#with an animal crossing-style social simulation element

[deepseacityunderground]

i forget how fun the battle and social mechanics in pokepark 2 are....

[dinoracha]

February 4th, 2023 Stream [Hi-Fi Rush, Sunday Gold] Summary

Abysmal turnout of viewership aside (surprising no one), I started the stream with Hi-Fi Rush. If my social media posts have been any indication, you can probably tell that I love the absolute bones of this game. I can't remember the last time I played a game where, from start to finish, I spent most of the time grinning like a doofus from the sheer amount of fun and joy I was getting out of it. A good part of that has to due with mostly everything being synced with its music, but I've always been a sucker for rhythmic elements in games.

The game being depicted and its story told like a 'western-anime' gives it so much color, expressiveness and free reign to take itself with so little seriousness; it's legitimately funny at times and Chai is an absolute idiot goofball moron buffoon git and I couldn't love him any more for it. While the combat may not be as intricate as other character action games, there's certainly enough depth to require quick decision-making. The rhythmic nature of the gameplay means that button-mashing is a fine way to get nowhere fast, but why would you mash to begin with? Attacks being enhanced and racking up a higher score by playing well are reward enough, but when you get in the zone and start vibin' out? Reacting on time with everything being thrown your way, cleaving through enemies while avoiding and parrying their attacks? Hearing the non-existent crowd chanting and cheering when hitting S rank?

I'll elaborate more if/when I sit down to write a review on the game, but good god, Hi-Fi Rush just feels brilliant to play. It makes me feel like the coolest dude around, and in lenient enough to still let you feel cool if you whiff on inputs or take hits. I was playing on medium difficulty which got a bit spicy from time to time, so I can only imagine how much more the game demands of you on hard or above. For a game that dropped seemingly out of the blue, I can't sing the praises of Hi-Fi Rush enough. Easily a contender for game of the year and has found a snug place in my personal top ten.

After finishing Hi-Fi Rush, I swapped over to Sunday Gold for the rest of the night. Ever since its reveal last year I had my eye on it, though never got around to actually picking it up. Turns out earlier that day it had gone on sale, so I snatched it up. The concept of a point and click adventure game crossed with an RPG had my interest, though finding out it's a heist game with a cast of utter dirtbags was a pleasant surprise.

I'd need more time to better define it, but the art and style is like a comic book if it was dropped in a muddy puddle and skillfully restored - For character portraits and cutscenes, anyway. There are Some Faces (TM) that are something else to look at. The game is broken up into two playable parts: Exploration and combat. The former is the point n' click standard fare with snooping around, searching for items and making progress. Action points (AP) are an interesting currency, because taking actions or searching things require AP while exploring, and they're restored by using items or 'ending the turn' which simulates a bit of time passing. You can't just kill time forever though, as ending turns (at least when heisting) cranks up an alert status which, if the dice rolls badly, can spook the team or trigger a fight.

AP is shared between both modes, and combat has been… Not the best so far. I'm not expecting Shin Megami Tensei-levels of planning of course, but fights seem to take longer than they really should, doubly so for the first boss fight. Credit due, there's stuff to consider like breaking guard or applying buffs/debuffs, but for the damage you deal versus the amount you take? I can forsee later chapters really trying to grind you into the ground to make things tense and desperate, but I don't think it'll be done in a satisfying or challenging way.

Still, the presentation is top-notch. Even with the limited animations, the game looks slick and the vocal cast has been enjoyable. I wasn't expecting there to be this much voice acting, but I'm not going to complain; the main characters are unlikable, but they have roguish qualities as the self-proclaimed 'righteous villains' that makes it more than possible to continue hanging out with them. I'll definitely come back to the game, but I'll likely save it for the stream for the sake of story continuity.

[enfin-technologies-blog]

Revolutionizing Education with E-Learning App Development: A Comprehensive Guide

In today's fast-paced world, technology has become an indispensable tool, transforming various sectors and revolutionizing traditional practices. One such domain that has witnessed a significant shift is education, thanks to the advent of e-learning applications. These platforms have not only made learning more accessible and convenient but have also opened up new avenues for personalized and interactive education.

At the forefront of this digital revolution are E-Learning App Development Companies, which play a crucial role in shaping the future of education. These companies leverage cutting-edge technologies to create innovative solutions that cater to the diverse needs of learners worldwide. Among the pioneers in this field is Enfintechnologies, a leading committed to delivering excellence in educational technology solutions.

The Rise of E-Learning Apps: Transforming Education

E-Learning apps have gained immense popularity in recent years, offering a wide range of benefits to both students and educators. With features like interactive multimedia content, gamification, and personalized learning paths, these apps make learning engaging and effective. Moreover, the flexibility and accessibility they offer enable learners to study at their own pace and convenience, breaking the barriers of time and location.

Enfintechnologies understands the evolving needs of the education sector and specializes in developing tailored e-learning solutions that meet these requirements. Whether it's creating interactive courseware, designing intuitive user interfaces, or integrating advanced analytics for tracking student progress, the company excels in delivering comprehensive e-learning platforms that enhance the learning experience.

Key Features of E-Learning App Development

Enfintechnologies adopts a holistic approach to e-learning app development, focusing on delivering feature-rich solutions that address the diverse needs of users. Some of the key features offered by the company include:

Interactive Content: Engaging multimedia content, including videos, animations, and simulations, to make learning more dynamic and immersive.

Personalized Learning Paths: Customized learning paths based on individual learning styles, preferences, and progress, ensuring a personalized learning experience for each user.

Gamification Elements: Integration of gamification elements such as quizzes, badges, and leaderboards to foster motivation and engagement among learners.

Collaborative Learning Tools: Social learning features, discussion forums, and collaborative tools to facilitate interaction and knowledge sharing among peers.

Mobile Compatibility: Cross-platform compatibility and mobile responsiveness, enabling users to access learning materials anytime, anywhere, across various devices.

Why Choose Enfintechnologies for E-Learning App Development?

Enfintechnologies stands out as a trusted partner for e-learning app development, offering unparalleled expertise and a proven track record of success. Here are some reasons why clients prefer Enfintechnologies for their e-learning projects:

Innovative Solutions: The company's team of experienced developers and designers are adept at leveraging the latest technologies and trends to create innovative e-learning solutions that drive results.

Customization: Enfintechnologies understands that every educational institution or organization has unique requirements. Therefore, they offer highly customizable solutions tailored to meet the specific needs and objectives of their clients.

Quality Assurance: With a stringent quality assurance process in place, Enfintechnologies ensures that each e-learning app meets the highest standards of quality, reliability, and performance.

Customer Support: The company is committed to providing excellent customer support and maintenance services, ensuring smooth operation and ongoing success of the e-learning platforms they develop.

Cost-Effective Solutions: Enfintechnologies offers cost-effective e-learning app development services without compromising on quality, making them an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes.

Conclusion

As the demand for e-learning continues to grow, the role of E-Learning App Development Companies like Enfintechnologies becomes increasingly crucial. By harnessing the power of technology and innovation, these companies are reshaping the landscape of education, making learning more accessible, engaging, and effective than ever before. Whether you're an educational institution, corporate organization, or EdTech startup, partnering with a reliable e-learning app development company can unlock endless possibilities and propel you towards success in the digital age.

[catstailtavern]

Genshin impact characters as gamers

Characters: Abedo, Kaeya, Diluc, Childe, Zhongli, Jean, Hu Tao, and Lisa

content warnings: Childe being kinda an asshole lol.

authors note: I might do more in the future! These are just my headcanons so if you don't agree that cool! Feel free to let me know what you think they're like as gamers!!

Albedo:

what they look for in a game: Albedo seems like the type to enjoy games with vast worlds that involve lots of exploration and puzzles. I also feel like he like more quiet gameplay- if that makes any sense. Very much "Show, don't tell." Likes walking simulators!

things that turn them off from a game: He dislikes when games over-explain themselves/their plots. He likes to be able to unfold the mysteries and plot threads himself instead of being spoonfed. He also dislikes voice chat bc people are mean. If there is a VC he mutes basically everyone even if it makes teamwork difficult.

how much time do they devote to videogames: Albedo really only plays videogames on days off or when alchemy research has hit a lull.

a game or games that I think they'd like: outer wilds, shadow of the colossus, and journey.

Kaeya:

what they look for in a game: Story-rich games with unique art that explore heavy topics or philosophical themes! but also really likes multiplayer games where he can troll lol.

things that turn them off from a game: If he dislikes the art he finds it hard to play or pay attention to. This doesn't mean he demands picture-perfect graphics! He's mostly into unrealistic and eye-catching graphics/art he likes games with style and flair!

how much time do they devote to video games: Kaeya likes to play after a long day of work to unwind and relax!

a game or games that I think they'd like: Disco Elysium and the persona series!

Diluc:

what they look for in a game: Diluc is a very busy man who likes to be in control of his life and the things that affect it. Therefore I have come to the conclusion that he likes simple and sweet games with low stakes where he is mostly in control if not basically god haha.

things that turn them off from a game: Games that involve him to be emotionally invested or have lots of stressors are not his thing. Games are played to relieve his stress, not make him cry over character death.

how much time do they devote to video games: He likes to play a little bit on his break when he gets the chance or a little bit after work. Doesn't like to play for too long each day or he feels unproductive!

a game or games that I think they'd like: the sims, planet zoo, my time at Portia, stardew valley, and ANIMAL CROSSING!! (I dont care if this is OOC okay. Diluc plays animal crossing on his lunch break. His favorite villagers are the bird ones. His favorite fruits are apples and cherries, and he loves terraforming his island. He finds it therapeutic.)

Childe:

what they look for in a game: loves gacha games, he's a total whale, and loves to flex his pulls. Also loves games with intense competitive multiplayer and couch co-op games. Absolutely a sore winner who everyone hates playing jack box with.

things that turn them off from a game: Dislikes the story mode of most games bc they usually fail to keep this attention. He'd much rather be making yo mama jokes and shit-talking n00bs over the mic like the little asshole gremlin he is. The only exception so far is "The Last of Us," because of one time when the internet was shitting out on him during matchmaking. He decided to play the story while his connection got itself together and ended up liking it.

how much time do they devote to video games: Stays up late playing them at night a LOT. They're usually the reason he's tired the next day.

a game or games that I think they'd like: mario kart, smash bros, arknights, mortal kombat, apex, and dead by daylight.

