#tiny combat arcade

[overly-dramatic-artist]

The Way of the Cards

The DCA Slasher au belongs to @wyervan

Here is my little written contribution to this amazing au featuring my ‘Final Girl,’ Cassandra

The soft patter of socked-footsteps interrupts the fuzzy melody of the cassette mixtape currently playing some Norah Jones blues from the stereo. Cassandra crosses the threshold of the kitchen into the living room carrying two hot mugs with little metal tea chains hanging over the lip, and joins Sun sitting on the rug covered hard-wood floor once more. He’s tentatively observing the little artifacts she has laid out on her reading cloth, various ends and odds with no clear meaning on the surface, along with mismatched candles of all shapes and sizes, and the large stack of cards right in the center.

Sun reaches a large hand forward, almost nervous to touch the glass evil eye stone, but pulls back immediately when Cassandra meets him on the floor, tucking her skirt-covered legs to the side and handing him a mug of earthy-sweet smelling tea.

“Thank you,” he says, the porcelain warm in his hands as he takes a sip. He recognizes the fuzzy heat of cinnamon, and catches the slight tease of mint, but otherwise cannot discern the comforting blend of flavors in the drink.

She smiles, berry-red lips quirked to the side, and a glow of pink meeting her cheeks.

“Of course,” she replies, taking a quick drink of her own. “It’s a recipe from my grandmother. She used to make it for me when I got bad headaches. But now I find myself making it almost everyday, the espresso machine in the cafe is just a killer.”

In Sun’s case, he would either take a fistful of ibuprofen or do nothing at all to combat the growing tension headaches from staring at the computer screen in the arcade office. Not to mention the absolute walking migraines to-be that were entitled parents and their snot-nosed children, those were a pharmacy’s worth each in pain-killers. He wasn’t necessarily the biggest believer in holistic approaches, but admired the fortune teller’s ritual of familiar comfort to ease her suffering. He’s seen her medicine cabinet before, entirely for innocent reasons, when he had been entrusted with looking after her cat, Juno, when she had to take a weekend to visit her grandmother. No cats allowed at the hospital, so Sun and Moon had been given the key to her apartment with a hastily written list of instructions and a profound amount of ‘thank you’s, and while caring for the cuddly calico, he came across several prescription bottles, all with Cassandra’s name and birthday, each containing different ingredients to an antidepressant cocktail. Not every issue can be solved with rose petals and valerian root, it seems.

“Everything has a meaning, you know,” she says, clearing her throat gently. “The objects, I mean.” She picks up the glass evil eye stone he had been looking at earlier. “Like this…I found it buried in my grandmother’s garden when I was little. She told me she had lost it from a pendant years before, and that was when she started teaching me about this kind of stuff. So for me…I don’t know, it’s like a first stepping stone on a new path in life. And, this, this sheep’s knuckle-“ she notices how Sun minutely flinches at the tiny bone pinched between her fingers- “is from Merlin. He once paid for a coffee with a handful of these. I was kind of annoyed at first, but more than anything, I was intrigued. I know he’s…a bit odd, but who am I to judge? So, I see this as a key of some sort. Grotesque, perhaps at first glance, but it pulled me in. It’s like an obstacle that becomes a guide.” Cassandra looks over at Sun, sipping his tea and rummaging through the mess of trinkets and bobbles, and she flushes. Having someone going through her own collection of talismans and sigils felt a bit too soul-bearing. “Anyways…you are more curious about the cards, yes?”

“Yes, yes, the cards!” Sun nods vehemently, his frazzled unkempt curls bouncing along with the tiny jingle of his multiple earrings from the motion. “I do enjoy your, how do I say this, uh, showmanship when you’ve done readings for myself and Moon. But I must admit, you, or I suppose, the cards have me hooked.” He makes an excited reach for the stack of cards, calloused fingertips brushing over the time-worn gold filigree on the card backs. “So! Where do we begin?”

“Hang on, hang on!” Cassandra interrupts, laying her own hand on top of his currently trying to seize the tarot deck. A rush of warmth kisses his face, and he eyes the mystical girl beside him, brows knitted together. “Firstly, my overzealous student, you must promise to hold the way of the cards to the highest degree of respect.”

Sun stares at her incredulously, the serious look on her face nearly startling…until her lips draw upwards, the stifled sound of her laughter breaking forth. Immediately, Sun sits up straight, much to the protest of his tortured spine, and places a large palm over his heart.

“I swear to it, my..uhm…teacher?”

“High priestess works as well.”

“Oh, yes, silly me!” He corrects himself with an exaggerated gasp. “My high priestess, I swear to hold the secrets and covenants of the cards to the highest respect, I swear it on my heart.”

“And-“

“There’s more?”

“Yes, hush now! And you must promise to only use the gift of sight for good, lest your harms return tenfold.“

There’s a flicker of aura, a dark miasma that floats around Sun’s chest at the word harm. It crosses Cassandra’s vision for only a second, the inky cloud disappearing, melting back into the warm orange that surrounds her aptly nicknamed friend.

Ignore it, it’s fine, you are overreacting.

“Of course! You know little ol’ me, I couldn’t hurt a fly!”

A real smile returns with a roll of her eyes.

“Oh please, I’ve seen the locker full of insecticides at the arcade.”

“It would be a health code violation to not keep that place spick and span! Not to mention how much children hate hate hate creepy crawlies! And- and, if they don’t hate them, you know how little ones are prone to putting anything in their mouths, no matter how disgusting-“

“Ew, ew, ew, okay, thanks for putting that image in my head.” Cassandra shakes her head, mouth twisted into a grimace, willing the gross imagery Sun had so eloquently described out of her thoughts. “You promise, though?”

”Yes, yes, I promise I will not use what you teach me for anything morally reprehensible,” he says with a blithe wave of his hand. “Though, I’m not sure you could teach me something bad. You are good as gumdrops, I’m afraid.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” she says, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at him with a smirk.

“Except of course for those two- no, three free coffees I’ve managed to charm out of you! I must say, they are much sweeter knowing I’ve brought a smile to your face.”

“I was smiling because I had never seen you and Moon so fucking tired before, and I was trying not to laugh. And that so-called charm? I’d say it was…endearing at most.”

It was endearing, truly. Sun and Moon had quite literally stumbled into the cafe last week, looking like a pair of gangly fools who had gone out on a night-long bender for the exhaustion that clouded around them. They didn’t exactly strike Cassandra as the types to go party and get shit-faced so horribly they couldn’t walk the next day, but they’ve managed to surprise her in the past so she tried not to presumptively judge them based on previous notions. Maybe they did enjoy staying up till odd hours letting loose and indulging in some risky behavior on occasion.

