#minecraft drawing motivation hit me hard in the face

[blackwoodcore]

he’s important to me in a ‘he fills the buff blonde boy shaped hole in my heart’ kinda way

[thefanficmonster]

Oblivious

Valkyrae (Rae) x Reader (Gender Neutral) ft. Corpse Husband

Warnings: None

Genre: FLUFF, Humor, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: In the most desperate of times, we may or may not be used to hearing the phrase ‘Beggers can’t be choosers’ which is exactly why Y/N’s found themself asking the most hopeless of cases when it comes to love and romance - Corpse, for help.

Requested by Xara. Hi darling! Thank you so much for this wonderful request you’ve sent me - I love writing for Rae (excuse my bi excitement, I’m just a HUGE simp) and I can’t thank you enough for giving me the opportunity to do so. Sorry it’s been two months since you requested this but here it finally is and I hope it makes up for the wait. Love, Vy ❤

“Corpse, I’m in desperate need for help.“ I don’t even bother with a friendly or even polite greeting. Being best friends for as long as we have, Corpse and I excluded the politeness that comes with phone calls a long time ago, especially when calling with an emergency. Though, let’s be honest, if I’m calling him on the phone and not on video chat like I usually do, it is an emergency.

“Given that you’re asking me, I can imagine how desperate you are.“ He has the audacity to laugh in response, causing me to roll my eyes. 

Now, don’t get the wrong idea - I love Corpse with all my heart. Him and I have been through A LOT together considering we know each other since we were teenagers. However, there are some instances in life when he simply doesn’t get me. Not that he doesn’t try to, he does and does so very hard, but he rarely succeeds. Trying is what matters, of course. Given that he is my only close friend, I can only ever turn to him with my problems though I try my best not to bother him too much, but when things get REALLY tough, I can’t help but go and vent to him. Luckily, he’s always been very understanding, but it may be because he feels like he owes me for all the times he has turned to me with his problems. I’ve tried to explain that he shouldn’t feel such a way, but that’s rather hypocritical of me cause I feel the same way.

Alright, enough digressing, back on track!

“Desperate doesn’t even begin to summarize how I feel.“ I sigh, plopping down on the couch in my living room, kicking my feet up on the coffee table as I cover my eyes with my hand. “Brutally miserable is, I think, the correct term to use here.“

I hear Corpse let out a quiet ‘oof’, one I think he hoped I wouldn’t hear. “And what led you to finally give in and ask for help, not that I can offer you much?”

I can’t help but snort at that, a snort that serves as a replacement to slapping myself across the face. “Rae texted me yesterday asking if I’d like to play Minecraft with her and I took THREE HOURS to respond! Not on purpose, I just couldn’t think of something good to say!” I know I sound like a whiney kid, but I think I’ve passed that threshold LONG ago. Of course, this whiney kid version of me only surfaces around Corpse and Corpse only. No one else is allowed to see me like this or that would legit be the end of any sort of pride I may have left in me.

“You mean you couldn’t choose between ‘Sure, I’d like that!’ and ‘Of course, I’d love to!’? Please say yes.“ Corpse already sounds disappointed and he hasn’t even heard the worst of it yet.

“No and sit tight, it gets worse. I...“

He cuts me off, “Wait, no, don’t say it. Let me guess - you turned her down? Keep in mind if you say yes I’m hanging up on you.”

I remain silent, pinching the bridge of me nose and cringing as hard as my facial muscles are willing to allow. I can’t say yes, not cause he’ll hang up but because admitting it makes it more real, and the more real it is the more depressed it’ll make me and I will go back to being a self-deprecating mess that refuses to be productive or properly functioning - aka ‘Whiney Kid Maximum’.

“I’m hanging up.“ Corpse says after waiting five seconds for my response that only comes in the form of dead silence which is more than enough of an answer in and of itself.