Zhongli:

what they look for in a game: Zhongli likes simple games with cute graphics and easy controls. Mostly a mobile gamer as he finds most console game controls confusing. Loves virtual remakes of classic games that he used to play with other people physically.

things that turn them off from a game: Really dislikes first-person shooters. He finds them loud and disorienting. Poor old man.

how much time do they devote to videogames: Barely ever plays, might play while having a cup of tea or to pass the time while waiting for something!

a game or games that I think they'd like: mahjong, solitaire, candy crush, and those lumosity games for training your brain.

Jean:

what they look for in a game: At first when jean thought of video games the only thing that came to mind was "a waste of time." As the acting grand master of the knights of Favonius she rarely has time to socialize or even date. That's when she decided to maybe just maybe give dating sims a shot. She's a bit insecure about it, but they give her butterflies without the strain of a real relationship.

things that turn them off from a game: Really dislikes games that glorify villainy or have you play as the bad guy. She also really hates horror games. Fun fact, she played doki doki literature club but missed the warning somehow and WOW she got really upset-

how much time do they devote to video games: As mentioned previously Jean is a busy gal. So she really only gets to play games on her rare days off or maybe just a little before bed.

a game or games that I think they'd like: I don't know a lot of sweet and fluffy dating sims but I feel like the sweet and fluffy ones are her favorite! I've really only played one dating sim before and that was monster prom so I'm gonna use that for the example lol. I know there's a lot of mischief in that game but she always chooses the more moral upstanding choice even if it cost her a date haha.

Hu Tao:

what they look for in a game: Hu Tao is partial to games with gothic aesthetics and horror elements! Specifically really loves psychological horror and unique creature design. Enjoys difficult gameplay and feels a sense of accomplishment when she succeeds!

things that turn them off from a game: When a game is too easy to play she gets bored rather quickly.

how much time do they devote to video games: Frequently plays really late at night while listening to a paranormal podcast or other spooky content.

a game or games that I think they'd like: Dark souls, Darkwood, The cat lady, rule of rose.

Lisa:

what they look for in a game: Like Childe, Lisa likes competitive gameplay. But she's more into fantasy MMO RPGs! She just really loves fantasy things it doesn't have to be multiplayer. Also really likes games with lots of lore and digs strategy turn-based combat! Other game types she likes are visual novels or anything with a good story-driven narrative. Loves being able to discuss fan theories online in forums.

things that turn them off from a game: Mediocre writing, poor/inconsistent world-building, or a lack of lore. She needs a story to sink her teeth into or she just won't play.

how much time do they devote to video games: Probably plays a lot. Really only pausing to correct people's behavior in the library!

a game or games that I think they'd like: World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, League of legends, Darkest dungeon, and slay the spire.

[writingwithcolor]

Self-expression is the core element of ACNL; it's a feature embedded into every aspect of the game. You choose the colour and style of your clothes and the location and architecture of your dream house, and since there are no pressing time constraints like other social simulators, you even choose what you do all day, every day. It's a game about freedom. I was so incredibly excited when I picked it up, but that feeling dwindled fast. There were no options to have black skin colour or any black hairstyles. A game all about freedom and customization refused to let me be me. It was beyond alienating; out of all the things that could have been excluded, why those things?

[tumblunni]

Random game idea that came to mind: clockwork man simulator

I dunno, i just got the general image in my head of a soft homey aesthetic equivelant of that terrible game about the androids. Itd be more like just a life-living game, like stuff like animal crossing or harvest moon. Just fully exploring the perspective of these creatures and the world that created them, rather than BOOM ACTION SETPIECES or whatever

I only have some scattered ideas for it tho, and not really any idea of a main plot or gameplay gimmick or 3 act structure or like.. Anything to take this from idea to game, lol.

SO ITS MISC IDEAS TIME

* more of an olden timey fantasy style instead of sci fi. Youre still an artificial person created to run errands for humans, but youre more of a combination of clockwork and magic. There's still an element of being made of inanimate object parts but there's also some glowy energy core or something. Possibly would be interesting if it was something unusual to use as a power source? Like i dunno, a bell or an acorn or a teacup or one of those rocks with the hole in it that sometimes wash up on beaches. Or just a glowy orb of Generically Defined Energy Substance, which flows through you like aesthetically pleasing glowy veins

* you're a service clockwork homunculus thingy, bought by a disabled person who needs help around the house. PERHAPS A SWEET OLD GRANDMA! Whatever i decide on (IT'LL PROBABLY BE THE GRANDMA), your owner is a kind person who sees you as part of the family and feels guilty using an android as they believe you are absolutely a real person and wish they could set you free. Unfortunately theyre kinda one of the people who needs androids the most, as they dont have any family who can help them. At the same time though, they are very old and quite resigned to nobody caring about them, plus theyre just a good person who'd put your life over their own. So i feel like the plot would literally start with this person trying to set you free and you are just like "i do npt understand the concept, that is not in my programming". Its become kind of a morning routine now to hear "youre free! Get out, dammit!" and have a brisk argument over breakfast that inevitably always ends with you refusing. Grandma's prpbably got so desperate they're resorting to tactics like trying to trick you into getting on the bus out of town or "if you dont leave im gonna hold my breath and i wont stop til i pass out". All inevitabley failing! So they just try and help you understand your sentience and become more independant, encouraging you to take free time every day and go around the town to enjoy yourself. Which is kinda a concept you dont understand yet, so its just like MISSION RECEIVED: WALK IN CIRCLE AROUND PERIMETER OF TOWN. And its kind of a hit and miss experience because the people in this town have never seen an android before- this magic is usually a thing for rich people and this proposed scheme of disability assistance androids is still in its test run. Some people are suspicious or hateful, but there are others who welcome you to the village and brighten up your day. Not just a world of 100% everyone assholes to make a melodramatic point delivered awfully through racist stereotypes.

* i think a good subplot with this disabled grandma would be to show her regaining her independance too. Like she starts off quite fatalistic and used to nobody caring about her, all this mobility aid stuff is new and she feels like its too complicated and she'll never get it, or its too expensive and she doesnt deserve it, or all the nonsense that ableist society drills into people. But with the support of her new friend and access to more tools to help take her life into her own hands, she starts regaining hope again! Like ironically she felt like her previous carers were all the kinds of awful things people expect these androids to be. Robotic, emotionless monsters who dont care about the person's feelings and comfort, and certainly not independance. She suffered from a lot of the same nightmares that androids do too: being forced into a rigid schedule, limited in her options, deprived of basic rights, being told how she's supposed to feel, etc. But to an android that all seems like an inefficient way to do things! My function is healing and human healing efficiency is decreased in this circumstance! I am incapable of ignoring data due to personal bias! Basically imagine MAGIC BAYMAX ok. Anyway this plot would progress with grandma regaining her smile and eventually itd be a super happy day when she's able to get her new wheelchair that she can wheel to the shops on her own without needing someone to push her. Itd be really sweet from the player's perspective to get used to saying goodbye to her every morning and then suddenly you see her wandering around the shops with everyone else and she can become a part of the vibrant town too. Im thinking give her more complex AI than all the other villagers even, like give her a more complicated set of actions and move routes and stuff like SHE IS EVERYWHERE and she is LOVING IT! Life is back where it belongs: in the hands of the person living it! And it also intensifies the message of android slavery not being necessary or moral or good. Like i mean here this lady benefitted from getting an android but literally all she needed was a friend, a healthcare professional who gave a shit, and affordable access to mobility aids. Humans could have done that if they werent lazy assholes! And this android deserves the right to the same uplifting independenceifying experience they helped this grandma have!!

* random idea: all the events you encounter on each daily walk are actually stored in your inventory as items. Memories of experiences, good or bad, become literally experience for you! They each affect stats in different ways because of what you learned from that moment. Maybe bad experiences give you combat abilities and good ones help with your daily life skills and development of personality? And its possible to crack or even shatter a memory, if new experiences end up clashing with it. Usually its just 'oh i learned the more advanced version of this skill through better understanding of why humans do it', but also traumatic memories damaging good ones, and good ones helping ease traumatic ones. And maybe you could solve puzzles and make friendships through using these memory items? Youre faced with a challenge and have to make the connections in your mind to figure out which past experience is relevant here. And becoming more talented at something would help narrow down the choices you get given? And being unskilled would do screwy stuff with the interface like putting the correct option far away near the bottom or mixing up the names and icons of each memory. (Dunno how i'd program that though!)

* Maybe character customization similar to Medabots? The games were so cool and ahead of their time, you get to collect hundreds of different robot base frames and then mix and match the parts to make your own cool aesthetic! Shame it was only used for fighting though, that could be cool in a more social game too! Like go out wearing different fashions to help befriend different people, but its more fun cos its ROBOT FASHIONS! 'hey grandma do u think fred will like this arm or this arm?' She fusses over you all excitedly cos you showing an interest in fashion is a good sign of developing free will! Though you still get stuck in logic loops of 'you should wear what you like best, honey' 'HUMAN OPINION IS OF HIGHER PRIORITY' ...god i think i just made this character so i can ramble Relateable Social Anxiety Moments BUT ROBOTS

* possible ideas for Memory Events you can find around town! Meeting a cute neighbour cat- a fascinating creature you were not programmed to deal with, as you're a hospital android who isnt even meant to leave one single room for your whole life. You get absolutely entranced by the confusing small carpet with legs, and spend all morning interrogating it on why it wishes to rub its face on you. Why is your motor overheating, tiny carpet? Human master, how do you troubleshoot this noise?

* Another idea! You get 'mission: count the steps on the stairs to town' popping out of nowhere, and at first you ignore it because this is an illogical directive that does not come from a human. But it keeps happening every time you go here!! You try finding new ways to get to town crossing through fields or forests or walking directly into the path of a horsedrawn carriage, but ALAS it seems the only efficient path is those curious curious steps! Only then do you finally realise the mystery command is coming from yourself! You're not used to this strange concept of just..wanting to do something, all by yourself. You talk to your human and she says that's 'natural curiosity', 'personality', 'free will'...things that seem impossible to understand. You ask her to take you back to the shop to get this fault fixed, but she says its good and you should try acting on it. But it'll serve no purpose!! BUT AAARGH I HAVE TO KEEP SEEING THOSE STEPS EVERYDAY!! Eventually you do count them and you find it makes you satisfied for no logical reason. And that was the end of that small crisis, but you'll forever be confused by the whole thing! The next week you're like "what if i organized all the blue things with the blue things" and youre intensely frustrated at yourself. Human grandma says this is a "taste for fashion" but you remind her that you do not have a tongue. (And then she gets you the robo parts catalog and you unlock customization. Yay!)