“Shall we resume the lesson on dark arts, or should we keep talking about how endearing I am? I don’t mind either way-“

“Let us leave behind your silly little conversation,” she says, swiftly cutting him off, “and let us begin.” Picking up the deck of tarot cards, Cassandra begins shuffling them with a practiced ease. “To start, let’s get you in tune with the deck. When gifted a set of cards, it’s good practice to align yourself with it.” With a flourish, she pulls a card from the middle of the deck. The High Priestess. “Usually, I will take time before every draw of cards to settle into the energy I’m seeking, the guidance I’m looking for, to connect with the cards.”

Shuffling her signature card back into the deck with a Sybil cut before bestowing the stack into Sun’s hands.

“So…what do I do exactly?” He fumbles with the cards, not as graceful with the deck, a nervous laugh escaping him. “Um, hello cards, I wish to know your ways…?”

She stifles her laughter, patting him gently on his shoulder.

“No need to speak directly to them, silly. Just…try to feel open to letting in the universe.” He situates himself with a nod, taking a deep breath, letting his fingers trace over the cards in his hands. He exhales, eyes closed, the air leaving his chest lighter. “Do you have a specific question in mind?” He daren’t open his eyes, feeling the soft warmth of her body just a moment’s distance away. He shakes a ‘no.’ “That’s okay, you can just let the cards get to know you.”

With a tremor in his hand, Sun pulls his first card.

The Five of Cups. Regret. Pain. Isolation.

Sun looks at the card, the sudden silence in Cassandra’s apartment becoming all too apparent now that the cassette in the stereo had run to the end of its tape. He watches her unmoving stare at the card before them, seemingly fixated on the detailed image.

”What does this one mean for me? Do I, uhm, need to drink more water?”

Cassandra remains quiet for a few moments, the tangle of thoughts in her mind growing as she tries to avoid falling down a deep dark hole of worry.

“Well…maybe you hold some regrets from your past. Some that lead to a great deal of pain and suffering, and you haven't fully healed from it all yet. And perhaps that pain has left you a bit lonesome?”

Sun just hums in response, inwardly amazed that she could pull all of that about him from a single card with cups on it.

He pulls the second card.

The Chariot. Victory. Action. Vengeance.

The tangle twists itself, memories of the dark clouds that floated around family photos when she was a little girl. An unending pit grows wider, feet slipping at the edge. Shattered glass and screaming matches, the sound of a car whipping away at high speed, the heated stare of decisiveness, the unwillingness to back down again.

“You are taking charge of your situation, determined to rise above the wrongs of the world.”

The Knight of Swords. Impulse. Change. Passion.

It’s there again. The crumpled old letter her grandmother had given her at the hospital. The family secrets that should have stayed buried away in the belladonna patch in the garden. The bones in the box. The heavy blue pulsing with inky black energy, the blood dripping down her face. The chasm has swallowed her whole, the pounding of blood through her veins echoing off the walls in her head.

Cassandra.

A light. Warm and soft and smelling vaguely of lemon Clorox.

Cassandra.

It’s Sunday. She’s in her living room. She’s on the floor. Juno is sitting over in her window perch. Sun is in front of her, large hands planted firmly on her slender shoulders. She is here. This is now.

“Cassandra?!”

She blinks again, the fuzzy energy fading away. Sun stares at her, eyes wide, the crease between his brows deepened with concern.

”Sorry, I’m sorry. I don’t- I’m okay.”

Liar.

“Are- are you sure? You looked like you were going to fall over there, can’t have you getting a concussion, no, no, that would be no good.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” She takes a sip of her tea. It’s gone cold.

The three cards remain face up, and she tries so so hard to not let the claws of doubt sink in. You’re reading too deep.

Sun clears his throat, breaking the silence.

“So…I’m a tortured soul desperate to make the world a better place?”

They meet each other’s gaze. The ringing in her ears vanishes and her heart finally calms against its cage. You are safe. He is safe.

”Something like that, I suppose.”

[googleitlol]

I just had such an odd dream?? Abt Lego monkie kid season 5??? It was so weird and I wanna share it, but I’m also gonna leave a TW for suicide because ??? Idek what this dream was 😭

It started with my friend (who doesn’t even watch the show) sending me a video on Instagram that’s just, like, the entire first episode?? So I start watching it and it follows MK and his friends (minus Monkey King) checking out this spooky abandoned building that kind of looks reminiscent of Macaque’s theatre

Macaque is there too, as part of the group, and he’s just depressed. Like bro is gloomy, talking like Misery from Ruby Gloom. Anyway, I’m not sure if they’re trying to track down this ghost or stop some sort of paranormal activity, but the gang needed Macaque’s help in order to do it.

But for some reason, it’s super dangerous for Macaque to do whatever he has to do, like only the strongest shadow magic can do this (I still don’t know what it even is that he’s supposed to be doing) and because of how depressed he is, his magic is also weaker. Pigsy and Tang straight up roast him saying he has the weakest shadow magic they’ve ever seen, and that if he tries doing whatever they asked him to do, he’ll likely die but Macaque knows this and makes it clear that’s what he wants

He tries doing it and there’s some really cool black and white animation from his magic that swirls around and he does some mega anime yell then BAM they’re all in an arcade.

They all go looking for Macaque since they don’t believe he’s really dead and eventually they find him on this game that’s a table projecting the game 3D onto itself. It’s formatted very much like Street Fighter, with the health bar, and opponents one either side ready to fight, but it’s macaque fighting the most random characters. Like, think Smash Bros. He’s fighting Sonic and Kirby at different points.

Anyway, it’s revealed he’s fighting them because the thing he did didn’t end up killing him, so he’s hoping to die in combat but he keeps winning which makes him even more depressed 😭

MK somehow uses his phone to send these messages that project into the game so Macaque can see them, and it’s all messages about how much they love him and need him in their lives, and to not do this to himself. The messages end up getting through to him, and decides to leave the game. But when he does, he stays small and sort of turns into a squishy version of himself?

Like one of these squish toys but that version of himself.

He was still sentient as a toy tho, and kept trying to fall out of MK’s hands to splat to his death, so I guess he changed his mind abt not wanting to kill himself?? Like it is a STRUGGLE to not let him fall, he’s like a cat that turns into liquid, or just super liquid-slime and droops down, and is just barely caught but he keeps drooping so MK has to just cup this tiny squish toy macaque in his hands.

Anyway, that’s the dream. Why did I dream of this? Idk, maybe it was a sign to rewatch the series while we wait for season 5 🤷‍♀️

Hopefully Macaque isn’t suicidal next season 🫡

[dyns33]

Snatch

I couldn't find any Mickey O Neil x reader story so I wrote one

And since I like Turkish, the story is from his pov

Most people don't know that I have a sister.

