#the visual effects and backgrounds are still gorgeous

[thesturniolos]

guilty pleasures

m. sturniolo x reader

summary: well, yall asked for it 💁🏼‍♀️ it’s part 2 bitches !!

warnings: smut, swearing, sub!matt (why does this even need a warning?), degradation.

tags: @sturnioloshacker @strniohoeee @sturniolopepsi @strawberrysturniolo @lilasturns @lovingmattysposts @m4ttsturniolo @mbbsgf @meg-sturniolo @mattsneezing @malsturns @urfavstromboli @recklesssturniolo @heartsforchrisandmatt @hoesformatt @iheartchrissturniolo @cutesouls @chrisenthusiast @creamoncreamoncream2 @chrisdevora @nickenthusiast @noellesturniolo @mattsturniolosgf @sturniolossmut @struniolos @sturniolosstar @klarasmith @kirby0strombolli @kenzieiskoolaid @kenzieluvssturniolo @justangelheree @matthewsturniolo @mattscokewhore @mattnchrisworld @delusionalsturniologirl @apclyptc @91sturniolo @bernardenjoyer @byechristopher @bluesturniolo333 @bernardsleftbootycheek @biimpanicking @mattsbratt @iammattswife @m4tthewsgf @silly-sturniolos @ducksturniolo @plasticferal

“need help?”

i’m frozen. i’m literally frozen. i don’t care about the ache in my pants anymore, i need her to repeat whatever the fuck she just said.

“w-what?” my cheeks are pink, i know that and even though i’m basically towering over her, i feel flustered and small. a girl has never had this effect on me, never made me feel this way or made me cum this way. how does she just say that and casually smirk like that?

“i’m kidding, matt. god, don’t get so worked up.” she laughs and turns before walking away to the kitchen. i’m sad, i’m sad about her not meaning those words. i’m close to tears about her not helping me with my boner, how pathetic.

i scurry to the bedroom but not to relieve the pain which has been lingering by the pool but the new found pain in my chest of rejection. to think that she actually would’ve wanted to have done that, so randomly too. like one minute she was laughing by the pool with me and then she was gonna be on her knees on my bedroom floor.

pathetic, stupid little tears are begging to fall from my eyes, a reminder that she won’t like me like that and those drunk words really weren’t sober thoughts like everyone claims they are.

she’s everywhere in this house. she’s in the photo frames on my walls, in the background of my phone, in the hallways, her voice echoing the house. she is everywhere and she always has been ever since we were small. which is why i cannot let my feelings get to me because after all she is still a friend, a very good one.

luckily the hard-on i’ve been struggling with has subsided, i wonder why. i was worked up over her after all, it doesn’t really feel the same after that’s happened. but that doesn’t mean i’m holding grudges, i don’t hate her for that, i don’t feel any different. i still long for everything she has. her hugs, her warmth, her kisses, her perfect curly hair, her curves, her gorgeous fucking smile.

im also not saying i didn’t want her to help me, i needed her to help me. help me come undone all over her, needed to see her perfect naked body laid on my sheets, needed to know i was making her feel good. but i also wanted everything else, all the sweet things we could do together.

a knock at my door runs through the room, can i have privacy in this house?

i don’t get long to answer before the door is opened and i see her. god, what are you doing to me? she smiles, poking her head through a small gap, holding up a plate of something.

“i brought you some food?” she frowns looking at me, walking into the room more and shutting the door behind her. oh, great.

“thanks, you didn’t have to.” i say, looking away from her. my acting isn’t great and my sad expression is still very visual.

“no worries, i - um are you okay, matt?” she places the plate on my desk and walks closer to me, standing just in front of me. still in that fucking swimsuit.

“me? oh yeah, im fine. why?” im quiet but im desperately trying to raise my voice to try and convince her properly. why is nobody on my side? like what?

“it’s just i know that i kinda- i kinda messed up out there. like, it was wrong of me to say that, we’re best friends you know? i didn’t mean to make you uncomfy.”

uncomfy? she thought she made me uncomfy? i wasn’t uncomfy, i was desperate.

“oh no, i didn’t even care to be honest. you’re good.” i laugh and look down at my hands. with her staring at me like that i literally cannot focus.