* Possible idea for a sad subplot! A new human visits the village and he seems very strange, sometimes seeming kind and other times being angry and standoffish. You think its a simple 'jerk with a heart of gold' story but the truth is a lot stranger! It turns out this stranger is actually an important bishop in disguise, and he has multiple androids acting as body doubles to protect him while he's on the road. Theyre supposed to just be empty husks who only know how to imitate, but they clearly have their own personalities! You're tasked with finding all these runaway androids and returning them to their master for a reward, leading to a goofy lil game of hide and seek with twelve of the same guy. But it starts to get a bit sad because they're all convinced theyre the real one, and whenever they stumble into holes in their memory they freak out. When they all see each other gathered together its an absolute despair explosion and theyre forced to face the truth. And you can help them bond together as brothers and develop their own individual identities, even helping them pick out their own new faces from your set of fashion roboparts. Sadly you cant keep them here for long because itd obviously be suspicious to have exactly twelve new people move into the town right when twelve bots went missing. So you get help from one of grandma's friends to send them off in a stagecoach to another town where they can find employment and start their own life disguised as humans. The asshole bishop obviously doesnt react well to his androids vanishing into the night, but he never thinks of blaming you because after all you're only an android and you could never choose to help others out of all that free will you dont have. He just berates you for being so incompetant as to fail his quest to find them, and you get your reward taken back. Oh no~ i am~ very ashamed~ i will go tell my human that my ocular circuits require recalibrating~ (internally: HAHA YEH FUCK U OLD MAN) Grandma is super proud of you!

And thats all i got so far

[undertheinfluencerd]

https://ift.tt/2YEPF4H #

As one of the best-selling consoles of all time, the Nintendo DS had a wide variety of games in its library. With the new features the DS brought to video games including the touch screen, the built-in mic, and the local Wi-Fi connection, DS games were able to try new things other games were still unable to do.

RELATED: 10 Ways To Get Started On Your Island In Animal Crossing New Horizons

Because of these innovations, many DS games like The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass still holds up to this day. Since these games were ahead of their time, players have a plethora of challenging and fun games to play that rival anything produced for the current generation of consoles.

10 Animal Crossing: Wild World

Animal Crossing: Wild World is part of the social simulation game series Animal Crossing that has the player control a customizable human who has just moved into a new village populated by anthropomorphic animals. Since the games are open-ended, players can choose how they spend their time, which includes collecting items and talking to the other villagers.

This game is significant because it introduced many gameplay features that would become mainstays of the series. For example, instead of the top-down perspective of the first game, this game has the sideways view that later games would continue to use. Also, the game introduced online play, which has remained a big part of the series.

9 Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Taking place seven years after the third main Ace Attorney game, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is a visual novel adventure game where the player as a lawyer must solve mysteries to prove their client’s innocence. Apollo Justice is a rookie defense attorney who ends up working with the memorable main character of the previous Ace Attorney trilogy, Phoenix Wright, and his daughter, Trucy, to solve the old murder case that led to Phoenix’s disbarment.

Along with the regular cross-examining in the courtroom and the investigation sequences outside of it, this game also introduces some new ideas to the series. Since Apollo does not have Phoenix’s magatama, he instead has a bracelet that allows him to see small movements people make that give away their lies. With the wide cast of intriguing characters and a darker storyline, this fourth Ace Attorney game is absolutely worth a playthrough.

8 New Super Mario Bros.

A discussion about the best DS games is not complete without the number one best-selling DS game: New Super Mario Bros. In this 2.5D platformer, the player controls either the titular character Mario or his brother Luigi as they navigate through various worlds to save Princess Peach from Bowser and Bowser Jr.

As one of the best-selling video games of all time, it is no surprise that this game is hard to put down. The combination of simple gameplay with the variety of worlds to explore makes the game enjoyable and addicting. New power-ups such as Blue Koopa Shell added a new element to the gameplay. Also, movements from 3D Mario games, like the wall jump, were also added to enrich the experience.

7 Dragon Quest IX

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is an RPG released in 2009 that follows an entirely customizable main character who is part of an angelic race that lives in the sky called “Celestrians.” A catastrophic event occurs that sends the Celestrians plummeting to the mortal world, and the main character must find a way back to their former state while gathering lost fruits from the world tree.

RELATED: 10 Best Classic JRPGs Available On Switch

Along with the higher difficulty, this Dragon Quest game introduces many new gameplay features that make it worth playing. While keeping the traditional role-playing mechanics and interesting storytelling of previous entries, Dragon Quest IX introduces multiplayer functionality, plenty of customization options, and spawning enemies.

6 Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Created by Shu Takumi, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a 2010 adventure puzzle game that follows an amnesiac ghost named Sissel who has recently died. While traveling with a female detective named Lynne, Sissel uses his new spectral powers to perform “ghost tricks” in order to save lives and try to recover his memories before dawn arrives

Over the course of the game, the player will possess corpses in order to travel back in time to four minutes before the person’s death. During this period, the player can manipulate objects in order to affect what is happening and change the future. This creates an intriguing gameplay loop that will keep the player hooked from beginning to end.

5 Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is a tactical RPG where a 17-year-old male protagonist and his friends witness an outbreak of demons in modern-day Tokyo. During seven days, the protagonist, who gains the ability to see how long a person has left to live, must try to save as many people as possible.

Similar to other SMT games, the player can recruit demons as allies to fight other demons. In addition, gamers can see the enemies and must move the teams of characters strategically across the map to fight enemies in single turns, which is similar to games like Fire Emblem. With all the possible unique endings, the player will want to replay the game several times to fully enjoy what the game has to offer.

4 The World Ends With You

Produced by Tetsuya Nomura who also developed the Kingdom Hearts series, The World Ends With You is an action RPG that takes place in modern-day Shibuya and follows an amnesiac teenager named Neku Sakuraba who has recently died. With the help of several different companions, Neku must complete the week-long Reapers’ Game in order to have a second chance at life and not be erased.

RELATED: Kingdom Hearts 3 – 10 Secrets & Easter Eggs You Totally Missed

With a gameplay style specific to the DS, this game is a must-play for the console. Using both the touch screen and buttons, the player can simultaneously control the characters in both the top and bottom screens. In addition, the soundtrack and various outfits are all sourced from Shibuya’s popular culture at the time, creating a unique time and cultural capsule players will enjoy.

3 The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is an award-winning action-adventure game and a direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker on the GameCube. The game follows Link as he travels between various islands using the ship S.S. Linebeck in order to save his friend Tetra from a life-eating monster named Bellum.

While the game contains the dungeon exploration and item hunting of previous Zelda games, this game is unique because it also has a large central dungeon, The Temple of the Ocean King, that the player must return to throughout the story. With the help of the Phantom Hourglass and other items, the player must use stealth to avoid the Phantoms in the temple. The game’s innovative gameplay and engaging storyline make it the best Legend of Zelda title to get a remaster for the Switch.

2 Sonic Rush

Before his departure from Sega, the father of Sonic, Yuji Naka, produced one more mainline Sonic game that many fans consider to be one of the best. Sonic Rush is a 2.5D platformer where the player can control either Sonic or a new character Blaze the Cat. These two characters work together to stop Dr. Eggman and his counterpart, Dr. Eggman Nega, from Blaze’s alternate universe.

Both characters show their own side of the story, have their own specific order of levels, and have their own special abilities. The game’s smooth gameplay, beautiful level designs, and introduction of Blaze make Sonic Rush one of the best Sonic the Hedgehog video games.

1 Pokémon: Black & White

As the second generation of Pokémon on the DS, Pokémon: Black & White consists of two RPG games where the player controls a teenager who travels across the Unova region in order to catch Pokémon, battle against other trainers, and defeat Team Plasma. The game focuses on the balance between humans and Pokémon.

Created shortly after Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl, this game has updated graphics and animations compared to its predecessors. With the game’s large amount of new characters and the darker storyline compared to other Pokémon games, it is no surprise that Pokémon: Black & White has remained a favorite that fans of the franchise continually revisit.

NEXT: 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Pokémon Black And White (And Their Sequels)

#marvel #avengers #marvelcomics #spiderman #mcu #ironman #comics #captainamerica #thor #avengersendgame #marvelstudios #xmen #dc #marveluniverse #art #cosplay #tomholland #hulk #disney #comicbooks #dccomics #peterparker #tonystark #blackwidow #marvellegends #endgame #deadpool #marvelcinematicuniverse #loki #bhfyp

The post 10 Best Nintendo DS Games That Everyone Should Try | ScreenRant appeared first on undertheinfluencerd.net.

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[nikhilgraphic]

Design It Yourself: Animated Crystal Light Reflection Effect

Prismatic light reflections can add visual interest to a good range of design projects, from corporate print flat lays to animated Instagram stories. Over the last two years, we have seen the organic shadow trend delivered to life with plants, leaves, and gestures. It’s time for a replacement flavor of this effect: the magical reflections created by light crossing crystals.

The prismatic sun catcher reflection, generally , may be a combination of two opposite elements: artificially cut, polished glass crystals and natural, uncontrollable light rays. These crystal light reflections also combine the consequences of two recent trends: mystical crystal stones and natural shadows,learn how to creative brings in mind just find the best institutions which has provided the best graphic designing course in Delhi. join them and get start journey. Where does this iridescent light trend come from, is it far more than a visible Instagram trend, and can it last?

Didn’t we already see this stuff?

Remember the rainbow reflection filter on Instagram or the Bokeh effect trend in portrait and close-up photography? All of those effects come from nature, leverage light, and suggest that there’s more happening behind the scene. This layer enlargement with a sort of “natural virtual” light reflection is that the essence of prism light overlays.

Nature remastered: a futuristic trend

Many styles we have seen trending within the previous couple of months, including alchemy, well-being, spirituality, and self-care, have one thing in common: an adaptation and "digitization" of nature. Organic patterns, sustainable materials, and natural elements are the foremost influential design elements this year consistent with SNOW and Pan tone. Raw materials, surfaces, and structures like fungus, mold, bark, and sponges are redefining graphic designing patterns and galvanizing color schemes. the style and graphic design industries are applying these organic elements in response to the heightened demand for self-care and well being brands.