Probably because I don't, nor by blood, nor by adoption. Nothing legal or signed on a stupid piece of paper.

But when people ask me, I tell them that I'm her brother.

Yeah, I don't know her name or her adress. So what ? My sister is special.

We met years ago, during a difficult time for both of us. I helped her, she helped me, we knew after that we would always help each other, and she became my little sister.

It was a surprise when I learned about her and Mickey.

I didn't even know that she knew about him, but my sister always knows eveything. She has her weird ways to always know when I'm in deep shit.

She met Mickey a bit after the first combat, and before Brick Top decided to do a barbecue with his mother.

Never told me about that, or at least not when he was around. Maybe she was afraid I would be mad and try to act like a silly big brother, maybe she just thought it was none of my fucking business back then.

But after the gypsies left, she told me.

I could tell it was hard for her. I think she liked him, even if she didn't use the word. My sister never uses words when it comes to things like that.

"I can't believe he knows my adress." she said while staring at the wall, finishing her beer.

Mickey knows her adress. I don't. Nobody does.

It meant something.

After everything that happened in her life, my sis has problems trusting people, men or women. Tommy and I are exceptions, but even with us, she has some limits.

God knows why, the fucking pikey was special. More than me. I'm not jealous. But he broke her heart for sure, and so of course I'm not pleased.

I could see her tiny fragile heart when she told me about their night, and when she came at the arcades months later.

"They're back."

She didn't need to say who. I understood.

What I didn't understand right away was this thing in her eyes. In her voice.

My sister never cries. Not in front of me, not in front of anyone, and certainly not for an asshole. But she was about to, because of him.

"He won't come here." I promised.

She told me I was a stupid optimist, and that I didn't know him. He was inpredictable according to her. So she avoided the arcades, and my place, and the city, and I didn't like that.

Of course I was ever more pissed when she was right and Mickey showed his face, saying that he needed money, he wanted to fight, and he was ready to do it for us since we were good fellas.

He seemed surprised when I refused, and a bit upset. That was easy money, for him and for me.

He was not wrong about that, this fucker was one of the best boxers I ever met, and I could become rich by working with him. But first of all, I'm already rich, thanks to Tommy and his weird dog which offered us a big diamond.

And most important, he hurt my sister.

He seemed even more surprised when I tell him that.

Oh, he understood better why I refused his deal, he did.

He's surprised, because he didn't think that I knew about him and my sister.

I can tell that he's an only kid, like me. I guess the girls at the camp are not talking to their father or brothers, keeping their things to themselves, so nobody would bother them with rules and comments.

I had no idea how to react the first time my sister opened my door, went on my sofa and started to talk about things I didn't care about, people I never fucking heard of, problems that were not mine, but something in my chest told me that it was important. That it meant something.

So I listened, like a good brother.

I asked her once if I was a good brother. She said I was not so bad. Maybe she has siblings, real siblings, I really don't know, but she said I was not so bad, meaning I'm pretty good.

And a good brother doesn't work with the fucker who hurt his sister, even for easy money.

Mickey seemed to accept that and left.

I told my sister, hoping she would come back, but she told me again that I was an idiot.

As always, she was right.

The gipsie returned days after, completely drunk. Tommy was alone when he arrived and had no fucking idea what to do with him, so he let him sit in a corner, offering a coffee and he waited for me.

I had no fucking idea what to do with him either.

The big brother wanted to punch him, but the selfish coward wanted to stay in one piece. If I started a fight with him, I had no chance to win, even if he was wasted.

So I just asked him what he wanted.

"There." he said with his awful giberish that I can't understand half the time. "It's far ya sistah."

He gave me letters. A ton of letters, with a name and an adress on them.

My sister's.

She told me about the adress, not about giving her name. I felt bad for reading it, because if she wanted me to know, she would have told me.

All the letters were sent from a different part of the country, and they all came back to Mickey, because according to the postmen, the person had moved.

I had an adress, and it was already useless. She had moved, right after Mickey left.

He told me to read. I didn't want a drunk pikey to be mad at me, so I did.

Mickey was writing better than he was talking. Maybe he was talking better when he was with her. I never asked her if she could understand everything he was saying, but she seemed to.

In all the letters, he was saying more or less the same things, that he was sorry, that he missed her, that he wanted to come back one day.

They didn't just spent a night. They talked about his ma. He liked having someone outside of the camp to talk about her, and about everything else. She talked to him too, about things that I knew, and things I never heard of.

"Sh's mad at me. Got that. But I miss her, ya'know ? Don't care bout maney n baxes. Here far her. Sh's was nace. Her smile, man… Like the sun, n the sky n all that. Can ya tell her ?"

I didn't want to tell her. I wanted him to leave for good, and my sister to come back and be happy again.

But in his eyes I saw what I saw in her eyes when the fucker was back in town. And he was not back to find a job, he was back because he wanted to see her.

Tommy said that it was cute. I told him to fuck off, and I tried to think. Then I decided that I was not good at thinking, and I gave the letters to my sister.

We met in a pub, and she stared at the papers, at her name, for long minutes, before looking at me.

"You read them ?"

"He asked me to. We don't need to talk about that. You don't even have to read this shit, or see him again."

"You could work with him again if I decided to forgive him."

"I don't fucking care, it's not about him or me."

She stared at me again, before taking the letters, going to another table to read them alone. I have no idea how many time it took her, because she didn't move when she was done, and I approached her like an idiot, not knowing if I could sit with her.

The thing in her eyes was back. I didn't like that. But she seemed less sad.

"What should I do, Turkish ?"

"You will do what you want, as always."

"You really can't work with him anymore if I don't forgive him."

"I got that part. I won't be mad."

"And would you be mad… If I decided to forgive him ?"

I hesitated. Maybe a bit, yeah, because this fucker was an ass who almost got us killed, but he was not a bad lad at the end, and he truly seemed to care about her, so I told my sister that it was not important.

"You will do what you want, even if I'm mad."

"Quite true." she said with a huge smile, and I saw what Mickey meant with the sun and all that. She's a true beauty, my sister.

A real menace too.

She went to the camp behind my back, with Tommy. He had no idea what she wanted to do, but when she asked him to drive her, he did, because he may not be her brother, Tommy is acting a lot like one with her. He has two little sis, it's easier for him.

The gipsies all stared at them, mostly at her, as if they were shocked but glad to see her, then they stared at Mickey when he went out of his caravan.

He stared at her, she stared at him, they all stared at each other.

According to Tommy, it was impossible to tell if you should laugh or cry in this tense situation.

Then my sister made the first move, because she always makes the first move.

"You can work for my brother." she said, giving a card with a number to the pikey.

"Thanks lave, 'lready have his phane."

"It's not his."