“No, please don’t!“ I squeak out despite my agony, “I’ll never break the cycle if you don’t help me, Corpse! I’m a hopeless case!“

“You’re a hopeless case with or without me, Y/N.“ He states, angering me ever so slightly. “Not only cause you really are, but because I have nothing useful to offer you. Not even a single advice. Even if I did, giving it to you would by hypocritical when considered how bad I am on this field myself. Hell, the very person you’re head over heels for is my personal matchmaker. If anything, you should be asking her how to swoon her...“ He pauses.

So does my brain.

For a second we’re both quiet, the silence on the line suggesting big plans are being developed - well, not on my end but still.

“Now there’s an idea...“ He mutters more to himself than to me.

“No!“ I shriek fearfully, “Please, if you love me even the tiniest bit, Corpse, don’t put me in a situation where I have to be alone with Rae! Not IRL not in a Discord call - not in ANYTHING. I close up and end up seeming unfriendly and rude because of my inability to talk to her like a normal human being! I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I just can’t do it! So please don’t make me.“

I maybe can’t read minds, but hell if I can’t at least have a rough guess of what’s on my best friend’s mind - I know he’s already scheming and coming up with odd solutions to my problem - some of which will cause me more problems but let’s not even mention those. That being said, I need to prevent him from actually carrying out any of his absurd schemes, otherwise it’s game over for me.

“Hmm, ok fine, but only cause I wanna spare you your own awkwardness. Consider it charity.“ He sighs, the disappointment even more evident now.

I sigh too, but I do so in defeated relief. It’s bittersweet, to be honest. “Thank you.”

“Don’t.“ He says sharply, “Don’t thank me. It’ll make me feel like I’m encouraging your behavior.“

Well, screw my feelings, I guess. I’m left on this battlefield alone, aren’t I?

Corpse hanging up the call confirms that I am, indeed, alone.

                                                             *  *  *

“Hello?“

“Are you still in bed, for the love of God? It’s noon!“ Not only did he have the audacity to wake me up with his phone call, but now he has the audacity to judge me on my sleeping habits as well. Some darn nerve he has.

“What do you want, Corpse?“ I grumble out, groggy and now grumpy too. The last thing I need is the only person I can turn to turning on me. Especially not now. I don’t need his or anybody else’s judgement of me or my life, it’ll hurt too much.

“I want to know how long you haven’t showered, Y/N.“ He barks back, causing me to roll my eyes. “And when’s the last time you actually ate something healthy and nutritious and not just greasy takeout?”

“I showered last night!“ I straighten up and frown, feeling offended despite his questions being justifiable. I think that’s exactly why I’m pissed off, to be honest - he knows me and my habits too well. “And you’re just being hypocritical on the eating part!“

“Whatever.“ He mutters, allowing me to feel at least a tiny sense of victory for having proven him wrong, “Get your ass up and come play Minecraft with me, you need to be cheered up asap.“ He continues, much to my dismay. “And don’t even think about saying ‘no’. If you do, just remember, I have your address and a strong will to kick your ass into shape.“

“Into shape? We’re going to the gym or something?“ I’m honestly confused and intrigued now. Maybe the gym isn’t such a bad idea, I’m sure I could become really good friends with the punching bag.

Corpse sighs exasperatedly in a way I can basically hear him roll his eyes as well, “Not that kind of shape, Y/N. Just get on Discord, seriously, I’m worried about you.“ 

That sentence strikes a nerve. Something about that genuine concern in his voice reminds me that I still need to move on from focusing so strongly on just my failures, no matter how big or small, and keep pushing forward, if not for myself then for the people who care about me. For Corpse especially, seeing as how he’s sort of been my babysitter ever since my feelings towards Rae started to consume me whole and suffocate me. I don’t know how or when it happened, in fact I can best describe it as the Titanic: I was doing ok and then instead of hitting an iceberg the iceberg of feelings hit me and I started sinking. Corpse was there to offer me a hand to help me keep at least my head above the surface. He can’t pull me out of the water but he’s not willing to let go either. I’m afraid holding on like that will tire him out to the point of letting go of me completely, but I’m afraid of sinking too. You see my dilemma here, no?