How to recreate this vibrant look

Everyone remembers the dark, mystic atmosphere in Pink Floyd's cover artwork for “The Dark Side of the Moon”. Prism light reflections can evoke both mystery and heat . Throughout this tutorial, I'll explain the way to achieve this look with the “Sun Catcher – Animated Crystal Light Reflection” toolkit. To achieve this trending light overlay look you will only need Photoshop or video software like Premiere Pro, Final Cut, or Davinci Resolve (which is free ).

You only got to drag the video effect into your favorite design app and play with the layer blending modes. If you're using Photoshop, "Lighten", "Screen", and "Color" will offer you the foremost natural and authentic sun reflection look.

Elevating artwork with natural overlays

Light, shadows, and reflections add an authentic look to otherwise clean graphics or motion clips, blurring the border between digital art and nature. These sorts of effects are like coincidence. Each moment is exclusive and ephemeral. There's also a meditative character to the present look: bright light has always been related to purity and well-being.

The convergence of natural and artificial

The moment when natural elements are emphasized by artificial objects describes the SunCatcher collection. Suncatchers are made from glass and break the sunshine in an unnatural way that doesn't exist in real world . this type of sunshine doesn't come from nature. it's more an adaption of nature, uncontrolled, and reflecting the instant . Exactly this characteristic makes the instant unique and real.

Where does the sunshine & shadow trend come from?

Reflecting and breaking light have always been popular creative techniques to feature depth to scenes and objects. The film era within the mid-1960s established the lens flare as a natural tool to make depth. it had been not seen as a failure in film. Creative professionals started using it as a tool to feature an authentic and natural character to their scenes. In digital design, the simulation of reality is usually an enormous concern. is that this image smooth and natural-looking or does it look fake? This effect may be a visual solution to feature warmth to all or any sorts of indoor and outdoor settings. History repeats itself. We sleep in a world branded through perfectly planned social media posts, philosophically like those indoor studios within the film industry's past. Nothing happens by coincidence and smart tools, apps, and gadgets make it possible to erase every tiny imperfection. Books and magazines do not have to be printed to be shown during a commercial. 

Cosmetics do not have to exist physically to make a three-dimensional, realistic preview of what they'd appear as if . Mockups are so neat lately , it's hard to acknowledge if we're watching a true product or a rendered image. As a designer, i really like the chances mockups give us. Visualizing a sensible design is an incredibly effective tool for client communication, but within the long-term this generated reality creates the wish for more realness and authenticity.

[walkthroughfox]

PC Gaming E3 Conference Break Down

PC Gaming E3 Conference Break Down

PC Gaming E3 June 11th, 2018

Satisfactory

By Coffee Stain Studios

Gameplay trailer shown

First person sci-fi factory building game

Gather resources from the world to build a self-sustaining factory on an alien planet

Play as an engineer sent form Earth to an alien planet

Use vehicles to explore for further resources

Factories will grow to be enormous

Singleplayer or co-op

Closed alpha in the coming months (sing up now)

Neo Cab

Gameplay trailer shown

Play as a cab driver in the future

Dialogue options with your various passengers

Mavericks Proving Grounds

By Automaton Games

Battle royale with 1,000 players

Trailer shown

More realistic setting (i.e. more like PUBG than Fortnite)

First person

Sign up for closed beta

Made on Cryengine

Persistent social hub in the world called The Capital (more of a full world than just a map)

The Forgotten City

Gameplay trailer

First person puzzle exploration game to solve a mystery of what is corrupting the city

A re-imagining of the mod

Coming 2019

Star Control Origins

Trailer shown

Sci-fi

Explore thousands of planets that you can land on

Focus on discovery and exploration using your spaceship

Open universe action RPG

A full story

Ship to ship combat

Fully open, simulated universe

Create your own ships, planets, or adventures with mods

Multiplayer Fleet Battles mode

Ship combat PvP

Preorder and play the beta today

September 20th release

The Hunt Showdown

New trailer

New weapons

Crossbow, throwing knives, handheld crossbow, sticky bombs

Archangel: Hellfire

Multiplayer, off-rails mech combat

4 maps, 6 mechs, 13 weapons

July 17th release (Early Access out already)

Trailer

Destructible maps

Free roaming PvP

TDM

The Sinking City

Third person, Lovecraftian open world action mystery game

Gameplay demo shown in background

Investigations are the focus of the game

No handholding, no objectives or markers

Takes place in fictional Massachusetts city

Sanity mechanic

Choices or seeing disturbing things will affect the player’s character’s sanity

Cause hallucinations, disturbing sounds, etc.

Different monsters that the player must defend themselves from using weapons (scarce ammo), traps, etc.

Reiterated that investigations are still the core of the game, not combat

Warframe

Trailer for The Sacrifice (story expansion)

Coming this week on PC

Umbra Warframe being added

Trailer for Tenno Live 2018 (Warframe convention)

July 7th

Already sold out, will be streamed on Twitch

Sega Games coming to PC (shown in compilation video)

Shenmue I and II

Shining Resonance Refrain

Yakuza Kiwami

Valkyria Chronicles 4

Yakuza Zero

Releasing this August

Killing Floor 2

4 major updates this year

First came in March

Summer sideshow coming back

Weapons upgrade system

Trailer for The Summer Sideshow Treacherous Skies

Steampunk style

New map is a steampunk airship

New robot enemies

New guns

New character (Ms. Foster)

Coming tomorrow with a free weekend coming up

Tripwire stepping into publishing

Publishing Road Redemption

Man Eater

Made by creator of the original Killing Floor mod

Made by Blindisde and Tripwire

Trailer shown

Play as a shark

Open world action RPG where you play as a shark who hunts humans

Full single player campaign

Untitled Publisher (that is actually their name)

Bravery Network Online

Trailer shown

Turn based fighting game

Cartoon art style

2019 release

Morningstar

Trailer shown

First person farming game with some sort of dark twist

Overwhelm

Trailer shown

2-D platformer shooter

Art style reminiscent of Downwell

Available now

Jurassic World Evolution

Out tomorrow (June 12th)

New trailer

Jurassic Park building/management game

Stormland

Made by Insomniac Games and Occulus Studios

Trailer (same one that was released last week)

First person shooter open world VR game

Play as an android

Ability to fly and climb

Focus on fluid movement

World is ever changing

Entity called the Tempest rearranges the world every week

Night Call

Trailer

Noir game set in Paris

Play as a taxi driver who gets involved in a world of Crime

Black and white drawn art style

Sable

Open world narrative focused exploration game

Think Journey

Trailer

Unique shaded art style

Pre-alpha gameplay shown

Star Citizen

New trailer

Alpha 3.2 coming soon

Acer came on stage to talk about their new monitors

Genesis Alpha One

Randomly generated universe

Build your ship out

Explore planets in first person

Splice alien DNA with your crew

Fight off alien attacks

September 4th

Don’t Starve Hamlet

Trailer

Looks like more Don’t Starve

Coming this December

Just Cause 4

New trailer showing off the new Apex Engine

HDR, Interactive weather, improved draw distances and lighting, Physics based aerodynamics, improved destruction systems

Reworked combat model

New weapons, AI, guns, etc.

Improved grapple system

Grapple is now customizable

Overkill’s The Walking Dead

Set in Washington DC

New gameplay trailer

4-player co-op shooter

November 6th release

Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Final Season

Pre-release footage shown in background

Unscripted combat being added

Story starts after the time jump from the comics

August 14th release

Noita

Action roguelike where you play as a wizard

Pixel art, but every pixel is physically simulated

Allows for mechanic interactions and full destruction

Two Point Hospital

Gameplay shown in background

Hospital building game

Comedic tone (certain diseases include Turtle Head)

Cure patients

Improve you doctors and nurses

Investigate cures

Releases this Fall

Realm Royale

Battle Royale game with fantasy RPG elements

Different fantasy classes with different abilities

Forges can be used to craft gear, but will show the forge as being lit up, making it a target

Its been out for a bit (Free to Play) (Currently in Alpha)

Ooblets

New trailer

Farming and building game where you also collect Pokemon style creatures

Inspired by Pokemon, Harvest Moon, and Animal crossing

Anno 1800

Trailer

RTS

Looks like more Anno

City building, economy, and naval warfare

Rapture Rejects

Top down, cartoony battle royale by TinyBuild

Trailer

Cyanide and Happiness art style

Sign up now for the alpha

Hitman 2

New trailer

Shows mission set in Miami

November 13th release

Even bigger crowds than last game

Player can hide in crowd to evade pursuers

Sniper briefcase is back and can hold more than just your sniper rifle now

Elusive targets (limited time events) coming back

Preorder for access to co-op sniper mode

Overall: A fun little conference that was completely free from bloated PR talks and only focused on games (except for the brief segment from Acer). Both of the hosts were great and took any slip ups in stride. Only complaint really is how long it was. And since it's the PC Gaming show, there aren't any massive title reveals, but that's to be expected.

Favorite Moments

Good to hear more about The Sinking City. I really want a new Lovecraftian game.

Man Eater; You play as a shark who eats people and its an open world RPG. It's crazy enough that it might work.

Genesis Alpha One sounds really awesome. Definitely on my radar.

Two Point Hospital looks like a fun twist on the building/management genre. Plus, the host perfectly handled the mic not working situation.

Rapture Rejects; I'm a sucker for Cyanide and Happiness. The really funny trailer grabbed me.

Let me know if anything is missing/wrong and I will fix it.

Other Conference Breakdowns

EA

Microsoft (Xbox)

Bethesda

Square Enix

Ubisoft

Sony (Playstation)

Love game walkthroughs? Bookmark WalkthroughFox.Com as it's about to rain walkthroughs.

[acgame]

The development history of animal crossing

Animal crossing games are usually social simulator games that allow players to define desert islands by themselves. Other players can visit these islands and interact. This is indeed a new world developed by people's boring lives. For those who are new to this phenomenon, the game is very simple.

The Animal Crossing franchise began in 2001, when Nogami, now 49, thought it was difficult to adapt to the title of the game after mentioning that his newlyweds worked in the same room. They pointed out that this is bad, but they want to meet more friends and face more new challenges. During the discussion, the ACBellsBuy store was also born, which is famous for selling ACNH Bells. Based on their experience, the two parties discussed the concept of game missions, where players can become friends.