Everything changed immediately, and Mickey looked at the number as if it was the holy graal, then at my sister as if she was fucking Jesus, his eyes full of light and a big stupid smile appearing on his face.

My sister tried to keep a very serious face, but someone who knew her well could tell that hiding the same stupid expression.

When they were in the car, Tommy told her that it was cute. She told him to fuck off.

He was about to start when her door opened, and then Mickey was in the car too, his hands on her face, and his lips on her lips, and he kissed her during torturous long minutes for poor Tommy who didn't move, until it was necessary to breath for the three of them.

The fucker had an even more stupid smile on his face after that, like he was in heaven.

"Call ya t'night !" he said.

"You better !"

While going back home, Tommy didn't say anything, looking at the road. My sister told him to fuck off.

After that, if people ask me, I tell them that I have a sister and a brother in law. No idea where they live, and what they're doing most of the time, but at least once per week they're coming to my place to sit on my sofa and talk.

I have no fucking idea what he's saying, and I have no fucking idea what she is talking about, but I'm listening, and I see that Mickey is listening with as much interest as me, because he too knows that it means something, and so I think that it's not so bad.

[starstruckodysseys]

incorrect quotes 3: the thirdening

(ft cassie from @angelwiththeblue-box as always <3)

russell: so what are your goals in life?

cassie: we’ve been banned from every major city transportation system except portland

russell:

lanie: we don’t know what their limit is but we will fucking find it

— —

sibling alert (sorry i had to)

josh: the recipe says to beat three eggs?

lanie: it means in hand to hand combat

josh: ohhhhh

jenna: both of you get the fuck out of the kitchen

— —

liv: lanie’s cute. i think i’m gonna ask her out

cassie, thinking about the night before when a slightly drunk lanie was standing on a table screaming that worms are just tiny, harmless snakes: good, because i’m positive no one else will

— —

[ full of BPA ]

sky’s the limit

did you guys pick up eggs?

wendell thee morris

we’ll do you one better

sky’s the limit

wh

laniebug

[ IMG.079 ]

> image desc: chicken :]

her name is ms. fluffy

— —

lanie, frantically searching through a first aid kit: WHY DID YOU FILL IT WITH CHEETOS?!

cassie, bleeding out: i don’t know, i thought it was funny at the time

— —

wendell: i can never tell if you’re flirting with me or trying to insult me

lanie: if it makes you feel any better neither can i

— —

cassie: fitness tip: never stop pushing yourself

cassie: some say eight hours of sleep is enough. why stop there? why not nine? why not ten? strive for greatness

lanie: next time you’re working out do 15 push-ups instead of 10. run 3 miles instead of 2. eat a whole cake instead of just a slice. burn your ex’s house down

liv: ...are you two doing okay

— —

cassie: why call it adhd when you can call it bees in my head there are bees in my head whenever i try to focus there are bees in my fucking head

— —

lanie: if there’s going to be a big dramatic scene, wait until i get back

cassie: of course. i can’t flip this table by myself

— —

[ very serious work chat ]

laniebug

remembering the time i ate an entire loaf of pumpkin bread on a shift and paula got so enraged she called me a “little loaf eating freak”

— —

[ sappho’s legacies ]

laniebug

i extend my hand like a mob boss and allow you to kiss my ring but when you lean closer you see it’s one of those glow in the dark spider rings you win at arcades

cheddar cheese

*pretends to kiss it but i eat the spider very discreetly but you notice anyway because my mouth is glowing from the inside*

laniebug

*godfather voice* you disrespec me… and eat my spooky spida ring, which cost me 50 tickets at funtime arcade and pizzeria… vinny, hit her with da sticky hand

— —

lanie: well, if you’re not at least a little bit gay for your friends, what kind of friend are you?

— —

[ very serious work chat ]

wendell thee morris

wait

if baby oil dissolves condoms then what the fuck does it do to babies??

rust

Believe it or not, babies and condoms aren’t made out of the same materials

cheddar cheese

it’s like rock paper scissors!

baby oil defeats condom, baby defeats baby oil, condom defeats baby!

laniebug

rock also defeats baby

— —

russell: i hope you guys have a good enough explanation for this

lanie: we have three, actually

cassie: pick your favorite

— —

lanie: did you eat my gummy bears?

cassie: *visibly shoves 14 gummy bears into her mouth, chews for seven minutes, finally swallows* first of all, i don’t appreciate your accusations

[why485]

2024 Games of the Year

It's the time of the year where people make lists about the games of the year! I haven't done of these in a while, but this year I feel strongly enough about enough games that I really want to do one. As is always the case, I only go by games I played this year. Doesn't really matter to me when they were released. Honestly, release date means even less today than it used to because of Early Access, continued support, live service, etc. Anyway, onto the picks!

Game of the Year: Derail Valley

This one caught me completely by surprise. In every meaning of the word, this is the VTOL VR of train sims. An accessible, but still kinda simmy, approach to train simulators that is deeply interactive by virtue of being designed as a VR game first. It has an addictive game loop, and learning the ins and outs of every locomotive, and the various routes, is deeply satisfying.

There is a physicality to every action in this game that is just wonderful. You don't just press a UI element to couple two trains together. You get out of cabin, walk over to the coupler, connect the anchor points, connect the brake hose lines, open the brake valves, and then undo the handbrake on the car. It sounds mundane, but 80 hours later and it still hasn't gotten old.

This game has been out for a while in Early Access. I'd heard about it occasionally, but the B99 trailer was what really convinced me that I had to give this game a shot. I'm glad I'm playing this now, because with the current feature set it feels like the best time ever to get on board.

Best Flight Sim: Nuclear Option

Tiny Combat but good, this game, being made by an incredibly talented, small, and competent team, is incredible. It's a sim-lite in the same vein as the Novalogic sims or the Jane's Fighters games. It's set in the near future with made up planes with crazy detailed damage models, and with a love for very, very big explosions.

What's most impressive to me about Nuclear Option is the breadth of features. You have low intensity conflict trainer props and jets, a quad rotor V-22 Osprey-like tiltrotor that can also double as an AC-130 style gunship, and a VTOL electronic warfare/AWACS plane with laser turret in the nose that can shoot down incoming missiles.

This game is still in early access, but progress has been steady, and with a bright future ahead of it.

Best Graphics: Thunder Helix

Like Nuclear Option, I've been following this game since almost its inception. Thunder Helix is a modern take on the arcade helicopter sim, somewhere between Desert Strike and Gunship 2000. It's very fun, and easy to play in short bursts.

What's so exceptional about this game though is its aesthetic. It is a gorgeous representation of what you remember these games looking like, authentically recreated to a meticulous degree. This is a game that uses color palettes, dithering, and doesn't even have a depth buffer. The game opens with a fake DOS prompt! The only real departure, and a welcome one at that, is that the game runs at a buttery smooth modern framerate.

