled some areas and are in the process of remodeling others. I am not a fan of smelling cigarette smoke and that was bugging me (as it did in any resort that was similar), however, the kids didn’t seem to notice, and the place was packed with families so clearly, I am in the minority. Certainly, even if you are not staying at circus circus that is a place to take your kids while in Vegas. We did a lot of exploring while in Vegas. Since the Hilton and Circus Circus are toward the end of the strip we opted to get tram passes so we didn’t have to order 2 Ubers every time we wanted to go somewhere. Especially because finding the uber pickup spot was always a less than fun adventure. We would walk from the Hilton to the Sahara Resort to pick up the Monorail and take it where we wanted to go. That gave us minimal time outside in the heatwave and a decent way to travel up and down the strip with a big group. We walked all the big nice hotels. Constantly engaging the kids in the different sites, architecture, art, and aesthetics. If we were walking by something that we felt was less than appropriate for our kids we would simply point out something else cool nearby for them to focus on. That seemed to be the good thing. We were always able to distract them because there is always something bright, big, or cool to look at. Aside from the occasional yelling crazy person, we were able to distract our way around the strip for the most part. The Bellagio fountains were really cool for kids to see. The garden immediately inside the Bellagio they liked, the worlds largest chocolate fountain was a hit, the canals inside The Venetian were impressive, the Olympic Gods inside Caesars Palace tied in

well with their recent learning of Greek Mythology, The painted ceiling that looked like outside were amazing in kids and grown-up eyes, and being inside the Wynn where Paul Blart 2 was filmed was their favorite moment. The kids liked walking the Fashion square mall and looking around. We went and visited the Pawn Stars Pawnshop. There was a fun children’s Museum. Really there are endless options off the strip of stores, museums, water parks, playgrounds, and sites. The Hoover Dam is a must. It’s a bit of a drive but worth it. Red Rock Canyon we heard great things about. We opted out of going because of the heat and the fact that we had seen many red rock canyons over the past few months so the drive time plus heat wave was not worth it for us. A lot of the shows were starting to come back. Unfortunately, cirque de solei was still closed. In our podcast with Mac from Circus Circus it was advised to see with kids specifically the mystique show because it is the iconic Vegas show. The midway in Circus Circus has a circus show every hour that is family-friendly. We wanted to see the Jabbawockeez, but they were closed too. We were able to see David Copperfield and that experience blew the kid's minds. We saw Penn and Teller in 2019 without the kids they would also be a good family show. Both acts had a little bit of cursing but other than that were clean programing. We heard the Gregory Popovich's Comedy Pet Theater was good for families as well, but we were unable to see that show either. Covid absolutely held us back in some of our options but at the same time, it was helpful because there were fewer people, some of the vulgar acts and shows were still closed so the ads were not up, and overall Vegas seemed a bit tamer compared to our previous visit. To wrap up---can you do Vegas with Kids? Yes, you can. I would stand by the reasoning that there is no real need to. There are so many places to vacation with kids I wouldn’t make Vegas one of my top destinations. For a more prudish and protective Dad like me, there are some things I like to try and shelter my kids from. Sex Shows, Sex workers, nudity, drugs, and crazy people yelling weird things on the sidewalk being among the list of things I try and shield my kids from. Although to be fair most of the big cities we have visited have had those crazy people on the sidewalks.

Here would be my tips for a Dad with Kids in Vegas. 1.) Vegas has a lot of people in it. Lots of Families. Get away from the strip and there are many many options for clean family fun.

2.) Stay off the strip after Dark. That’s when the crazies come out in full force and the booze and drugs seem to be kicking in on everyone else. We did catch the fountains at dusk. They are amazing. The lights around the city are really cool at night. Do your best to get off the strip by dark.

3.) Preplan the shows you want to see. Get tickets lined up ahead of time with showtimes that fit a kid's schedule. We choose the Copperfield 4m Saturday show because we didn’t think the kids (specifically the 5 yr old) would make it through the 7 pm show without falling asleep or getting cranky. 4.) Have family there with you. Numbers help. More eyes on your kids. Plus Mom and Dad can get away on their own while the family watches the kiddos sleep at night!

5.) Distract. Point out all the amazing things to see. Especially when you are coming up on something you don’t want them to see. Point out something else and talk about how amazing it is. There is never a shortage of other things to focus on.

6.) Pick your hotel with kids in mind. There are clean quiet simple boring options available. Pools are always a huge plus. I like big pools but I like pools I can watch my kids without losing them all the time so I can relax a bit. Some hotels will have the party pools. Some have the water parks. Some are simple nice hotel pools. Pick what will fit your family best. 7.) For Big families that plan on wandering I would get monorail passes. Uber and Lyft was a struggle to find pickup spots on the strip until we really got our bearings. Monorail requires some solid walking but getting from one side to the other was faster and easier than rideshare. Especially for big families.

8.) We talked with our kids about the city before going. It is the city of sin. It is a city that can have a lot of fun. It’s a city with amazing sites, art, and buildings. It's also a city where lives get destroyed. Gambling has ruined a lot of families. We talked about how some people will dress in almost no clothing. We talked about how some people will be using drugs because it is legal there. And how we will come across drunk people. We talked about our family values and how we felt about those things. We also talked about practicality. Stay close to mom and dad. When we call your name do not argue with us. Come right over. Stay away from people that are acting weird. Walk past those people without engaging with them. Feel free to ask any questions if you have them. We did Vegas. We had a good time. The magic shows are always amazing there. The kids were impressed by the city. I don’t think we will be back anytime soon! But it's not ruled out entirely. Big thanks to Circus Circus for putting us in touch with Mac for the podcast. He was a local Dad with a solid amount of information. While we didn’t stay inside the Circus Circus hotel we did check out the Adventuredome and Midway areas and both received high praises from all 3 of our kids. PS. More like a fun fact. In our April 2019 trip we did meet a couple while eating at a Mexican restaurant inside New York New York. We were sitting at the bar and they had recently sold their business and traveled with their kids. It ended up being the very conversation that convinced me it was in fact time to sell our businesses and pursue 100% Dad and Tour with the family. We had the thoughts before, but I was on the fence. I wish I could have remembered their names, but I remember the rest of the conversation very well and I can distinctly say the bar at Gonzalez Y Gonzalez plays an important role as facilitator to one of the biggest decisions in our lives.

#las vegas #vegasvacation #family #parenting

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fool-errant · 6 years

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Ask a Writer

I got tagged by @rabbitkinder

1. How did you come up with your username and what does it mean?

Well my studio handle is Foolish Mortal - but someone’s been sitting on that username since dirt. So I went with fool-errant - like knight errant but stupider. The fool part is obvious - and errant means alternatively “straying from proper course or standards” and “traveling in search of adventure” - which I felt summed up thing pretty decent. My handle on FFnet and AO3 is NoCapes - cause I wanted to make sure thatif you looked up my website for art - you didn’t accidentally stumble on TF2 slash. That name comes from the fact I have a little Edna Mode figure sitting on my computer monitor that caught my eye at the time I was looking for a name.

2. Which fanfic of yours has the most feedback? (bookmarks/favorites, follows/subscriptions, visitor hits, kudos)

Erm - well I only have ze one main fic online these day. My long suffering TF2 fic Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. Though even compared to the long lost junk I wrote in high school - its still got the most feedback.

3. What is your FFnNet/AO3 profile icon, and why did you choose it?

I’m not sure I ever got an icon on those accounts. I just never got aroundto it.

4. Do you have any regular/favourite commenters?

I honestly love all commenters. I have a few regulars who became buds of mine that I love. Also anyone that ends up making something in reaction to my writing is special to me.

5. Is there a fanfic that you keep going back to read again and again?

Not really. I’m a horrible person. I also have a mind that retains little details, so I am the sort that reads something once and can remember it clearly later.

I DO have a few genre/ tropes I like to revisit reading wise. One is Lavellen/Cullen from Dragon Age. Another one I binge hit recently is anything about Finn from Star Wars needing and receiving hugs and people (mainly Poe) supporting him. And Princess Leia shows up to remind people to take care of themselves and Storm Pilot snuggles ever after.

6. How many stories are you subscribed to? How many do you have bookmarked?

Uh...I’m honestly not sure. I squirrel away bookmarks and forget about them later. I have a couple in progress stories I subscribe to.

7. Which AU do you find yourself writing the most?

I really don’t do AUs - unless you count the gag bit I wrote where Spy and FemSpy are the parents of Carmen Sandiego. I tend to feel people are the products of their settings and removing them from that takes a lot of their traits away. Though that’s my opinion and I’m never going to tell anyone they can’t or shouldn’t go write and enjoy their own thing.

8. How many people are subscribed and bookmarked to you in total? (you can view this on the stats page)

Welp on AO3: Bookmarks:74 Subscriptions:77

Here on Tumbles: 268

on FFnet - I can not make heads or tales of that one. Though I seem to have a couple of folks in South Africa reading - which is cool.

9. Is there something you’d like to write about but are afraid of people judging you for it? (Feeling brave? If so, share it!)

.....*Maniacal laughter* I deal with chronic depression and anxiety. So I have a very large list of things I WANT to do but don’t. A lot of it is due to the fear of judging - and a lot of “no one wants this - what is the point?”

I had an original concept involving airship pirates - colonialism - and the main lead was a trans pan sexual in a setting that didn’t have words or play book for hat sort of thing. The story wasn’t ABOUT the fact the lead was the way they were, it was just aside thing. But I scrapped it cause I figured no one wanted it - it was stranger and I didn’t want people coming out of the woodwork telling me I didn’t have a right to do that or that I wrote the lead wrong.

10. Is there anything you would like to be better at? Writing certain scenes or genres, replying to comments, updating better, etc.

I have long ago accepted my inability to porn well. I’d love to be better with my updates. But as mentioned earlier I deal with depression - so my brain meats aren’t the most efficient at cranking out things in a timely manner. Also replyingto comments/ social media shit. I am awful at.

11. Do you write rarepairs or popular ships more often?

I guess Rarepairs...I suppose.