“Ok, give me twenty minutes.“

I would have probably continued sleeping or just chilled on social media, refusing to get out of bed for at least another hour, but the debt I feel towards Corpse is stronger than the desire to be a slob so I motivate myself with every power my fragile mind can fish out of the void and push the covers off me, shivering at the drastic change in temperature around my body now that I’m exposed to the rather cool air in my room, my pajamas hopeless at providing me with any warmth.

Twenty minutes later sharp, I’m seated at my desk, in front of my computer with my headphones on, taking one last encouraging breath before entering the call where Corpse is waiting for me.

“Yo.“ I greet him half-heartedly, drawing invisible abstract patterns on my desk with my finger as if I’m avoiding eye contact with him IRL.

“Glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of punctuality at least.“ He chuckles, sounding a lot more pleasant and a lot more like my friend Corpse and less like sergeant Corpse Husband who was speaking with me on the phone earlier.

“Very funny.“ I murmur in my now common brooding manner, “Anyway, enough about me, how are you doing? Anything interesting happen since we last spoke?“

“You mean in the past ten hours? No, nothing interesting apart from that I managed to catch a few z’s.“ He replies as I join the Minecraft server, managing to get a smile out of me.

“Hey, that’s nice to hear! Good for you, Corpsie.“ I say, honestly proud and happy for him.

“Yeah, and just so you’re not calling me hypocritical on the topic of eating, I’m currently cooking myself lunch.“ He points out, now just straight up peacocking, “On that note, I got a pot on the stove so you’ll have to excuse me for a sec.“

“Please go. Don’t set your apartment on fire the first time you cook” I snicker, leaning back in my chair and fetch my phone to kill the time while he’s gone to tend to whatever attempt at a meal he has prepping in his kitchen. I feel bad for his stomach, and his kitchen, already.

“Corpse? Hi!“

Oh no. No, no, no, no, no - tell me that was an auditory hallucination and I didn’t actually hear that just now! TELL ME!

“Rae?“ I blurt out, almost falling backwards out of my chair, eyes wide, jaw hanging slightly.

Just then I get a text from Corpse:

Consider me dead and carry the convo. I know you’ve got this, Y/N

Oh that prick is gonna get it!

“Y/N? Hi! Sorry, Corpse didn’t mention you’d be playing with us, but it’s so nice to be hearing from you! It feels like it’s been forever.“ Rae replies, cheery and enthusiastic as ever, just like the absolute sweetheart she is.

With Corpse absent from his position, without his metaphorical hand holding mine, I’m metaphorically sinking and drowning. Maybe the drowning part isn’t so metaphorical after all, considering I actually am drowning in all the thoughts produced by my mind at the moment. A mind that’s going completely haywire, might I add.

“Hehe, well, funny thing, he didn’t tell me you’d be playing with us either.“ I chuckle anxiously, already breaking out in a nervous sweat. I solemnly promise to kill Corpse first chance I get, that way he’ll at least be dead for real.

“He set us up, huh? What’s his game, where even is he?“ Rae asks, properly confused as she should be.

All on-point questions, hun. And I can’t answer any of them logically.

“Um, you know, he’s off doing...something.“ And there go my conversational skills out the window, I hope they send me a postcard one day.

“Whatever, enough about Mr. Ominous. Tell me, what’s been keeping you busy?“ Oh crap, this is the question I’ve been fearing. Mostly cause I’m not prepared for it. “Actually no, let me rephrase: Why have you been avoiding me recently?“

‘Oh crap’ squared. Tripled.

“Whaaat? Avoiding you? Where’d you get that idea?“ I’m aware of my high pitched voice, but it’s not like I can do much to tone it down. Every part of me is in critical panic mode and rationality has accompanied my aforementioned conversational skills out the window.