The daily affairs of Nintendo's development department involve topics that ordinary people cannot understand. The topic content maybe breakfasts, lunch, or scenery. The topic can be anything. It is speculated that the participants always complain about the theory of crossing games, and their opinions are strange. When you find differences, they can be merged, so you need to discuss them. Discussion is a very time-consuming process.

These purposeless conversations are designed to break things down into smaller elements and then combine them to generate new ideas. Any reason or event has become the fuse of the discussion, including whether buying Nook Miles will help players. The important thing is the fact no one must think about where or where to begin a conversation. They all think their views are correct and ask other friends to agree.

In the era of pandemics, the emphasis on the tradition of small talk is usually a hot topic. The idea of ​​the game and many other ideas were inspired by small chats between colleagues on the Nintendo team. Nintendo's free-style innovation culture has shaped cross-world games.

[funkewordz]

I Can Finally Be Me In Animal Crossing, But I'm Exhausted

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has added more inclusive character-creation options, but it's a small step forward for representation.

(GameSpot, May 11, 2020)

Self-expression is the core element of ACNL; it's a feature embedded into every aspect of the game. You choose the colour and style of your clothes and the location and architecture of your dream house, and since there are no pressing time constraints like other social simulators, you even choose what you do all day, every day. It's a game about freedom. I was so incredibly excited when I picked it up, but that feeling dwindled fast. There were no options to have black skin colour or any black hairstyles. A game all about freedom and customization refused to let me be me. It was beyond alienating; out of all the things that could have been excluded, why those things?

[effect-of-games]

Gamification, ABA, & Autism

          There are many different interventions and therapies that have come about over the years to try and teach individuals with Autism and other intellectual disabilities. Some of these include occupational therapy, speech therapy, applied behavior analysis therapy, and social skills classes to name a few. Each of these therapies comes with their own advantages and disadvantages, but in my opinion ABA treatments can provide the more effective options for these individuals.

          Applied Behavioral Analysis Therapy (ABA) came about in the 1970s by Ivar Lovaas and Robert Koegel at UCLA. Instead of teaching a preset set of rules and behaviors, ABA focuses on observing the behaviors of the individual and learning why the behavior occurs. From there, therapists are able to formulate a treatment plan and a course of action for how to correct problem behaviors and enforce adaptive behaviors. This course of treatment is an evidence-based treatment that has passed scientific tests proving usefulness, quality, and effectiveness, and is supported by the US Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association. ABA has the potential to help individuals (not just those with Autism) to increase their language skills, improve attention and other cognitive skills, and help them improve academically.

          Some methods used in ABA therapies include reinforcement and punishment, prompting and fading through visual and verbal cues, task analysis and generalization. There are positive and negative reinforcements and punishments. Positive reinforcement means rewarding the individual for good behavior while negative reinforcement means taking away something the individual does not like as a reward. On the other hand, positive punishment is giving the child something they do not like for problem behavior occurring (like extra homework for the being disruptive) while negative punishment is taking away something good. These are all used in an attempt to encourage the individual to do the problem behavior less and the appropriate behavior more. Verbal and visual cues are often used to show the individual what they should be doing. The goal of ABA treatment is to be able to fade these prompts and eventually not have to use them.

          Task analysis is a huge part of ABA because it involves directly and indirectly supervising behaviors and how the individual goes about solving a task. Examples of directly supervising are simulations, behavioral observations, performance appraisal, administering exams, and updating portfolios. Examples of indirectly supervising are reviewing exit and other interviews done in the past by other administers, archival data, focus groups, and surveys/questionnaires. Another goal of ABA is to make treatments generalized. This means that whatever you are teaching the individual should be able to be replicated in other settings. For example, if an individual learns that they need to use the restroom at school when they have to urinate, they should be able to learn that they need to use the restroom at home when they have to urinate.[1]

          ABA treatments use ABC descriptive assessments to determine the function of the behavior. An easy way to remember the functions of behavior is the acronym SEAT. SEAT stands for sensory, escape, attention, and tangible. Through the ABC method of analyzing the antecedent (what happens before the behavior), the behavior itself, and the consequences that occur when the behavior occurs, therapists can recognize patterns in behaviors and figure out why the individual is doing them.

          In order to practice and administer ABA treatments, you need to have certain qualifications depending on the job you are going for. ABA therapists work one-on-one with individuals and have a variety of backgrounds depending on the employer and job. Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) are trained to provide and supervise ABA services. They oversee BCaBAs and need a master level degree. There are also BCBA-D which are those who have a doctorate in the field. They do the same jobs, the only difference is the level of degree. Then there are Certified Autism Specialists (CAS) who need a master level degree and work strictly with autistic individuals. Lastly, there are Autism Certificate (AC) holders which are people who work in the field of Autism and do not require a degree. These positions tend to overlap, such as CAS also being ABA therapists.[2]

          The topic of ABA treatments is controversial, especially for parents of children with autism. ABA is often seen as being “cruel” and relating back to Lovaas’ original goal of making individuals with Autism “normal”. It has also been coined as being “abusive”, “unethical”, and “wrong”. Many people see the intensive nature of these early interventions as being excruciatingly hard on individuals and caretakers because of the time needing to be invested and the emotional toll it can take. Parents and caretakers have also noted that when going through ABA treatments, they are told that ABA is their child’s only option at succeeding and growing. It has also been stated that ABA may be as popular as it is because it is funded by insurance, whereas other treatments are not. These two factors combined make the parents feel helpless and trapped. They feel as though they cannot try other interventions because they may not be effective or may be too expensive. The last concern that is prevalent in the discussion of ABA is that it focuses too much on repetition. There have been parents who have noticed that their children are able to do step one of a problem but do not understand what they are doing in order to go to step two. An example of this is a child asking a stranger what their name is, but not staying to hear the response. The child knows to ask what the person’s name is but does not know that they should receive a response to it.[3]

          Ivar Lovaas has been coined as the pioneer for ABA and is quoted saying, “If they can’t learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn.” As soon as I saw this quote, I immediate thought of game-based and interactive learning. Gamification is the application of elements of game play, such as point systems, competition, and rules, into other areas of activity including learning. This type of teaching changes learning from “this is what will happen” to “this is what did happen” and allows the individuals see the effect of their actions for themselves on a shorter time frame. The sequence of events shown through games also shows individuals cause and effects. This incentivized learning is key to ABA because the points and rewards act as reinforcers. They keep the individual wanting to learn and move to the next assignment, while reinforcing good behaviors.

          These games do not necessarily mean video games, but any type of game or interactive teaching that allows for hands on play and learning. Some examples of board games teaching skills are Hungry Caterpillars teaching math, and Life teaching individuals that while money can’t buy happiness, saving and spending money wisely can impact your happiness or “life points”. Games also affect the individual’s agency. Agency is defined as the drive and desire to succeed and the feeling that you control your future. In traditional classrooms, this can be as simple as giving the individuals the option of what they would like to write a paper or do a presentation on. For individuals in ABA treatment, this can be in the form of giving individuals the option of what reward or activity they would like.[4][5] This is important for people with Autism because stimming and outbursts tend to happen when the person feels as though they are losing control of the situation.

          Games tend to promote positive feedback loops rather than negative ones. By allowing users to try repeatedly until they get the correct response, the individual is less likely to give up than if they automatically failed by getting something wrong. A positive feedback look like this changes the overarching learning question from “Do you know the answer?” to “Can you find the answer?” and supports different learning styles. Feedback loops are something that teachers struggle with as the number of teachers/therapists to students/individuals increases as we get older. According to the UFT, high school classrooms can be occupied by as many as 34 students. This number potentially skyrockets to over 200 as students get to collegiate levels.[6] More students means less one-to-one learning and the teacher being less likely to know if students are falling behind. Game-based learning works well for this because it allows teachers to easily target where each student is lacking and alter course material appropriately. ABA therapy would benefit from this because it would allow for more remote learning without the presence of a therapist (if need be). This helps especially with more intensive programs because parents and caregivers would be able to continue therapies from home. A major part of ABA is graphing and data collection which could be facilitated using these games and softwares. The data that is collected through scores and time elapsed, along with observed behaviors during sessions can be used to track progress.

          Lastly, games help to teach 21st century skills in ways that cannot be done in classrooms – they must be experienced. Some of these skills include communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. A problem that is faced when teaching individuals (not just with developmental disabilities) is the idea of transference or transfer of practice. This is the ability to apply what you learn in one capacity to another. A goal of ABA is to create treatment plans that are generalized, or can be related to other instances. This is exhibited through tutorial levels of games, such as Animal Crossing, where they show you the basics before having you apply them to the actual game.[7]

          One app currently being used for individuals with Autism is called “Look at Me” by Samsung. This app has a set of games geared towards teaching those with Autism certain skills. One game helps to teach children to distinguish emotions, such as between happy and sad, and rewards them with points. Another game teaches them to recognize facial features by covering eyes with dots and asking which face appears in the dot.[8]

          Another game being used with autistic individuals is Minecraft (Education Edition). A private community has been made that is called Autcraft that is specifically made for those with Autism and comes with well-defined rules, as compared to the more open concept of the regular Minecraft. This game teaches individuals creativity and collaboration as users must work together to complete complex designs. These complex designs teach the users planning and critical thinking skills, and the collaboration with others forces users to interact and learn social skills.[9]

          While I advocate for ABA and gamification there are definitely downsides to each, some of which I have outlined here. Overall, though, it comes down to each individual whether or not the method will work. That is why treatment takes time and planning along with trial and error to find out what is effective and what is not. ABA is a strong, evidence-based treatment that allows for individualization and goal setting. It reinforces good behavior while attempting to diminish bad behavior, and I believe it works hand in hand with gamification and game-based learning styles.

References:

[1]5 Techniques Used in Applied Behavior Analysis. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.appliedbehavioranalysisprograms.com/lists/5-techniques-used-in-applied-behavior-analysis/

[2] ABA, BCBA, and CAS: What does it all mean? (2019, March 22). Retrieved from https://ibcces.org/blog/2014/08/04/aba-bcba-and-cas-what-does-it-all-mean/

[3] The controversy over autism's most common therapy: Spectrum: Autism Research News. (2016, August 15). Retrieved from https://www.spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/controversy-autisms-common-therapy/

[4] Student Agency - What is Student Agency? - EdWords. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.renaissance.com/edwords/student-agency/

[5] Credits, Extra. “Education: Agency - How Games Empower Us - Extra Credits.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 May 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=T39kYzzv_3Q&index=15&list=PLhyKYa0YJ_5DGAb6xGJfd9v4gXCDjmeli.