12. How many stories have you posted on FFNet/AO3 to this day (finished and unfinished)?

Three/four - one large chapter monster and lots of little drabbles that sort of grew around it.

13. How many stories do you have saved in/with your writing program?

*cough* Lots

14. Do you write down story ideas, or just keep them in your head?

...Depends on how long the story idea bugs me, how complicated the idea is and if I intend to do anything with it.

15. Have you ever co-authored a story?

Not exactly. A bud of mine and me in high school triedto do that but gave up. Now a days I just co author smutty bits with someone else cause I am no good at those on my own.

16. How did you discover FFNet/AO3?

I knew about FF.net before the great PornPurge. I am not even sure HOW I found them. Probably just wandering the net as a young impressionable nerd. I also used to deal with webrings if you want to guess how old I am.

AO3 I...think I heard about on tumblr, or I had a friend or two metion them tome when I started writing fic again seriously.

17. Do you consider yourself to be a popular or famous author in your fandom(s) on FFNet/AO3?

No. I always end up baffled to find out people have read or remember anything I’d worked on.

18. Do you have a nickname or fandom name for your readers?

Not really? What?

19. Was there an author who inspired or encouraged you to write?

Not to my knowledge - I think there was a quote about art that I picked up via Ted Naifeh about how you have to get through 1000 bad drawings to get to the good ones. That tends to stick in my mind about writing or anything I’m trying my hand at.

20. What writing advice would you give to a beginning author?

I don’t have much for writing - but creating things in general. When I started doing art in high school the forums I hung out on always had the reminder, “There will always be someone better than you. But you will always be better than someone else.” Write as things come to mind. You don’t have to write in sequential order - you can edit that later. Don’t worry if things come out rough and ugly in your first drafts, things can get polished later. Write what you want, not what you think others will want. Also to paraphrase Dr Suess - if you draw a monster with three heads, be sure to give it three toothbrushes. Keep details in mind when building a world/ scenario.

21. Do you plot out your stories, or do you just figure it out as you go?

I have a rough skeleton or shape I start with - when I start writing it all out things start getting filled in - or changed from the original plan cause something better came up.

22. Have you ever gotten a bad comment on a story? If so, what did you do?

Occasionally I would get folks complaining about “the slow bits” where it’s just banter - or folks getting snotty about the lack of sex scenes, but generally nothing “bad” just antsy.

23. Is there a certain type of scene that you have a hard time writing? (action, smut, etc..)

SMUT - I’m a poor little ace robot. My brain doesn’t quite know what to do with smut scenes. Where do hands go? What do they do? People do what? Don’t they know what comes out of those places? EVERYONE NEEDS TO WASH THEIR HANDS. I don’t cut the scenes since I know it’s a thing people do- and it feels disingenuous to have violence in a story and then get all fiddly when sex shows up. So I have cucu help me out - and have lots of feedback from other folks as we muddle along.

24. What story(s) are you working on now?

Still working on Smoke as I can and trying to flesh out an original concept, which is sort of a post apocalyptic noir,

25. Do you plan your next project(s) before you finish your current ongoing story(s)?

YEP

26. Do you have a daily writing goal set for yourself?

Not DAILY - but I do try to make myself add 500 words to what I’m working on when I do sit down to write.

27. Do you think you’ve improved as a writer since you first started?

Thankfully

28. What is your favorite story(s) that you’ve written?

I dunno - I mean I don’t have much going on right now that’s eaten my time and attention as much as Smoke Gets in Your Eyes has.

29. What is your least favorite story(s) that you’ve written?

Nothing that I’ve left out in public. I cleared out my old writing archives ages ago and I tend not to let myself look back.

30. Where do you see yourself (as a writer) in 5 years?

I don’t actually know. I rarely consider myself a writer. I am an artist - I went to school for art and drawing. I just sort of accidentally picked writing back up.

31. What is the easiest thing about writing?

Planning - Conceptualizing. The early stages when everything is still nebulous and nothing is forced into words.

32. What is the hardest thing about writing?

Putting things into words. Also the whole “creating things to toss into the void” sensation.

33. Why do you write?

Because my brain sort of will keep daisy chaining ideas and building stories with or without my permission. So focusing on them - writing them and getting them out on paper for others to look at seems the only real solution. Also cause my friends got sick of my being like “so hypothetically - if blah and blah happened - you think such and such would shake out of that?”

I taaaag @fat-mabari @vkiera @prinxvariety

Cheers!

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midnightshowing-acm420-fall2019 · 4 years

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Week 16 - Alex - Dénouement

--- Opening Thoughts:

Here we reach the end of the story of this project; the final knot, which took so many threads to tie, yet seemed not long ago to be little more than a tangled mess. This week, our group achieved more than what seemed achievable, given the time constrains and pressure. And although so much could have gone wrong, this was truly a very ‘right’ conclusion to an epic semester-long project. I’m so very, very thankful, and proud, of each and every member of our our group - without whom this film would never have been possible. And I’m honored to have been a part of what may very well be one of the finest films produced here in ACM Animation since its inception. I also would like to give a huge thanks to all the colorists who made the production pipeline go so much smoother and faster - sacrificing their own time and effort to be a part of something amazing! I also would like congratulate our terrific voice actor Justin Bendo, for his incredible work as the voice of Angel. And to our composer Joshua Namba, who breathed life and vigor into our film through his music.

--- Weekly Deliverables

For my work this past week, a lot has happened, as most of our group can probably agree to. It’s difficult to bring to memory every individual thing, but the core tasks were these: Coloring Sq13s6, a shot I originally roughed for. Although the final version would go on to have some major alterations to Angel, I’m happy to see it least one rough of Phantom I did pretty much stuck all the way to final:

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Colored Sq13s16; took a heck of a long time even using pre-programmed inputs for the coloring process. But it turned out good, and due to me needing to use base layers for the characters, Gavin came up with an interesting blending mode for the Old Man which we can see in the final film:

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For the next two shots I finished line from last week, plus color and shading for this week. They turned out pretty good I’d say:

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We ran into some technical issues when it came to rendering out certain files, and one in particular that comes to mind is Sq9s16, as imaged below.

I don’t know how it was possible to even work on a file this large on Photoshop, with the hardware we have. It was so big that most of our group’s computers couldn’t even open it. Mine struggled big time to load it, let alone render it as an uncompressed .mov. I had to clear almost all my ram, and even then it crashed before finally managing to render it, which only took around 10 minutes (for one shot mind you,) and then uploading it which took a solid three and a half hours.

This one file almost stopped our whole production. It was amazing, kind of hilarious, and a bit scary, but we managed to pull through. I added a clipping mask to the fire’s lineart to make it orange.

The next thing which ate up a lot of time and energy this week was sound. Basically, I expected have sound done in maybe 5 or 6 hours over the weekend. Turned out it required almost two full days to finalize. Me and Gavin met up to discuss corrections and adjustments, and after some last minute feedback, all the retiming work was done, and we got an incredible audio track. Even though it was a heavy tax on my very tight finals week schedule, I think having those two days to work on it really raised the fluidity and creativity to provide something almost of a remaster to the animatic audio track we’ve been using up to this point. The premiere file itself is kind of a convoluted mess:

Nevertheless, it gets the job done, and taught me a whole lot about sound editing and design over the course of the semester (except organizational skills.)

--- Last Reflections

This semester has been such a momentous one for so many reasons. If 320 taught me “how to work on animation,” then 420 taught me how to work on animation for real. The jump is so tangible, not necessarily in a “workload” sense (although that may be part of it) but more so as an appreciation for the art of animation itself as a collaborative medium, and a visually exploratory one. I am much more aware now of every element that goes into a piece of work, and I think I can see the great value in attempting to discerning the purpose behind everything we see in Animation, as with any art piece. While it was easy to get away with seemingly arbitrary choices of shape, color, motion and such in the past, it has become especially necessary now to be deliberate in making choice, since the workload falls on someone else’s shoulders.

- Adjustments to the Process in the Future:

Not all of this is necessarily in my control, nor should this be held against anyone or any part of the film making process here, since after all we’re learning and exploring how to work in teams with new techniques. That being said, one thing I would aim to sharpen in the future is the pre-production estimates of workload times/levels, as well as the overall film length. I think I speak for most of us when I say that the film’s scope grew a lot over the course of the semester. And I’m not saying having a large or ambitious idea is bad - that’s my favorite kind of project! But it can become a bit of an issue when it grows to such a scope that we are having to recruit outside helpers and dedicate most or all of the 24 hours we have in a day to be able to manage finishing on time. Basically, just have a more rigid plan from the start, and be very cautious towards anything that adds unnecessary levels of complexity. That’s something that can be addressed at the animatic stage. Beyond that, being more cautious with the estimates of time and energy requirements per shot would help. I noticed that some (or maybe most) of the shots required quite a bit more time than originally intended to be roughed, lined, colored, and shaded. That’s not taking into consideration all the revisions they may go through as they are reviewed, given feedback, and trade hands between group members. Production schedule-wise, it’s much better to undershoot I think, and have a lot of extra time to hammer out details, maybe refine shots, and properly apply feedback versus feeling the dread of being behind schedule and cutting years from your life due to the amount of sleep lost to try and catch up. A general rule of thumb is that specificity helps. Despite how meticulously we planned, we would still occasionally run into issues such as what color a prop might be, or how the shading might change between environments. Or another example might be how a character’s physical attributes such as stretchiness might change or remain consistent throughout the film. Although these were minor things that got addressed in the end, baring those details in mind in the future would be of great help I think.

- Words of Advice to Future 420 Students

You have three options: either become a cyborg, learn to hate sleep, or adapt to being powered by copious amounts of coffee every day. As for me, I took something from all three of those this semester. Joking aside, these are some general pointers I would give to incoming 420 students: -Choose your story and teammates carefully: This semester can be as fun (or unfun) as you make it to be. No matter what though, the people you have at your side are the people you’re stuck with. Hopefully by this point in the major you would be familiar with your teammates and their individual strengths and quirks, so if you’re having trouble picking a team in the beginning, go with the people you feel are the most self-determined, hard working, and whom you can adapt to their mold (not necessarily vice versa.) If you hate your team, you will hate your semester. But if you love your team, it doesn’t matter how tough the work gets, because you can still come to class with a smile (a very dead inside smile.)