“well you just seemed a little flustered, you know?” she moves her hand up to my face and brushes away a hair that’s fallen. she noticed. i look up to see her doe eyes filled with what looked like concern? or was it something else? whatever it was, whatever she’s doing, is making my throat dry. we’re so close and i’m suddenly aware of my breathing and her breathing and the way she swallows and when her chest falls and-

“a little like you do now.” she smirks and she’s closer, if that’s even fucking possible. her breath is fresh on my lips and she goes to whisper, “it’s cute you know, matt.”

and with that she pushes her lips onto mine and it’s like heaven in a kiss. it’s indescribable, it’s everything i could possibly have imagined, it’s the healing of the small crack in my heart. her lips are warm and welcoming, her teeth slightly tugging at my lips as she pulls back slightly, her eyes opening to meet mine.

she goes to speak but i don’t want her to, i just want to feel her on me again, i needed it. i grab her face and smash her lips against mine again and this time it’s desperation. it’s years of waiting and secret looks in hallways, it’s every candle i’ve blown out on my birthday praying for this, it’s everytime i cried in her arms and she’s cried in mine.

our tongues dance and im pushing her onto the bed, i need her. for all of the times i’ve thought of doing this and refrained and now she’s actually here and underneath me, it’s too surreal.

we lose rhythm and it becomes sloppy, saliva covering both of our mouths, dripping down our chins as i slowly trail down her neck. she whines slightly and i could’ve sworn i came right there, right then. the voice of angel.

i groan against her neck in response, focusing on that sweet spot, hoping to create some kind of mark as evidence that this fucking happened because it just does not feel real. i need something to show in the morning, that it wasn’t a dream.

“matt, i need you.” and that was all i needed to pull the straps of her bikini down and to be fucking blessed with the most beautiful pair of tits i’ve ever seen. it was better than i imagined, her nipples as hard as ever, ones i was eager to take into my mouth and so i did.

i worked on both of them, switching every now and then, making sure they got equal love, squeezing the opposing tit too. the little moans that left her mouth when i sucked and pulled on them made my dick twitch in my pants and was enough to make me pull away from her boobs and drag her panties down.

she sits up, unbuckling my belt and throwing it to the floor all while remaining eye contact with me as i look down at her, ready to pound her into the bed. i needed to see her squirm under my touch, fill her up.

“my turn.”

okay so i’m literally evil and i’m making a PART 3 !! because i wanted to get this out today but i’m tired andddd i wanna make really fckin good smut bur hope y’all like the switch up!!

[saintadeline]

Bloodborne is seriously the most beautiful game of all time i think about this every single time i replay it but genuinely. Just exploring yharnam and staring in awe at how gorgeous everything is, its never about graphics, bloodborne has a noticeable stylization i think in a way even stronger than other fromsoft games, and the use of lighting and color palettes is just so good it makes me want to Be there. The game is already so stunning as it is ingame but i think having access to the map viewer on my own to the side made me appreciate it even more i love seeing the way everything is constructed and put together with just the flat textures before applying any engines and even as flat surfaces you can just feel the cohesion in the backgrounds, even textureless stripped of everything that makes it "beautiful" it still feels so unique and already gets the vibe across and that explains how the game feels the way it does visually, which is something i think a lot of current gen "high fidelity" games struggle with. Hard to explain what I mean but I feel it. Also i love the slight like chromatic aberration effect bb has on the edges of the screen it adds such a nice touch to the atmosphere honestly. Sighs dreamily

#like every single location is so unique and has its own style separate from each other #but in a way thats really cohesive and still makes it feel like part of the same thing #and theyre all so beautiful in their own way #ppl dunk on the forbidden woods and nightmare frontier a lot for what i think are #just gameplay reasons but their blind hatred of those areas extends to the way theyre often excluded when #people talk about all the 'prettiest areas' and whatnot. but i think they deserve the love just as much as anywhere else #when youre not panic running through it the woods are really beautiful and well crafted #its all so skillfully put together to give exactly the atmosphere it needed #theres so many parts of it that feel iconic to me or at least could be #and the nightmare frontier i think genuinely has some of the most stunning environment designs #that were introduced by it later reused in the hunters nightmare. so it should #have its own little pedestal as The OG i think. like all the spirals and etchings that feel like #a naturally occurring phenomenon but also does not look like one. you know what im talking about? #and the strangely bright sky and fog in the distance... so so good #i have paragraphs upon paragraphs to say about each area obv but these two feel so underrated #do the fucked up graves in the woods mean nothig to you... does the little cave you spawn in in the frontier mean nothing to you...

[kalechipslives]

sorekara setting design

Here are some notes on the development of SOREKARA's style and presentation. If you couldn't already tell, SK takes a lot of inspiration from 70's/80's anime, Nobody's Boy Remi being the reference point for much of it. I've always respected Dezaki for his monumental work so I've always wanted to pay tribute to it (especially the early stuff). I don't think I was as successful as I'd like to have been, but alas! There is still more to come! So without further ado!

