#my page for eureka zine ^_^

[ajihaew]

no way no way no way no way no way —!!

[avetato]

[aai2-3] the inherited turnabout

.

this was my piece for @eurekazine ! leftover sales are happening now, you can grab something at the link below! (physical orders are for us buyers only, but non-us people can get a digital copy!)

[talkinbouttinygames]

The Witness & The Anti-Hardcore Walkthrough Club

Steam says I have played The Witness for 31 hours. That’s not as much as it could be - I haven’t played it in two years, and never finished it originally after my save got wiped in an accident - but the reason I’m writing about it now is because I recently picked it back up, remembered how much fun it was, and am now intent on finishing it. However, despite how much time I’ve sunk into it (much more than most games covered in this ‘zine), despite the fact that I enjoy it enough to re-do all of my progress from two years ago, I can’t recommend the game, and the reason why is that I’m playing it wrong.

Okay.

For those who haven’t heard of it, The Witness is a puzzle game created by Jonathan Blow (at which point I am legally obligated to quip, yes that Jonathan Blow) based around completing line mazes on panels scattered across a very pretty island. The most simple puzzle at the start entails the player drawing a starting line from the starting circle to the other side, with later puzzles gaining more maze-like shapes, or other requirements, like the line needing to cross over every dot that appears on the board, or separate differently-coloured squares, or outline a drawn tetris shape. Additionally, other puzzles incorporate the surrounding environment: sunlight exposes a smudged line that reveals the correct path on a panel when looking at the right angle, tinted glass exposes the true color of panel squares, shadows from foliage above ‘block off’ incorrect passages, and so on.

A lot’s been said about The Witness: Blow’s design process for its puzzle mechanics, how it silently guides the player into learning mechanics, and what it truly means. But I’m not going to talk about any of those things, firstly because I can’t say anything that hasn’t already been said on those subjects, and secondly because for nearly the entire time I played the game, I had my phone opened up to a full-spoiler walkthrough.

The Witness is far from a casual game. While the game’s been praised for stepping back and allowing players to have ‘eureka! moments’ when trying to figure out how a given puzzle works, that same lack of explicit guidance can make it hostile to a player that isn’t able to connect the dots. Additionally, the line puzzles are the only interactable elements that exist in the game, outside of scattered audio logs around the island. This hyperfocus on the line puzzles (and the sheer magnitude of how many there are) means that in order to truly enjoy The Witness, you really need to be stoked about solving cereal box mazes.

...Don’t you?

When I first googled The Witness, my first thought was not, “wow, those puzzles look interesting”. It was “woah, this shit’s really pretty,” followed by “I think I would buy this game just to walk around in this world”. Evidently, I did - albeit on a half-off sale for 20 dollars instead of the usual forty. True to what I had seen, the world’s gorgeous, a variety of different landscapes with vibrant colours that seemed out of the painting. The way the puzzles interacted with the environment was also pleasant, at least with the ability to look up the answers for any of them at the glance. I took pleasure in screencapping scenes I found to be beautiful and sending them to my friends, and generally just being… present in the world I found myself in.

Perhaps it was a waste, that I refused to engage with the challenges the game presented me, that I cheated my way around obstacles that were supposed to give a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment and instead chose to meander around and treat the game as a glorified walking simulator. Given the common debate of whether accessibility features should disable achievements, and the gaming-originated term of ‘git gud’, it’s clear that the idea of ‘play experience integrity’ is one that a fair amount of gamers stick to. That idea is a complicated one that I can’t cover here, but my experience with The Witness falls on the fringes of it. While the certain type of gamers who scream about ‘casuals’ cheating themselves out of the Real Experience is an debate that deals with players changing the details of their play experience in order to follow the intended final destination of that experience, what happens when someone buys your game for a purpose completely unrelated to what the developer actually focused on? Is The Witness a good puzzle game? Who cares! Not me!

It’s like writing a novel that reveals integral qualities into the human condition, and then someone buys it because the size and paper type of the pages makes for good hamster bedding.

But I still enjoyed The Witness, because I was still playing the game - I completed every single area save for the final one because after that it wipes your save and I’d need to go through all the puzzles again to explore freely. And in the eyes of the game, what difference is there between my save file and someone who actually sat down and solved every single puzzle themselves. 