-Come in with a strong concept: Even if your idea doesn’t get picked, being able to receive other people’s ideas and represent them faithfully is vital to the overall success of the production. The better you understand the idea you are working on, the better prepared you will be to make it a reality. Also, simple designs and ideas tend to get picked more often. Keep that in mind when developing your idea.

-Diversity is a strength: Having a broad skillset on your crew is incredibly important. Ideally, everyone can functionally perform any given task on the production. But having specialists assigned certain specific tasks is very helpful. It serves to balance the workload more or less equally among members based on their strengths, and the result is a product where you have good work reflected in all aspects of the film.

-Be prepared to change your schedule: Unless your group’s idea is ridiculously simple, chances are you will be losing sleep, possible questioning your choice of major, and being forced to change both when and how you are available to people and things you care about in the world outside the borders of your computer screen. It is not a joke to say that this course can affect your health, your diet, and maybe even the way you view other people - or even yourself! If done properly, this class should challenge you in the way you live and handle work. It should force you to adapt to an animator’s lifestyle. Not that you need to forsake life to be an animator necessarily, but to give you a taste of what the industry may demand of you through certain seasons of life.

-Be able to take a joke: By the end of the project, you’re going to be throwing shots at each other left and right. It is a crazy, whacky time - and you may find yourself forgetting this is all for a school project. Learn to enjoy acknowledging your own weaknesses, and have fun pointing out the flaws in others, when its appropriate. This makes the experience not only more enjoyable, but in a strange, ironic way it makes us become comfortable with our shortcomings, and enables/pushes each other to genuinely improve our skills, and ultimately create a better product.

-Communication is key: You need to keep up with your group. Period. If you are our of the loop for even a day, it can throw things off big time. Setup a chat group via text, setup a Discord server, or find some other means to talk to one another that is reliable. Even if you don’t always feel like chatting, just be ready when somebody needs you (which will happen quite a lot.) Also, having a system of file sharing such as Google Drive is indispensable. You may find yourself keeping certain tabs open and rarely closing them, just to check for updates and be able to send/receive files when you need them.

-Practice makes perfect: I don’t care how good or bad you think you are at animating up till this point; if you do your best in this class, you will grow. You may find yourself drawing in a different art style than you’re used to, and implementing work methods and software that you’ve never used before. And that’s wonderful! Be open to experimenting and exploring new styles of work. I’ve found that is a big part of what makes animation enjoyable and inexhaustible. Just when you feel like you’re set in your ways, the moment you step into something new, it’s a whole other world, and you just might find something you like about it.That opens the door to not only other ways of being creative, but on a practical level, makes you a much more viable component to a team when being considered for hiring. Don’t let the early hardships bog you down; with time and practice, there’s nothing you can’t do. -- Well that pretty much wraps up this last blog post and the semester for 420. The experience has been life altering, no joke. I have no regrets, and I’m so thankful to have had the chance to work so closely with everyone. In my experience, this class has been the difference between being an animation student and becoming a professional animator. Even though it was as a real challenge emotionally and physically, I would take the class again if I could, and I very much look forward to working with you all - my fellow animators - in our continuing classes, as well as our careers beyond. You all have been my family here while I’ve been without one since moving all the way out here for school.

Thanks to Brittany for teaching our wonderful class! And to everyone who has fought through this semester together and made it something special, right up until the very end. Until next time my friends, this is the Undercover Animator signing out.

#midnightshowing #acm420 #theend #coffeepower #i cry every time

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artificialqueens · 7 years

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Baby, New York City: Chapter Six (Biadore) - Boleyn

AN: Remember that time I said I would submit the next chapter soon and it took me over a week to get it to y'all? Lol whoops!! Anyway, this chapter has nearly 2k words of smut at the end as an apology! It’s the first time I’ve ever written smut so I’m sorry if it’s a bit rough (pun intended). I hope you enjoy this next installment! All my love always xx Boleyn

Chapter Six: Career Anxieties and Evening Activities

Roy walked into the large hall where the awards ceremony was being held, still glued to his phone texting back and forth with his adorable musician.

“Roy!”

He looked up from his phone screen and saw his longtime friend Chad enthusiastically waving him over. He smiled and made his way over, stopping only to scoop a champagne flute off the tray of a waiter as he passed.

“I haven’t seen you in a minute, how the hell are you?” Chad greeted him warmly.

Roy smiled. “I’m doing well. How have you been?”

“Doing great. I finally managed to talk DuJour into joining my program to teach my Contemporary Voice and Fiction Techniques courses. I’m actually so glad to have more faculty and especially someone so different in personality from Mrs. Davis, our adjuncts, and I.”

Roy barely managed to disguise his laugh as a coughing snort. He remembered Danny vividly describing his Fiction Techniques professor walking into class the first day and dropping a baby doll out from underneath her skirt after a buildup of groaning and grunting. DuJour had picked up the baby doll and apparently offered it up as a casserole thereafter. Having thoroughly mortified and confused the class of freshman Master’s students, she had thrown the doll atop her lectern and deadpanned to the crowd, “this is what fiction can allow you to create. Chaos. Drama. Confusion. A world that doesn’t operate by the constraints of our own.” Roy had to keep from smiling as he remembered Danny animatedly telling him how he literally thought he might have accidentally taken a hit of his roommate’s acid before leaving the apartment. He also remembered the way Danny had bit his lower lip and told Roy how much he liked his laugh. He took a sip from his champagne glass in an effort to hide his ridiculous grin.

“Her style is a bit eccentric, I’ll admit-,” Chad continued on, at which point Roy couldn’t contain himself any longer and burst out in laughter.

“I’ll fucking say,” Roy managed to spit out between cackles.

“I know she comes off a bit odd, but I promise her style is with reason,” Chad began blindly defending his employee, but Roy waved him off.

“No, I’m sure she’s great at what she does, I just know one of her students and he’s shared stories with me of her in the classroom.”

Chad perked up at that. “Which student?”

“Daniel Noriega.”

“Danny! Gosh, he’s really excelling. He’s got a ton of potential. I’m really excited about what he’s going to be able to accomplish in the program.”

Roy was surprised by the amount of pride he felt. “He really is amazing. I haven’t had the chance to read his work but I know how much of himself he puts into his writing,” Roy agreed.

“You really should try and read some of it. How do you two know each other?” Chad asked, popping a mini quiche into his mouth. Roy wanted to roll his eyes at the pretentiousness of the entire event that extended all the way to the food served.

“He works at a coffee shop that I go to a lot.”

“And that was enough for you to know he’s passionate about his writing?” Chad asked with genuine curiosity.

“Well, no, but we got to talking and I actually happened upon one of his shows. He’s an amazing singer.” Roy smiled into his glass as he took another sip.

“Hmm,” Chad hummed, looking at Roy pointedly.

“What?”

“You have a lot to say about this boy.”

“I have a lot to say about most things. What’s your point?” Roy exasperatedly questioned.

“Well you’ve yet to say anything shady about him,” he explained with an attempt at a nonchalant shrug that reeked of curiosity.

Roy rolled his eyes. “Quit being a fucking mute and just say what you’re thinking. You’re being more annoying than Bunny when she’s sober.” Roy could feel his skin prickling in annoyance. Chad had a tendency to dance around what he really wanted to get at and Roy wasn’t interested in his friend’s games.

“I think you like this kid.”

“Congrats Sherlock. You want an award for your work?” Roy snapped.

“You’re defensive tonight.”

Roy forced himself to take a deep breath before answering. “And you’re testing my patience.”

“Roy … He’s very young.” Chad looked at him gently, almost warily. It only increased Roy’s annoyance.

“You’re astonishingly perceptive,” Roy deadpanned.

“Cameron was younger than you and it was a problem for you two. Danny’s incredibly emotional. His writing practically screams insecurity. How are you going to make sure this relationship is healthy for you both?”

Roy thought back to his ex. He had been with Cameron for over two years. It had been good in the beginning, but he had still been performing as Bianca at the time and had been making it big. Cameron was younger and it threatened him. He had been constantly worried that Roy would meet someone else or become so big that he would forget him. Roy had done just about everything in his power to convince Cameron he wouldn’t do that to him. The fighting had eventually gotten so persistent that Roy had stopped performing to appease Cameron. He knew what toxic was. Toxic was giving up something you loved doing in order to make someone you thought was your forever happy.

“Danny’s not at all like Cameron. Yes, he’s younger than me, but he’s … he’s not secretive the way Cameron was. He says what he feels when he feels it. He’s not going to hide shit away until it boils over. Okay? Don’t talk to me like I’m five years old.” Roy felt himself getting overly defensive. He knew that Chad had at least somewhat of a point. But hell, he had given up performing already! He was a fucking theater teacher. What was there that Danny would be insecure about? Danny was the star in this relationship!

“Yeah, sure, but c’mon Roy. He’s very young. He’s where you were ten years ago career-wise. He’s just coming into his own. He’s unpredictable and emotionally erratic. He doesn’t even know himself yet. Is that really someone that you want to be with? It’s going to be a huge amount of emotional investment for you.”

Roy was over this conversation. He didn’t need Chad telling him everything he already knew about Danny and him. He had already thought all these things through and barely come out of it confident in his decision to continue pursuing Danny. He really did NOT need someone he respected putting him through that entire experience again. He had come to the conclusion that going after Danny was good as long as Danny reciprocated. He had never felt this strongly this quickly before and that wasn’t something you just ignore. It wasn’t unhealthy for him to engage in a relationship with someone who made him feel happy and young and like there was something worth feeling excited about in the morning. Danny had improved his life. So Chad could fuck off with his negativity. Roy had thought this through. Ten times over. This was okay for him. This was good for him.