I was just talking about Dezaki , but now I shall talk about something completely different. To set the tone, I created the cat and the trolley setting first. The Girl's design should be plenty obvious (lol). But the background here I paid special attention to... I find the paints of Night on the Galactic Railroad to be very unique. They have a line less, airbrushed quality to them that blends in surprisingly well with the characters. I did some research and studied 児玉喬夫 Takao Kodama's work, as they were credited with setting design for this film as well as Genji Monogatari. Actually, if you look at Genji Monogatari's backgrounds, they have the exact same airbrushed quality! I had never done a background like this before (I am certainly not an environmental artist) but I think I did a fairly good job of it.

...I immediately switched gears and without thinking, went back to Dezaki works. I can't say I was very faithful at all. The night sky is easy to paint, with it's notable color spray and paint blots, but I diverged quite a bit with the watercolor textures. Shichiro Kobayashi is the artist I looked to the most, and this project made me appreciate him more than ever before. Just looking at his paints gets me emotional... The vibrant colors, the dramatic angles, you can just feel his reverence for life overflowing from the work. There really isn't anyone better. I need to study more if I'm to capture even a fraction of his skill. That being said, I did make sure to animate the backgrounds slightly with the sparkles on the water-- The reflection of light on water is my favorite to draw! Also, flowers are a very important motif (for various reasons, ohohoho). Kobayashi seemed to love drawing flowers, the paint around the edges give is a delicate look. Actually, if you look at the textbox...

Instead of full-color CGs, I opted to use "postcard memories". This was a technique Dezaki used where he would show a detailed, scratchy-lined illustration to highlight important moments instead of fully animating them. It creates a really memorable image that draws out all of your emotions! I tried to emulate them (the more single-toned ones, that is) for the game. It was 1/3 Dezaki worship, 1/3 time-saving technique, and 1/3 excuse to draw lots of scratchy lines. I love scratchy lines. This way, I could make a lot of memorable shots that were visually interesting without overworking myself.

As another note, I looked to Akio Sugino's character art when drawing. The characters don't really look like Sugino characters, but I was emulating his shading technique with (once-again) the scratchy lines. Ah, I was in heaven. Looking at his older work, the linework is hardly ever clean-- but the rough, hand-drawn edge gives everything a tactile quality and the strong anatomy makes everyone so gorgeous. It's like an engraving come to life.

Finally, the anime effects! On the left you can see soothat before his values are adjusted (very dark, isn't he?) and on the right you can see he is in-game, values adjusted with a more appropriate "anime" look. This is because anime cells are put onto a CRT screen, so they end up looking very different. I created an auto action in CSP to adjust the color grating and line quality of every asset before popping them into the game for the chromatic aberration to take effect. The lines are slightly crunched a blurrier compared to the original. It gives it a more "physical" look. The colors are fixed up-- you'll see there is no pure black. If you look at a physical anime cell, you'll see they more often than not do not include pure black. There is usually a tint of green or red in there.

The chromatic aberration filter... I don't know how noticeable it is to the average player, but the game actually has a built-in filter that creates a slight "chroma" effect to emulate the look of frames through a crt/light. This means the red + blue + green values of the entire screen are split up and adjusted to layer slightly off from each other, giving it a little visual interest. It was AN EXTREME doozy to put in, with my poor programmer coding it and re-coding it until the end. It seemed simple at first, but there are parts where the game zooms in which totally broke the filter! It made out eyes bleed! But it was repaired in the end, so blessing upon you, Sandy. You saved my life.

The reason why I looked to Ie Naki Ko/Nobody's Boy Remi specifically is because that's where I feel the most "pure" energy from. It is a show that leans incredibly hard on it's techniques to get by but because of that it really embodies what I love about old anime-- It has a selfless reverence for its subject that drives you to watch and surrender your heart. Dezaki's powerful directing, Sugino's gorgeous drawings and Kobayashi's majestic paintings come together to make a work that shines. The setting is truly at the forefront with the characters getting lost in the grandeur. That's the attitude I had with SOREKARA: "There are things much greater than us, so isn't it wonderful that we are able to see them side-by-side?" There are many animation techniques that are cost-effective while still being utterly beautiful, I would love to copy them someday but I wasn't able to go that far yet. At least not in the demo. There's still time, I suppose... Studying limited animation from old anime is actually extremely useful when creating visual novels. Understanding the placement of cells and their layering/movement has given me even more ideas for stories!

I ended up going on a rant about anime again ^^" But it's so beautiful, you must now understand my heart going into the work. I always think of my characters and their journey, of course, but before that I think of the setting. I want the player to experience beautiful and mysterious things alongside their traveling companions. There is still so much more to make. I hope to incorporate more Dezaki-style techniques in this and future works. Please remember the true message of my works.... Not that love finds a way, or that your connections can transform your world...it's that....anime is very, very cool.

Thank you for reading 🙇🏽‍♂️

#game dev #sorekara end of a journey #visual novel #vn dev #indie dev #dev diary #osamu dezaki

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group F Round 3: #F3 vs #F1

#F3: Daily lives of tiny forest women

#F1: High school girls go to Antarctica

Details and poll under the cut!

