#ive never played an mmorpg before though

[chekovsphaser]

Watched Tennocon Live yesterday bc my brother is a developer at DE and I wanted to know what he was working on. Genuinely no idea what the fuck was going on 90% of the time but I enjoyed it. Genuinely considering starting to play Warframe, it looked really interesting.

[writingmoth]

writing with "vibes" in mind is completely underrated tbh

ive thinking a lot about this bc ive playing a lot of games that use vibes to tell the story/to make gameplay moments stand out. and listen, i know games =\= books, but!!! i think it has merit.

under read more bc it got rambly. its just me wondering aloud about ways to write.

example 1: ffxiv, a fantasy mmorpg that relies HEAVILY on story. it's been out for more than 10 years, so the story is huuuuuuge (i spent like a month and a half just catching up when i started playing two years ago). there are callbacks to the base game in a expansion that came out 9 years after said base game. it makes the whole thing feel like a expertly drawn web of plotlines and characters... except that isn't that case at all. the writers have mentioned multiple times that things that happened in the third expansion (6 years in) weren't planned from the beginning. that is, they just threw paint at the wall back in the base game bc the colors (vibes) looked cool. they just had enough skill to make a painting out of it later.

i guess having a good grasp of your story's themes helps a lot with that, too, now that i think about it. it assures that the colors are at least complimentary when you are slinging them about at the start of the story.

example 2: destiny, which is a completely different game. destiny doesnt use story the same way ffxiv does, though it is important (somewhat)... but lore is where the vibes come in to play for destiny imo. they do so much with so little. still using the painting analogy, it's almost like negative space art - they fill in just enough to give you an idea of the figure but not nearly as much as you would need to discern the details. and still the world feels vast. most of the time you are shooting aliens while wielding space magic, but every weapon, gear, etc has its own lore piece, and whole plotlines/characters that never show up in game or in the main story can be told through them. it's basically just vibes - aesthetic, some character moments, letters/logs, etc. and it works! the world feels lived in, most of the characters are well defined and even though sometimes the main story kinda drags, there is enough to keep you interested.

(it kinda reminds me of how i write description, which i've talked about before, but for the lucky ones who don't follow my rambling nonsense on this blog: i have a lot of trouble visualizing places or people when writing (or reading tbh) so i usually use a lot of atmosphere and emotion to mask the fact that i have no fucking clue what this very important place/person looks like. )

there are cons and pros to this approach. by being so vague and focusing on small bits that seem an ocean apart, the game gives just enough for the player to fill in the blanks themselves. that is good, because then the player is more likely to fill said blanks with stuff they like. it ends up being more of collaborative effort - and i'm sure the writers behind the game use the players' "headcanons" as some sort of thermometer for what/how to write next. so its writers and players feeding off each other's ideas in a way.

buuuuut.... it can also be pretty bad. you risk never committing to a vision or plotline by writing like this. nothing is ever set in stone. retconning, which isn't bad by itself, can happen way too much to be acceptable. if something can end up being anything, what is the point of it existing anyway? why should you care if the spine behind isn't well formed enough to carry the story later?

another danger is that the actual canon and the player's canon can end up being way too different in the end. maybe you meant to write the story this way... but the player filled the blanks just differently enough that "this way" ends up being unsatisfying and wrong.

but the biggest problem, for me, is risking never getting a proper resolution. since so many story moments and worldbuilding elements end up coming from "vibes", you risk relying way too much on the rule of cool.... which sets up a lot of stuff, usually, but never concludes them. that's also my biggest problem with asoiaf, for example - so much of that series is about building up tension, foreshadowing certain battles or encounters or whatever... that the payoff is almost never there (which is only made worse by the loooong time between book releases). it gets to a point that nothing the author comes up with will satisfy what the reader is expecting of the story.

"vibes" (or themes & aesthetics if you will) do a wonderful job of touching a reader's (or player's) strings with imagery, emotion and promise. but whatever comes from it needs to be tied up into an actual storyline (most of the time, at least). ffxiv managed to pull it off with its last two expansions but destiny stumbled a bit with its last one. players were expecting SO much of lightfall after the expansion before it, witch queen, since it managed to nail both vibes and plot. witch queen and the seasons (kind of episodes) after it setup SO much stuff. it promised a lightfall that would be an explosion - a much waited confrontation between the players and the villain, answers given, mysteries solved... and it did nothing of the sort. confusion and anger soon followed.

which is to say... vibes can be very helpful when you pause to interrogate why they interest you so much. why do you like this particular aesthetic, this imagery, this turn of phrase? some elements just pull you in and its fine to go and write a chapter or scene that is basically just you going "wow this is SO cool" even though you have no clear idea why. it's just the vibes it gives. it just presses your right buttons.

... but you will need to wrap them up into something coherent eventually. and for writers i think it's easier - usually "later" just means "once the first draft is done" aka "no one but your trusted betas will ever have to glance at this mess". for live service games like ffxiv or destiny - or even regular rpgs like dragon age or mass effect - it can be very dangerous. writers come and go. turns out that vibes-fuelled story point someone cleared for release 4 years ago doesn't make sense after all! and yeah, hyping up certain characters and plot elements seemed like a great idea for player retention 6 months ago, but what the hell do we do now?

it's too late - the players have already played the thing, they have VERY strong emotions about the thing and they are waiting impatiently for you make the resolution of said thing awesome. and you've got no clue of how to meet said expectations.

(having said all that, i do believe authors can all fall prey to this in non-standalone works too. but we usually have the ability/autonomy to make hard decisions, which video game writers of huge ips like destiny/ffxiv/dragon age/etc usually don't have.)

and of course, using vibes can go very wrong in other ways. you know the negative art destiny does with its worldbuilding/characters? i think books can go way too hard in the opposite direction. i felt this way when reading stuff like acotar, for example. the story wanted to give me certain vibes BADLY, because vibes work!, but i could see right through it (and this is my opinion!) and there was no meat below the all the fanfarre.

sometimes your characters just havent earned the cool/interesting moments.

anyway!! tldr: ive been thinking a lot about just going with the vibes for my wip and i think that's a pretty neat idea actually!! sometimes tending to your darlings can lead to interesting realizations about your story's themes that you otherwise would not notice by being too stuck to rigid plotting and too much rationalization (does it advance the plot? is this scene truly necessary? how is this developing the main character? etc) - but only when you interrogate them enough to find that out and use this newfound knowledge to enhance the story in a revision/another draft.

[liketheinferno2]

hi ive been meaning to ask, do you think ff14 would be fine to play as a ffnewbie? the online aspect worries me orz

There's plenty of love for the rest of the series in it, however playing them is NOT required, I've only played 2 others and they were weird and off the books for the series. Also, I'm not sure what part worries you, but for new players specifically, there was recently an update to the base game that allows you to play much more of it solo than was previously possible, using AI players to get a feel for it before you jump in with actual people. I've been using this extensively myself when I want to try new classes from the ground up.

The community's generally very chill and friendly for an MMORPG especially, so it's not like it was very difficult in the first place -- look around online for which world servers near you are most casual and newbie-friendly. I'm on Faerie, which is that, but also highly LGBT focused as well.

It's not the kind of game where you suffer for not being on every day and doing the Most. There's daily random tasks and stuff but while moving through the actual story, I've basically NEVER had to do them to push forward and they can't throw you into hard stuff you haven't purposefully unlocked earlier.

Only things of note are

1. It's REALLY LONG because it's been going for like 12 years, not the kind of story you can smash through if you're anything like me although I've seen people do it

2. FFnewbies might not know that final fantasy is generally pretty dark and political, to put it mildly. It doesn't pull its punches despite the set dressing of fluffy bunny people. Again, though, FFXIV slow boils you into this kind of thing instead of dunking you directly in there. I can't say I've ever felt so respected by a piece of writing before, partly because it successfully blends my heart into juice at least once a week.

3. Everyone says it's better after ARR (base game, which as far as I know cannot be purchased alone even on free trial, you always get the first expansion as a treat and can get all the way to the end of it without paying); everyone is completely correct and honest about this. But I had a lot of fun in ARR anyway. It's just like, it goes from "MMO good" to "FINAL FANTASY good" when you make that jump.

4. The music fucking honks so hard the lead composer formed a band just to make metal covers of his own OST, listen to this: [link lonk]

[deiliamedlini]

WIP Wednesday

I wrote this last night and really don’t know where I’m going with it because I wrote another section of this that’s completely different from this first part, but I’m having too much fun so this might become a long oneshot or like a two/three chapter short fic eventually. I signed into my Guild Wars account for the first time in forever to watch the chat and apparently Lion’s Arch isn’t as interesting as it used to be. Not that any of that is really relevant. 

This is Zelda and the Champions as internet friends playing a MMORPG video game called Hyrule Warriors. 

~

Zelda Harkinian loved Fridays. Not that it was a rare thing to be obsessed with the weekend, but she maybe loved it a little too much. After a week of lesson plans, and cleaning the classrooms, and sneezing students, and emails asking for an extension on a paper that wasn’t even due yet, she relished the escape the weekend provided. Granted, she still had to grade about a hundred tests, but that was a problem for Sunday or even Monday.