“Not to mention how hard it could be on Danny,” Chad continued, throwing Roy off.

He gritted his teeth and struggled to let out an even breath through them. Doing his absolute best to keep his temper even. “What does that mean?”

“Just that Danny isn’t even at the peak of his writing ability yet. He needs to be in a place where he can focus on cultivating his talent. His emotions completely impact his prose and his focus. Is being with someone right now really what’s best for his growth?” Chad said carefully, looking at Roy meaningfully.

“I’d never do anything to get in the way of him or his art. You know that’s not me.”

“I’m not saying you’d do it on purpose. But, just think about it. Is this what’s best for Danny at this point in his life?” Chad gave him a careful smile, his eyes wide with concern, before he waved over a waiter and plucked two fresh champagne flutes off the tray, handing one to Roy. “But, for now, I’ve got an award to present, and you’ve got an award to accept.”

Roy bit the inside of his lower lip. Chad wasn’t entirely wrong. He thought back to when he was 23 years old. He had been in no place for a serious relationship, having just been displaced from home and determined to become something big. The last thing he wanted to do was get in the way of Danny pursuing his dreams. Roy couldn’t imagine Danny not becoming a star, either through his music or his writing, or hell, both! Danny needed to fulfill his dreams and Roy felt anxiety sink its cold claws into his stomach as he contemplated his ability to destroy that.

He sighed, drawing his phone out of his pocket and checking the screen.

He saw the unopened notification from Danny.

Danny N: I miss you too.

He read it and felt a bit of his nervousness subside. Danny wanted this. It wasn’t one sided. But his throat still felt far too tight as he turned to look toward the stage where Chad was preparing to announce Roy. He pocketed his phone and began to make his way slowly to the front. His eyes barely focused on anything along the way as he struggled to get Daniel and his sudden guilt out of mind and remember the speech he had so carefully mulled over all day.

–

Danny smiled ridiculously as he pushed the door to his apartment open, practically running into Matt as he entered the hallway.

“Hey stranger,” the mellow blonde drawled. “How’d the review go?”

“Hey Matt!” Danny smiled, closing the door behind him. “It went so fucking great, man. Like way better than I expected. Dr. Michaels really liked my shit and was super supportive and wants to help me and it was very that.”

Matt slowly curved the left side of his mouth into a small grin. “Proud of you, kid.”

“How have you been? Haven’t seen you around lately,” Danny asked, tossing his bag into his room before heading to the kitchen.

“Yeah, umm, I’ve been hanging out with Jason a lot so we mostly go to their place since it’s closer to work. But we’re going out tonight to a place nearby so we came here.” Matt looked down and away, avoiding direct eye contact.

Danny smirked knowingly. “We? Oh my god. Fucking finally. I literally didn’t think you guys would ever actually start fucking,” Danny laughed, enjoying the flush of red that began creeping up his roommate’s neck.

“Whatever,” Matt sighed, rolling his eyes.

Danny laughed, pecking a kiss to his cheek, before flipping around and heading back to his room, a can of beer in hand. He collapsed onto his desk chair and cracked the can. He spun around to grab his bag and slide his laptop out from it, grabbing several of the now heavily marked up pieces of work that he had shown Dr. Michaels as well.

He absentmindedly sipped the beer as he went through the first short story, keeping pace on his monitor with the corrections he was scanning on the paper copy. He made his way through the piece, taking in the suggestions, making quick work of fixing minor mistakes, and taking time to add or delete work in certain places where more attention needed to be paid. He had finished his drink a while back but continued to furiously type away, working through two short stories and one poetic narrative before his eyes began to glaze over. He looked out his window and realized with a start that night had fallen. He allowed his imagination to wander as small specks of light managed to break through the light pollution of the city and dot the night sky. He smiled wistfully as he began to think about Roy. I bet he looks amazing on stage in that well-fitted tux. Accepting awards and shit because he’s fucking incredible. Danny bit his lip and smiled softly. He’s so fucking incredible.

Danny jumped as the harsh buzz of his phone vibrating on the metal surface of his work desk reverberated through the room and brought him back down to earth. He flipped it over to read the screen and felt a small twinge of disappointment when the name on the screen read “Michelle” and not “Roy”.

He pushed it down before swiping to accept the call. “Hey boss!” He greeted warmly.

“Hi Danny. You got a sec to talk?” The New Jerseyian said, the faint sound of a keyboard clacking in the background.

“Yeah! What’s up?”

“Do you know the music duo Precinct 75?” Michelle asked, the keyboard still pounding away.

“Yeah man, of course I do! They’re so fucking punk. I literally stan the fuck out of them on insta,” Danny answers, his tone incredulous at Michelle’s apparent lack of knowledge regarding the electronic heavy pop punk experimental music project.

“Excuse me for checking,” Michelle chuckled into the phone, her keyboard finally silencing. “Well, they had an opener lined up for a four week winter tour, but they bailed out. I checked the dates, and all of the performances fall in your school break. It’s a ten show run. I can get you on the tour as the main opener.” Her business side was so brusque. It was such a contrast to Danny’s constantly emotive and descriptive approach to speech. It was one of the things that made them work so well together, but, right now, it was what was preventing Danny from feeling able to share with his manager the reason why this amazing opportunity made his body grow cold and numb and made his stomach clench into a knot.

Four weeks. That’s almost an entire month. It seemed only a few days ago that Danny and Roy had first met but it had already been almost two months and they had only been on one real date and barely managed to get to a real make out. They hadn’t even begun to discuss what they wanted. I would be gone for a month. In just over a month. Where would that leave Roy and I? Fuck. What if it changed everything? What if Roy didn’t want to wait around for something?

“Danny? Earth to Daniel? …. You better be coming up with all the hundreds of ways that you’re going to thank me for this opportunity …. Danny?” Michelle’s tone grew increasingly confused and closer to concerned as Danny’s end of the line remained silent.

Finally, Danny managed to regain control over his voice. “Where?” he asked quietly. Maybe if it’s all nearby gigs then I can be in the city on days we don’t preform? Four weeks … ten shows. That’s like three shows a week. I can come back. I don’t have to be away the entire time…

“You’re going to love this. It’s two stops in Canada, six in the States, one in Mexico, and one in Puerto Rico. You’ll be running from airport to airport but it’s the farthest reach we’ve come across. They want you and this couldn’t be a more perfect chance for you, Danny. It’s literally during your winter break. I talked to Bonnie and even promised her we’d find a way for you to go home for Christmas Eve and Day. You’re welcome for that if that’s why you’re so quiet.”

God. I wish it was just my chola mom needing me home for the holidays. Danny worried his lower lip before letting out a quiet breath. “I … I think I just need to take a second to let it sink in…” He muttered, trying to buy time. I can’t say no. This is literally like the biggest fucking gig I’ve ever landed. But how am I toing to tell Roy? It’s four weeks away. The logical side of his brain screamed at him that four weeks wasn’t even all that long, but the part of him that had begun to see a future with Roy, a real, actual, possible relationship with a man he could see himself completely falling for, was desperately clawing through the surface. He felt trapped and nearly nauseous with indecision.

“Daniel. What’s going on? Is everything okay with you?” Michelle demanded in a softly caring yet harshly intimidating motherly way. He almost smiled at her attempt to disguise her concern. Almost. But he couldn’t. Not right now. Not when he felt like he was losing two things so important to him at the same time, watching them slip out of grasp. He needed to smoke.

“Umm, yeah, it’s just a lot to process. Ummm. I’ll think about it. I don’t know. It’s .. yeah. Can we talk about it later?” Danny mumbled, fumbling with the window lock to his room and clambering out onto the fire escape. Fuck. Okay. Fresh air. This is good. This is better. It’s okay.

“No, Danny. This isn’t a ‘think on it’ kind of situation. This is a ‘could make your career’ kind of situation and you need to take this opportunity!” Michelle scolded him, unimpressed by his ramblings.

“I’m just in a weird head space. I can’t talk about this right now.”

“Is this because of that guy you’re seeing?” Michelle asked gently.

Fuck.

“Maybe?” Danny said after a few moments of debate. Michelle always saw through him. It wasn’t worth lying. “It’s just so soon and it’s not a super huge amount of time but like it also is because we’re not even a real thing yet and it could keep us from being a thing you know? And like, I don’t want to choose right now.” Danny slumped into one of the lawn chairs on the escape, grabbing the tin box out of the flowerpot. Popping the lid open, he growled under his breath when he realized that his flat mates had polished off all the joints he had neatly rolled and stashed in there. He reached into the pot and grabbed the small booklet of rolling papers they kept there.

“Daniel, if it’s right, he’s not going to leave you because you’re going after what you want. Remember how many chances the ex took away from you? I’m not letting that happen again. You need to do this. For your career and for you.” Michelle’s firm voice was almost soothing by how steady and predictable it was.

“I know,” Danny whispered, staring at his hands. It was so hard to readjust his senses. He didn’t know what it was like to be with someone supportive of his career and his aspirations. Of course Roy’s going to tell me to go. Of course he’ll want what’s best for me. He’s not Gregg. He’s Roy. It’s going to be okay. Danny tried to force his nerves down below the surface, but they refused to go. A small part of him held on to the idea that Roy would find someone in his absence. A voice inside him whispering that he wasn’t worth waiting for.

“Okay, look. Sleep on it. We’ll talk tomorrow. But you know what the right choice is Danny. This is for you. Choose you this time,” Michelle sighed into the phone before reminding him how much she cared about him and bidding him goodnight.

“Night,” Danny replied on autopilot, ending the call and throwing his phone on Do Not Disturb.

He quickly threw some weed into his grinder and rolled a fresh joint, lighting it and drawing a deep breath through it. He felt his shoulders relax as the smoke danced over his taste buds and filled his lungs. He tried to follow the smoke, imagining it being absorbed by his blood and traveling through his limbs, calming his nerves, easing away the tension, bleeding through the screaming anxiety with whispered tranquility.

But it wasn’t enough. His brain wouldn’t stop thinking. Fuck it.