#F3: Hakumei and Mikochi (Hakumei to Mikochi)

Summary:

In a world inhabited by people only a few inches tall, young women Hakumei and Mikochi live together in a house built into a tree. Hakumei is an energetic and tomboyish carpenter, while Mikochi is a feminine and calm tailor. Despite their differences, they get along well and spend their days having fun living their lives in the woods. The two of them spend their time working, going on sightseeing adventures, and taking shopping trips into Tsumiki Marketplace by the ocean. They make many friends along the way, be they sentient woodland creatures like Iwashi the Weasel or fellow miniature people such as the songstress Konju and the inventor Sen. Hakumei to Mikochi is a relaxing look into the day-to-day lives of its titular characters as they explore and interact with their tiny world which seems to be straight out of a fairy tale.

Propaganda:

It really is super adorable, and the art is gorgeous. Every bit of the world is rendered lovingly with a great level of detail, from the characters to the environments. The anime has this really cool effect where they use paneling to emulate the manga’s style while also making the characters visually smaller on-screen, which works because they’re tiny.

For a slice-of-life show, there’s a good amount of continuity. They introduce the swamp necromancer Sen in one episode, and she keeps showing up later on, helping rebuild their house when it explodes, then Mikochi repays her for that by designing and making a dress for her. The show gets really into the intricacies of everything, like how dying fabric is a multistep process that is similar to chemistry, or how soap is made with aromatics.

Every character is well-realized, with their own set of quirks, profession, the tricks and tools they use in that profession, and they make pretty consistent re-appearances. And the writing is very dry and witty despite the whimsical setting. It’s cute, but it feels very adult, all the characters are adults with jobs who get drunk sometimes. Everyone is very professional and responsible, and it’s a nice change of pace from teen shounen.

Trigger Warnings: None.

#F1: A Place Further than the Universe (Sora yori mo Tooi Basho)

Summary:

Filled with an overwhelming sense of wonder for the world around her, Mari Tamaki has always dreamt of what lies beyond the reaches of the universe. However, despite harboring such large aspirations on the inside, her fear of the unknown and anxiety over her own possible limitations have always held her back from chasing them. But now, in her second year of high school, Mari is more determined than ever to not let any more of her youth go to waste. Still, her fear continues to prevent her from taking that ambitious step forward—that is, until she has a chance encounter with a girl who has grand dreams of her own.

Spurred by her mother's disappearance, Shirase Kobuchizawa has been working hard to fund her trip to Antarctica. Despite facing doubt and ridicule from virtually everyone, Shirase is determined to embark on this expedition to search for her mother in a place further than the universe itself. Inspired by Shirase's resolve, Mari jumps at the chance to join her. Soon, their efforts attract the attention of the bubbly Hinata Miyake, who is eager to stand out, and Yuzuki Shiraishi, a polite girl from a high class background. Together, they set sail toward the frozen south.

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho follows the captivating journey of four spirited girls, all in search of something great.

Propaganda 1:

This show literally changed my life I’m not even kidding. It’s messages about living your life to the fullest and finding, creating, and maintaining important friendships in your life literally got me to pick myself up and actually start living my life. All of its main characters are all incredibly memorable, and they all bounce off of each other very well. It’s fun and cute as hell, but also a really powerful story about dealing with grief and moving on. The final three episodes of the show are an emotional gut-punch, but they leave you with a sense of bittersweet fulfillment and a drive to get out in the world and have your own adventure.

Propaganda 2:

Let’s start with the fact that this is Madhouse doing a (relatively) grounded coming of age story about high school girls - the show looks gorgeous, of course. The music’s solid as well. (I still regularly listen to the ending.) But what really shines is the writing and characterization.

The pacing on this is perfect. For a show that spends half its runtime getting to Antarctica, you never feel like the time should be allotted differently or that you’re missing out on hijinks. Episode 12 is a particular standout, with tension building up until it explodes, and then goes still for the true emotional climax of the show. The four main girls all feel like believable teens, and seeing their relationship develop over the course of the series and watching them come into their own is well-done. The way it handles Shirase and her emotions, and how this complicates her relationships with them all is a particular standout. This may not be eligible in that it’s one of those anime people who watch A LOT of anime will recommend highly—it was on Crunchyroll and IGN’s best anime of the 2010s lists and on several “best of” lists for 2018. But it never quite took off the way it truly deserves, so I’m submitting it. It’s getting an English dub soon, though, and I really hope that gives it a resurgence of popularity. The girls are alright.