Most Rent Free: Metal Gear Solid (1 and 2)

Following the graduation of my kamioshi, I decided I would finally play Metal Gear Solid. This is a series that needs no introduction, but I thought I should at least play the first game, if nothing else because of its historical significance. In the end, I played MGS1, MG1 VR Missions, and MGS2.

These games blew me away. They are so good. Kind of. There's a lot of qualifiers actually. They simultaneously have aged super well, but also are pretty rough in some areas. However the most lasting element from these games, is that they turned everything into a Metal Gear reference. Due to just how much dialog there is in these games, along with its kitchen sink approach to writing, you can relate almost anything to Metal Gear.

For about 6 solid (METAL GEAR REFERENCE?) months, I was thinking about Metal Gear constantly. It really sticks with you, for a lot of reasons, not all of them good. There's just so much to talk about with these games but I guess this it for now!

[ettadunham]

i'm still doing my shtick where i play random adventure games spit out by the power of magic and anime i guess, but i have fallen behind on archiving this process for posterity and whatnot. so, let me start with a banger, a gem, an absolute masterpiece...

SHENMUE (1999)

now, this game definitely has its existing audience, but if you're a doofus like me, here's a bit of a rundown. you play as ryo hazuki, a teenager whose dad just got murdered, and you've sworn to avenge him!!! you know, classic stuff. finding the killer however is not as straightforward as it might seem first, and requires hefty challenges, such as... running around, asking questions, beating up high school girls, and getting a job. a real slice of life experience!

the combat system is actually pretty cool, there's a bunch of moveset combinations you can learn and even refine by practicing. there are also tons of QTE events, and one tiny stealth section, that makes the story-related gameplay flow.

the thing however, that shenmue is most recognized for today, is probably its revolutionary open world system and day/night cycle. every day you wake up, take your daily allowance, do whatever daily routine you prefer, and then go outside to continue your quests. or just hang out in an arcade playing games. the world is your oyster! events are also time and even date sensitive (bunch of them are also optional interactions), so sometimes, you would have the time to kill anyway!

this, and the fact that you literally have to do a daily job at some point in the game is what seems to put off a lot of people, but... idk. i actually quite enjoyed this aspect. (shenmue II changed this a bit by letting you have the option to skip time when there's a quest event, and it's a nice to have, but i have a whole different beef with that game. i'll get back to you shenmue II!!!!)

also, forklift driving rules actually! god, i wish i was forklift driving rn.

another aspect of shenmue that i enjoyed is how cinematic it is! sure, it's done within the confines of 1999 graphics, but still, you can tell the effort and direction that went into making the most of those early restrictions. one of my favorite scenes is where ryo and his not-girlfriend girlfriend nozomi are riding on a motorbike together. not just for the cinematics, but because neither of them are wearing helmets, and nozomi is sitting on that bike as if it was a sidesaddle. love is when you and your partner have one braincell and zero survival instinct between the two of you <3.

so, yeah, in case you couldn't tell, i really enjoyed this one, and would absolutely recommend! but just in case you need one more incentive: you can pet the cat. as many times as you want. 🐈

[patchwork-crow-writes]

We all know about your love of Deltarune, any other pieces of media you're into but don't talk about as much?

Ohh, we could be here awhile... but let me try and narrow it down as best I can!

So I am mega mega into Star Fox, which as you can imagine is pretty annoying since they haven't released a new game for that franchise since Zero back in *checks notes* 2015... nearly a decade! But yeah, the first two games are incredible - the original for the SNES is a touch dated nowadays, but full 3D polygons on a 16-bit console blew my tiny 4-year old brain when I first played it. And what can I say about Lylat Wars (StarFox 64 in America), except that it's one of the best arcade experiences on the console? The controls, the scoring system, the cheesy voiceovers... it's the pinnacle of the series, and I'll happily die on that hill.

The Phantasy Star series is also something I've been really into for a lot of my life, starting with the original Phantasy Star Online on the Gamecube. Essentially a proto-MMORPG that's set in space - think photon-based weaponry and guns instead of steel swords and shields, with a loot table that legitimately has 100,000 to 1 odds for some of the best gear. The games get increasingly anime-esque as you go through the series, but beneath that unassuming exterior there's a heck of a cosmic horror story. You might have seen me post about Dark Falz Loser a couple of times - he's essentially one manifestation of an eldritch force of entropy who wishes to consume the entire universe so he might become omniscient. Others exist as well, but he's my favourite on account of being a weird birb creature :3

One last game I got weirdly into for a time was Eternal Sonata, which is a JRPG staring famous pianist Frederic Francois Chopin. It takes place in a world created by his dying dreams, where everything and everyone is named after musical terminology. The combat system evolves as you progress and is a really fun hybrid between real time and turn-based. It's one of the few games I actually completed to 100%, back when gamerscore was a big deal lol.

I'll have to stop there for everyone's sanity, ahaha :P But yeah, if I'd got into fandom spaces before Deltarune, it probably would have been because of one of these games! Thanks for the ask :D

[manonamora-if]

Project Status and Plans

All projects and their relevant links are listed here or here.

2023 Resolutions:

Get things off my desk and shelf it for good.

Avoid starting new ones, or at least starting new WIPs

Continue to do Word Crimes (and maybe Code Crimes)

Under the break:

Project Status and Current To-Do's

Future Projects

/ . /

Project Status and Current To-Do's:

Meeting the Parents

Remaster Completed - Maintenance when needed

Crimson Rose & White Lily

Hiatus - Correct bugs - Redesign the Codexes - Complete Scene 5 (and Scene 2 variations?)

Exquisite Cadaver

Hiatus - Fix UI - QoL update of textbox and translated text - Add missing scenes and Endings - Fix Endless Mode - Look into French localization (unlikely) - Fix the blog

SPS Iron Hammer

Complete Future: remaster with complete story and gameplay

The Thick Table Tavern

Complete - Update Planned - Fix UI (look into mobile scaling) - Fix coding bugs (esp. Arcade Mode) - Re-writes of current text - Add missing storylets - Include recurring characters

The Trials and Tribulations of Edward Harcourt

Work In Progress - dependent on writer - Complete next round of edit and code - Package as a completed product

La Petite Mort

Completed - Update in the Works - Fix UI - Add missing rooms, content and endings - Correct the Inventory Mechanic - Fix display of elements - Translate into English

Goncharov Escapes!