Smiling down at her roommate, a kitten she’d raised when she found it in the street all alone, Zelda fed her girl—whom she’d named Duchess because she had every intent of treating her like royalty—and played with her for a bit before throwing down her bag in her room and then grabbed a water and a granola bar before heading to her desk. She flipped her laptop open and booting up Hyrule Warriors, her favorite open world MMORPG.

Her internet sucked, so she grabbed her phone to aimlessly scroll to see if there was any news or updates. But it was pretty dull.

Instead, she thought back to how this whole weekend ritual began.

She’d been in a cavern just off of Death Mountain for about three days killing fire keese, lizalfos, and beamos. As a mage, her AOE skills made short work of the larger groups, hitting them all at once. It was especially useful here because her main specialties were water and light, but she struggled when boss fights came out. The NPCs weren’t great teammates, and she constantly found herself resurrecting far from the boss, only to make a long run with a health penalty that ended with her getting killed again, until her heath penalty was maxed out and she had to restart for any hope of succeeding. As a mage, her light armor made her vulnerable to physical attacks, and this boss was very physical.

Zelda didn’t like interacting with people in this game. It was massively popular, and the chat was always running. Sometimes, she’d just sit at an outpost and watch people talk. Her favorite interactions were often the random ones. She’d begun to look up the acronyms everyone used in chat just to understand them better. WTS= want to sell.

Indigo2421: WTS: Guardian Short Sword 4k rupees

Indigo2421WTS: Guardian Short Sword 4k rupees

Indigo2421WTS: Guardian Short Sword 4k rupees

Britneigh4Horses: WTS My mother. 1 rupee. Will pay postage fee.

But after her days of suffering in the lonely caverns in Death Mountain, she relented.

A quick search had her hands shaking, but she typed quickly so she couldn’t back out after she’d hit enter.

xPrincessZx: LFG Dodongo’s Cavern

Holding her breath, she’d waited in the hopes of a private message being sent to her.

One did.

(PM): ThunderstruckQueen: What missin are doing there?

(PM): ThunderstruckQueen: Mission*

(PM): xPrincessZx: I have to kill the Dodongo boss for the main story

ThunderstruckQueen would like to join your party.

Biting her nails, she’d accepted.

(PM): RockRoast12345: Still need someone?

(PM): xPrincessZx: Yes! That would be great! Thanks!

RockRoast12345 would like to join your party.

That had been how it started: A goron warrior with a Warhammer and some serious defensive moves joined as the tank to take as much damage for the team as he could stand, and a Gerudo Paladin had joined her party. Zelda was jealous of the purchase-only red hairstyle the Gerudo had for her character. She had a sword and shield, but her body flickered with elemental lightening magic. In-game purchase effects.

They’d defeated Dodongo with ease, and had gone on several missions together that day, taking down their storylines with relative ease. But they couldn’t function with the NPC healer who barely functioned at all.

So, ThunderstruckQueen had taken to the map chat and put out a request.

ThunderstruckQueen: I found someone. She’s a Zora Cleric. Level 40

RockRoast12345: Let her in! I want to get this one over with

Rutella Zoran IV would like to join your party.

After that, the four of them realized they worked so well together that they’d formed a guild. The Champions. ThunderstruckQueen paid the guild fee, bought a hall, and began decorating it with merchants, and chests. Zelda still shuddered, wondering what she did to have so many rupees ready to go. Needless to say, she made herself the leader.

Some days, they didn’t play together. Other times, only two of them were on. But on weekends, they all came together.

But it had been a Monday when Zelda played, and she’d been alone. Having already tossed her tissue box across her room in frustration, she debated making a new character with more defense, but she sucked it up and went into the Castle Town map, ready to ask for help. She couldn’t wait until she could get to be a higher level. As it was, she’d only gotten to these level 40 areas as a 32 because of Rutella.

Suddenly, a random Hylian man in green with a fancy sword and shield ran up to her and bowed. Zelda scoffed at her computer screen, unsure if she was supposed to respond.

She didn’t need to.

(PM): WildKnightOut2: Hey Princess

(PM): xPrincessZx: Hello?

(PM): WildKnightOut2: Jst wondering if u have a spare flower crown from yesterday’s festival. Missed it. Will pay

Zelda pulled up her inventory, forgetting she was still wearing her flower crown from the Flower Fest. It must have been what tipped him off. In fact, she had four spares.

(PM): zPrincessZx:  Yeah, I do. Come to the chest and I’ll trade.

(PM): WildKnightOut2: Thx

She’d never done a trade with anyone who wasn’t in her guild, so she’d felt nervous running to grab it.

(PM): WildKnightOut2: How much u want?

(PM): xPrincessZx: Actually, I’ll give it to you free if you’re willing to help me with a quest? Or 10k.

WildKnightOut2 would like to join your party.

She accepted and watched his character appear in the corner of her screen.

WildKnightOut2: That’s a rip off, btw. Crowns are with 15k at least. Don’t undersell

xPrincessZx: Thanks. I didn’t realize. I’m still kind of new.

WildKnightOut2: Howd u get out here then?

xPrincessZx: I had a run from a friend in my guild.

WildKnightOut2: Got room for a warrior in there?

Zelda introduced him to the other Champions when they’d signed back on, and after a few weeks, Zelda had leveled up enough that she didn’t need to constantly rely on a teammate. But still. She liked Wild the best after ThunderstruckQueen.

They’d brought in a Rito Ranger named TheBestYouveNeverMet, which immediately set Wild off.

(PM): WildKnightOut2: should I aggro a group over so he has to fight them for us?

(PM): xPrincessZx: No! Don’t do that! I’ll get sent over to deal with them!

(PM): xPrincessZx: HEY! I SEE YOU ON THE MAP!

(PM): xPrincessZx: WILD GET BACK TO THE GROUP

On the mini-map, she saw a hoard of red coming at them and rolled her eyes before joining TheBest to kill them with area attacks. Rutella stayed back to heal them, but Thunder and Rock both continued on, unfazed.

ThunderstruckQueen: Wild you’re an idiot

But that was then. This was now.

They’d been together for months as a guild, and now, the six of them knew how the others worked.

If Wild or TheBest took off on their own, no one would follow. They’d both been killed numerous times in an attempt to piss the other off. Zelda had learned to stay with Thunder and Rock. Rutella flitted between running back to revive the idiots, or sticking with the smarter members while letting them heal on their own.

(PM): WildKnightOut2: u wound me

Zelda chuckled, but he wasn’t done.

(PM): WildKnightOut2: After all ive done for u

(PM): WildKnightOut2: u leave me to die

(PM): xPrincessZx: Don’t run off next time

It was a Wednesday when she and Wild were playing alone, so they freely used party chat for ease. She’d surpassed his level, and towered as a 93 while he was an 87.

WildKnightOut2: Hang on. Fuzzball wants food

Zelda stared at his character on her screen, wondering if he looked anything like that avatar. Blonde hair, muscular, piercing blue eyes. She’d made her character look like herself, so it wasn’t hard to imagine others had. Plus, he was the only Hylian. She highly doubted that RockRoast12345 was actually a giant rock-man, or that Rutella Zoran IV was a short fish lady.

She knew everything about these people except their names, faces, and voices.

She knew that ThunderstruckQueen was a single mother who called her daughter Ri on chat. She was a chief of police, and had a few hundred of her force to look out for. Still, she wanted to quit soon to join the military reserve forces now that her daughter was getting older. Devoted and loyal, Thunder occasionally snapped when everyone would start fighting with each other, though it was usually directed at TheBest and Wild, the annoyance sometimes extended out to others.

She knew that RockRoast12345 was older than all of them and had a young grandson. He’d bonded with Thunder over their children at first, and then, without meaning to, they became the parents of the group. Recently, Rock had retired from working as a supervisor in a mine, and gaming had become his way of relieving some of that boredom. But he told the best stories when they were idling around, just stories about anything, and they were always captivating. Also, he was afraid of dogs.

She knew that Rutella Zoran IV was the daughter of a politician. She cared for her little brother like he was her own, and sometimes, he took control of her character, proudly revealing that his real name was Sidon. She was in school to be a doctor, and that made her family prouder than anything. She lived and breathed for her family.

TheBestYouveNeverMet was a pilot. His schedule was the most hectic out of everyone’s because of the flights, but he was sarcastic to the core, and sometimes, the sarcasm was simply rude and definitely didn’t translate well over chat. He was superior, and since he’d been playing the game longest, he thought it entitled him to make more decisions. But Zelda knew from her private conversations with him that deep down, he was sweet and caring. He’d always be the first to ask her how her day was, and he’d learned some of her students’ names to ask if they’d been nuisances.

But Zelda spent the most time talking to WildKnightOut2, so she knew the most about him. At first, they’d bonded over the fact that they both had cats. His was called Fuzzball, an orange, fat cat that needed to exercise more. He’d tried to leash him, but Fuzz wasn’t interested. Sometimes, Fuzz would crawl over the keys, send Wild running, and send chat a long stream of letters.

He was funny and made comments in her private chat while they were playing that had her roaring at times.