[6] What are the class size limits for my grade? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.uft.org/faqs/what-are-class-size-limits-my-grade

[7] Pittser, B. (2019, March 7). How Game-Based Learning Develops 21st Century Skills. Retrieved from http://www.filamentgames.com/blog/how-game-based-learning-develops-21st-century-skills.

[8] Mak, H. W. (2015, August 10). Look At Me Takes on Autism Through Games-Based Learning. Retrieved from https://www.gamification.co/2015/08/10/look-at-me-takes-on-autism-through-games-based-learning/

[9] Arnold, S. (2019, February 25). Change the Game: Using Minecraft to Teach Students with Autism - EdSurge News. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-01-28-change-the-game-using-minecraft-to-teach-students-with-autism

[rubcanvas57-blog]

Crisis and Stability Administration: A Occupation of a Various Sort

doctor assistance There is a entire discipline of job possibilities out there that most individuals never even recognize exists. But it won't be a secret for significantly longer. If you can hold a tranquil head in an crisis, are arranged and element-oriented, and can manage interactions, then a profession in crisis administration and safety may be perfect for you. When an crisis of some sort happens, the individuals we typically see are the 1st responders - police, firefighters and paramedics. Even so, when a big occasion takes place, like a gasoline spill, a prepare derailment, a terrorist attack, a forest fireplace or an earthquake, there is a whole team of individuals operating the demonstrate from powering the scenes. And that is in which the emergency management occupation comes in. This discipline is one particular that really handful of folks know about, so competitiveness for positions is minimal, and salaries tend to be higher. The desire for competent people to fill these positions is developing in an economy in which several career fields are struggling. Why? Inhabitants raises imply far more and a lot more men and women are dwelling in regions in which a disaster is likely to take place - like close to forest fire, flood and earthquake hazard zones. Local weather modify is also impacting the incidence of and spots of emergencies and is bringing the importance of crisis preparing and reaction to light. We are residing in an age in which domestic and global safety considerations are large. And, there is a growing recognition of the want to implement reliable company continuity practices to make certain companies can temperature emergencies and disasters. Who Are Crisis Managers? For many many years, initial responders were the exact same people who fulfilled powering-the-scenes roles as crisis professionals. They juggled the two the tasks of unexpected emergency administration and their primary work duties. They didn't automatically have particular instruction in the subject, and simply because crisis management duties ended up "off the side of the desk," they did not get the consideration they deserved. These days, unexpected emergency and disaster response departments are discovering the rewards of appointing positions to strictly oversee the crisis administration perform - an individual whose attention isn't divided. This opens up a entire area of occupations for individuals who aren't first responders, but who would thrive in a work where they are just as instrumental in saving life, preserving our surroundings, and guarding folks and property from catastrophe. What Are Some of the Work in this Discipline? Depending on your instruction, experience and training, there are a number of profession paths you can consider. The most widespread occupation titles consist of: Emergency System Coordinator Disaster Planning Professional Director of Protection and Stability Supervisor of Security Company Continuity Specialist Danger Administration Professional Unexpected emergency Program Coordinator: 1 occupation route is as an or emergency system coordinator for your neighborhood city or municipality. In this role, you will place collectively and update the community's crisis plan, which will contain an evaluation of hazards and hazards in the area, and techniques for avoidance, mitigation, reaction and recovery. In layman's phrases, the program will response the pursuing questions: What varieties of emergencies is my neighborhood susceptible to? Are we located in an earthquake zone? Do several trains carrying harmful supplies run by way of our group? If it rains also significantly, are we susceptible to mud slides? What strategies can we put in spot to avert emergencies from getting location completely - or mitigate their consequences if they do come about? Need to we restrict building permits in mud slide regions? Distinct lifeless trees in forest fire zones? Outline obvious catastrophe response routes? How will the local community handle the response if an unexpected emergency does arise? Where will we set up an Crisis Operations Centre (a place from which an emergency can be managed)? Who ought to be associated - do we need reps from very first response agencies, hydro, forestry, Initial Nations? How will they be skilled and know how to function collectively? In which will the standard public go if an crisis occurs? Do we have a team of educated Emergency Social Companies employees to make sure that receptions centres are established up and staffed? When the crisis is over, how will the community recuperate? Are a lot of folks, animals and organizations displaced? Has infrastructure, such as streets, hydro or railways been disrupted? Will we want to liaise with non-earnings catastrophe corporations for restoration assistance? You will also be liable for setting up and preserving the Emergency Functions Centre (EOC), building interactions with individuals, businesses, and companies in your neighborhood, and controlling coaching and exercising packages. For example, throughout preparing for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the City of Vancouver ran a number of workouts simulating crisis occasions that could come about. These workouts served identify gaps in education or skills that could then be remedied prior to the occasion. Exactly where Else Are Crisis System Coordinators Utilized? These days, you will uncover emergency administration professional positions in a lot of corporations, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, health care corporations, utility organizations and non-public businesses like purchasing centres and accommodations. In these businesses the duties are similar - you nevertheless develop the unexpected emergency management strategy, create relationships and prepare education and exercising plans - but the distinction is that your major audience is not the people of your community, but the employees, students, buyers or tenants at your firm. Your work is to make certain plans are in area to protect your folks and house before, for the duration of and soon after an emergency. An additional function in these positions is organization continuity. Typically, you will produce a business continuity prepare to make certain that essential organizational features can carry on if a catastrophe happens and you will be able to get company processes back up and operating as shortly as possible soon after an incident. For instance, you might make plans to duplicate and retailer crucial pc information, this sort of as pupil, consumer or accounting data, at a safe second place - so if there is a fire, flood or other incident, you will nevertheless be able to obtain files. This part has turn out to be so crucial in modern years that some businesses retain the services of certain enterprise continuity expert positions. Expert Positions: In addition to the positions described previously mentioned, several bigger communities employ specialised positions such as: Emergency Social Solutions Director Emergency Social Solutions Volunteer Coordinator Lookup and Rescue Supervisor Training Professional Exercise Style Coordinator Moreover, several worldwide not-for-earnings companies assist in aiding communities react to and recuperate from emergencies and disasters. These businesses are many, ranging from nicely-recognized associations these kinds of as the Red Cross and St. John's Ambulance to lesser acknowledged corporations focused on a certain spot, this kind of as huge animal disaster reaction. A lot of fulfilling profession options are accessible with these businesses, this sort of as: Disaster Preparing Assistant Catastrophe Aid Coordinator Volunteer Coordinator The Merging Fields of Unexpected emergency Administration and Protection So in which does safety appear in? Historically, the fields of unexpected emergency management and safety have been individual. The crisis manager designed programs about organic disasters and emergencies, while the security manager or director of protection and protection would be accountable for maintaining the campus, workplace or neighborhood protected from felony activity. Even so, more than the very last 10 years, these fields have been merging, especially with private companies, such as universities, hospitals, and utility and transportation organizations. Today, many companies have created departments that merge these features. In other organizations the roles are blended. In addition to the unexpected emergency administration functions described previously mentioned, in these combined roles you can be predicted to be in cost of or coordinate normal security capabilities, such as: Perimeter and building protection techniques and procedures Controlling security guards Threat examination and administration Investigating legal and other incidents and liaising with law enforcement How A lot Will I Make? Relying on your educational qualifications and knowledge, you can anticipate to make among $36,000 and $a hundred and ten,000 every year. Modern substantial level work postings have achieved as higher as $a hundred and forty,000. Listed here are some standard salary ranges: Unexpected emergency software assistant with a non-public group, university, clinic or federal government company: $36,000 to $forty five,000 every year. Unexpected emergency coordinator, instruction coordinator, physical exercise design coordinator or business continuity specialist with a college, healthcare group, personal organization, government agency or group: $45,000 to $65,000 yearly. Emergency software manager with a tiny to medium-sized neighborhood: $sixty,000 to $ninety,000 yearly. Manager of Security and Unexpected emergency Administration for a university, healthcare facility, utility organization, or casino: $sixty five,000 to $100,000 yearly. Director of Emergency Management for a massive town: $ninety,000 to $a hundred and forty,000 every year. What Kind of Training Do I Want? For unexpected emergency coordinator or instruction expert roles, you should have a least of a Certification in Emergency Management. You may possibly also think about a expert certificate in an location this kind of as exercise style. For progressive roles, leadership roles or roles combining emergency management, business continuity and stability functions, an tutorial diploma or bachelor degree is recommended. The place Can I Research? Crisis management and stability programs are now presented at select universities and faculties throughout Canada. You can select from certificate level plans that prepare you in standard skills, and diploma and bachelor degree programs, that can give you with a robust foundation of administration and management expertise in addition to reports in emergency arranging and company continuity. Some packages at the bachelor amount even merge reports in unexpected emergency and safety administration to fulfill the work specifications of these merging fields. Some programs are offered on-website, whilst other people are offered fully on the web. What Sort of Expertise Do I Require? To qualify for an entry amount position, usually you will want the bare minimum of a certificate and some encounter in communication, software coordination, volunteer coordination, place of work techniques or customer support. Listed here are some entry stage roles that you can frequently take on a portion-time basis, and will provide a useful foundation in some simple features: Client Service Consultant Communications Assistant Volunteer Coordinator Workplace Assistant Stability Guard A excellent way to boost your odds of landing that initial work is to volunteer with an organization included in general public basic safety or disaster response. Some corporations to consider are: Unexpected emergency Social Providers Lookup and Rescue St. John's Ambulance The Pink Cross The Catastrophe Animal Response Group

[tyelabonte-blog]

Week 2 CSG-110

This week in our CSG-110 class we went over our notes for the reading of Chapter 1 of the text book. This gave me a broad idea of the historical elements of gaming and game design. The chapter talked about everything from the birth of arcade games, to the video game slump era and golden age, all the way up to what to expect in the future of the gaming industry. Along with this we got to meet up with our team to discuss and sign our team business agreement.

My team had also talked about the start of the gaming project ahead. Starting with the team logo, we needed to finish up our rough draft and add the finishing touches and some color to create the final logo. The rough draft of the logo is posted on my first CSG blog below this one. We also threw around the idea of having each team member pick two games that they were enjoying at the moment, look into the game mechanics, what brought us to love these games, and what didn’t we like about the games or would have changed.