Remaster Completed - Maintenance when needed

P-Rix - Space Trucker

Hiatus - Fix animations (esp text) and autoscrolling - Add the missing content - Look into French localization

DOL-OS

Remaster Completed - Maintenance when needed

The Rye in the Dark City

Hiatus - Fix UI - Double check Act 1 and fix errors - Add Act 2 and 3

The Roads not Taken

Complete - Update Planned - Iron-out the UI + display element - Fix parser gameplay (esp direction) - Add missing element/actions - Look into French localization

Entre-d’œufs coquilles An Eggscellent Preparation

Complete - Update Planned - Fix current bugs and issues (wrong text display and main puzzle) - Retranslate to French - Repackage into one page - Upload to IF Archive + GitHub

The Dinner

Complete - Update Planned - Complete missing courses and Final Beat - Add alternative options + rewind endings - Look into French localization

Templates and Guides

Work In Progress - unlikely to be complete - SugarCube Guide: add missing APIs, commonly used blocks of code, functionality, UI changes, JavaScript code; fix some small errors, add SGDocu theme - Templates: make more for fun; planned: title page. Also add the missing pictures of the templates on itch.

Complete - nothing will change here - Tweego Guide - CScript to SugarCube Guide

Tiny Games

Le Jeu de la Dévotion: fix the typos + English translation

À La Campagne

Collision

Intersigne

Clarence Street, 14

Other To-Do's

Prompts: put them in separate collection

Empty Inbox

Re-design itch pages: consistent style between main games

Re-format Tumblr intro posts: consistent style between posts

Continue to Host Jams

Continue to Play and Review Games

Take care of those damn wrists and hands.

Future Projects

Those projects are TBD in everything. They would probably start then the above To-Do has decreased. The titles are WIP titles. This is not the complete list I have hidden in a drawer or other desk bunnies. They might not be Twine games, or IF games either...

Quest Town

A RPG-style adventure, where you play as a beginner adventurer on the road to greatness and treasure. Along the way, you encounter people needing your help, with promise of rewards in return.

This would include a leveling system, inventory system, combat gameplay, travelling back and forth between location, storylets...

Project Status: Not Started

IFComp/SpringThing 2024-5?

A puzzle-focus escape-room, in hypertext/visually interactive form. Multiple rooms with different puzzle and interconnectedness. Story with mystery.

I technically have a title for it, and the pun is still making me giggle. But keeping this in my sleeve.

Project Status: Mock-up, some puzzles coded.

CRWL Side-quel

A Razac-focused story, either as a prequel, during the event of the games, sequel, or plain alternate universe. Mainly because I've been playing him in a TTRPG session and he's a fun character I want to explore further.

Project Status: Not Started

Sword Vigilante F/F Rivalry

Because there are not enough of those, and I can just go all in with the humour, camp, gushing, innuendos and puns, and of course... betraaaaayyyaals. Think Zorro but with more sword ladies.

Project Status: Not Started

TTTT Sequel - Bron(m?)'s Quest

Essentially a similar gameplay from TTTT but with food instead of drinks. Help Brom(n?) prepare food for the customers.

Project Status: Not Started

[drharorswellnessgk]

🌟 The Next-Gen Solution for Hair Loss 🌟

Exosomes Hair Therapy is a cutting-edge, non-surgical treatment 🧬 that combats hair loss by harnessing the regenerative power of exosomes. These tiny cellular messengers are packed with growth factors, cytokines, and proteins essential for cell renewal. They reactivate dormant hair follicles 🌱, push them into the growth phase (anagen), and support healthier, stronger hair.

Perfect for those experiencing hair thinning, early-stage hair loss, or reduced hair density 💇‍♂️💇‍♀️.

💡 Why Choose Exosomes Therapy?

🧑‍⚕️ Suitable for early to moderate hair loss

💉 Minimally invasive

🛌 Zero downtime

🧘‍♂️ No side effects

🌿 Key Benefits

🔄 Stimulates natural hair growth

🧖 Promotes scalp health

Say goodbye to hair loss & hello to confidence! 💁‍♂️💁‍♀️ Book your Exosome treatment today! 📅✨

📈 Improves hair thickness and density

🌟 Why Choose Dr. Haror’s Wellness? 🌟

✔️ Holistic Approach 🌿 ✔️ Targeted Treatments 🎯 ✔️ 15+ Years of Expertise 🏆 ✔️ 100,000+ Satisfied Clients 💖 ✔️ Premium Care, Affordable Treatments 💎 ✔️ State-of-the-Art Technology 🏥

📞 Call Now: +91 96378 66666 📲 🔗 Book Here: https://drharorswellness.com/

🏥 Visit Us At:

📌 Delhi NCR: 🔸 Greater Kailash I (GK 1) – R-27, Greater Kailash I, New Delhi-110048 🔸 Preet Vihar – A-1, Ground Floor, Shankar Vihar, New Delhi-110092 🔸 Rajouri Garden – 3rd Floor, Z-10, Rajouri Garden Extension, Delhi -110027 🔸 Model Town – F-14, Above Burger King, Model Town Phase 2, Delhi – 110009 🔸 Gurgaon – 1st Floor, Malibu Arcade, Sector 47, Opp. Good Earth Mall, Gurugram 122018

📌 Other Cities: 🔸 Kolkata – 2nd Floor, PN DD/30, Andromeda Building, Sector 1, Salt Lake, Bidhannagar, Kolkata – 700064 🔸 Bangalore (Malleshwaram) – Margosa Plaza, First Floor, #50-56, Between 16th & 17th Cross Road, Margosa Road, Malleshwaram, Bangalore – 560055 🔸Indore - 3rd Floor, 92, BRTS Main Road,opposite Clifton Mall, near Satya Sai Square,Part II, Scheme No 114,Indore, Madhya Pradesh – 452010

[blueeyedrat]

Steam Next Fest, winter 2025. More comments under the cut.

Over half my list is puzzle games, as is typical. Some hits: Is This Seat Taken is a charming little logic puzzle about arranging pieces to fulfill more and more complex requirements, while AI Kill Alice is a different sort of logic puzzle about finding more and more novel ways to use the limited tools you're given. Quadphos is a nice minimalist Minesweeper-esque that ramps up in complexity nicely.

Some misses: Enlightening might be a nice sokoban if it had a better control scheme, but as is it didn't hold my interest. SpreadCheat is a game I had my eye on for a bit, but the humor became grating almost immediately and the math puzzles weren't interesting enough to overcome it.

A couple demos I played are games I first saw as prototypes of on itch.io, and it's nice to see them getting expanded on. Play Twice's demo is somewhat basic, but having already played the prototype I didn't really need the concept proven to me. Hot Wax is an arcade puzzler in the vein of Tetris; the way it iterates on the concept is very interesting, but also it screws with my Tetris instincts in every possible way and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

Programming puzzles have long existed on a spectrum: more mechanical (like SpaceChem, Opus Magnum, Prime Mover, or my recent obsession ABI-DOS) and more raw coding (like Shenzhen I/O, Human Resource Machine, or A=B). If you're in the mood for the latter, QuantumPulse 2A might be what you're looking for. Simple but intriguing core mechanic, with a lot of different ways to solve and optimize. In the grand tradition of Zach-likes, it's even got solitaire. What's not to like?