He was a rock-climbing instructor and in his free time, he was a free solo climber. When she’d looked it up, she’d been horrified to see that he basically climbed mountains without a harness or ropes, and a fall could kill him. She’d asked if he was good at it, or just did it for fun, and his answer had been an ambiguous “yes.”

She knew about his family. He didn’t live near them, but he kept in contact with his grandparents, his father, and his little sister.

WildKnightOut2: k back. Where we going princess?

xPrincessZx: I need to farm for new armor out in the Haunted Wasteland. Do you need to do anything?

WildKnightOut2: I need to help u farm in the haunted wasteland. What do you need?

xPrincessZx: 10 Rubies

WildKnightOut2: damn ok I have 2 u can have so u only need 8

xPrincessZx: Thanks. How’d that party go last night?

WildKnightOut2: Sucked

xPrincessZx: Cool details

WildKnightOut2: If ud been there, ud have hated it

xPrincessZx: Why?

WildKnightOut2: Bunch of self-absorbed idiots. Like TheBest is

xPrincessZx: Lol. He’s not that bad.

WildKnightOut2: if u say so

They headed into the Wasteland looking for red poes that had rare drops for rubies. She and Wild took out a few groups before they started to struggle. Neither could play and talk at the same time fast enough to warn the other that something was happening, and they both ended up at the shrine of resurrection more times than they cared to admit.

xPrincessZx: Hey Wild. This might sound weird, but do you have that gaming app where we could just maybe voice chat?

xPrincessZx: Unless you’re not comfortable with that. We can invite the others, and when we play together, and it would probably make life a thousand times easier

xPrincessZx: But it’s okay if you don’t want to

WildKnightOut2: yeah I have it

Oh, Zelda thought to herself. That was easy.

xPrincessZx: Do you want to add me? I have the same name

She watched her phone like it was food in the microwave, only occasionally glancing at her computer to see if Wild had sent her another message. She drummed her fingers and her leg started to bounce until her screen lit up.

WildKnight has sent you a friend request.

She hastily hit accept and grabbed her headphones from the drawer before typing into her phone.

xPrincessZx: Your name is missing a few things here.

WildKnight: Yeah HW already had someone with this name so I added on

xPrincessZx: The meaning completely changes

WildKnight: which do you like better?

Zelda froze, unable to make her fingers type. Was he flirting? Was that how people flirted online? She was really good at reading body language cues, and that was always how she knew someone was flirting. But this? There was no context! How was she supposed to know?

xPrincessZx: Which fits your personality more?

That was a safe way of getting out of answering while still sounding maybe like she was flirting. Right?

WildKnight: this one

Zelda’s face warmed up and she put her head in her hands, unsure how to respond. How does she respond to that? What if he wasn’t flirting? What if he was.

[tiredrobin-scooted]

arthur headcanons (w some general trio ones) evn tho nobody asked. it’s long. talk to me about them if u want. 

i just feel like rambling with a mild aim, so. claps hands together. lesgo

he has ocd

he hoards items as a result, and he doesn’t like people touching his things. throwing stuff away is hard. he has methods of managing it, tactics that help when he knows he needs to reduce clutter, but it’s still difficult.

one of his personal rituals involves the pins on his jacket. he checks them frequently throughout the day to make sure they haven’t fallen off. when he washes his jacket, he has to put the pins in the exact same spot (the holes there are worn open and visible, which makes it much easier). he has a specific pattern when he checks them too, & he jokes that its like those games where u have to hit the buttons in the same pattern that they light up in

violent intrusive thoughts central, babey! often coupled w graphic imagery. hes having a great time! love it

also like. anxiety and depression

sighs. and insomnia. he cant sleep! especially in unfamiliar environments. and he has to turn things “away” or else he feels watched (which i think is from his ocd)

SIGHS. and adhd, while we’re at it. infodumping hours are the best bc vivi and lewis are very good listeners even when they have no idea what hes talking about. (and vivi, although not inclined towards mechanics and robotics, is good at asking questions that help push the conversation forward. lewis has a tougher time but he makes up for it in attentiveness)

he doesnt medicate because finding meds that dont exacerbate other aspects is difficult. he had a therapist for a good while, though, after uncle lance took him in, so he has a lot of different methods of helping himself

and he has rly supportive, understanding friends who also have their own mental and physical issues so it’s like. they get it. Everyone Gets It.

hes a gamer...... 

he likes puzzle games a lot, but rpgs are usually what he plays

not that he plays them OFTEN because turns out he has 20 other projects to work on (haha what do i mean im projecting. dont talk to me.)

also trans??? hes dfab binary trans guy

he didn’t make, like, robo-prosthesis himself, those existed before his amputation, but when he was fitted with his own he either built the whole thing from scratch or he totally revamped the one he got

he has a shoulder port and actually, he’s decided, it SUCKS,

if he isn’t careful about the weather, the metal will freeze or heat up and i mean. you can imagine the consequences

rapid changes in weather and pressure causes pain

phantom limb pain in general is just here. and he

is tired

also hes bi, and poly, and

laughs

but yeah. i hc hes been on t for.... a while? but i have a side hc where he hasnt been on t purely because i get really shitty cramps and im projecting those onto him. u cant stop me. 

and now..... some (more) vivi, and also some lewis stuff, and actually just a buncha general stuff

lewis joins arthur in the depression club. they high five about it

vivi is also trans! shes hella nonbinary. still uses she/her, but like. .. .

shes nb. mayyyybe genderfluid btwn Woman and a smattering of nb identities. i havent made up my mind yet

all of them actually have adhd, ive decided just now. all three of them. its party town, its infodump hours, no one can stop them and no one can stop me,

lewis and arthur bond over puzzle games. they all play mystery games when the desire hits

vivi almost ALWAYS gets first in mario kart. shes just too good

arthur kicks butt at super smash bros tho and can usually win

lewis’s strong suit isnt really fighting-based games. he likes exploration and socializing. theres probably an mmorpg they all play together

vivi is the fighter, arthurs the spellcaster, and lewis is the combination alchemist/healer

theyve probably played dungeons and dragons. i can see them sitting in the back of the van on late nights out, trying to play but devolving into conversations about enemy logistics or game mechanics or like. something entirely unrelated

lewis deserves his own section to discuss this in greater detail but he came from a wealthy/royal background. i have evidence to back this up. i have no idea if other people have thought of this

hes VERY bi

lewis is the mom friend, except he runs himself into the ground caring about other people so much so that vivi and arthur actively have to work to get him to relax and take time for himself. its a lot of work! he just wants to make sure everyone else is taken care of, “which is lovely, lewis, really,” vivi assures. “but you really need to look out for yourself too, y’know,” arthur pipes up.

like you either gang up on him or it just isnt going to work. hes full of love and a desperate need to prove himself

wheezes. he and arthur bond over abandonment issues

ok if i dont stop i will actually never stop, so. folds hands. thanks for listening.

[osmw1]

Dimension Wave   Chapter 11 — The Second City

—Ilphy, The Second City

“So, are you the brother of Tsugumi?”

After the hunt, we went to the second city as it was close by. Then, while I was in the middle of splitting up today’s bounty, Shouko interjected with a ‘Perhaps, are you…’ about me and Tsugumi. It’s obvious, eh? Our names, I mean.

“Ah, yeah. She wasn’t a bother or anything to you, was she?” “Not at all. She is a spirited and wonderful girl. We might not have been able to unlock the city without her help in the fight. I cannot thank her enough.” “Oh, I’m glad then. When Tsugumi games, she can get a little carried away. We might meet her some time again, so don’t take it to heart if she rubs you the wrong way.”

I thought they just had fought together as allies, but apparently, they’re acquaintances. Shouko had seen her hunting quite a few times before, so maybe Tsugumi might know of Shouko as well.

Anyway, back to the items. If there’s no need or greed system in an MMO, then obviously, someone has to distribute the wealth to the party. There are even some games that randomly gives the items to each party member. Dimension Wave uses a system that I’m familiar with. But unfortunately, we didn’t get any rare items, so I just send her half of the bounty through the trade window.

“I apologize for putting you through all this trouble.” “Whatcha talkin’ about? I was totally relying on you in combat. This ain’t nothin’ in comparison.” “Well, then, you have my gratitude. This small fortune is all thanks to you.” “It’s worth partying up just to hear that from you.”

Thank you, gutting weapons. Speaking of which, as promised earlier, we decided to never mention anything about how the gutting weapons work. You never know who’s listening in. Still, for any other MMO, there would be strategy guides for FAQs online, so I’m sure it’s available somewhere already. But, don’t forget the “second life” aspect of Dimension Wave.

“Whatcha gonna do now, Shouko?” “Let me see. It has been two hours since, so I shall allocate my Mana then go out again. Would you care to join me?”

I had forgotten about it until she mentioned it. I always forget to spend my Mana. Lemme take a good look at my status since I so rarely open it up. Not to mention, Energy and Mana are both so important to us Spirits.

“Hmm… the sun’s setting soon, so is there a particular reason why you’re going?” “There is a place that is only available from eight—rather, from 20:00 till the morning. It is tremendously efficient, Energy-wise.” “I see… if you’re alright with me holding you back, then I’ll take up your offer.” “It would be my pleasure to go together.”