“I don’t know, Y/N. Ignoring my texts, leaving me on ‘Seen’ and then declining my offer just to accept the same one coming from Corpse - can’t really blame me for finding it shady.“ She replies, her words making me wince and hide my face in the palms of my hands as though it’ll shield me from Rae’s brutal honesty and forthrightness. 

“I’ve been...bad at replying to everyone lately, nothing personal, I swear.“ Yeah, that sounded convincing, good gosh-darn job, Y/N!

“Why’s that?“ Something about her tone suggest she knows I’m lying and is just humoring me and my agony. I don’t know if to thank her for it or wish she’d just rip off the band-aid and confront me head-on. In that case I’d have only one of two options: freeze up or spill my guts. Honestly, I don’t know which is worse. “I thought you’d reach out to me, given you’ve found yourself in a pickle.”

I frown, confused and wary like I’m walking on thin ice over a pool of sharks, “Pickle? What pickle?“

“Corpse mentioned you needed dating advice.“ She replies simply as though it should’ve been obvious and as if it’s the most casual, regular and normal thing. Little does she know...

“Um, yeah, I guess you can call it that.“ I murmur sheepishly, my cheeks reddening.

“Who’s the lucky girl?“ She asks, the excitement now replacing the previous suspicion she was fronting, making me nervous as hell.

My heart skips a beat, “How’d you know I’m crushing on a girl?“

“Uh...“ She stumbles over her words, pausing to collect her thoughts and formulate a response, “Corpse told me!“ When the reply finally arrives it’s as high pitched as mine was earlier, suggesting something ain’t right.

I stay quiet, my mind and heart racing which is quicker. My leg is bouncing, my fingers are tapping the keyboard rhythmically as I rack my brain, pushing it to put the pieces of this enigmatic puzzle together, connect the dots.

When it finally does, I’m left with a horrific end-result, a realization that makes me go pale as a ghost, “He told you who said girl is too, didn’t he?” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. I keep the tone low so she doesn’t notice how shaky it is.

It takes her a few seconds to reply, but when she does I kinda wish she hadn’t, “Maybe...”

My first instinct is to excuse myself from the call, pack all my kitchen knives and drive to Corpse’s house but with my limbs having lost any and all feeling in them that is practically impossible. So, I settle for my second instinct which is hiding my face in the palms of my hands as though they can shield me from the immense embarrassment Corpse has set me up for.

“Listen...“ I start, not sure where I wanna go with this, “You don’t have to say anything, I get the hint. No need to bother with a gentle reje-“

“I like you too, Y/N!“ Rae cuts off my rambling with a melodic laugh, “I’m sorry, but you can be very oblivious sometimes, and I just wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine for a bit. Sorry if I freaked you out.“ Judging by her tone, she’s not sorry at all. In fact, she’s one step away from bursting out into laughter.

“Trust me, ‘freaked out’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.“ I sigh, exasperatedly, sinking into my chair alike a deflated balloon. “You and Corpse are gonna pay for that heart attack you led me to the brink of!”

This time, she doesn’t hold back, letting out the laughter she’s been holding back this whole time, “I don’t know how Corpse will do that, but could I pay my dues with a brunch on Friday?”

My eyebrows shoot up, “Miss Valkyrae, is this you asking me out on a date?“ I ask teasingly - aka with more confidence than I feel.

Please say ‘yes’. Please say ‘yes’. Please say ‘yes’.

“I don’t know, what do you think, Y/N?“ She asks, tone just as teasing as mine.

“Hey, I’m not as oblivious as you claim I am!“ I argue light-heartedly, “Does 2PM work for you?“

“Any time works for me.“ Rae replies, a smile blatantly evident in her voice. A smile that unleashes a flock of butterflies in my stomach.

And just like that, I have a date with the girl I’ve had a crush on for the longest time. It happened so fast it’s practically a blurred part in my mind, but one thing I’m sure will be crystal-clearly imbedded in my mind forever is that brunch on Friday. Just then, I get yet another text from Mr. Schemer himself.