Another miss: Train Valley Origins feels like a slightly clunkier version of the original Train Valley; I liked the first two games and passed on the third, and I suspect I'll be passing on this one too. On the other hand, I can already see myself sinking time into Islands and Trains; it's a simple sandbox like Townscaper or Tiny Glade, but one that offers just enough options that I might accidentally lose several hours getting everything just right.

Isle of Reveries is another retro Zelda-like, and it more or less lives up to that ideal. The movement's good, the combat's fine, and the demo (consisting of an opening segment and the first dungeon) has a good variety of puzzles and tools to use, with one in particular that could make for some very interesting scenarios further down the line.

Meanwhile, Tall Trails takes the "climb everything" style defined by modern Zelda (and the games that followed in its wake, like Sable), mixes in some speedy 3D platformer movement, and turns the whole thing into a collect-a-thon. Turns out, it's a pretty fun combo! Thumbs up.

Wanderstop is… a curiosity. There are plenty of "cozy" games out there. There are plenty that are specifically about running some kind of "cozy" space, like a garden or a tea shop. There are games that function simultaneously as a space for escapism or simple routines, and as a narrative about escapism or simple routines. And, well, there's a reason for that! These ideas dovetail nicely with each other, if you can pull it off. The demo for Wanderstop only offers a small glimpse of the larger story, but the core concept (essentially, an action game protagonist suffering severe burnout and becoming stranded in the "wrong" genre) is a compelling enough hook that I'm interested to see how it plays out. The demo hits the right beats mechanically, has a lovely aesthetic, and has enough of a dev pedigree that I have high hopes for it.

[savagesneversleepnyc]

THE YOWIE (AUSTRALIAN FOR YETI)

Up near DERBY in the far flung

NORTH WEST TERRITORY

From out of the tall brush

Came the wretched

Stinking YOWIE

Like cheese, meat, mold and death

Had a baby

The YOWIE pounced with

Such fury the tiny

Lizards scampered into puddles

They had all made in

Fear of the commotion

The YOWIE took one look at

The tourists and snatched one

Up like a gummy worm from out

Of a fine glass container

His last scream was a muffled

Kerfluffel of vowels and screaming bloody

Murderous howls as his head and neck

Collided with the gaping maw

Full of rotten teeth squeezing

Calories from out of BARRY

The leader of the troop pounced

Into action as well and curled up

In a ball thinking he was in

JURASSIC PARK and that the YOWIE

Might possibly behave as a T REX

And perhaps NOT SEE HIM if he was to

NOT MOVE and BE STILL

BUT Oh MOTHER LEMME TELL YA

NOT A GOOD LOOK

The YOWIE being utterly perplexed

By this having never seen an

ARMADILLO ROADKILL skid down

The tarmac and back again

As its armor was sufficient but ill suited

Against the rims of the 18 wheelers steel

The YOWIE stepped back with a

RIGHT HOOF and PUNTED GORDON

Clear on the other side of the creek

He too made sounds as he careened screaming before being IMPALED upon a

Post of the ghost of the

RABBIT PROOF FENCE

That was left for all the bunny’s

And tiny mites to DIE looking for water

That was impossible to find and

Become OUTBACK morsels for BUZZARDS

GORDON had splattered and BETO and BEN prepared for YOWIE combat

The remaining troop RAN towards the creek Speaking in tongues that

MORMON MISSIONARIES spoke too

When they came to hunt the YOWIE

For the church of something something something ZOO-A-LOGICAL arcade

But the YOWIE was said to have eaten them too

All while leaving one survivor SOLE SURVIVOR to feast on its

Blazing hot people FECES as the YOWIE

Pounded The ground and found little solace

In the pitiful human shoveling filth down

Like HOT DONUTS from the bakery

BACK IN DERBY

As the troop tripped and dodged WOMBATS

And DINGOS and WINGOS and blue haired Ladies angrily waiting to play BINGO

As the eyes of GOD looked down

On the muddy creek bed and giggled and

Pretended not to send the CROCS to

Beat out the YOWIE and gobble up the remaining survivors in the creek bed and

Leave him too battling the JAWS that love a Meat sickle of any size shape color or flavor

But the YOWIE was hungry

So he grabbed the biggest CROCY and

Thumped the shit outta the other two

Biggest ALPHA CROCS

SPLATTERING the first ones

Face into the carcasses of the people

They had all to briefly enjoyed eating those people

The CROCS gnarled their terrible teeth, claws and eyes at the YOWIE

before spinning back into the creek

To swim up the way and look for another

Bit of meat just up the corner and around the bend again

The YOWIE grabbed what slabs of protein

His mighty paws could hold snatch them all up clean

Lumbering off while sneaking wee bites

Of what had been IKE as the SUN slowly

Falls on the OUTBACK and DERBY and the

Disastrous excursion the troop had so

Delivered to the YOWIE

Like a whole roast DUCK in a PAN

A meal is a meal is a meal is a man in the OUTBACK mistake house… DERBY, NW TERRITORY

2:16am YARDIE HOD NYC 7.12.24.0000003

[neverendingrelease]

Releasing Today, Mar 8 2024!

This is another decent into chaos/madness kinda game day - so bear with me.

Summerhouse is a chill 2d house building sandbox. It's just there for you to have fun building in - no goals or game overs.

Star Racer is an arcade racing game clearly inspired by F-Zero. It adds offensive items like Mario Kart, and I see some kinda Panzer Dragoon kinda shooting? It has a level editor and apparently music by Grant Kirkhope. No online play unfortunately. I'm also confused why it doesn't have a steam thumbnail.

Bore Blasters is a 2D roguelike mining and collecting game. Honestly it looks really entertaining and replayable because of the ways you can mine. I like that it's kinda like lunar lander in a way too.

Phenom Overdrive is an atmospheric exploration shmup with multiple endings.

The Consumerist Journey is a surreal exploration game discussing "the nature of consumerism, capitalism, and the human condition".

Abyssal Reflections is a "short Atmospheric depressing non-jumpscare" first person game. Apparently you're supposed to be asking yourself - "Who am I, what am I? I'm a robot, right? Anyway, I've got a couple of Objectives I don't have time for right now." I have no idea what's going on here tbh

Barbotine is an first person horror game that starts with like a party but ends with you fighting C19 people with... tendril arms and one that comes out of your chest?!? It's only ~25 minutes long so it'll be a short and very weird experience if you dare play it.