After a short break, we headed out for another hunt. Before I forget, I open up my status screen. It’d be a pain if I forget to use my Mana.

Name/ Kizuna†Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 19,740 Mana/ 1,650 Serin/ 109,230

Skills/ Energy Production VIII, Mana Production V, Fishing Mastery IV, Gutting Mastery III, Transmutation I

Unlocked Skills/ Energy Production IX, Mana Production VI, Fishing Mastery V, Night Vision I, Helmsmanship I, Naval Combat I, Cleaver I, Speed Gutting I

I’ve got seven skills that I haven’t acquired yet. Helmsmanship and Naval Combat isn’t even worth my time looking at it. Night Vision does exactly what it says on the tin. It would be useful for fighting in the dark. I needed to be active for more than 24 hours at night to unlock it. The remaining two weren’t there yesterday, which means I unlocked them today. Let’s see what they do…

Cleaver I The basic offensive skill for gutting-type weapons. Deal additional damage when severing bones or joints. Consumes 50 Energy per use. Costs 200 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Defeat 100 or more enemies with gutting-type weapons. Upgrade requirement: Defeat 500 or more enemies with gutting-type weapons.

Speed Gutting I A self-buff to gutting-type weapons. For a set duration, grants a self-buff to shorten the required time for gutting. Consumes 100 Energy per use. Costs 300 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Gut 100 or more enemies with gutting-type weapons. Upgrade requirement: Gut 500 or more enemies with gutting-type weapons.

Looks like they’re both skills to be used in combat or out in action. Cleaver is obviously a combat skill and I could even say it’s necessary for battle. It’s always been Shouko activating offensive skills and using her Energy up. Gotta thank her for that later.

Back on topic, I need Speed Gutting too, don’t I? The biggest problem of today’s hunt was the downtime when I’m gutting. Shouko has no choice but to just loiter around. I’ve got no choice to do it considering the money we make from the items, so this skill will help us out, even if only a little. Of course, it’d be useful for solo play too since it would suck to get attacked in the middle of gutting. Yeah, this is necessary.

I acquire the two skills without any hesitation. Luckily, I don’t need to worry about getting both skills since they expend Energy each time they’re activated instead of being a constant Energy drain. It costed me a bit of Mana, but I don’t have enough for any other skills that I want right now anyway. Still, having Energy taking on the role of MP—like it says so in the manual—is pretty great.

I can use my skills as long as I have enough Energy. Having that said though, the less Energy I have, the less effective I would be. It’d be best to avoid recklessly burn my skills. We Spirits really do have to be cautious when in combat. According to Shouko’s experiences, every bit adds up and quickly makes you weaker. Having a large amount of Energy means a lot of HP, so not only would it be natural that we’d be good at tanking bosses, but also be very versatile because of our endurance and attack. The bad part is that we can only expend so much of it. That’s the one bottleneck of the system. Should you be thrifty with your Energy? Should you be extravagant? Well, that’s really the question, isn’t it?

“Now then, since we’re here at the second city, let’s fish at the river until it’s time.

“Sorry I’m late.”

I bumped into an acquaintance along the way and lost track of time. Of course, I already let Shouko know I was going to be a little late, but late is late.

“Oh, no problem at all. Did you run into problems?” “Nah, I ran into an acquaintance is all. I got her use her cooking skills for me though.”

It’s the same girl who I met through Alto. She told me to hit her up when I go fishing. I gave her three fish in exchange for her time cooking.

“A cook, is she?” “Yeah. Here, as an apology for being late. I’ve got sweetfish and trout, both salt-grilled. Which will it be?” “I shall have… the trout.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Shouko received her trout. Though, sweetfish and trout are in season at fairly different times. Since this is a game, I guess time of year doesn’t matter when catching your freshwater fish. Anyway, putting that aside, I asked around for advice since we were going for a night battle.

“I asked around a little earlier, but is there anything we have to prepare for this? I’ve mentioned it already, but I don’t have much experience in fights. That means that I don’t know much about rules and stuff at whatever hunting ground.” “Right… well, I have brought our light source with me, so we shall be fine on that front. Oh, do you have a coat of some kind, Kizuna? It gets a little chilly at night, so it would not hurt to bring one along.”

While she’s speaking to me, Shouko clasps her hand together to thank me for the trout.

“A coat? No, I don’t have one, I’m afraid.” “In that case, would you like to use one of my old ones? It is a little worn down however. It does confer bonus resistance to cold and, according to current findings, that means it keeps the wearer warmer for longer.” “Can I really?” “Of course. Since I no longer wear it, it has simply been taking up space.”

Then, Shouko sends over a large kimono-style jacket via the chat window. It’s named the “Powder Snow Haori”. It grants a slight cold resistance effect as well as provides defense. Though it looks light, it’s actually got some heft to it. The coat might make me a little sluggish wearing it. I’ll only equip it when it’s cold then.

“Does it look okay on me, even though I’m wearing rather Western-looking clothes underneath?”

I put on the haori and ask for her thoughts. As I mentioned, I’m wearing a black dress called a “Geist Dress”. I chose it because it the simplest thing I could make with the best stats, though it looks quite gothic lolita.

It seems to be exclusive equipment for Spirits as well. The bonus effect on it lowers Energy damage taken. You can’t get effects like this with anything other than clothing, so it makes gutting weapons all the worse. Looking around, you’ll see guys in light armor with a short sword strapped to their hip. I’m sure one of the reasons why not many people use gutting weapons is because they don’t grant much defense. Well, you’d also likely use gutting weapons for crafting, so there’s another reason why.

“If I dare be frank, it fits you better than I had thought it would have. You have quite a fantastical feel to your style.” “Better than you’d thought…? But, thanks. I’ll take good care of it.”

Even if I don’t look good in it, the stats are too good to pass up on. That much is common in an MMORPG.

“Where are we going anyway? Well, not like I’ve been there before, but we might have a better time fighting if we knew what we’re up against.” “You have a point. We shall be going to the Forest of Eternal Darkness, somewhere that can only be accessed at night. Our main target shall be Darkness Lizardmen in there—”

To summarize her explanation, we’re going to a Darkness Lizardmen hot spot where we’ll do well farming Energy. However, the bastard sword–wielding Darkness Lizardmen are both strong in physical and magical attacks, so they’re not exactly easy either. That’s a reason why rarely do people ever step foot in the forest unless they properly spec their skills for it.

Normally, you’d need someone proficient in shields, but we’ve got high enough Energy levels. As well, not only can her folding fan can attack and defend, but it’s very effective at destroying the Darkness Lizardmen’s weapons. That’s why Shouko has chosen the Forest of Eternal Darkness. It makes for a great spot to farm and it’s even doable solo for her.

“Are you okay with me and my gutting weapons? I’ve been told that they’re not all that useful. I’m afraid I’d just be leeching off of you.”

Well, pretty much leeching off her now already, but still. I like to think that I do pretty good damage with my gutting weapons though.

“You still have that going for you. There is no way you would not be useful, Kizuna.” “I see, that, huh?”

Of course, she’s talking about gutting. Seeing how we’re going to somewhere not many go, the drops from the monsters there should fatten up our wallets a bit. I could even use Transmutation on it, so it’s not like I’ve got no choices either.

“Then I’ll be counting on you from here on out.” “Likewise to you.”

And then right after, in this very conspicuous spot, she bows deeply to me.

contents: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /ch007/ /ch008/ /ch009/ /ch010/ /ch011/ /next/

(please support me on Patreon or Paypal)

[aion-rsa]

Best PC Games to Play in 2021

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We’re entering a golden age for PC gaming. The next generation of graphics cards are capable of pumping out 4K graphics and high FPS on almost any big name release, and real-time raytracing is taking graphics to new heights that weren’t possible just a couple years ago.

Add in Sony bringing more PlayStation ports to the PC and nearly every Xbox exclusive making its way to PCs as well, and a high-end gaming computer looks to be the definitive way to play almost anything over the next few years.

The following is a list of the most anticipated games coming to home computers this year. While release dates are always flexible, these are only titles that have already been released or officially confirmed for 2021.

Back 4 Blood

June 22 | Turtle Rock Studios

Despite persistent rumors of a third Left 4 Dead game entering development, it’s been more than a decade since Valve has released a new entry in the beloved co-op zombie series. Enter Turtle Rock Studios, the studio behind the original Left 4 Dead game, with a spiritual successor, Back 4 Blood.

By all accounts, Back 4 Blood plays a lot like Left 4 Dead. There are safe rooms, tons of melee weapons, an AI director who constantly changes things up, and zombies. Lots and lots of zombies. But there will also be perk cards that add interesting perks and buffs to the experience, making each playthrough unique. If Back 4 Blood can capture the spirit of the original Left 4 Dead, it should be fantastic.

Chivalry 2

June 8 | Torn Banner Studios

Chivalry was once considered one of the PC’s premier multiplayer titles. Could the sequel follow in its footsteps? We’ll find out pretty soon when Chivalry 2 launches exclusively on the Epic Games Store. According to Torn Banner Studios, the sequel aims to deliver combat that’s deep enough to keep players interested for awhile, yet easy for newcomers to pick up for the first time. 