He grabbed his phone, swiping it open to his conversation with Roy. His fingers danced above the keyboard for a moment before committing to a message.

Danny N: How are you handling all that fame and recognition?

He sat there, mulling over the message for a few minutes, pulling a few more times on his joint, before some tendril of courage made the decision for him, his finger pressing decidedly onto the send button.

Well, man. Fuck it. The only way to know is to talk to him about it.

Danny wanted to be confident about this. But he wasn’t. What if Roy isn’t receptive to me going away? What if he doesn’t see this thing, whatever we are, lasting that long anyway? What if bringing it up ends it all?

Danny started as his nearly forgotten joint dwindled to a nub, the lit end biting into the skin of his fingers.

“Fuck,” he hissed through his teeth, stubbing the largely wasted joint out and tossing the remains into the flowerpot. He forced a breath of air out harshly into the nighttime breeze. It was nearly November and he suddenly realized that, while it wasn’t exactly freezing outside, it was certainly cold enough to warrant a jacket. He shivered, rubbing his hands over his exposed arms to warm them. I should get a jacket. I should go inside and calm the fuck down.

He didn’t move. Choosing instead to roll a second joint and focus on actually making use of this one instead of allowing it to burn to nothing while he stared at a blank phone screen.

Throwing his phone down on the side table, he closed his eyes and tilted his head back, willing calm to overtake him.

The window beside him opened and Jason slipped through. “Want some company that’s not your negativity?” they asked, despite not waiting for an answer, choosing to fall into the chair next to him before even completing their question.

“Whatever, man.”

“So, what the fuck is the attitude about?” Jason quipped, one eyebrow tilted quizzically, their hand extended, silently demanding the joint.

Danny relented, passing the joint over while huffing out a breath that was somewhere between annoyance and begrudging gratitude that he would be able to talk this out with someone painfully honest yet genuinely astute. “I’m … I don’t know man. I guess I’m just freaking the fuck out. I got an offer that’s seriously so good for my career but I recently met someone and, like, it’s the first time since my ex that I can really see something happening, you know? But this guy, he’s just, he’s so amazing. He’s like a teddy bear, man. Like honestly. He’s sassy but so like fucking genuine, too. He mellows me out when he’s around. It’s like being stoned but better. Seriously.” Danny lolled his head onto his shoulder, turning to make eye contact with Jason.

Jason looked back at him evenly. “So what’s the problem?”

Danny frowned, thinking for a moment. “I’m just scared that he won’t want to wait around for me. Like, why would he wait around if he can find someone else? Or what if he never wanted to be anything at all and this just is it?”

Jason rolled their eyes, pushing the joint back into Danny’s hands. “You’re being a fucking idiot right now. I’m sorry but you need to find some confidence like yesterday. You’re hot Danny and you’re talented. He won’t find someone else because what he has right now is pretty fucking great and he sounds like the kind of guy to know that. Quit bitching and just talk to him. Nothing’s going to be fixed by smoking your way through all of the apartment’s weed,” Jason said flatly.

“Thanks for the great pep talk,” Danny moaned, choosing to sulk just a little longer. He put the joint to his lips and dragged a large breath of smoke into his lungs. He let it linger there for a moment before breathing it out.

He passed the joint back to Jason and looked at his phone screen.

Roy H: Well, I’ve decided it’s only right I move into a one room cabin in the middle of the Montana forest to begin writing my autobiography in isolation. I’ve also realized that it’s time for me to get serious and adopt a few babies from a third world country. I’m thinking Cambodia. Does Angelina have one from there yet?

Danny N: Fuck if I know lol

Roy H: Well I’ll plan on Cambodia for now but we can add Morocco to the list as a back up.

Danny N: We???

Roy H: Well, any real rich and famous artist has a young piece of arm candy by his side to keep the tabloids talking about him. So I was thinking you’d be willing to do me that favor?? *winky face*

Danny N: What can I say? I’m honored to be your sugar baby. Are you going to fund my music career? *tongue out face*

Danny smiled at his phone screen.

“Stop. That’s literally gross.” Danny looked up to see Matt step through his window onto the escape, ambling over to pluck the mostly spent joint from Jason’s fingers and catch it between his lips.

“What?” Danny asked, looking at him only briefly before turning his attention back to his phone.

Roy H: I never said shit about being your daddy, queen. I only said that I would let you walk a red carpet with me *hair flip emoji*

Danny N: Well … I guess the exposure is good for my career.

Roy H: It’s a win-win.

Danny N: How’s the ceremony going?

Roy H: I’m dying to get away.

Danny N: Anything I could help with?

Roy H: Want to fake an emergency and call me??? *upside down face*

Danny N: I could do that….

Danny N: But…..

Danny N: I think it should somehow benefit me too… *winky face*

Roy H: And what exactly would you be requesting in exchange???

Danny N: I was thinking that maybe I could see you again?

Danny N: Soon??

Twenty minutes had passed since Danny had sent his last text. He had, by now, relocated to the couch in their living room where he was uncomfortably perched right beside an obviously preoccupied Matt and Jason. Jason was fully straddling Matt and there was clearly nothing that would halt the coming sexual tryst, so Danny moved himself off the sofa and to the fridge to grab another beer. He heard a few faint knocks on the door.

Pulling the tab open on his beer, he walked over to the door. Who the fuck knocks nowadays??

He pulled the door open to an adorably disheveled Roy. A faint hint of five o’clock shadow was barely visible along his jaw line and his bowtie hung around his neck, still tied, but barely.

“Roy,” Danny breathed, a huge smile overtaking his face. “Why’re you here?”

Danny leaned against the doorframe so fucking suggestively. There wasn’t anything innately sexual about it, but the pure fact that it was Danny and he was biting his lower lip, looking into Roy’s eyes, supporting his weight on the exposed beam of his shit apartment made Roy’s heart accelerate. Fuck, I’m tipsy.

Roy had downed a few … several … glasses of champagne at the ceremony before he could get away. He had spent the whole time thinking about Danny, attempting to justify what they had despite the risks it posed to Danny’s career. God did he want Danny to succeed … but was it guilty for Roy to want Danny to succeed with him by his side?

Roy was at once grateful and wary of the liquid courage that was pulsing through his veins. “You said you wanted to see me. So I came.” He smiled tentatively. Danny felt a wave of affection crash through him as he looked at this precious man before him. A man that cared enough to come racing across town just because he wanted to see him again. God, he’s so fucking gorgeous.

Danny stared into his amber eyes for a moment longer before leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his lover’s mouth. “I didn’t think I’d get to see you this soon,” he whispered against his adorable professor’s lips. “Aren’t you supposed to wait before seeing someone again? Something about building anticipation,” he giggled into Roy’s smiling lips.

“The whole waiting thing is for guys who don’t have your perfect ass. Speaking of which, I’d really like to see that magnificent part of you in person,” Roy crooned, leaning in to gently pull his teeth against the underside of Danny’s jaw, eliciting a quiet but undeniable moan from the younger man.

“Fuck,” Danny exhaled, feeling Roy’s tongue trace a line back to his earlobe before placing a gentle kiss to it.

“Do I have your attention?” Roy muttered, still pressing lazy, open-mouthed kisses to the exposed skin of Danny’s neck.

“Baby,” Danny breathed. “You’ve never not had my attention.” He let his head fall to the side, exposing more of his neck to Roy. God, this is good.

“Mmm.” Roy continued to lavish the length of Daniel’s neck. “I want you. Alone.”

“My roommates are here…,” Danny remorsefully admitted.

“I need to let my dogs out anyway.” Roy laughed. “Want to come over to my place?”

“Fuck yeah,” Danny whispered as he kissed the hollow of Roy’s ear. He smiled at him dangerously. God he’s so fucking sexy. Fuck. His ass is like a shelf. I swear to god, I’ll bury my face in it and suffocate and I’ll still die with a smile on my face. Roy took a deep breath. Okay. I’m tipsy. Like close to drunk tipsy. But he’s so cute. Fuck, I really want him to fuck me.

Roy could feel himself biting his lip. He hadn’t told himself to do that. But the way Danny’s eyes followed that small action made him grateful for it.

“Do you want to spend the night at mine?” Roy asked, his voice betraying a hint of nervousness.

“Yes,” Danny smiled, bending toward his adorably sweet partner, “I would love to spend the night with you.” He chastely kissed the edge of Roy’s smile. “Give me a minute,” he breathed.

He ducked into his room to grab his wallet and keys. He grabbed his patchwork jean jacket from his bedpost before turning the lights off in his room and returning to Roy. He kissed him, trying, and almost failing, to restrain himself from starting a full on make out session in the doorway to his apartment.

He pulled back, smiling softly at Roy. “Let’s go.”

“Party,” Roy said in a ditzy voice, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Danny mocked offense before turning around. “I guess you don’t want to get laid tonight. Sucks, man. I have a few tats you haven’t seen yet and they’re really fucking cool. But whatever. Bye.” He made to go through the door but was stopped by two arms wrapping around him and a head resting on the crook of his shoulder.

He growled softly into Danny’s neck. “I’m sorry babe, I take it back. Please come home with me so I can finally see what you really look like without all of your dilapidated, falling apart at the seams clothes covering your body. And I really want to become acquainted with every tattoo on you.” Daniel smiled and leaned into Roy’s touch.

He turned himself around without breaking their embrace. He brought his hands around Roy’s neck and brushed through the hair there. “Party,” he laughed, kissing him before closing the door behind him and dragging Roy to the stairs.

“Oh, fuck you,” Roy giggled.

“Please,” Danny smiled over his shoulder as they made their way out of his apartment building and onto the sidewalk.

They worked their way back to Roy’s place, stopping several times to make out against some unsuspecting building wall or conveniently placed tree.