When talking to a friend about using a walkthrough while playing The Witness, he confessed - with slight guilt - to using walkthroughs in order to avoid missing anything. In response, I proposed we start the Anti-Hardcore Walkthrough Club - a hallowed league of gamers that place themselves highly in their ability to make things as easy for themselves as possible, because sometimes that’s what you’re looking for. In all seriousness, though, there’s a legitimate idea behind the joke - the sort-of  idea of the ‘death of the game designer’, that any way of playing a game is fair under cheats, mods, house rules, and yes, even focusing on a completely arbitrary and besides-the-point facet of the game. As long you’re aware that by doing so you can only speak to your specific style of play - a fact which applies to the hardcore gamers as much as the rest of us. To 100% a game on the hardest difficulty available isn’t necessarily a virtue, and cherry picking what parts of a game you care about and focusing on them isn’t necessarily a sin.

So, if I didn’t actually ‘play’ The Witness in the way a vast majority of people aim to play it, what can I say about it? This:

10/10. Best hamster bedding I’ve ever used.

[generousgivershark]

How to Write a Book and Get Published

Publication Guidelines: We hope that the following article, which

is an excerpt from our online creative writing course (formatted

with 65 characters) can be informative and useful for your e-zine

readers or on your website. If you help others "over there"

Anyway, then we are happy. This article (as with all my articles)

It can be published freely, electronically or in print.

"We share what we know so that others can grow."

* *

HOW TO WRITE A BOOK AND PUBLISH

by Craig Lock

This short excerpt is taken from my booklet 'How to write a book and

Get Publishing 'and is written for the "offline" world of

edition. While this is a brief description of this great topic,

I hope these tips can be helpful to aspiring authors *.

* What is the definition of a budding author?

A waiter!

* *

I write a book! A "pipedream" or possible?

Nothing is impossible, but the most difficult part is

acceptance of a publisher. I hope these tips can

be useful to send your manuscript (hard copy) ...

PRESENTATION OF HIS "WORK OF ART":

Not how you dress, but how you "dress" your work.

Some points to help you:

* All text must be double-spaced. When I started writing I

I did not know that

"double space" meant. Come on, "Sonny boy"!

* one A4 side with at least 25mm margin on each side

* in black ink. Use a new tape. I must remember that ... when

I can afford it.

* consistent styles for bibliographic references must be

used

* do not use pins or staples. Use an elastic band or clip

to avoid inflicting serious injury on the editor with a

"dangerous weapon"

* on your last page, write the words 'copy ends'

* put an approximate number of words (I don't). You send

manuscript together, so it reaches the editor's desk as one.

Do not send sections (after writing or checking). Bits and

then the parts are more likely to be lost (sounds unpleasant!).

And this happens quite often: out of place (best word) by

editors, I mean. If you are working on a word processor using

a computer disk (I do), I also send the paper work. Is he

non-technical term for "software". No tissue paper, please!

N.B:

Keep a copy of everything.

All emails must have a return address. Always send a cover

Letter with your manuscript. Multiple shipments: OK, but

always remember to withdraw an offer, if the publication is accepted

by another editor. Write immediately.

I find that multiple submissions save a lot when searching for a publisher, because

publishers are often slow to respond to your

unsolicited shipments * (sworn word).

* who is not standing on the corners of the streets without light at night watching

for an editor for your manuscript!

Finally, always try to give your work a `` really professional '' look,

as befits the effort put into your artwork.

then

BE PATIENT

* *

Some last words ...

Writing a book can seem overwhelmingly overwhelming ... and maybe even

impossible for you, as I felt when I started writing (like

fly to the moon); but if you think you have a little writing

talent DO IT. Like eating an elephant ("Heffalump"),

Break it into "small pieces". The key is to take this FIRST STEP

writing this first sentence ... then we just get involved in

your "work of art", because writing becomes a daily habit. A word

it just flows to the next ... then a chapter just leads to

the next. PERSIST ... and as the Nike ad says,

Just do it

So I hope someday to see your name printed.

Eureka!

Good luck and write well

Craig lock

Eagle Productions

"Eagles can fly high, but weasels are not absorbed by jet engines."

"What you can do or dream that you can do, begins; boldness has

Genius, power and magic. "

- Johann von Goethe

"Do what you love, then you will never have to do a day of work

your life."

About the author: Craig Lock pursues his dream of playing

many live in the "vast unknown world of cyberspace".

Craig believes in the great potential of every human being

on the path of life and loves to encourage people to

live a more fruitful, prosperous and joyous life ...

to come all of what they are capable and have fun.