The latest gameplay videos show off lots of brutal medieval melee combat, with battlefields absolutely drenched in blood after a few minutes of 64 players hacking away at each other. This should be on your must-buy list in June!

Deathloop

May 21 | Arkane Studios

The best way to describe Deathloop is Hitman meets Groundhog Day. You play as Colt, an assassin stuck on a mysterious island, who must take out eight targets before midnight. If you die or fail to eliminate all targets, the day resets, and you’ll have to start all over again. And all the while you’re also being hunted by Julianna Blake, a rival assassin who doesn’t want you breaking the time loop. She can be controlled by either the AI or another player.

Arkane has a great track record when it comes to unique first-person games like Prey and the Dishonored series. If Deathloop’s heady concept can hold up, it could be another home run for the developer. 

Diablo 2: Resurrected

TBA | Vicarious Visions

While Diablo III’s reputation has improved substantially since its controversial 2012 launch, there’s still a vocal group of gamers who prefer the second game in Blizzard’s genre-defining action RPG series. Knowing how much this game means to a lot of people, Vicarious Visions has said it’s not out to reinvent the wheel for Resurrected. The updated 3D graphics will display in 4K, but you can switch back to the original graphics at any point with the press of a button.

And while there will be some quality of life improvements like a shared item stash and automatic gold pickup, don’t expect any revolutionary changes that will spoil the original experience. This should be exactly what we need to tide us over until Diablo IV hits.

Evil Genius 2: World Domination

March 30 | Rebellion Developments

It’s taken 17 years to get a sequel to the criminally underrated Evil Genius, but it’s finally here. If you never had the pleasure of playing the original, imagine being a James Bond villain and managing your own secret lair to build a weapon of mass destruction and eventually take over the world. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.

World Domination promises to be a bigger and better sequel. You’ll be able to pick from four different evil geniuses at the start of the game and one of three islands. Each minion in your lair now has their own personality and traits, so you’ll have to use them more strategically than ever to prevent the Forces of Justice from foiling your evil plans.

Far Cry 6

TBA | Ubisoft

Far Cry 6 was originally supposed to be out by now, but development has slowed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s still expected to be out in 2021, though. According to Ubisoft, the theme of the game is revolution against an oppressive government, with substantial research going into how and why revolutions are fought to better develop the game’s setting and story.

Ubisoft certainly picked the right actor to lead an oppressive government, with Breaking Bad and Mandalorian villain Giancarlo Esposito portraying the nefarious “El Presidente” who we’ll be looking to topple later this year. 

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker

TBA | Square Enix

After one of the worst MMORPG launches ever, it’s a miracle that Final Fantasy XIV is still around a decade later. Not only did Square Enix turn things around, this game is now regarded as one of the very best in the genre.

Endwalker, the game’s fourth major expansion pack will conclude the story of the warring gods Hydaelyn and Zodiark, which has been running since the game’s 2013 relaunch. This won’t be the end of the MMO, though. Square still says it has several years worth of stories to tell.

Along with the obligatory new zones and quests, Square has promised two new classes. The first one shown so far, the sage, is a healer who battles with floating swords. 

Guilty Gear Strive 

April 9 | Arc System Works

The Guilty Gear series has never quite received the same attention as fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, but the franchise has quietly earned a reputation as a technically sound alternative for the competitive fighting game community.

The footage of Guilty Gear Strive released so far looks stunning. Arc has perfected the 3D polygonal character on a 2D plane, and the gameplay promises to be more accessible than ever, with the addition of a new dash button and a “wall-stick hit-state” which allows characters knocked into walls to slide down and continue fighting back.

Halo Infinite

TBA | 343 Industries

Halo may be Microsoft’s flagship franchise, but it’s always had a complicated relationship with the PC, with entries only being ported years after their initial release on Xbox (if at all). Halo Infinite will be the first mainline entry in the series to show up on both console and PC at launch, and it’s currently expected some time in the fall.

Halo Infinite’s public unveiling last year didn’t quite go as planned, with footage receiving a rather frosty reception from most fans. There are a lot of rumors of development troubles online, but Microsoft has a good track record of pulling its Halo games together in time for release, so hopefully we’ll end up with another classic game in the series later this year.

Hitman 3

January 20 | IO Interactive

Hitman 3 makes murder fun. Yes, there’s a lot of murder in video games, but true to its namesake, Hitman is more about the setup than the execution. No other franchise has perfected the thrill of expertly sneaking into an area, tracking down a target, and setting up an unfortunate “accident” to get away unscathed. Or just go in guns blazing like a maniac if that’s your kind of thing.

With Hitman 3, you can even import levels from the previous two games to get the full “World of Assassination” experience, but expect further updates throughout the year, including ray tracing. 

Humankind

April 22 | Amplitude Studios

As popular as the Civilization series has become over the last three decades, it’s surprising that few developers have been up to the challenge of developing a competitor to Sid Meier’s classic creation. Humankind could be up to the task, though. You’ll lead your civilization across six different eras of human history, selecting one of 10 different civilizations in each era. You can handle relations with other societies diplomatically, but if that goes south, combat is handled as a tactical RPG.

Developer Amplitude Studios has been dipping its toes into the 4X genre over the last decade with the well-received Endless Space and Endless Legend, and now the team are looking to apply everything they’ve learned from those games into Humankind.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

May 14 | BioWare

Gamers have been clamoring for a re-release of the Mass Effect trilogy for years, and the Legendary Edition looks to exceed expectations. All three games will support 4K resolution, higher frame rates, and new graphical effects. The original Mass Effect in particular has seen a number of improvements akin to a partial remake, with improved combat, re-tooled enemy AI, and a faster Mako vehicle for traversing the Milky Way’s many planets.

While the Legendary Edition will include almost all of the DLC from the original trilogy (including some rather awesome add-ons like Lair of the Shadow Broker and Omega), BioWare has also announced a few omissions. Mass Effect 3’s lauded multiplayer mode isn’t going to make the cut, and Pinnacle Station, a much-maligned arena style add-on for the first game won’t be included either due to the loss of its source code.

New World

August 31 | Amazon Games

Amazon has had its sights set on the gaming world for quite some time, quietly pumping money into a number of projects, and New World could be its breakthrough hit. In this MMORPG set on an unnamed land in the Atlantic Ocean in the 1600s, you’ll wield bows, hammers, hatchets, magical staffs, musket rifles, spears, and swords against a variety of fantastical creatures. There will also be plenty of opportunities to gather resources, craft and build settlements. Best of all, there’s no monthly fee to play.

Launching a new IP is always difficult, and MMOs are a particularly difficult genre to break into, but if any company has the resources to succeed, it’s Amazon. 

Resident Evil Village

May 7 | Capcom

There was already a ton of hype for the eighth main installment in the Resident Evil franchise following its initial reveal last year, but the introduction of antagonist Lady Dimitrescu aka “Tall Vampire Lady” has put the hype train in overdrive. We still don’t know a lot about the story, but we do expect there will be plenty of run-ins with the 9-foot tall lady and her vampiric daughters.

Village’s first demo gave us our first glimpse of stunning European manor rendered in 4K with ray tracing. The RE Engine was already a looker on last-gen hardware, but Village should be even more stunning when running on a newer graphics card. 

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

TBA | GSC Game World

We still know remarkably little about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, a game that’s scheduled to release by the end of the year. In December, GSC Game World released an in-engine teaser trailer that looked impressive, with a first-person view of someone running down a hallway in a dilapidated building around Chernobyl.

If the previous games in the series are any indication, we should be in for some truly terrifying encounters and harrowing firefights with twisted irradiated mutants. Here’s hoping we get more info soon.

Total War: Warhammer III

TBA | Creative Assembly

The trailer for the final entry in Creative Assembly’s Total War: Warhammer trilogy looks very cool, with humans mounted on horses and polar bears facing down chaos demons on a frozen battlefield.

The campaign is said to be twice the size of the one in Total War: Warhammer II, and those who own the DLC for all three games will have access to a combined map that will combine patches from maps from all three games for an absolutely massive strategy experience. 

Valheim

February 2 | Iron Gate AB

Valheim came out of nowhere to become one of the big success stories of 2021, selling more than a million copies less than three weeks after its early access release. If you aren’t caught up on the latest Steam phenomenon, think of it as Minecraft mixed with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. You and up to nine other friends are dropped off in the middle of a Viking afterlife to survive, craft, and battle mythical creatures.

Iron Gate AB has been vague about what exactly to expect from future updates, but the studio has teased future customization options for homes and ships, and eventually even a new biome to explore. 

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

TBA | Fatshark

There have been dozens of Warhammer video games over the years, but few have found the success and crossover appeal of Fatshark’s Vermintide games. It turns out that mowing down waves of enemies with three of your friends is just plain fun, no matter the setting.

Darktide features the same Left 4 Dead-inspired gameplay, but moves the battle to the futuristic Warhammer 40,000 setting, incorporating more gunplay along the way. If you liked the Vermintide games, this is pretty much a must-have. 