When Roy pulled him into a nice building off of 11th and 27th in the midst of a bunch of art galleries, Danny swallowed heavily. The doorman smiled politely at them as Roy walked him through the lobby. Fuck … this is bougie. Danny gaped as Roy ushered him into a beautiful elevator with marble flooring and floor to ceiling mirrors. Roy took out his keys and pressed a fob to the wall next to the 7th floor button and pressed it. He turned and smiled lazily in Danny’s direction, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

Danny smiled into the kiss, still slightly overwhelmed with the grandeur of Roy’s apartment complex. The doors opened to an equally opulent hallway with very few doors. Fuck. His place is nice.

Roy pulled him to the door at then end of the hallway. He slipped his key into the lock and turned it. He looked back at Danny. “My babies aren’t always the friendliest at first but I promise they’re wonderful and perfect, they just need time to warm up to new people.”

“They get that from their dad?” Danny laughed.

Roy rolled his eyes and opened the door. Immediately two small bundles of golden fur swarmed him. They excitedly jumped up on Roy’s legs, their tails wagging faster than Danny thought should be possible. Roy gingerly moved around them, heading into the apartment. Danny smiled as the dogs registered his presence and began sniffing his feet. He crouched down, letting them sniff his hands before he tried to pet them. Their tails slowed as they took in his scent but then sped back up again as they jumped up on him too. Danny laughed.

“They’re not usually this friendly,” Roy smiled, looking at his two babies who were apparently as drawn to Danny as he was.

Danny looked up from the dogs smiling. “Which one’s Sammy and which one’s Dede?” He spoke, the wild grin never leaving his face.

“Sammy’s the one who’s trying to lick your face and Dede is the one that’s trying to get in your lap,” he laughed. A liquid warmth spread through his chest as he imagined coming home to this everyday. Danny and his dogs. Danny’s excited smile as his two dogs showered him with love. When did I get this fucking sentimental?

“You said they need to be walked?” Danny stood, Sammy and Dede still excitedly circling his feet.

“Yes, I grabbed their leashes. You can hang out here while I take them. It’s not a long walk,” Roy offered, bending down to hook their leashes to their collars.

Danny was frowning slightly when he stood back up. He looked remarkably like a puppy dog. “But I want to go on the walk too,” Danny pouted, his lower lip pushing out past his upper one. God I want to bite that lip.

“Do I need to get you a leash too?” Roy sassed.

At that Danny’s face lit up. “That could be fun,” he whispered as he leaned in to peck Roy’s lips. He pulled away with a suggestive smirk on his face as he grabbed one of the leashes from Roy and walked back toward the elevator. Roy locked the front door and took a minute to appreciate the view. Danny walking away from him was never something he wanted to see, but he was always happy to see that man’s ass in action. I really could get used to this. Danny, the dogs, domesticity.

Roy surprised himself when he realized just how badly he did want this. How natural it felt for Danny to be here, walking his dogs with him. And how good he looked while doing it.

Danny pressed the call button for the elevator and turned around. “You coming?”

Roy cackled. “I hope so.”

Danny laughed. “Baby, you’ll come,” he teased, leaning in to kiss Roy again. He moaned when Roy surprised him by immediately deepening the kiss. He opened his mouth, letting Roy tangle their tongues. He brought his hand up to cup Roy’s face, tilting their heads slightly, pulling Roy’s body closer to him. They jumped apart when the elevator dinged open.

Roy laughed breathily. He looked down to find two pairs of chocolate eyes staring back at him quizzically. “We need to walk these dogs now so I can get you naked,” he said decidedly, moving past Danny into the elevator.

“Party,” Danny mimed in the ditzy voice Roy had used earlier.

Roy rolled his eyes. “Really queen?”

Danny laughed and pecked Roy’s cheek.

They managed to bring Sammy and Dede on a short walk, barely making it through the park without stopping every five seconds to kiss one another.

Roy was amazed by his own neediness. He wanted Danny, badly. He felt some of the effects of his earlier champagne fade slightly but still felt incredibly light and giggly. He was literally acting like a high school girl. Pull it together, Haylock. You’re better than this. He tried to ignore Danny’s hand that had gone from being wrapped around his waist to tightly gripping his ass.

Once they entered the elevator to go back upstairs, Roy growled, pinning Danny to the wall and aggressively kissing him.

“You’re so fucking hot,” he snarled into Danny’s lips.

The elevator stopped moving and he pushed himself away from Danny. He liked the way he looked right now. All mussed up and thoroughly kissed. His naturally juicy lips were even plumper now from Roy’s teeth having sunk into them several times during the night.

They stumbled back into Roy’s apartment, quickly unleashing the dogs and throwing them into their crates before Roy practically dragged Danny through the small corridor into his bedroom. Roy had that incredible grin on his face, that one that Danny would imagine when alone, able to shut his eyes for a few moments before sleep overwhelmed him. Danny bit his lip as Roy slumped onto his bed in what was probably supposed to be a sexy move but ended up being closer to a disaster.

He laughed. “You’re a fucking mess, babe,” Danny whispered as he bit his lower lip.

“I told you I’m tipsy,” Roy groaned, arms stretched toward Danny, inviting Danny to join him on the bed.

“Are you sure you want to do this,” Danny asked. He didn’t think Roy was drunk but if he was, he didn’t want this to be something the alcohol decided for him to do. He didn’t want to be a booze-induced regret.

“I’ve wanted to do this since you gave me that stupid chocolate croissant two months ago,” Roy admitted, rolling his eyes shyly before beckoning Danny closer. “Please, Danny. I really want you,” he said earnestly.

Danny smiled, biting his lip as he fell onto the bed, pushing Roy back until he was straddling him. “I want you too, babe.”

He leaned down, kissing Roy’s neck as he worked to unbutton his shirt. Roy threaded his fingers through Danny’s hair, grazing his nails across his scalp. Danny moaned softly. “Fuck babe,” he breathed against skin at the base of Roy’s neck. He gently bit the exposed bit of clavicle, soothing the mark with his tongue. He finally managed to undo the last button, pushing the clothing away from Roy’s chest to expose his skin. Roy pushed Danny away from him in order to pull the shirt off, throwing it to the side. He fell back to the bed. Danny stared at hungrily at him. Swaths of smooth caramel skin pulled taut over surprisingly well-defined muscles. Danny raked his nails over the skin before beginning a trail of open-mouthed kisses along Roy’s chest, stopping to lavish attention on each of Roy’s nipples, smiling when he heard Roy moan his name as he did so.

Roy began pushing away Danny’s jacket, his actions only slowing long enough for Danny to allow it to fall away from his shoulders. He leaned back down, passionately kissing Roy. Roy rucked Danny’s shirt up and over his head, allowing his hands to drag over his back. His skin was warm and electricity shot through Roy as their exposed chests molded perfectly to one another. He sucked on Danny’s lower lip before turning them over so that he was on top. He propped himself up on one arm, using the other to cradle Danny’s face. He lined their hips together and rocked a bit, desperate for any amount of friction. He was way too hard for just a few minutes of making out. Danny was so different from the guys he usually went for but he couldn’t remember a time when he was so desperate to be with someone. He pushed Danny down, moving to suck gently at the skin below his jaw line.

They traded steamy kisses, Roy dividing his time between kissing Danny’s mouth and suckling on the delicate skin over his pulse point, a satisfied smirk spreading across his face at how fast Danny’s pulse was. He repositioned his hips slightly and let out a guttural moan when his hard length dragged along Danny’s deliciously.

“You’re so beautiful babe,” Danny breathed as Roy began his own tour of Danny’s skin, licking and nipping his way down Danny’s body.

Danny let his head fall back, enjoying the feel of Roy’s teeth biting into his skin. He was so hard, every scrape of Roy’s teeth against him shooting electricity through his body, excitement collecting in the pit of his stomach. His heart was racing.

Roy bit into the skin below Danny’s navel before hurriedly undoing his belt and unzipping his jeans. Roy rested back on his heels as he tugged Danny’s pants away, freeing his incredibly hard dick and leaving him lying gloriously naked on the bed. Roy licked his lips as his eyes took in the scene before him. Danny was by far the most attractive man he had ever been with. “You’re so incredible.”

He leaned down, trailing one hand along Danny’s hip, the other gingerly resting on his inner thigh. He brought his face down, kissing the skin near the base of his shaft. He grinned when Danny thrust his hips upward and groaned his name. He tipped his head to the side, taking a moment to appreciate Danny’s breathless wantonness.

“Eager?” he laughed, relishing the hungry look he elicited from Danny.

“Baby, please?” Danny moaned, his eyes hooded with lust.

“Since you asked nicely,” Roy teased, licking his lips before dragging his firm, flat tongue along the underside of Danny’s shaft, from base to tip. Danny was warm and velvety soft and god so hard. Roy had planned on teasing him longer but suddenly had the overwhelming urge to just take all of him and pleasure him and watch him come apart at his tongue.

He engulfed Danny’s length, welcoming his hard member into his mouth, pushing himself to accept the entirety of Danny. He wanted to bring Danny to the edge. He wanted to be the only thing Danny could think about for a long time. Fuck, I’m tipsy.

He hollowed his cheeks, drawing Danny further into him. He was thick and not necessarily over the top big, but big enough to warrant appreciation. He drew back, bobbing down again after swirling his tongue around Danny’s head. He set a steady pace, relishing in the noises he was drawing from Danny. He dragged his fingertips gently over Danny’s skin, moving towards his balls which he kneaded softly. He pulled all the way back and ran his tongue beneath his foreskin. He felt the fantastic sound he earned from Danny shoot straight to his own rock hard member. He moved away from Danny long enough to remove his pants and lick his fingers. He returned to where Danny was incredibly slick with his saliva and teased his asshole with one hand while pleasuring himself with the other and continuing to use his mouth on Danny, though less intensely than before.

“Babe, fuck, I can take more, please,” Danny whimpered, pre-cum leaking deliciously from his head.

Roy traveled up the bed to kiss his beautiful lover tenderly before grabbing lube and a condom from his bedside table. He coated his fingers with it before returning them to Danny’s hole, pushing first one then two in and waiting until Danny ground down onto them before moving. He crooked them and grinned devilishly when he elicited a raw growl from Danny as he pushed against his prostate. “That good babe?” Roy whispered into Danny’s ear, moving his free hand to press their dicks together.