That wasn’t so hard now, was it?

Some nerve he has, I swear to God.

[theguardiansofredland]

Midnight ramblings (Venting I guess idk)

It’s midnight. 1 am actually. It’s smoky and my sinuses hurt. And I’m crying. Idk if it’s bad or not, I guess I’m just being nostalgic. And you can call it fuckin stupid all you want, but I’m crying because of animal crossing songs. Specifically Stale Cupcakes and Animal City. Stale Cupcakes is a song I discovered in New Leaf. It’s a soft, sad song. Played on a music box. It makes me think of my memories with new leaf and just happier times in general. Rainy days and playing little big planet and roasting marshmallows on our stove with my siblings, before they both moved away. Drawing next to my mom and half listening to whatever show she was obsessed with this time. Stale Cupcakes is almost childlike in sound if that’s even possible. But I remember playing New Leaf every day. It was a birthday present from my brother. And Animal City, which is the city theme in Animal Crossing: City Folk. And that takes me back even further. Elementary school. Again to rainy days and going to the bookstore with my godfather after school and getting Jamba Juice in the way back. Watching my brother try so hard to get the golden axe in city folk. Watching him play a lot of games on our Wii. Spending time with my cousin and spending hours at his house playing pretend or with his toys and then watching cartoons before falling asleep in his living room. To when I thought my friends in school actually liked me. Watching team crafted and epic jump maps and drawing my first art pieces.

I miss those days. I miss a lot of things and it just reminds me how everything leaves eventually. My mom, siblings, pets, friends, family, youtubers. It all drifts away. I guess that’s why I bury myself in happy sort of games like Minecraft and Nintendo games like animal crossing. They don’t hit me with tragedy after tragedy after toxic person after hurt. It lets me make my own world. Where the people don’t leave. Where everything is magical and I can just sit and be happy for once. Where people like what I do, what I create. Where I’m alone but I don’t feel like it. But even then the time passes and I need to sleep, or my game system runs out of charge. And I have to turn off my happy place and just go back to reality. Where everything fucking sucks. Sure there are some good things. My friends, my gf, my dad, my kitties. But I still just want there to be a time where I can look back and know I felt happy. And exist in a time where I actively feel genuinely happy. That childlike wonder and happiness. But I’m stuck here being sad and growing up. I don’t want to grow up. I wanna stay in the time of Chowder, Pokémon and Animal crossing. Where my biggest worry was not having enough poke balls to catch this tympole, and not which one of my friends is gonna hate me, or which family member will die this year. I’m not ready. But time doesn’t work that way.

I wanna live in animal crossing. Where the people there actually like me, and I can just relax for once. My sister who’s studying to be a massage therapist says the muscles in my neck and shoulders are extremely tight. Idk if it’s because of stress or anxiety. And I remember plucking a gray hair in science class. But rn even the thought school makes me wanna poof out of existence. But I don’t have to worry about that rn. I miss having motivation for things. Wanting to finish a game, draw things and actually improve. But instead I’m sleeping most of the day cause I’m tired all the time. I’m sad and just numb all the time

Idk even know what I’m rambling about. Animal crossing makes me cry and I wanna hug my cats and sleep for a good while. And I know “get a therapist” I’m working on it. I gotta talk with my dad about emailing one. Please don’t tell me another thing I’m failing at. I’m trying my best to take care of myself. I’m trying so hard. And I’m sorry. Getting a therapist is hard. I’m working on it but everyone says I should stop procrastinating when I’m not. My own fucking psychiatrist yelled at me for forgetting to schedule an appointment. I hate talking to her. And to that one friend reading this (and also you too sweetheart), yes you. Stop, breathe. You’re a great friend and you’re not being a horrible evil person by telling me I need a therapist. You care. And that isn’t something to yell at yourself for. It’s something to be applauded. And I’m just too much of a mess to work up enough courage to ask you to tone it down, and that’s a me thing I need to work on. Cause what you’re telling me is true and needs to be heard, and isn’t bad really. It’s not like it’s an insult or a trigger. So I feel like I shouldn’t have it toned down. Why tone down something helpful.