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin

TBA | KillPixel

First-person shooters have come a long way in the last couple of decades, but some times you just want to run and gun in a dark fantasy setting as quickly as possible. And remarkably few modern games provide that experience. Enter Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, a spiritual successor to Quake, Doom, and Hexen, built on the 25-year-old Quake Engine.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Wrath has been in Early Access since November 2019, and what’s been released so far is very promising, looking and sounding like a lost PC shooter from the late ‘90s. The full game should be out later this year. 

The post Best PC Games to Play in 2021 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[ungarmax]

All the vidya game asks tho. All Of Them

1. Favorite game from the last 5years?

Idon’t even know what came out within the last five years.  I thinkI’m gonna have to go with Stardew Valley?  It’s my game on Steam withthe second most hours logged, but the one that has the most hourslogged came out 6 years ago.  I haven’t played it in a while, but Ido really like it.

2.Most nostalgic game?

Hmm. That’s probably a tie between Link’s Awakening and Final Fantasy IV. Link’s Awakening was the first non computer video game I ever owned,and FF4 was my first RPG.  That said, there’s a special place in myheart for the old SNES version of Wing Commander, the game Icommandeered at my cousins’ house every weekend.

3.Game that deserves a sequel?

Thething is, the best games in the world are the ones that don’t needsequels because they’re very well self-contained, or they’re alreadya part of a series.  I’m tempted to say Chrono Trigger, becauseChrono Cross doesn’t count as a sequelso much as a spiritual successor.  But I also want my children torest.

4.Game that deserves a remaster?

Inever trust these…sometimes they are done well, like the remastersof FF4 and Chrono Trigger for DS, those were both excellent.  But Ilook into the future and think about how the FF7 remaster is going totake out all the dumb 90s cool guy lingo, and then I don’t like it somuch.

UnlessI’m wrong about what a remaster is?  Because I just remembered thatwhen they rereleased FFX with better graphics, that was called aremaster.

Eitherway, I just suddenly decided I need a new version of Quidditch WorldCup because that was the fucking best game ever made.

5.Favorite game series?

Ihaven’t kept up to date with a lot of game series, thanks to lack offunds for the past few years, and most of the series I enjoy, Igenerally really like a couple of the games from it and eitherdislike or haven’t played the rest.  Contenders are Final Fantasy,Metal Gear Solid, AceAttorney, and Legend ofZelda.  But I’m way behind on all fourof them, and Final Fantasy has been…disappointinglately, to say the least.

Oh! Dragon Age has been pretty dang good thus far!

6.Favorite genre?

Ireally love RPGs, but lately I’ve been playing nothing but this citybuilder/RTS game and a couple of rogue-likes.  I also love MMORPGs,but I haven’t had the money to pay for a WoW subscription in manyyears, and, uh, I only own up to Cataclysm, lol.  Oh, and good ol’point and clicks hold a special place in my heart too.

7.Least favorite genre?

Firstperson shooters and platformers.  I also usually dislike rogue-likes because I liketo min-max and the point of rogue-likes is that you literally cannotdo that.

8.Favorite song from a game?

ThePrice of Freedom, from Crisis Core.

9.Favorite character from a game?

FarisSherwiz from FF5.

10.Favorite ship from a game?

WOWwhat a question.  I think I’m gonna have to go with Zack Fair/CloudStrife, since it’s something I’ve shipped consistently for 15 years.

11.Favorite voice actor from a game?

Ilike a whole lot of them, but I’m particularly fond of ChristopherRandolph’s voice.  It’s to my extreme sadness that he’s not done muchother than Voice Of Otacon, but that’s okay.  Apparently, he’s beendoing more since MGS, so that’s cool, but I’ve still barely heard ofanything he’s been in.

12.Favorite cutscene?

Thefirst thing that came to mind was The Sending in FFX.  Anothercontenders is Zack and Cloud escaping the lab in OG FF7 (as long asyou turn off the game right after the truck scene).  Those are thetwo I always keep save files right before that.  Though I will saythat the scene in MGS before you fight the Boss in the flower field,or really, the entire ending cinematic of that game, is fuckingamazing too.

13.Favorite boss?

GOD,WHAT A QUESTION.  Does this mean, favorite boss battle?  Or favoritecharacter who is also a boss fight?

Myfavorite kind of boss is a difficult one that you need some sort ofstrategy to beat, so that you feel vindicated for winning.  However,that said, this can border on annoying too, because, if it’s amandatory battle that you can get stuck on, that’s frustrating.  So Iguess optional bosses are the best?  I’m thinking like Ruby andEmerald in FF7, and Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts.  I also tend toreally like Zelda bosses because you can’t just hit ‘em, you gottafigure out how to use your brand new toy to do it.  (Exceptthe water bosses for some reason?  They all suck.)

Myfavorite character that you fight as a boss battle…probably Golbezor Kain Highwind from FF4.  Which do I like better?  I don’t know. There’s also the Boss from MGS3, of course.  AndMiles Edgeworth?  He’s a boss, right? There are probably more that I can’t think of right now.

14.First console?

Thefirst console I ever played was an NES, but the first one I everowned was a SNES.

15.Current console or consoles?

NES,SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii, PSX, PS2, and PS3.  I also have a GameBoyColor, a DS, and a 3DS by technicality.

16.Console you want?

I’dlove a PS4, but it’s not like I can afford any games for it anyway.

17.Place from a game that you’d like to visit?

Thisis a really intriguing question, since games like Final Fantasy havesuch interesting and beautiful locations.  There are so manybeautiful places just within the few FF games I’ve actually playedthat this is a really hard choice.  The problem is that all theseplaces generally have monsters in them.

MaybeCleyra or the Farplane or the City of the Ancients?

18.Place from a game that you’d like to live in?

Doyou think Cosmo Canyon has WiFi?

19.Ridiculous crossover that would never happen but would be super fun?

FF4/TAZcrossover where apparently Lucretia is FuSoYa because they’re both incharge of fake moons.

20.Book that would make a good game?

I’mso tired right now I can’t think of a single book I’ve ever read inmy entire life.  Like, the book I am reading right now is based on avideo game, so, I mean,

21.Show/Movie that would make a good game?

MacGyver! (Thank you, @perniciouslizard.)  Like, it should be a point and click game,probably based on the old show because it had less boring fightscenes, and you can do QTEs for those even though I hate QTEs.  Aslong as the game isn’t entire QTEs (I’m looking at you, Heavy Rain),it should be okay.

22.Games you want to play?

Thereare a Lot.  Off the top of my head, I’d really love to finish DragonAge: Inquisition, and just to play, Persona 5, Breathof the Wild, allthe Ace Attorney games I haven’t played yet (there are at least 2,maybe more?), all the Pokemon games I haven’t played yet (whichis…most), Oxygen Not Included, all the Mass Effect games andFallout games, Night in theWoods, aaaand probably lots of others.  I’m tired.

23.Have you gotten 100% completion in a game?

Yep. I have 100%ed FF4, I think, and also Link’s Awakening.  Maybeothers, but those are the two I was proudest of.  Actually, I don’tknow if FF4 counts?  I got all the items (except possibly theincredibly rare thing with a ridiculous drop rate, but I don’tremember?  I got all the extra summons for Rydia, though, which was aThing), but I didn’t level everyone up to 99.  I’m working on a 100%FF7 run right now, but that’s gonna be a pain because I don’t knowhow to play the Fort Condor minigame.  I usually just let them get tothe top and beat them up, but you can’t get all the items if you dothat.

24.Have you cried over a game?

Thismorning I cried because my cat scratched me while I was clipping hisclaws.  I cry playing basically every video game, whether or not it’ssad.  My top three crying games, though, in no particular orderbecause they’re all Really Fucking Sad, are FFX, Crisis Core, andMGS3.

25.What power-up or ability would you want IRL?

*thumbto bandana* Infinite ammo.

[crystalsoul16]

RFA + Minor Trio: Video Games

So I got bored, and being the Mystic Messenger obsessed game addict that I am, my mind wandered to wondering what sorts of video games the RFA would play, like types or genres and some examples (aside from LOLOL in Yoosung’s case of course lol), which led to making this headcanon post. Of course, these are all just my personal headcanons, and I would love to hear what thoughts you guys have for this subject! Sharing headcanons is fun~!! Sorry this got kinda long tho lol I guess I got carried away ^^;;;

Note: If you’re on the mobile app and only see Yoosung’s section, copy and paste the post’s URL into your mobile web browser. That should fix it~

💚YOOSUNG💚

Well we all know that he’s addicted to LOLOL, and probably plays or has tried other MMOs. As perfect as those are for him, I’m looking at other types of games for this. Otherwise it’s too easy lol

Plays RPGs and adventure games the most

When he can make a custom character, his preferred classes are knight or warrior classes, but he’s also open to playing as mages

Definitely the kind of player that picks up every. Single. Side quest. Because he wants to help everyone

Need a certain number of rarely dropped items? No problem!

Want to deliver an item to someone who’s not even a two minute walk away? He’s on it!