(Admin: Propaganda has been edited slightly to remove spoilers)

Trigger Warnings: Death via freezing

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

#anime #best underrated anime #polls #poll tournament #tournament #anime tournament #animation #group stage #group stage round 3 #tournament polls #group f #hakumei and mikochi #hakumei to mikochi #a place further than the universe #sora yori mo tooi basho

[destinygoldenstar]

It’s never gonna be the case, and I never expect Disney to handle stuff like this well unless it’s Owl House. But for whatever reason when I watched the trailers for the upcoming Pixar film: ‘Elemental’ I thought it was gonna be a romance.

Or more specifically, an asexual romance.

I don’t want to act like animated aces don’t exist. Todd exists and we love him.

But the trader kinda shows, ‘Oh nooo, they can’t touch each other without dying, how tragic…’

Then the recent trailer showed that the residents are pretty big on touch at every opportunity, down to background details. The whole ‘elements cannot mix’

And ALSO, in some of the concept art for the movie, they're wearing purple, white, and black, which are colors of the ace pride flag!

Now, obviously, sex cannot be shown in a kids movie. So touch is a pretty good replacement.

So what if these two MCs don’t even WANT to touch each other, yet want to still be together as a couple despite not doing what is ‘normal’?

It would be a simple yet effective message that aces exist and are valid to exist. As well as explaining to all ages what asexuals are.

‘Oh, but a kids movie can’t tackle something like sex, even if they replace the term with something more kid friendly’

And you’re right.

Therefore, all movies with death in them should be banned and R rated immediately.

Do you know what Pixar can do?

It would definitely add more than the cliched, ‘I don’t have to do what my parents tell me’ story I’m getting from this second trailer. Which you know, that’s fine.

As long as the characters are likeable and they do their own style with that, it can work and be… a serviceable movie.

And the animation is gorgeous. Goodbye photo realism, HELLO COLOR AND LIGHT AND CREATIVITY AND CLEVER VISUAL GAGS WITH THE ELEMENTS! ❤️

This is still gonna be a neat movie to look at, even if it’s the most straight and heterosexual of love stories.

My ace hormones are just starved to skin and bones is all. This is zero demand and just a thought.

#Pixar #pixar elemental #Elemental #just a thought #no demand #lgbtqa #asexual #queer representation #queer characters

[w-stote]

Vacation au

|| Jujutsu kaisen post chapter 236 headcanons. It follows the fic I written for a friend and posted on ao3. Heavy spoilers guys, get out of this train of thoughts if you don't wanna get smashed.||

Gojo isn't dead and not cut in two

He is cut though, deeply in the abdomen

Basically, only his spine area is still connected to his lower body

Though, everyone thinks he is dead, because not moving, no healing visible and fogged eyes

So everyone goes to fight and they defeat Sukuna

Yuuji unlocks his own curse technique and thats how he is able to save megumi's body and megumi inside it too

then they kill kenjaku

at the same time, shoko was about to retrieve Gojo's body

she took a break next to it after healing people before kenjaku's fight

she was talking to it about vacations that should have been taken before all this happened

what happened to nanami's idea of going south?

but when she gets up to take the body back, it gasps

She goes to help Gojo heal himself

"You are right. We need vacations." is the first thing he says

Few weeks later and some experimentation later, they know that Gojo cannot fight anymore

The brain and spine damage he got during the fight was too much and while healing saved him, it also fucked his cursed energy

Also I am bringing back the Gojo losing his left eye theory back

His left eye is damaged also during the fight and now he is practically blind with it

and lets add that the six eyes where dmg in the same process. It works with his vision so if he cannot see properly because his eyes are not working, the effect is diminished

so the tinted glasses stays! but now they help him with seeing because cursed tools

Also his body is not.... well anymore

so yeah he cannot fight properly anymore

He stays a teacher but no more mission on the side

Higher ups "bans" him from being involved in politics anymore too

he is totally fine with it, as long as it means they leave him alone

Gojo is able to fully concentrate on his work as a teacher and he is loving it

He helps Yuuji with figuring out his new curse technique

having sukuna inside him unlocked the curse energy kenjaku "locked away" when making him

Also Gojo support Yuuji and Megumi while they help each other with getting their bodies back to themselves again

Nobara lives (for fuck's sake where is my girl)

She also lost an eye, completly on her part and now wear an eyepatch

Gojo and her complains about their looks being ruined because of the scars (even though they still look gorgeous hello?) and the struggle of visual impairment

The school got more teacher now too

those kids need to learn about math and japanese and Gojo cannot do all of that pls

also they got a whole team of counselor, social worker and nurses

Shokok doesnt have to work 24/7 and heal every little cut

also she got help for when major stuff happen

Those new folks aren't necessarily curse user, but most of them have a background in it

they also all knew about jujutsu world before the culling game

Jujutsu politics is still a nightmare and it takes more than a year to figure out things out