One of the games I took to was Stardew Valley. It is an indie farming simulation role-playing game similar to the original Harvest Moon. The reason I chose this was because it was one of my favorite indie games ever created. The first thing that drew me to this game was the pixel art. I love the idea of new games with the pixel art style, it really makes me nostalgic with how games were made back when I was a child. A very simplistic and simple style of art with a burst of color to keep things vibrant. I like how they took the main idea of creating your own farm, growing crops, taking care of animals, and being social with the town villagers from Harvest Moon. It also integrated the game with new ideas of combat, randomly generated dungeons, cross world exploration, and much more to expand on the Harvest Moon farming simulation genre.

The second game I took a look at was a game very close and dear to me, for I have been playing it for over a decade, which was World of Warcraft or WoW. WoW as most know is a online MMORPG which as been out for 13+ years now. The reason I chose this game is because I obviously love it, but also because I have a lot of opinions about the game as well. Not all of these opinions are good though, most of them can be received as negative feedback. This game has a ton of lore which is one the the big reasons I adore it. Its characters are something that I am emotionally connected with at some point which is what brings me back each expansion. I’ve always loved the idea of a fantasy realm in which your best friends and you can explore, fight, loot, and bond in. One big issue I have been having with WoW recently has been the lack of endgame content. Recently in the past few years I’ve been seeing a lot of laziness in terms of the creativity used in the types of ways people are able to gear up and progress throughout the expansion. It seems very cut and dry, more on the blah end of the scale. The last things gamers want now a days is to have to spend 5+ hours to feel any sort of reward or accomplishment from a game.

The final thing I want to touch on in this weeks blog will be what I’ve personally worked on and finished up for my team. I chose a color palette for our team logo (which was not as easy as it sounds.) I started out with the colors of black, orange, and yellow, only to find out that our logo started to look a bit like Pikachu. This bothered me of course so I had to think of a different palette to use. This brought me to the colors grey, black, and orange, which seemed to work very well. After about 4 attempts at coloring our logo I finally came up with a design that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have included the final sketch I have created of the logo we will be using for our team below.

[netunleashed-blog]

Persona 4 Remains An All-Time Great RPG 10 Years Later; A Celebration Of Its Legacy

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=6760 Persona 4 Remains An All-Time Great RPG 10 Years Later; A Celebration Of Its Legacy - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=6760 It may not have been known at the time, but in July 2008, Japan received what would be remembered as one of the greatest role-playing games of all time. Over the course of a decade, Persona 4 has become more than just an incredibly fun RPG with a refined battle system and quirky characters, though. A story about Japanese high school students confronting their worst fears, fighting for what's right, and becoming the best of friends spawned a lasting legacy that has empowered the people who played it and continually inspired new games. Our love for Persona 4 has kept it alive for so long with several fighting games, two anime adaptations, an adorable (and difficult) spin-off RPG, and even a rhythm game. And after 10 years, we're still seeing our good friends from Inaba in a new light.For the uninitiated, Persona 4's foundation closely resembles that of its predecessor, Persona 3. You're a transfer student new to a school surrounded by unusual circumstances; supernatural phenomena that endanger your new hometown is the crux to the overarching mystery. On a typical day, you go to class, do extracurricular activities, and try to grow closer to those around town and at school. Better yourself through hobbies or take on a part-time job, it's up to you how to pass the time. In particular, Persona 4 takes you to a fictional rural town of Inaba where the biggest thing to happen before your arrival was the opening of a Junes department store (think Super Walmart, but with an infectious jingle). Even your little cousin Nanako is utterly convinced that every day's great at your Junes, and begs you and her dad to take her there like it's the greatest place on earth.Sure sounds like all fun and games until you and your new friends become the centerpiece for a dark murder mystery and an absolutely perplexing world that lives behind TV screens. At first, it's not quite clear why outlandish versions of certain townsfolk inexplicably pop up on TV sets and go missing on rainy midnights. The one way to get to the bottom of this, to actually jump into a TV screen to enter the shadow world where the other half of Persona 4 comes into play.Aha! Is this our chance? It's time for an All-Out Attack!While dungeon crawling and sneaking up on shadows through randomly generated floors make up the exploration, an intricate turn-based combat system is where you'll find excellence in gameplay. Most enemies have elemental weaknesses which factor into how you construct your party and devise a tactical approach. Sounds par for the course in an RPG, but the unique press-turn system that Shin Megami Tensei is known for shines brighter than it had previously by giving you full control to pull off flashy, effective attacks. Receiving a bonus attack after targeting a weakness before enemies get a turn is endlessly satisfying, especially as dungeons become inhabited by trickier, stronger shadows.A story about Japanese high school students confronting their worst fears, fighting for what's right, and becoming the best of friends spawned a lasting legacy that has empowered the people who played it and continually inspired new games.However, nothing in battle matches the joy of seeing your crew team up for the most adorable, yet devastating All-Out Attacks, a franchise staple. Everyone in the party piles on heavy damage that usually puts an end to the fight, and you sense their ferocity in character portraits that pop up just before everyone jumps in. A cloud of dust erupts as they whale on enemies, sometimes popping out of the chaos only to jump back in for another hit, and all you need to do is watch as they take care of business. If you're lucky, someone will offer a follow-up attack turn-free; and it should be taken as fact that nothing is as absurdly cute as Chie's galactic punt where she literally kicks an enemy into outer space (her kung fu DVDs really paid off). Even in battle, everyone's distinct personality isn't lost or put off to the side, which highlights Persona 4’s greatest accomplishment: its commitment to a relentless charm embodied by this cast of misfits.So effortlessly does Persona 4 merge the two pillars of a social simulation and traditional RPG; nothing feels disconnected, how days are spent matters. These two realities feed into each other, and Igor--the series-long, omniscient owner of the ethereal Velvet Room--alludes to this up front: true strength is born from the bonds you form. The power of friendship is a prevalent trope in similar stories, but to have that power manifest as a tangible benefit in combat gives us further reason to invest in relationships. I call back to how Rise came in clutch to buff the party or cast healing during tough boss fights, or when Yukiko dealt the final blow casting Agidyne using her final-form persona with the last bit of SP: moments like these solidify the feeling that my companions really do have my back in times of need.Gas up your scooter 'cause we're going on a road trip!From the mother who wishes for acceptance from her stepson to your basketball teammate who finds it impossible to live up to his adopted family's legacy, these vignettes serve to tell very human stories. We help Nanako open up to her dad about his lack of presence and break through Uncle Dojima's hard-boiled temperament to reveal an empathetic father who constantly struggles with his wife's death and his job as a detective. In the end, a heartwarming father-daughter scene results in a newfound commitment to family. Other social links struck a more personal nerve.This cast harbors the painful secrets that so many teenagers and young adults repress, and it carries the perceptions and labels society puts upon them. These are the burdens everyone bears throughout Persona 4, but burdens that no one has to bear alone.When Yosuke overlooks Inaba, the town he once hated, and realizes that what makes him happy is the people he's surrounded by rather than big city glamour, I felt that. Even though Kanji maintains the tough guy attitude, he eventually embraces his sewing skills and love for cute plushies--as he began to handcraft toys for kids around town, I sensed a big, cathartic middle finger to societal expectations for masculinity. Naoto's strive for justice, as the genius detective, makes a firm statement against workplace gender discrimination. Life as an idol sure sounds great, until Rise decides she needs to walk away from stardom for her own sanity. As endearing as Chie's and Yukiko's friendship, their dynamic evolved and reached new heights after confronting their shadow-selves, leading to more open and honest relationship.This cast harbors the painful secrets that so many teenagers and young adults repress, and it carries the perceptions and labels society puts upon them. These are the burdens everyone bears throughout Persona 4, but burdens that no one has to bear alone. The TV world and Midnight Channel work not just as metaphors for the fear of what you think everyone sees in you, but to illustrate the sense of imprisonment and helplessness that's born from it. And by navigating the maze-like dungeons and crushing enemies, the crew breaks through obstacles to finally support each other in overcoming their monumental insecurities. Many of the game's pieces sound silly on paper, but they all come together to inspire you before you know it.When spread across 100+ hours of play-time, spanning an in-game calendar year, you're given room to breathe and let events, big and small, sink in. Moments of levity work alongside the more heartfelt revelations, which creates an ingenious balancing act. To its benefit, the game never takes itself too serious. Persona 4's greatness lies in its execution and presentation; story, gameplay, visual style, and its soundtrack all complement each other to elevate beyond the sum of its parts.Persona 4 wouldn't be the same game without the masterful composition of series composer Shoji Meguro. A collection of J-pop, J-rock, and catchy instrumentals make for incredible tracks on their own, but the right song at the right time elevates the emotional impact. As soon as I hear the brass horns start up for the track that plays during social links, I can't help but smile and sense the fun being had between characters. The boss battle theme of "I'll Face Myself" instills a feeling of danger, but also the determination to defeat your worst enemies. And the emblematic battle theme "Reach Out To The Truth" is such an uplifting song that brings back all my memories of this game. Sometimes I look outside my own house and "Heartbeat, Heartbreak" pops into my head on cloudy days and "Your Affection" when the sun shines. Music isn't relegated to just the background, and it cannot be overstated how evocative its soundtrack has been throughout the years.For all Persona 4's inspirational moments and pushes for social progressivism, we can't turn a blind eye to where it gets things wrong; to truly love something is to also recognize its flaws. By no means is it perfect when it comes to the portrayal of certain social groups and character conduct. Teddie himself exhibits unscrupulous behavior that can easily be interpreted as harassment, and it's never really confronted. Despite the personally uplifting story of Kanji, his sexual ambiguity is occasionally used as a punchline, and his shadow self can be seen as too over-the-top. Certain insensitive decisions can be made in relation to Naoto's struggle with gender identity; the interpretation of her character continues to be a point of contention to this day. And as time has gone on, the less amusing the cross-dressing pageant scene has become. To its credit, a Japanese game from 2008 was willing to explore subjects often seen as taboo; it misses the mark in critical moments, but there's value in its earnest effort. Regardless, some jokes weren't necessary to be humorous and it would've been much better without them.Despite all its absurdity, Persona 4 is grounded with thoughts and feelings that so accurately resemble our own; it's a human experience, one that many games aim for, but rarely come close to capturing.The sheer number of games that spawned afterward speaks to the love we've shared for this game. A PS Vita exclusive remaster, Persona 4 Golden, launched in 2012 as the definitive version; it refines core mechanics and includes a slew of meaningful additions. Along with new songs that perfectly fit the original soundtrack, Chie's new voice actress (Erin Fitzgerald) brought a whole new life into an already-beloved character and truly captured the spirit of Persona 4's best girl. A whole extra dungeon, an important new character, additional social link events, and new tag-team attacks round out Golden as the definitive version.An anime adaptation premiered in 2011, and another based on the remastered game released in 2014. Although it's difficult to capture an RPG in a condensed format, the anime offered a new way to experience the journey. Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth brought along our buddies from Persona 3 into the mix in a wonderfully executed dungeon crawler RPG on 3DS--it bursts with charm as chibi versions of these two beloved casts band together to fight evil and have a good time. I'd also say Q features the best introductory theme and video in all the franchise. If the fan service wasn't already good enough, Persona 4: Dancing All Night leveraged the beautiful soundtrack for a delightful (and admittedly ridiculous) rhythm game--hearing my favorite songs remastered and remixed is a real treat.BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle brings back our friends at Yasogami High to meet the casts of BlazBlue, Under Night, and RWBY.Persona lends itself so well to fighting games that Arc System Works took up creating a 2D fighter in Persona 4 Arena, which remained true to both the developer's fighting game philosophy and the spirit of the source material. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax built on that foundation even further. And just this year, ArcSys circled back on Persona 4 by crossing worlds with BlazBlue, Under Night In-Birth, and RWBY in BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. Each of these fighters introduced new characters and storylines, and were included in the fighting game community's biggest stages. Rarely, if ever, does a single entry in a larger franchise spin off in so many different directions, but thankfully, it's helped keep our Persona 4 love alive all these years later.After becoming personally invested in their journey that started it all and pouring all that time into seeing them grow, it was genuinely hard to say goodbye as the credits rolled and the ending theme "Never More" began to play. In the decade since the original game, we were fortunate to see the charming group of knuckleheads time and time again in so many different games. It's almost silly to think that a group of fictional Japanese high school students could empower us to be better, but Persona 4 has given me, and countless others, boundless joy and also an opportunity for self-reflection. Yes, I played an incredible RPG, but what I saw was a group of best friends pulling for each other to become stronger people and make the world a better place. Despite all its absurdity, Persona 4 is grounded with thoughts and feelings that so accurately resemble our own; it's a human experience, one that many games aim for, but rarely come close to capturing. Source link