How to Write a Book and Get Published how to write, Write A Book from Expert-one https://ift.tt/39ua8KD

[mothermotherfan]

Mother Mother Fanzine 2019

The Canadian indie rock band Mother Mother has been inspiring fans around the globe since the early 2000s. Their latest musical revelation, Dance and Cry, was released in November of 2018. In collaboration with creative fans across the internet, Mother Mother Fan is launching the Mother Mother Fanzine - a chance for you to express how the band and their music make YOU dance and cry, or shout eureka, or touch up.

More info under the cut.

The goal

Mother Mother Fan has been collecting the reactions, passions, jokes, and experiences of Mother Mother fans across the world for a few years. I’d like the wider world to see how Mother Mother creates not just music, but passion and community in their listeners. 

What you can submit

I want to represent the full spectrum of experiences. Send me:

Fan art, digital and traditional

Personal essays

Concert photography

Personal pictures of fans with dates and blurbs

Photo manipulations

Graphic design

Poetry

Anything else that’s printable

Things to think about

For your submission, consider some of the following questions to get the brain juices flowing. Don’t consider this the end-all of what you are allowed to address, just some suggestions.

How has Mother Mother inspired you?

How do you express your passion for Mother Mother?

How has Mother Mother accompanied you through life?

What Mother Mother lyrics resonate with you?

How has Mother Mother brought you joy?

When has Mother Mother been there for you?

Examples from my own life:

I’m transgender. Hearing Molly speak in an interview about how she was teased for her voice as a child, but then grew up to be a singer in such an amazing band helped me with my own relationship with my voice.

Mother Mother’s early music resonated with me as a mentally ill person. I felt like they understood me and that brought me comfort in darker times. Their newest music brings me a lot of joy and healing.

A collage I created based on lyrics from Everything Is Happening.

Submission details

Submissions open immediately and close July 1st, 2019. Submit one form per file.

General guidelines

This zine will have a positive leaning. I recognize that Mother Mother’s music doesn’t shy away from darker topics and emotions, but I want to emphasize that even when we struggle, things like Mother Mother can bring us light.

In that vein, we will not accept submissions with explicitly triggering details for things like self harm, suicide, traumatic experiences, etc. These things can be referenced but not incredibly detailed.

“I don’t have much art experience/I’m not sure my style would fit in/this is a crappy picture/I might not be good enough” - You are good enough. This is a zine about the fan experience, not professional artists/authors/photographers. The biggest reason anything would be rejected would be because we have reached capacity, it violates the two bullet points above, or you submitted just a squiggle on a piece of paper.

You may submit up to 5 different submissions.

Images

Art must be 300 dpi or above to be print-quality

Make sure you create it in CMYK color space for accurate print colors

Please submit these file types only: PNG, JPG, AI, PSD

Photos can be lower resolution, but if you have a hi-res version, consider submitting that

Image sequences (such as taken from videos) are OK, submit as a .zip folder

I will ask for a blurb/statement describing the image, the situation, what you have to say about it - please make sure to relate you explanation and image to Mother Mother

I will also ask for an approximate date the image was created

There is no dimension requirement, just be aware that the printable area of the page is 5″x7″

Unless you indicate that your image was created with a bleed, it will be resized to fit the printable area

You may submit images that have been previously published online

Text

There is currently no limit on the minimum or maximum amount of words you can submit, just make sure it is succinct in expressing yourself and don’t feel any pressure to expand too much if only a few words are needed

For all text submissions, I will edit for grammar/spelling/style and send you the edited version to OK - I do not want to alter your meaning, just make sure it looks good on the page

Please submit Word documents or PDFs

You may submit text that has been previously published online

Other submissions

Videos are welcome - I will choose screenshots from them, all requirements from the Images category apply, and please don’t send me something an hour long!

Audio is also welcome - if you would prefer to record your thoughts and submit them that way, please do so, I will transcribe them, all Text requirements apply, and please don’t send me something an hour long!

I’m not sure what else people might want to submit but please don’t feel confined by the two categories above, simply contact me if you have an idea for another type of submission.

SUBMIT HERE

What it will look like

The zine will be 5″x7″ and saddle stitched to keep costs down

A copy will be sent to the band

Physical and PDF digital copies will be available for purchase online

Cost will be designed to cover printing, processing, and shipping only

Any profit will be donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association, the charity Mother Mother has been raising awareness for

Please signal boost this post on social media to reach as many fans as possible! Direct any questions to me at @mothermotherfan!