The higher ups after trying to fight to stay in charge are finally fired

Coming back on the first year trio, they do movie night every week or so with the second and third years now. also they sometimes get the students from the other school to join. or they do a shared watch with a video call at the same time

gojo and shoko do brunch every month to catch up and be sure to see each other outside of work

Gojo rides now a bike or takes the subway, no more fast forwarding his way through space and time anymore

it does him good

he goes bike with Ino sometimes

he got a fancy pricy bike but it is the best model bike industry got to offer, he also got a bike helmet that his so extra, like it got six eyes or something on it

or like gojo cats everywhere

I think thats all for now

#jjk headcanons #jjk 236 #jjk manga spoilers #gojo satoru #shoko ieiri #jjk trio #jjk spoilers #my writing #my hcs #jujutsu kaisen #i love them so much #Gojo lives

[whypolar]

Gundam Unicorn OVA 1: Day of the Unicorn

I enjoyed this quite a lot.

Banagher is a responsible father. Stick a "baby on board" decal on the back of his work mech.

I think it's probably pretty rare for fans who don't know Japanese to read the Unicorn novels before watching the anime. They weren't even fully translated until well after the anime finished airing. Even nowadays, when we have the full fan TL available, I doubt many people decide "Yes, I will read an edited machine translation of ten light novels, even though I know the series has been adapted into seven anime episodes of movie length and quality and I have never watched them". It was novel-only character information that first caught my interest, though, so I get to do it the unusual way.

Will this make a difference in my perception of the anime? Who knows. I don't actually know much about what fan reception was like back in 2010-2014, in either the west or Japan.

Thoughts below.

I'll start with complaints first, since I have only one:

👎 Removed all textual and visual indication of Banagher being multiracial / Syam being Middle Eastern.

Why did they do this. I was genuinely surprised and disappointed to see this from Gundam, since the franchise has a history of diverse casts all the way back to 1979. Gundam 00 would have finished airing just a year before this came out, and that had two brown-skinned Middle Eastern protagonists. Did they hit a quota or something?

Things I really liked:

👍 Everything is beautiful.

It's so pretty. The way characters and expressions are drawn is pretty. The mechs are pretty. The death lasers and the resulting explosions are pretty.

The backgrounds! Ship interiors, industrial sites, the signs and posters in the city. It's all gorgeous.

👍 Robot Status: Wow, Cool

I looove the design of the cockpits and UI. I'd already seen the same setup used in Hathaway's Flash, but it’s not any less impressive here. It's so cool. It's SO cool. I love watching the little markers for the funnels pop up.

The mixing of 3D and 2D for complex scenes is pretty seamless, except for the bit at the very end where the Unicorn transforms. My suspension of disbelief can easily survive a few seconds of recognizable CGI.

God, the robots are cool. I love seeing the Kshatriya in motion.

👍Great use of one of my favourite little Gundam things: characters moving around in zero / reduced gravity.

There are some real weird shots in this one.

I love specialized architecture and infrastructure for low gravity environments! I love characters who are accustomed to living in space being strangely indifferent to the concept of up and down! I love deliberately confusing or unsettling camera angles! Raaaaah!!!

👍👍👍👍👍 MUSIC

It's good music.

The part of the score where the violins start going sour while Cardeas threatens Banagher, until it's just an ugly atonal mess? Love that.

I like that spooky echo sound they use sometimes-- I'm genuinely not sure whether it's built into the music tracks or an added sound effect? I interpreted it at first as an indication of Newtype Shenanigans, but it also seemed to show up in other moments that were dramatic or had a lot of deaths. Though I suppose a lot of people dying is something newtypes would pick up, so maybe it still is meant to represent that. I don't know. The sound is cool.

Some miscellaneous commentary, mostly but not exclusively about comparisons the novels:

Things move more quickly in the OVA than the novels, and the audience knows less about the characters. This is an inherent difference of medium and format. We spend less time inside the characters' heads, and this can give a very different first impression-- particularly of Banagher as the protagonist.

My impression of OVA Banagher is that he's a daydreamer, longing for something he can't place. Novel Banagher can also be described this way, but at least to me he felt more worn down and resigned in his detachment. The anime version has more of a wistful, almost romantic vibe. Maybe it's just those big ol' eyes.

Once he's seen the Unicorn, OVA Banagher has some kind of switch flip in his brain. From that point on, as soon as he gets an impulse, he is GOING. We aren't privy to any of his internal deliberation, just the snap decisions as they happen. He seems a lot more confident without his internal thoughts narrating everything, but also less socially aware.

Here's an actual change for you: in the OVA, Banagher actively volunteers to help Audrey get to the colony builder when she starts to leave. In the novel, she directly asks for his help-- and he says no!