“Fuck,” Danny breathed. “Yes, fuck, that’s good, mmm, Roy.”

Roy watched Danny’s face, his jaw slack, breathing heavily, his eyes screwed shut in pleasure. He looked like sex. Roy inhaled sharply when Danny involuntarily jerked his hips upward, their dicks rubbing together roughly. “Fuck.”

“Roy, please, I want you inside me,” Danny whispered into the hot air between their open mouths.

Roy wasted no time, shifting away from Danny and tearing open the condom. He rolled it onto his still rock hard, leaking dick and lathered it with lube. He moved over Danny, spreading his legs apart and moving a pillow below his ass to lift him to his height. He kissed Danny as he teased his entrance, slowly sinking in and waiting for Danny to relax around him. “You’re so beautiful,” he groaned when Danny turned his head to the side and grabbed a handful of bedding. Danny tipped his hips upward and grabbed Roy’s ass with his free hand, encouraging him to begin moving.

Roy pulled Danny closer to him and began to move in earnest, rocking into Danny with firm, steady strokes. “God, you feel so good,” he moaned into the spit-slick skin of Danny’s neck, continuing to lave suckling kisses onto it.

Danny enjoyed how vocal Roy was during sex, tilting his head to share a sloppy, all tongue and some teeth, kiss with his lover. He dragged his nails over the skin on Roy’s ass, stopping to firmly squeeze it before raking his nails up and over his back. He left one to draw lines over the muscled curvature of Roy’s back and dug the other into Roy’s hair, tugging it. Roy hissed and retaliated by pulling out of Danny and flipping him around so that his ass was in the air. He smacked one cheek but paused, looking at the other one. “You’re so sexy,” he growled, bending to nip at the crescent moon tattoo adorning the side of Danny’s ass. He pulled back, giving it a resounding slap before plunging his dick back into Danny.

Danny sunk his teeth into his lip and whined, the sting of Roy’s palm hitting him going straight to his dick. He bunched some of the bending into his fists, grabbing for purchase as Roy continued to push into him. He was surprised at how good Roy’s dick felt in him. He had been almost exclusively a top in his last relationship and had never experienced this much pleasure when bottoming. He couldn’t remember the last time he climaxed as a bottom but he could feel his muscles tightening in his lower stomach and knew he wasn’t far away.

“Babe,” he breathed into the bed linen. “I’m so, mmm, so close.”

Roy lowered himself so that his chest was to Danny’s back, reaching around him to give attention to his neglected dick, pumping it in time to his thrusts. “I want to see your face when you, fuck, come,” Roy hissed into Danny’s neck. He turned his head so that one cheek was on the bed and sought out Roy’s eyes. Roy leaned to the side to accommodate him, never once loosing rhythm with either his hand or his hips.

“Fuck Danny. You’re so sexy, fuck, so beautiful. Come for me babe,” Roy groaned, extremely close himself and needing Danny to let go so he could find his own release.

Danny breathed out a strangled moan as Roy felt hot liquid cover his hand. He slowed his pace to let Danny ride out his orgasm, thrilling pride coursing through him as he watched the beautiful man beneath him gasp out his name in pleasure.

God he was close. Seeing Danny climax was the sexiest thing he had seen in his life. He kissed Danny’s cheek. “Are you okay to keep going?” he asked, anxious not to push his partner too far.

“It’s your turn to come baby,” Danny sighed, his voice sinfully low and sated.

“Fuck,” Roy breathed, pulling back to lave kisses over the butterfly tattoo at the base of his lover’s neck. He began pumping in and out of Danny with quick, shallow strokes, feeling his stomach tightening. He felt his own release approaching quickly and groaned out Danny’s name as he came inside of him.

He kissed Danny’s neck as he pulled out of him, removing the condom, tossing it into a waste bin beside his bed and using a tissue to wipe Danny’s come from his hand. Danny rolled to his side, his face blissfully relaxed and glowing. Roy kissed his nose and pulled his comforter over them, cocooning them in their post-coital haze.

“You’re amazing,” Roy breathed into the space between them.

Danny wrapped his arms around his lover and kissed him sleepily. “No, that’s you,” he sighed, yawning. Roy smiled, his heart fluttering with affection. God he’s so cute.

“Go to sleep, baby,” Roy teased, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“See you in the morning,” Danny whispered, shifting even closer to Roy.

“Goodnight,” Roy breathed into Danny’s hair, closing his own eyes, a smile plastered across his face as he held his lover close and let sleep overtake him.

#boleyn #bnyc #biadore #au #bianca del rio #adore delano #chad michaels #violet chachki #smut #rpdr fanfiction #submission #m/m au

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the-space-case · 7 years

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Senpai, you have such an amazing art style! It's super easy to draw! Do you have any tips on how you draw and proportion the bodies?

Hello~! And also; Thank You! As for proportions of the body I have a few tips for you. A lot of this I’ve learned from my college art courses as well as several books and tutorials online haha. I’ve done the process as well visually here!

1.) OPTIONAL: Make a stick figure drawing of the pose. It can be as small as your thumb (a thumb-nail sketch is the actual term haha) or as big as the page; whatever shows you the flow and direction of the form! This is helpful if you’ve never done the pose before, or if you have a vague feeling of what you want but have a hard time drawing it out right away. You can make as many of these as you want; whatever it takes to get the right one! Art takes time, its important to know that as you work so you don’t feel rushed.

2.) Make a gesture drawing of what the pose is. This is a very fast drawing of where the body will be (If you’re drawing traditionally, make it very light!). The gesture drawing is basically a very loose rough draft; it’ll almost never be completely correct anatomy-wise, but it will give you a place to start adjustments. Staring at a blank piece of paper/canvas and trying to draw it all completely correctly on the first try will take a nightmare-ish amount of time, so you’re basically getting a vast amount of mistakes out of the way first and foremost.

3.) Adjust the rough draft, and don’t be concerned that you have to adjust the same thing over and over again as you fix other parts. Things make more sense as they come together and you begin to see other mistakes, so this part may take awhile. (traditionally you use a nice white eraser for this or use a blue pencil very lightly at first and gradually increasing pressure with each new adjustment, but digitally I just use the keybindings (which are set up in most art programs as) [cntrl+T] to adjust bits and pieces.)

3.2.)ZOOM IN AND OUT OF THE CANVAS. Taking a look from far away after working with it closely for so long will show you any other mistakes you’ve made proportion-wise.

3.3.) If something in the drawing you know isn’t anatomically correct but it looks and feels right, leave it. That’s artistic liberty talking; an influence of style. Its a rare case but it does happen. However you must be absolutely sure; this can’t be influenced by tiredness or feeling lazy. Leave the drawing and come back if you’re unsure and you’ll generally see why.

4.) Add details to the rough draft/adjusted gesture drawing. This means clothes, hair, face details, etc. Placement is important based on the pose, so make sure you’re still following the line of direction you had with the first two steps based on what’s happening in the picture. If you’re drawing someone that’s falling, make the clothes and hair in the correct direction, etc…

5.) Do the line art, preferably on a new layer for clean lines or just fixing everything up on the original layer for a more rough style (It depends on what you like!). Once you take away the rough draft you’ll see anything else thats wrong and can fix the rough draft beneath, erase the line art section where its off and re-do it (if you’re keeping the rough draft/erasing as you go, zoom in and out again when its clean.)

PROPORTIONS DONE YOU DID IT! Of course if you want maximum accuracy you should use a reference/model, but it tends to be hard to find the right pose out of thousands and not everyone can have a friend ready to model at all times, so this is some you can do without it. Remember that looking at yourself in a mirror is also very helpful for deciphering proportion!

SOME MISCELLANEOUS TIPS: When extended, the tips of your fingers generally reach mid-thigh. The face is an oval thats cut in half for the placement of the eyes, nose, and mouth, and your hands are generally about as big as half your face. Of course, these can be exaggerated at-will for your style, and not everyone is a generic person with the same features, so keep that in mind as you work! Some people have big feet or hands, most people have uneven features, and almost no one has perfectly balanced faces. That kind of perfection is reserved for unnatural beings and photoshopped models, so have fun doing what you like anyway.

—->Generally in cartoons faces are meant to be even because anything overly misapplied tends to be unnerving, so also keep that in mind haha.

Here’s a drawing exercise: Make a bunch of stick figures in various poses. Fill a whole page/canvas! Exaggerate the level of intensity! Note the direction of flow and the lines of action, maybe in red pen. (These can all just be thumbnail sketches.) A fun thing to do is open a video of people dancing and pausing the frames every so often and drawing their lines of action from there.

#drawing tutorial #drawing ref #proportion #tips and tricks #will cipher #ref #valkyriewolf246

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aurelliocheek · 5 years

Text

Tropico 6: Winning the Trust of Users

Why postponing is the better option over early release of any games project.

At the beginning of January 2019, Kalypso decided to postpone the release of the PC version of Tropico 6 until March 29. Originally, the release of the PC version was scheduled for January 25, but the great feedback from thousands of dedicated beta players confirmed the decision to give the title two more months of development time to make Tropico 6 a near perfect game. For the following interview about this hot topic, we talked to Martin Tosta (Producer for Tropico 6) and Bernd Berheide (Head of PR):

Making Games: Starting with an overall view on the delay, what are you planning to do with the extra time?

Martin Tosta: Delivering the best Tropico experience at launch is what we’re aiming for with Tropico 6. It’s incredibly important to us that the game exceeds the expectations of the players who have been so eagerly following the development process of the game, and to take the foundations of the beta to make a good game into a great game.

Making Games: Sure, but what exactly caused it? Were there problems with programming?