Got a super difficult optional boss that you want dead that can–and will–display the Game Over screen multiple times, and you’re offering a class-specific item he can’t use as a reward? Sign him the fuck up!

Unless they want something he doesn’t agree with… -gives Skyrim’s Blades the side-eye-

No matter how hard he tries, he just can’t bring himself to play the “asshole/aggressive character” style

“Sure, this assassin was hired by that one traitor who wants us dead, my party is totally against letting him live since he might try to kill us again, and we have absolutely no reason to trust him aside from his seemingly honest answers which he could have just fabricated to save himself, so logic seems to point at killing him to be safe…………buuuuuuuuuut he could be a helpful party member and then no one has to die!”

Also, he loves games that encourage interaction with other players!

“People think that you don’t get any friends if you play games… but you get tons!” TRUTH!!!

So yeah, games with interaction are great!

Honestly MMORPGs are fucking perfect for him and and that’s why he’s addicted to LOLOL! lol seriously dude game with me plz

Really likes Pokemon for the sense of community with trades and battles and such

Totally attempted to make a competitive team at some point

Whenever new games are announced, he and Seven figure out who gets what version so they can trade version exclusives and such

Can never beat Seven in a battle tho… The one rival battle he can never win T^T

Also this guy is a Kirby fan fight me on this

♥ZEN♥

Not a lot of time for gaming with his schedule, but he doesn’t mind using them to wind down or as a distraction when he has the time or feels really stressed out (and if working out doesn’t help first)

He’s a fan of the more cinematic or story driven games, like Shadow of the Colossus, Heavy Rain, and The Last of Us

Knowing this, Yoosung recommended some Telltale games to him

Zen got hooked. The Wolf Among Us is probably his favorite

Plus their episodic releases really work with his schedule, with each episode lasting about 2 hours, give or take. So if he starts on a fully released one, he can do one episode a day until he’s done

Sometimes he and Yoosung will talk about how their stories went or what choices they made

“Wait, you knew what ‘Glass him’ meant???”

“Of course I did, Yoosung, that’s why I didn’t choose it! What did you think it meant?”

“I thought it meant giving him a drink, not smashing the glass in his face!!!”

“lol well now you know in case they use it again!”

“T_T”

Also, I’m sure this likely goes without saying, but this man is damn good at DDR style games or Pump it Up I guess cuz Korea but you get my point. Good luck trying to beat him lol

I mean, first off, he’s clearly got great rhythm considering his job

And second, great form of aerobic exercise! So why not?

Might try to get Yoosung into exercising more by tricking convincing him to play this with him

He’s definitely a “freestyle” sorta player, doin’ all sorts of flashy moves

Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been asked to do voice work for a game

Maybe a dating sim…

💜JUMIN💜

Okay, let’s get the obvious out of the way. This man definitely plays Neko Atsume and no force in this universe can convince me otherwise. It’s about cats and you really only play it in very short intervals through the day, which works with his schedule. It’s perfect for him. Moving on 

With his busy schedule due to running a company and whatnot, there really isn’t a lot of time for him to sit down to play video games despite owning a couple of systems apparently. It might be days or weeks between play sessions. So casual games are more his thing

Okay so, hear me out. Animal Crossing New Leaf

You’re in charge of a village and what gets built where, gotta manage your finances with paying off your house and having new structures and businesses built, sometimes schedule meetings visits with the villagers, cat villagers

NOTHING BUT CAT VILLAGERS

Questions Tom Nook’s business strategy regarding the house

“Why have the house expanded before they pay for it? A customer could easily betray your trust that way by never paying you for the final expansion. Paying ahead of time as you do with the exterior customizations would be wiser.”

“Jumin it’s just a game… ;;;;;;” 

Probably made Jaehee get a copy of the game to make some tasks easier

“Assistant Kang, you have perfect oranges in your village, yes?”

“Yes, though why are you asking me right now? Don’t you have a meeting in five minutes?”

“I’m passing the time, and Mitzy requested an orange.”

“Don’t you have regular oranges to give her?”

“Of course, but Mitzy deserves no less than a perfect orange.” plus he still needs her picture, and prefect fruit will help with that

-_-;;; “……I don’t think I can get one to you before the meeting, but I can have a full basket ready for you after you’re done.”

“That will do.”

Also, do not let this man play Minecraft

Remember, this is the guy who made fucking blueprints when he was told to draw a house when he was a little kid. He would definitely get carried away like that in Minecraft 

Like in the tutorial when they tell you to make a house? Basically just a simple box with a door? pffft, nah. That won’t do

He would probably end up building the most elaborate cube-based house you could possibly imagine and leave you wondering how the fuck he had the free time to build that

“Firstly you need a nice foyer to leave a good first impression. A standard house should have at least two bedrooms, though three would be ideal. And a living room and a kitchen are both necessary, of course. I suppose a library or office is optional, but they make a great addition. Getting enough colored wool proved to be difficult, but adding some color with carpets keeps the house from looking bland and–”

“Jumin it’s just the tutorial! You just need a one room house with a door and a bed!”

“That’s not a house, though. That’s a shed with a bed.”

-facepalm-

might use it to help plan out layouts for new buildings

💛JAEHEE💛

Man, most of these guys really don’t have time for gaming, huh?

Jaehee probably has the least amount of free time for gaming tho. Poor Baehee barely has time to sleep :c

She’s honestly really not that into games tho, so this doesn’t bother her. There are much more productive things she can do in her spare time like get some sleep jfc let the woman get enough sleep for once plz!!

Though if Zen did do a voice in a game she would play it in a heartbeat, or look up a playthrough at the very least. Nowhere near the same as seeing him actually acting up on a stage of course, but surely he can do a great performance solely with his voice!

Like Jumin, casual games that you can put down for long periods of time would suit her best

Actually ends up liking Animal Crossing more than she thought she would or wants to admit

She loves how the villagers are always happy to see her and always rooting for her, and she absolutely adores Isabelle

Probably has a Brewster plush or figure somewhere in her cafe

While I don’t think she’d actually play them, I can imagine her being REALLY good at fighting games

Just takes her a quick look through those lengthy combo lists and she’s got that shit memorized, and with a few practice rounds she can kick your ass with perfect wins before you even know what hit you

But of course, she probably wouldn’t play them, so you don’t have to worry about that :)

❤️️707❤️️

Yay, someone with some time to game!

Actually no, that’s a lie, but he procrastinates on his work a lot, so he has game time

Anything that’s humorous or gives him a chance to be a jackass would be his shit

Sometimes you just need the stupid humor of a goat flying through the air in ragdoll mode to help you get through the day, y'know?

He also enjoys puzzle games to exercise his mind, and racing games for obvious reasons he can go fast without risking his babies’ safety lol

Okay so in Yoosung’s route, he mentions playing GTO (assumed to be a knockoff of GTA), which makes sense for him because cars and high jinks, but with that in mind you know what he’d really get a kick out of?

Saints Row, especially Saints Row IV, cuz that one has hacking elements, and you get superpowers, and you gotta save people and shit. Sounds great for the Defender of Justice, no? The comedy and great music selection is a bonus, really c:

As for being a jackass… Be cautious if you invite him to play Mario Party with you.

He will purposely aim for the Chance Time spaces just to watch everyone else freak out about it, and he will aim for stealing your stars and often succeeds

He’s also really fuckin’ good at Mario Kart. Do not challenge him unless you like being hit by blue shells and other such items

Also, Battleblock Theater. Great puzzle platformer, good humor, and in co-op mode, a great chance to be an ass!! Much to Yoosung’s dismay lol

“Seven, stop throwing me into the water!! And stop blowing me up! We won’t get the time bonus at this rate!”

“lolol who cares, seeing you get mad is worth it~”

A grumpy Yoosung later got revenge by shoving 707’s character into the water

they laugh about it later lol

💙V💙

Guys, this poor man can’t see well at all. Like, he can only see a little bit out of his left eye. That kinda makes video games a challenge for him

That being said…idk he probably liked Pokemon Snap when he could see

Okay seriously this time, imagining he can see well and his life isn’t shit. He’d be a big fan of games that are about exploration and have stunning views or a unique art style

He’d probably really like Okami, Unravel, and Journey

Ori and the Blind Forest! Get it? Cuz he’s.........into artistic games and that game is really fuckin’ pretty

and he’s bli--

Also Firewatch. That game is fucking gorgeous. He would take so many screenshots in that one plus there’s a camera feature in the game lol

Also imagine him and Jumin playing Animal Crossing together and tell me that’s not the cutest shit

It’s a cute and light-hearted game, which I feel like he’d be into, he can play it on his 3DS when travelling, and it’s something he could play with his best buddy~ I’m down for this

Oh shit sudden thought

Okay hear me out! In an attempt to try to get closer to Yoosung, V asks him to teach him how to play LOLOL. Yoo might be a little hesitant at first but eventually agrees to it and holy shit it actually goes well and yay they’re bonding!