He felt a pull to help when he saw she was in danger, but after they crashed he could hear police sirens. He didn't want to get in any more trouble after his little stunt, so she called him spineless and ran off. He has a whole little arc where he tries to just go back to school like nothing happened until Marida shows up and literally twists his arm. The guilt of ratting Audrey out is the push that makes him change his mind and go after her.

Some of the scenes this change skips were cute, but getting more of Banagher hanging out with Mineva when they aren't being actively chased is nice. It's also just a smartly economical use of time. I do think the change makes Banagher feel meaningfully different, though.

I was fond of him being a little more conflicted and moody, but there's also something really funny about a guy who so single-mindedly barrels into situations. He really does seem supernaturally compelled.

Just a laser guided missile of a boy. Hyperfocus: maximum.

Knowing a bit less about characters like Audrey and Marida works very well. We know about as much as Banagher.

Audrey is obviously someone important, but they don't even say the word "princess" until the VERY end-- like four minutes left on the runtime. They never drop her real name. We get all that through narration long before this in the novels (as well as a lot more direct discussion of the Sleeves and Zeon in general).

We get ZERO interiority or backstory for Riddhe in this first one. His first introduction is saving Audrey and Banagher's friends. They pointedly show you his little airplane charm with a special sound effect for like, two seconds maybe, so quickly you can barely process what it is. Very interesting.

We also know less about Banagher's mom… not necessarily a LOT less, but enough to feel like she's being kept a mystery.

Trust the process, Banagher.

This whole scene-- especially the face journey Banagher goes through-- is lovely.

Marida's civilian disguise is better in this version. Like, in-universe, I mean. She's serious and imposing at a glance in this coat look, which is important when we don't get to see her terrorize and physically overpower Banagher. Probably the right choice to redesign the look, but I did like the novel's gag of her being dressed like sharp-dressed secretary except conspicuously wearing sports shoes so she can still run and fight.

Very fun framing here of Cardeas' dramatic lore dump about newtypes, where it's being told over cool mech combat for the audience, but then they cut back to Zinnerman, who is already sick to bastard death of this guy. Stop expositing, old man, I'm here for a business transaction.

I always love when characters see a Gundam and just say "Gundam". It's good every time.

Gundam.

#remibloggue #gundam unicorn #gundam

[weerd1]

All right, I feel it’s time to dig into my new comfort show, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Let me say up front, I love this show, so if you’re looking for someone who’s been watching Star Trek since the ‘70s to gripe about new Trek, you won’t find it here. Is this show perfect? Of course not. Is it Deep Space Nine good? Not yet, but I see potential. Episode by episode look and a long chat after the break! THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!

What it DOES feel like is TOS. From the variety of genres used to tell stories, to some downright weird plot points, to some remarkable social commentary, this really feels like what would happen if they just made TOS now. I lament a bit that we have 10-episode seasons instead of enough in a season to allow for some MORE variety the way TOS had more than 25 episodes a season.

So how about visual continuity?

This show looks like the way I would see this universe when I read novels or played the RPG: effects have caught up with the way I brain painted the Blish adaptations or those early novels. It works for me.

What about character continuity?

Barring the fact the show has canonized the idea that even the “Prime” timeline can shift a bit due to the influences of time travel across the universes (which I love), I think the nuances this show brings do nothing but enhance my understanding of TOS. The Spock/Chapel moments now on TOS? Christine now asking Spock, “have you ever been in love?” in the episode “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” becomes a bit of gut punch! What does it mean to her when he begins to lose control due to Ponn Farr? Does she think he might be reverting back to the Spock of a decade before who chanced to unleash emotion?

Visually and character-wise, we have not changes but expansion. Honestly, most of these perceived “changes” reminds me of Gene Roddenberry taking the opportunity to enhance the Klingons when he had the budget in The Motion Picture. Did he care that the Klingons weren’t bumpy? Did he care to come up with a solution? He didn’t: He was a creator who now had more tools to work with. SNW does that.

My sole complaint, which honestly stretches across many modern shows, Trek and otherwise is about language. TOS and its progeny up until Enterprise used a more stolid, slang-free method of writing which to me added to the timeless nature of the show. When characters in modern Trek use modern vernacular it ties the episodes for me more to the present rather than allowing me to suspend my disbelief that this is the future. This is just my personal preference, and is certainly not something that torpedoes my love for the show or characters.

So, if you’re still with me, let’s get into the nitty gritty, each episode rated from 1 to 5 LLAPs. 🖖

SEASON ONE

“Strange New Worlds” 🖖🖖🖖🖖

After DISCO S2 gave us a Pike which made Spock’s actions in “The Menagerie” entirely plausible, we pick up here with him knowing his destiny and he’s having to work on that. As it plays out, we get some great explorations of what Star Trek and Starfleet within the universe is about. We also get a pretty pointed commentary on our present and what allowing politicians to appeal to and encourage the baser, xenophobic impulses of their constituencies leads to. Solid start, solid introduction of return and new characters, and wow is this show gorgeous.