[brianmarshalltampa-blog]

Family Fun in Tampa Bay

#FridayFunday Can be Everyday in Tampa Bay for Your Family

Finding something to do with the family is always challenging.

Luckily, we live in Tampa Bay where you can explore fun and entertaining activities on both sides of the Bay, not to mention, the theme park capital of the world, Orlando, is only about an hour away.

Every family is different, but for my family, the trick is to find something that's entertaining for adults, teens, and kiddos.

Below I list a few safe bets taking the family on a next-level adventure right in your backyard, and some a little further, but well worth it. Yeah, I'm talking about the classics that never go out of style no matter how old you are...Universal Studios and Epcot.

These are some of my favorites recreational activities to make bonding with the family less of a chore and more like an experience.

The Hunt Begins

If you're a fan of scavenger hunts, this one's for you. You'll need a smartphone to access Urban Adventure Quest's software to play the game. Currently, it's offered in about 62 cities around the country, including LA, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., Dallas Seattle, and St Petersburg...don't see Tampa...yet.

The idea is to see a city in an engaging way with clues from your phone. You work together as a team by completing challenges to expose city secrets...great for family or teaming building. Don't worry, if your team isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, you have the option of getting a little help with hints in order to solve the clues and move forward. For each challenge completed, your team will accumulate points. You can either play with multiple teams, such as another family or compare your score with other teams on the City Leader Board. The best part is, you're able to explore the city without a traditional walking tour, which sounds incredibly boring compared to this Amazing Race-like site-seeing experience.

The St Petersburg tour is 3 hours, starts downtown with the Museum of History and moves to Straub Park, North Yacht Basin, the historic Renaissance Hotel, and several other historic monuments. You don't have to be a tourist to play this game. Even if you live in Tampa and only cross the Bay to St Pete, once or twice a year, you can still have fun and play at your own pace with your family, friends, while learning something new about St Pete.

Be Empowered

If taking a tour of a city isn't your cup of tea and have kiddos over the age of 7, you'll want to check out the 2 1/2 hr zip line ride at Empowered Adventures Zip Lines in Oldsmar. Trip Advisor has given it a 5-star rating and has been featured in the Huffington Post and Travel Weekly.

Your family's "empowerment" starts with 5 unique ziplines, walk across their 200 foot suspended bridge over water, 4 aerial adventures, and a rappel...that's my favorite part. The zipline course is over the Mobbly Bayou Wilderness Preserve and a quite the site of serenity to ponder life, how you're getting across the bayou on a zipline, or what you're planning on eating for dinner. Whatever your thought of the day may be, the 396-acres are all about empowering people through adventure experiences. If you can get away from the kids and do something romantic, they offer moonlight ziplining.

Get Dirty

Adventure Family Motorsports is a private dirt bike ranch that caters to families. If you nor your family have been on dirt bikes and are concerned about safety, don't worry,  they go through safety before the adventure begins. Wondering what happens if females outnumber males in your tribe? They love it. I've been told by my girls and wife, the adrenaline they get on a dirt bike is like no other. Words like, "freedom", "power", and a "good time", are how they described the rides they've taken.

If you're a motorcycle lover, they offer a Harley Davidson adventure tour that starts from North Tampa and travels to Orlando, and if your family is all about water adventures, they also have waverunners packages.

Human Achievements

I visited Epcot when it opened back in 1982  and was called "EPCOT Center". The feeling is still the same today and every time I step foot in this incredible park...if they let me, I'd move into the park.

Epcot was originally dreamed up as a concept developed by the man himself Walt. The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT, to you), according to Walt was intended to be a "real city that would 'never cease to be a blueprint of the future," and a real-life company town in order to develop new ideas for urban living...he was a man wayyyyy ahead of his time.

Disney thought because he built the most wonderful place on Earth, Disneyland, the next logical step would be to build a city free of pollution, crime, disorganization, and grime. He found 27,800 acres in Florida and then petitioned the Florida State Legislature to give Walt Disney Productions municipal jurisdiction over the land for full control over every aspect of it. This property became Disney World and the EPCOT concept would work alongside it. Walt challenged industrial companies to create their best innovation so that they can be featured in Disney's city.

Although Walt's city never transpired, Epcot embraces the concept of his vision with technology, food, entertainment, and a world of things to come.

My favorites to see and do when I go to Epcot is Imagination! with the adorable character, Figment and Chevrolet's Test Track which is a "Sim-Car" that takes you through the "digital" testing ground of a "SimTrack", right after you build your own car in their design studio...very cool.  There's also Mission: Space, a simulation ride that emulates what an astronaut may experience on a spacecraft to say, on a mission to Mars.

Let's not forget, there's amazing food at Epcot (heard of the annual International Wine & Food Festival?). The World Showcase is like taking a world tour on foot. From Mexico to France to Japan to China, these international pavilions showcase the best each county has to offer. Each pavilion is like a mini version of the country with architectural replicas, streetscapes, entertainment, shops, attractions, and restaurants.  Even the people who work in each of these pavillions hail from their respective countries...not sure how much more authentic you can get. If you can't travel the world, you definitely need to go to Epcot for a flavor of culture.

"Vacation Like You Mean It"

That's the slogan for Universal Orlando, and I couldn't agree more. I first visited this theme park when it opened in 1990. It was designed to give what's now called Disney's Hollywood Studios, a run for its money. Interestingly enough, when it opened, it didn't draw the crowd expected and some rides closed.

Besides history, I love me some movies, and Universal is all about bringing to life this industry. The whole idea is to make you feel like you're on a movie set. Depending on the day, you may even catch a glimpse of actors filming on one of its back-lots, just like Hollywood.

It doesn't have the history that Disney has but sure brings the excitement if you're as much of a movie nerd as I am. Some of my favorite attractions and rides include...

No matter what they tell you, I'm here to tell you, you're never too old for Harry Potter. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is an area that adapts elements from the blockbuster film series and novels by J. K. Rowling.  This is an incredibly immersive experience. The world you read about in the books comes to life with Hogwarts Express, Gringotts Bank, Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and Quality Quidditch Supplies that sells broomsticks and other Quidditch items. My kids had to pry me away from this world which I so desperately want to live in.

The Revenge of the Mummy is a roller coaster ride based on the Mummy film franchise. Two versions of the ride have the same track but end differently. To get you in the mood, you enter through an Egyptian tomb. Life-size props from the Mummy films and other wall paintings are featured in the interior waiting areas. You then board mine cars. From there on your job is to "Find the Book of the Living and kill Imhotep!" Sounds doable. It feels very real and very much like you're one of the characters in the movie running from mummies...you seriously want to find that Book!

Based on Stan Lee's Marvel franchise, "The Incredible Hulk", this is one of the fastest roller coasters I've been on. You get to experience seven immersions throughout this intense coaster. From the waiting area of a science lab where you hear Dr. Bruce Banner to the looping of the powerful, dare I say, hulking, roller coaster, once again you're propelled into a spectacular world of imagination with speed, adrenaline, and fierce force.

From one hit-movie franchise to another, the Transformers ride in 3D is a must-see. The larger-than-life battle continues between the Decepticons and the Autobots at Universal Orlando. In the spirit of Universal's popular Spider-Man ride, the Evac vehicles you ride in travel through an indoor environment with tricked-out sets, life-like animation, and best of all, you get to wear 3D glasses (yay) so you really feel like you're part of the battle...which I always dreamed of. All this on a ginormous screen designed to make the virtual reality experience impressive and hyperactive.

As you can see, I love my activities...and my family. If you can't get away on a weekend, take a family #FridayFunday off and go on an adventure with them.  If you called the entire family in sick from work and school, don't post pictures of your awesome time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media channel...trust me, it won't end well.

It may sound cheesy, but you really don't get days back with your family.  Unfortunately, you can't relive moments. You can't buy time no matter how much money you have. You can only make the most time with the people that you love, doing things that you love, and have a blast doing them.~Brian Marshall