Martin Tosta: We’re developing Tropico 6 with an all-new engine so that it looks much better than ever before. With the engine and the new development team (Limbic Entertainment), who have been fantastic, also came new challenges. And while we’ve overcome those challenges, and feel like we’ve been working together for much longer than we have, there are still some rough edges due to the new environment we’re working in. We also received a lot of useful feedback from our dedicated beta testers, which we are really grateful for because it’s provided valuable input and made us aware of certain topics that weren’t even on our radar. So, taking all that into consideration, we decided that we should use the extra time to fine-tune the game and implement as much of the player feedback as possible.

Making Games: Alrighty then. So, you have been given another two months. How are you planning to use the time up until release?

Martin Tosta: In games development, we aim to hit certain “milestones” at a specific date. We’ve done so very successfully in the past and are now actively planning additional milestones for the topics I just mentioned, specifically polishing, and incorporating player feedback. For example, we aim to have a fully working and smooth experience using the Random Map Generator before release. Our full plan consists of many small milestones. We’ve already tweaked the interface and menus a lot, and plan on improving citizen interactions and multiplayer even further, together with the usual balancing and optimization for all platforms.

Making Games: You talked a lot about community feedback. What kinds of insights did you gain thanks to the beta? Are there any features or mechanics that have changed dramatically, or is now different than originally planned?

Martin Tosta: Some gameplay systems and features were not as obvious to players as we expected them to be. So, we’ve made a bunch of changes to those systems, and are still adding texts and icons to make things easier to understand. One example would be the trade interface, where we have now added trade route volumes, and an option to disable all exports. Both of those tweaks were requests from the community. Another point that was kind of small, but still noticeable, was inefficiencies in the simulation of the Tropicans. The community was once again a great help in identifying idle Teamsters, Metro Stations, and game mechanics that could work more fluently – and we’re actively working on those.

Contact with press, influencers and users is key and cannot be underestimated. Finding the right persons in the team is paramount.

Making Games: Can you give us an example of a milestone or goal would not have been reached or been as polished if the game had come out on the original January 25th release date?

Martin Tosta: Well, lately, we’ve been working a lot on warfare. We wanted to make sure that in Tropico 6, the feature feels more meaningful and interactive than it did in previous games. With the extra time, we’ve already made significant improvements there. Another part would be the cross-platform capabilities of the game. Making sure that all players across PC, Mac and Linux can play seamlessly together was very important for us, and we’re now able to ensure that for launch.

Making Games: Please tell us, how the feedback of the Beta-players finds its way into the game?

Martin Tosta: This process indeed needs some explanation. First, it starts right within the community of our Beta-Players actually. Right there, all discussions and all the feedback are gathered.

Making Games: You are actively in touch with the community?

Martin Tosta: Correct, any player can get in touch with us. Either via our official forums, social media channels, Steam community hubs, to just name a few channels. And for sure, we are trying to get back to them as best we can while still developing the game. After players have shared their feedback and ideas, our Community Management team and QA starts to sort the feedback and ideas. They will create a pool of requests and filter them by validity as well as feasibility and sorting out duplicates. The remaining requests will be forwarded to the producers who decide which of the requests can and should be done. The objective is to get as many requests done as possible Within the boundaries of a running production. After all, the regular development of the game is still ongoing, and every new addition or change has to be carefully planned for. At the end of this process, the requests are sorted into three different categories: Rejected requests, Backlog, Implementation

Rejected will be all ideas that are impossible to develop/implement. E.g. as those might be changing the core of the game completely, or simply require too much work on the structure of the game, or simply do not fit into Tropico or the genre in general. Backlog means, ideas will be stored, as they are solid, But they might require more time or they are dependent on another step in the development that needs to be achieved first, e.g. the implementation of a gameplay mechanic or the creation of art assets. Sometimes, requests will also be stored here to simply achieve a healthy task load for the development team.

Implementation means the idea/feature will be integrated into internal development planning.

Making Games: How long does a feature need to be implemented?

Martin Tosta: There are many steps to be followed and departments to be involved before a request is implemented. Let’s take the Trade UI changes as an example, from our latest January Update. Starting with the art department, which has to create new assets, or edit existing assets from the game. Additionally, our game designers need to design systems for the features and behavior of the new UI. They also need to check if the new system is not breaking or intervening with other features of the game and need to design systems for the features and behavior of the new UI. Next in line, is the coding department, which will start actually implementing the work done by art and game design. When this is done, the next step is to send it to QA for testing in order to check, if the new UI is actually working as intended. The entire process may take several weeks and if everything works as intended, we are able to release the new feature.

Making Games: Who decides on the implementation of a postponement as soon as the need for such a measure becomes apparent? Is the developer basically depending on the goodwill of the publisher or is the procedure for a possible postponement already embedded in the general contract?

Martin Tosta: In the case of Tropico 6, it is the general management of the publisher, who decides in the end, as the brand Tropico belongs to Kalypso Media. But until such a step becomes apparent all parts of publisher and developer are involved from top to bottom. Mainly the Quality Assurance (QA) departments of the publisher and the developer, as well as external QA in co-operation with the producing are the first to say that there might be too many issues with the current state of the game. This can be simply the number of bugs or also features that are behind schedule. In order to get a good amount of data for such a big decision, other departments like Product Management and Public Relations are involved. Especially PR brings in feedback from press and influencers. Also, Mock-Reviews from external freelance journalists might be used to give feedback on the current state of the build. When it comes to the contractual situation, we won’t disclose the actual terms, of course. Obviously, any contract in the industry has clauses regarding a possible delay. It would be irresponsible to not have those. Regarding who is depending on the other is a question of what is causing the delay. Maybe the publisher requested new features, or the developer e.g. underestimated certain parts of development. Ultimately both are dependent on each other and only mutual respect and understanding will help to solve tricky situations like a possible delay.

Making Games: How was the change to the new development studio made in the case of Tropico 6? Were program libraries, graphics and sound assets or detailed information about the function of the economic system, which was used in the predecessor, also transferred to the new development studio Limbic Entertainment?

Martin Tosta: Technically and asset-wise Tropico 6 is a complete overhaul of the franchise. The basic gameplay-ideas and -mechanics, as well as the setting, stayed the same. But anything else was rebuilt. As Limbic is using a new engine and we wanted a fresh start for the franchise nearly all the assets had to be done completely anew. Also, the AI and new features had to be built from scratch. Now every Tropican is simulated what was skipped in the previous installments of the franchise. So, I would guess more than 95% had to be built by Limbic.

The exchange between departments of publisher and developer help not just for mutual understanding and speed up development processes.

Making Games: Were previous assets even relevant for the development of Tropico 6 or were all content created from scratch?

Martin Tosta: All assets were basically done anew. Of course, previous art assets were a reference to Limbic. But rather in basic style and a benchmark to overcome and do better when it comes to creating the style of “Caribbean Romanticism” we are aiming for with Tropico.

Making Games: Which technical capabilities of the Unreal Engine 4 are particularly exciting in relation to Tropico 6 and which advantages does the Unreal Engine 4 offer over the Haemimont Engine used in Tropico 5?

Martin Tosta: UE4 allows for much bigger playing fields due to its performance. Foliage, the lighting system and other details like particle effects especially for smoke and other details now look very lifelike and the overall graphics quality are superb. There are quite a few advantages that UE4 brings to the table. Another big advantage is that we can adapt pretty quickly to other platforms like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One without having to rewrite most of the code.

Making Games: Limbic Entertainment has already gained experience with the Unreal Engine. Was this perhaps a reason to hire the German studio to develop Tropico 6?

Martin Tosta: Among others, yes. Of course, their experience with the Unreal Engine is a good thing. But also they are a long lasting studio. When we started working with them they were already 15 years in the business as an independent studio. And that in Germany, which is known to not be a favorable place to have a studio especially of that size! One of the other reasons was the easy access: Langen, the town where Limbic Entertainment is situated, is just about an hour drive away, plus there is no language barrier, which helps to communicate.

Making Games: Did the Unreal Engine and development tools have to be adapted first to meet the team‘s needs, or does the Unreal Engine 4 framework package already include all the tools needed to develop Tropico 6?

Martin Tosta: Yes, the engine and the development tools had to be tweaked to create a city builder like Tropico. We mostly had to optimize it for handling the big number of simulated Tropicans. They all have their needs and behaviours, resulting in unique decisions that they take. What this means is that we constantly need to calculate decisions for them and the paths that result from those. Additionally, being able to animate so many of them while they walk from A to B or display some specific animations when they are interacting with a building or with each other, was also something we needed to spend a lot of time on because of the impact it initially had on the game’s performance. That being said, Unreal provided us with many tools out of the box that made the creation of some parts of the game much easier. Especially level designers benefited from that. For instance, the lighting system allowed us to find the right setting very quickly and the tools for landscape editing and mission scripting were also very helpful. What this led to is that we were able to produce maps rather quickly and therefore have 30 unique and beautiful maps on launch.

Scripting in the name of: Pathfinding and AI are most important for a believable living world and need to be refined time after time.

Making Games: Are there other development tools besides the framework package of Unreal Engine 4 and if so, can you tell our readers which additional tools are used?

Martin Tosta: We used a couple of additional development tools for Tropico 6: Wwise for audio. 3DS Max/Maya for 3D asset creation and editing. Substance painter for working on textures. World Machine for generating maps. MemoQ for localization. Photon for multiplayer matchmaking. Lots Tropican mojitos, coffee, cigars, and chocolate to keep everyone on the development team happy and motivated.

Making Games: Is a release of Tropico 6 on the Epic Games Store planned to take advantage of the higher margins granted there on Unreal Engine games?

Bernd Berheide: Our focus with the PC version is Steam, other platforms like the Epic Games Store are very interesting alternatives that we will discuss in the future.

Martin Tosta (M.A.) is Producer for Tropico 6 at Publisher Kalypso Media in the Headquarter in Worms and in direct contact with Developer Limbic Entertainment to make sure the game will be the best in the series so far.

Bernd Berheide (M.A.) is Head of PR at Kalypso Media in Worms. Before his role at Kalypso, he started in the industry as a games journalist and worked in communication at Infogrames/ATARI as well as CDV and as a freelancer for e.g. Deutsche Telekom or Samsung Mobile.

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