Sorry for rambling and wasting time you’re never gonna get back. I’m sorry for probably causing some anxiety spikes or attacks. I just made things worse again. I’m going to bed for the night. Or morning. Whatever. Hopefully I’ll dream of animal crossing and kitties. Fun things. And hopefully I’ll get some motivation to actually provide content and good things rather than be an over sharing person on the internet who shouldn’t even be doing or making this post and wearing my heart, on not on my sleeve, but my face. But I guess I’m begging for attention. Or trouble. Goodnight everyone. I’ll try to draw something tomorrow.

[stompsite]

dev blog #0000 - Origin Story

You might have heard that I’m working on a video game. This is true. I am working with some utterly incredible folks on a video game. We call it Game One.

I’ve tried to get various game project started over the years. When I first got sick, I ended up with inflammation in my brain that messed me up somethin fierce. Reading, writing, programming, all gone. I worked really hard, and I got the writing back over half a decade or so. Reading too. Nowhere near as good as I was, but passable. Programming, though? That never came back. Maybe, with treatment. Maybe. It would be impossible without other people, though.

Every time I’d suggest a project--that first person XCOM, the tiny linear shooter, heck, the little business management game, the strategy game--people would get all enthusiastic about it, I’d draw up a design document, and, of course, nothing would come of it. Getting people organized online is like wrangling cats. The furthest we got, some art folks actually did art, didn’t tell anyone, played Minecraft, and wondered why we hadn’t made a game of the art we didn’t know existed.

Then along comes my friend Phillip Bastien. I’d hit on this new idea for a story, I thought it was great, I was telling him about it, and he goes silent. Something like ten minutes later, he hits me up with a drawing of a character I’ve been calling the Plague Knight. Not a great name, but it gets the job done, and the drawing? Well, wow. It was awesome.

One of the great things about Phillip is that he gets what’s in my head better than most. The only difference between my vision and his is that I had the guy with candles floating above the head, but I think Phillip’s version works better.

Here’s the most recent finished piece:

We tossed some stuff back and forth. Visuals started taking shape. I’m lucky to have a friend like Phillip. One thing I’ve learned is that the greatest physical motivator is having a visual. People don’t believe the game is real until they’ve got concept art. That’s the key thing. I’d never had good concept art before. Mine is awful, and I don’t know many artists willing to sketch some stuff up to help the project move along. This game would not have happened without Phillip.

It was readily apparent that this shooter was too big; I think an early description framed it as “an RPG shooter that blends elements of Halo, The Legend of Zelda, and Shadow of the Colossus with the movement of Mirror’s Edge” or something. Too big. Way too big. Not like the smaller games. Plus, single-player shooters don’t really sell that well unless they’re big, open-world titles with big brand names behind them.

I knew that making a competitive shooter was simpler--it’s why most mod teams (and Valve, which has that weird flat structure thing) work best with them--but competitive indie shooters don’t sell. There’s a reason most of you aren’t out there playing Nexuiz, Screencheat, Contagion, or Toxikk. Heck, competitive shooters rarely do well in any space.

Co-op I figured we could do. Payday: The Heist and Payday 2 had done pretty well, for instance. Borderlands games are pretty popular. Gamers seem to enjoy cooperative shooters, and good ones sell reasonably well. Horde was Gears of War 3′s biggest mode; Halo fans begged 343i for a return to Halo’s Firefight mode. This genre seemed like a great place to start. Plus, I, and the people I’d been talking about making a game with, were all experts in the cooperative shooter space. If there’s one style of game design we knew, it was this.