And damn V does a great job as a support mage

Of course V can’t play much due to travelling for work, but they try to schedule play times around that and make it work out. And during his travels, if V comes across a location that reminds him of some scenery seen in the game, he sends a picture of it to Yoosung and can this be a thing? I want this to be a thing because I need more Yoosung and V fluff in my life okay sorry for the ramble MOVING ON

seriously tho he probably really liked Pokemon Snap as a kid

💔SAERAN💔

Look me in the eyes and tell me this guy doesn’t rage quit

Like Michael Jones Rage Quit levels of rage quit

That first one is definitely him and Seven

Otherwise he’s pretty much silent when playing

As for games he’d like, anything that’ll let him blow off some steam, like shooters or fighting games

Need a partner for CoD Zombies? Or need someone to co-op Resident Evil with? Well, he’s not much of a multiplayer sorta guy, but if you can convince him then you’re set cuz he’d be damn good at those! 

And Multi-man Smash mode in Smash Bros is very therapeutic to him

Especially when his brother gets on his nerves

Which is often…

You can tell he’s really pissed off when he breaks out Mortal Kombat > ->;;;;;

Also, I can’t help but think that he’d be pretty good at the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games

As in “really fucking close to 100%-ing Through the Fire and the Flames on Expert mode in GH3” pretty good

Seriously his hacker hands are probably really fuckin’ fast I’m sure he could pull it off

Though when his bro sets up a “Family Game Night” and you know he would totally do that at some point or some sort of gaming get-together and sets up Rock Band, Saeran usually prefers to play the drums

holy shit drummer Saeran tho

Oh yes, thinking of gaming nights, if you thought Sev was a monster at Mario Kart, hoo boy, Saeran can be pretty ruthless himself

Except he usually saves all of his blue shells and other misery-inducing items for his bro

In a way he’d be your ally if you get stuck behind Seven

But when they need to team up, like for a 2v2 minigame in Mario Party, you are done

Those two working together make a lethal combination that you could never hope to defeat

I blame twin magic

💘VANDERWOOD💘️

So, hear me out. Card games

They probably play casual card games like Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, Hearts, etc on their phone to pass time

And they come across as a decent strategist to me, considering their job

And card games tend to focus very heavily on strategy

So card-based games like Shadowverse and (don’t laugh) Yu-Gi-Oh and such are probably up their alley

They’d also be really good tactical games like Disgaea

But for the most part they just favor those simple card games like Solitaire. They have too much to do to focus on other such games

Not that Seven hasn’t tried to drag them into gaming with him!

They only agreed to it when they thought Seven would get back to work after a quick game of Mario Kart or Smash Bros or something

Would lose on purpose to make the game go faster

Sev would know though and try to force them into another round

“This time with feeling!”

（；¬＿¬) “…Alright, fine…..”

Another victory for 707

“Okay, you won again, now back to work.”

“Oh come on, one more! You looked like you were having fun that time! Sorta kinda!”

-Vanderwood pulls out taser-

;;;;;;; “Right, back to work! Understood!”

Was definitely having fun tho. Don’t tell Seven

[userwithnoname]

been following you a while and wanted to know some game suggestions??? plz???

Oh wow, this is honestly the first time I’ve gotten an anon, I think. Huh.

Answer under the cut because this got a lot longer than I expected.

I’m going to be honest with you anon, I’m not the best person to ask about this because I’m picky as hell when it comes to games. If a story doesn’t grab me or a gameplay mechanic bothers me too much, I won’t play it. First-person shooters are a good example of this. I rarely play them because the stories all seem so similar and I honestly don’t care for first-person games (with a few exceptions). Turn based games are another example. A lot of them have great stories, but I cannot for the life of me get invested in them personally because the combat system is so disengaging. But there are always exceptions to the rule.

And then there’s the other aspect that comes into play: console and price. If you are, like me, a poor college student just wanting to spend some time elsewhere in your head, this might be the part that influences you the most. For instance, I have three gaming consoles: my laptop (which is shitty but works so), an X-box 360 (that I got with 5 games of my choice for $100), and a 3DS that was on sale used. Noticing a pattern? I only have a few games for the 360 and even less for the 3DS, most of my games are on my laptop both because it’s cheaper and because my 360 is a piece of JUNK.

Now, circling back around, Pokemon is an example of a game with a system I don’t like on a console I don’t play much. Growing up, Pokemon wasn’t really my thing. My sister and I watched the anime sometimes and we played Pokemon Stadium for the N64 (like eight years after it came out, but whatever), but the games never really caught our attention for two reasons: we didn’t have the consoles and had no exposure to the ads. About five years ago, Pokemon X and Y caught my attention because (as you will find out) I like games with a character creation process. I expected to have trouble getting invested in the game because of the turn-based style and was surprised when I didn’t. But it’s because a turn-based style in a largely stadium-esque game makes sense. Pokemon, with the exception of wild pokemon and rarely those, aren’t fighting for their lives, they’re being trained and fighting for the enjoyment of demented children. In a battle, it makes sense in-universe to take turns because it’s less about the fight and more about knowing your pokemon and reading your opponent. Whereas this doesn’t work so well in-universe in, say, Final Fantasy X.

But none of this is really answering your question.

In the simplest terms, it’s hard to recommend games to someone I don’t know and haven’t had the chance to discuss with. It really comes down to three things: console, price, and mechanics; and that’s something I really can’t help you with unless I know more.

But I can recommend games I like.

(Disclaimer, most of these games are on multiple consoles with a few exceptions, but almost all of them I have on PC because, once again, my 360 is LITERAL GARBAGE and I can’t afford an X-Box One).

(In no particular order.)

1) The Dragon Age Series.

An RPG had babies with a hack’n’slash game that then had kids with a strategy game. Dragon Age has a strong plot, decent characters, ok mechanics and gameplay, and a LOT of fandom discourse. Despite it’s flaws (which I can talk about some other time) the series is solidly one of my favorites. Character creation, choices, multiple endings, romance (or not), and ok graphics all in one package. Pretty easy to find, the first two are relatively cheap. Inquisition (the third one) is still pretty new and can be expensive.

2) Mass Effect (The Shepard Trilogy specifically).

Before you start screaming about me saying I don’t like FPS games, remember that there’s always an exception. And Mass Effect is third-person, thank you. An RPG with FPS elements, great characters, ok plot, and sometimes terrifying graphics. While not my favorite, it’s not a bad series, or at least the first 3 aren’t. I can’t afford Andromeda, so I reserve judgement until I can play it. The first three (not counting the DLC) aren’t too hard on the wallet while still getting enough bang for your buck. Availability is the issue here, especially on PC. Unless you get it through Amazon or Gamestop, you might have a hard time finding the first one specifically.

3) The Legend of Zelda.

An old personal favorite that, once again has the same problem as ME–availability. LoZ is exclusively Nintendo, and while you can hack it to play on the PC, that usually comes with a lot of bugs. It’s also a long-running franchise, so there’s a lot of games and a lot of confusion. Very story driven, great (if somewhat plain) characters, and just enough variety to be interesting. There’s no right or wrong way to get into the stories, though each of them play differently. My first LoZ game was Ocarina of Time and I fell in love, but my favorite is Twilight Princess. The newer games can be expensive and so can the old ones, I’d recommend you pick based on price and whatever console you have.

4) Skyrim.

In keeping with the above themes, I should probably put “The Elder Scrolls Series” above, but I’ve only played Skyrim and The Elder Scrolls Online, and MMORPGs aren’t my thing. Skyrim is a hack’n’slash trying to be an RPG which isn’t (in this case) a bad thing. You have the option of playing it first or third person and can switch at any time, so I won’t call it a first person game. The character creation is… ok, the graphics aren’t terrible most of the time, and the story’s actually pretty interesting. There are a lot of bugs, though, and not a bunch of character investment. But it is an open world and has more mods than I want to count. Plus, it’s just a lot of fun and sometimes really silly. Catch it on sale on Steam for the best price on PC, but it’s relatively cheap normally.

5) Saints Row IV.

Skyrim, but modern, with guns, more character investment, superpowers instead of magic, and a lot of mature themes. While not the best game, it is a lot of fun while still investing in the character. However, the other three games are a lot more Grand Theft Auto than Skyrim. But, as you may have guessed, I don’t/can’t play GTA, so… Saints Row IV is a good trade off.

6) Pokemon (specifically X/Y and Sun/Moon).

Full disclosure: Y and Moon are the only Pokemon games I’ve played other than Stadium and the tiniest bit of Yellow. Decent character creation, cute monsters that (usually) listen to you, and an interesting (though repeated) story. X/Y are pretty cheap with decent graphics, but like LoZ, are exclusively Nintendo. Without a 3DS, you can’t play them unless you do a hack, but once again, BUGS.

7) The Sims (3 and 4).

Once again, I was late to the party and these are the only two I’ve played. The creation kit on the Sims 4 is out of this world, and the Sims 3 isn’t too shabby, either. My biggest problem with the Sims is that we’re constantly getting new expansion packs and DLC that I can’t afford, but without make the game feel almost incomplete. PC exclusively (except 4 and that’s still coming). 3 is pretty cheap on Steam and Origin, but I can’t find 1 and 2 anywhere except Amazon and other retailers.

There’s more I could add, but this post got long. Sorry. If you have any more questions, feel free to message me again!