[nitrosodiumfmp]

A closer look at past projects

I've already reminisced and compared my past projects at length, but I'll do it again to make things clearer.

toxic waters longplay rs (youtube.com)

Toxic Waters was my first project, and a resounding success. I think I mentioned this before, but Toxic Waters is one of my oldest ideas for a game. It was originally created as an adventure game made in PowerPoint (yes, I can make games in PowerPoint) in September 2019. From there, it expanded into plans for a 3D game, along with a more typical sidescroller version called Toxic Waters Lite in mid-2022, also in PowerPoint. My vision for the game continued to grow throughout 2023, and I thought it would be the perfect game to do in college. You'll see in a lot of my old blog posts, Toxic Waters is called "TWL", or Toxic Waters Lite, but I thought that because it was the first actual Toxic Waters game, the "Lite" didn't make much sense. It was a platformer with physics puzzle elements and patrolling enemies, though I had planned for much more. Metroidvania-esque levels that can be travelled between, multiple enemy types lifted from previous versions of the game idea, combat with a variety of weapons, and a shop system where you could buy more health and ammo. There was going to be checkpoints, readables in the environment, changing water levels and way more interactivity. But obviously it was an unbelievable feature creep, so I cut it down to just four levels with no combat and more rudimentary puzzle mechanics. I learned a good lesson with that project - don't be infected by feature creep.

Overdeath """Gameplay""" (youtube.com)

Overdeath/Sparkler came next as my FPS project. I'll call it Overdeath, but throughout development it was being created both as a fast-paced shooter (Overdeath) and a mascot horror game with an emphasis on sound propagation (Sparkler). I had some levels made for Sparkler, but halfway through I finally made the change to Overdeath. I was prototyping before I even knew what game I was gonna make! Combine that with poor time allocation, even more feature creep, and the fact that we didn't learn AI until the 11th hour meant that the "final" version of Overdeath was slapped together at the very last second, a frosty canyon filled with kind-of-braindead enemies that you can easily disintegrate with your weapons. It did play, and I did pass, but it was missing so much that's core to an interactive experience. After Overdeath, which felt like a very personal failure as it was an idea I was quite excited about, I created the "lasagna philosophy" which I quoted a lot throughout the third project. When making a game, start with the most basic elements, and work your way up. It was something I had inadvertently used in the final hours of Toxic Waters, reusing the core assets I already had made in interesting ways in the last two levels, such as stacking two elevators on top of each other to create a sort of sliding door, or having a Drain push a barrel along as a final setpiece.

Sweat Pursuit Unreal Edition: Coronary Aftermath: Vengeance Of The Fatman (youtube.com)

Next up came another one with multiple names. Equus Librum, Savanna Rumble, Oubliette, Temple, and finally Sweat Pursuit. This was another one where the first week was fraught with deliberation; I had originally planned to do the arcade project as a semi-infinite resource collection game, but I was then told it wouldn't be arcadey enough, so I set about recreating one of my old Scratch games, a silly infinite runner called Sweat Pursuit. As much as I did enjoy the third project, it felt less creative. Because Sweat Pursuit required building from the ground up (it wasn't like Overdeath or Toxic Waters where Unreal had a template I could use) most of my time was spent coding. A lot of time I felt very stressed, getting hung up on tiny but important facets of the code that just wouldn't work no matter what I did. In the end, however, I did have a finished game, possibly the most functional and polished of my ideas so far. But I didn't enjoy the gaminess of it, in the sense that all my time was programming. It wasn't like my other projects where some time would be spent designing levels, or coming up with concept art, or I'd be making massive blog posts about my ideas outside of college. The fact that it all had to be mechanically sound left little time for much else in the project - I did research, of course, but it didn't feel as interesting.

My idea for this project was, at a very primordial level, to make a level that can be explored. I wanted to create an immersive walking simulator, which was a basic idea upon which other mechanics could be easily tacked on. I know that Doubt and deliberation in the early days of a project can damage things later on, so my considerations of other ideas this time around has been more because we have to come up with three ideas, and this allows me to explore the other ones without dropping the original. I think we start coding after half term (next week) so this is about the time I have to pick a game idea. Looking at everything, I think this is another case of my first instinct being the best, and Sinister City being the way to go.

After some revisions, however, it doesn't take place in a city anymore. Maybe a better name would be Sinister Workshop.

[luigi-mcdingle]

steam summer sale 2023 is here, here's game recommendations

mostly lesser-known indie games hopefully Kill it with Fire ($3.74) - Funny little game where you kill spiders across a house and unlock increasingly wacky weapons (has arachnophobia options!) A Short Hike ($5.19) - A LUDICROUSLY relaxing isometric open-world platformer; if you look it up and don't like the weird pixel aesthetic, that's actually just a filter you can turn off in the options ;) Supraland ($7.99) - First-person puzzle metroidvania? where you play as a tiny clay person in a kid's garden; sure, why not

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara ($4.94) - A game I will never stop plugging; 2-pack of classic D&D beat 'em ups that are just a blast to play, even singleplayer, though it naturally has 4-player co-op SanctuaryRPG ($1.35) - ASCII-based RPG that's weird to learn at first, but immensely gratifying to get into the groove of Iron Fisticle ($0.89) - 2-player twin stick roguelite? Basically medieval Smash TV, simple fun Evoland Legendary Edition ($5.99) - Super cool 2-pack of RPGs that basically act as a celebration of the genre, with art and gameplay style advancing from Gameboy jank all the way to modern flourish Pathway ($6.39) - XCOM-style combat set between the two World Wars; Fightin Nazis, collectin gear, lookin at gorgeous pixel art, very fun Toree 3D and Toree 2 ($0.49 each) - Short, simple 3D platformers that are just generally Fun™ Hammerwatch ($1.99) - 4-player dungeon crawler, heavily inspired by classic Gauntlet but with actual story and character progression Ravenfield ($11.87) - Fully singleplayer team shooter based on Battlefield; basically completely built on modding with a huge community and a ton of customization available Out There Somewhere ($0.28) - Another game I plug at any opportunity, super well-crafted space puzzle-platformer that's a complete steal even at the full $0.99 Aggelos ($12.74) - Platformer RPG inspired by Zelda 2 and Simon's Quest; generally just super fun and worth the price Going Under ($4.99) - Roguelike where you delve into failed tech startups infested with monsters; utilizes the "corporate art style" really well, fun characters, and of course very cool gameplay The Adventures of Elena Temple ($0.74) - Platformer inspired by oldschool PC games; very simple to play, but generally fun and has a cool style to it The Coin Game ($11.19) - Love letter to Chuck E. Cheese style prize arcades, with a ton of faithfully recreated games on a cool vibin' island Press X to Not Die ($0.74) - FMV game where the only gameplay is quicktime events; short, but charming, funny, worth a shot at the price

[why485]

The history of Tiny Combat.