I had a world I liked. A visual approach that felt right. And the right genre. I took to calling it Game One, because nothing I tried felt right. Turns out some amazing friends, like my buddies Cameron, Kevin, and Jacob, were into it. We got started properly early in 2016, though various real-life events (graduation, moving, illness, computer death, learning how to use source control) conspired against us. Progress is being made. It’s slow-going, but it’s happening. This game is real.

I’m trying to describe a nonlinear process in a linear way; this may seem kinda disconnected because of that. Sorry. Things will start making more sense in future blog posts.

Personally, I don’t want to talk about the game world much; I don’t like reading about other people’s lore until they achieve the end result. In general, I think a lot of folks get caught up in talking about their lore and how interesting they think their lore is, and that’s all well and good, but it’s not what interests me. I’d rather surprise you with a cool universe you can explore in-game than go into detail about it right now. What I can do is tell you about the most interesting ideas.

Game design is, ultimately, a means of problem solving, and Game One is meant to address a bunch of problems, which I’ll talk about in the coming weeks.

Problem 1: The Abilities Need To Be Interesting

One of my comrades, Kevin, expressed a big problem he had with a lot of shooters, which is that a lot of characters have just one ability. In Borderlands, you pick a class, and that class uses that ability and that ability only. Same thing in Destiny. You have multiple sub-classes, but it takes time for abilities to charge, so when you switch sub-classes, you have to start over from 0, so effectively, you have just one ability in most missions.

This isn’t a bad style of design, mind you, but it is predominant, and it can get old after a while. We wanted to have provide players with a more interesting way to play.

Problem 2: The Guns Need To Be Interesting

You’d think this would be a given. If someone is making a shooter, shouldn’t their weapons be interesting? Unfortunately, way too many shooters utilize the same basic weapon paradigms; the resulting combat rarely requires thought from the players. How do you make shooter guns interesting again?

Problem 3: How to Eliminate The Boredom Created By Min-Maxers

One of my good friends became a bad person to play games with. He was directly responsible for my waning interest in Payday 2, because he wanted to play the same two missions over and over again, because this let him earn the maximum possible XP. This gets boring after a while because, well, you’re only playing two missions.

Destiny faces a similar problem, especially early on; repeating content gets boring, especially when it’s predictable. When content becomes repetitive, players naturally want to start optimizing. Pretty soon, Destiny got to a point where players all had to use similar loadouts (Gjallarhorn was the optimal rocket launcher, for instance) or risk being dissed by their peers. I remember playing one particular match where I started using a gun I liked, only to be asked, with disgust, why I would ever use that gun, when I should be using more ideal weaponry. “Because it’s fun” was met with jeers.

This goal was important to me personally; I’m a big shooter fan in part because I love shooting creatively. It’s frustrating to hear a friend say “this shooter was boring because I only used one gun the entire game, but it was the best gun.”

I think having a good metagame is important, but all too often, players find ways to run with optimal loadouts or play styles, and I wanted to do my best to circumvent that, encouraging players to try new things rather than doing the same thing over and over again.

Problem 4: Movement Needs To Make A Comeback

Shooters ought to have interesting movement. Since I started messing around with Game One, a bunch of games, like Destiny, Doom, and Titanfall have launched, pushing the need for movement into the foreground. Awesome. I still think there’s some room for improvement, so I’ll be talking about that at length really soon.

There’s a bunch of other stuff I could talk about, but that’s for future devblogs. Tonight, I just wanted to let you know what the plan is: in between my normal games criticism stuff, I’m going to start showing how I’m trying to practice what I preach, and, way more importantly, how absolutely incredible my brothers in arms are, and the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

Anyways, we’re making the game now. It’s a real thing. It’s playable. We’ve got dedicated servers working, and we can play the game together. It’s rough, of course (a lack of manpower working part time will do that to you), but it’s getting there. Hopefully, we’ll find a cool indie publisher willing to back us so we can get this thing out the door soon.

Stick around, would you?