“Children of the Comet” 🖖🖖🖖

A solid episode which feels a little long in places. However, showing Sam Kirk is this universe’s Guy Fleegman is terrific, and we get some great Uhura moments. Also, fly, Erica, fly!

“Ghosts of Illyria” 🖖🖖🖖🖖

About as TOS as you can get! Crewmembers trapped on a planet below as danger approaches, a strange disease threatening the crew. Plus, a couple of good character revelations that start threads which will continue well into Season 2.

“Memento Mori” 🖖🖖🖖✌️(That’s a half)

The beginnings of expanding on the Gorn while giving us more background on La’an Noonien Singh (whom I originally was none to happy that she was Khan’s descendant, but S2 really uses that beautifully). She’s a terrific character and this episode helps us know why. Also- see my comment above about making the Klingons “more” because you have the opportunity as SNW picks up the way ENT showed us the Gorn were more than just a slow moving dino allegory and kicks it into high gear.

“Spock Amok” 🖖🖖🖖

A very fun episode which continues to show us that TOS’s T’Pring was more than just a diabolical woman who dared mess with our heroes. Have greatly appreciated what they have done with her. Also, Enterprise Bingo!

“Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach” 🖖🖖🖖✌️

Credit here first of all for a very TOS title. Then a TNG style morality play, but one that does not end happily. Dig it.

“The Serene Squall” 🖖🖖✌️

The Orion pirate captain and Pike’s mutiny was a little too…well silly for me. However, Captain Angel and the Sybok name drop, plus Christine being badass? All in there. Also, this sets up some Spock/Chapel stuff for S2 and I dig all of that.

“The Elysian Kingdom” 🖖🖖✌️

Again fun, and a neat way to deal with M’Benga’s daughter storyline. A bit indulgent in places, but everyone seems to be enjoying themselves so much, and we get Christina Chong’s dog Runa. VERY TOS when it all comes down to it. Bonus points for the DS9 reference.

“All Those Who Wander” 🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖

Oh- the Gorn are warp capable Xenomorphs. How HORRIFYING. Also, some real stakes as we lose Hemmer, and Spock really starts his S2 arc here.

“A Quality of Mercy” 🖖🖖🖖🖖✌️

Terrific method of tying in some more TOS to contextualize the show, a modernized TWOK uniform, and a new Captain Kirk. I didn’t walk out convinced by Paul Wesley’s Kirk, but he wins me over early in S2. My real complain here is Ortegas falling into the role of the bigoted Styles from “Balance of Terror.” Did NOT seem like her style. Kudos to a bit of a cliffhanger, even if it does feel a little tacked on to the episode. Also, they missed a bet not having James Frain (DISCO’s Sarek) playing the Romulan Commander.

(Also, the show misses a bet not having Rebecca Romijn or Jess Bush voice the computer.)

Overall S1 is a solid start that ties itself plenty to what has gone before, without resorting to simple, overwrought nostalgia baiting to tell a story. Like some other recent Star Trek.

SEASON TWO

"The Broken Circle" 🖖🖖🖖🖖

Spock stealing the Enterprise on a semi regular basis is now in my canon, and I am grateful. Pelia, I am convinced, is actually Carol Kane’s character from “Taxi.” M’Benga rolling out the stimulants didn’t make a lot of sense to me on my first viewing, but in context with the season, this is actually setting up a really interesting—and dark—bit of character development.

“Ad Aspera per Aspera” 🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖

This. This is Star Trek. ‘Nuff said. (Ok, also, THOSE DRESS UNIFORMS!)

“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow “ 🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖

Here, HERE Paul Wesley’s Kirk wins me over, even if it is an alternate version. Earning money (and apparently a lot given the remarkably nice apartment they stay in) by playing CHESS, recognizing that La’an’s universe should stay because Sam’s alive, the slow seduction…yup, that’s Jim Kirk. Plus, This episode acknowledges that time is fluid, referencing how TOS tells us the Eugenics Wars SHOULD have been in 1992, but it keeps shifting. Elegant solution that opens so many doors to future stories. Also, baby KHAAAAAAAANNN!

“Among the Lotus Eaters” 🖖🖖🖖🖖

Nice callbacks to “The Cage,” yes. But this episode BELONGS to Erica Ortegas. “My name is Erica Ortegas and I👏🏻fly👏🏻the👏🏻ship!” And let’s add “thread the needle” to awesome starship tricks, shall we? Erica makes this good episode great.

“Charades” 🖖🖖🖖🖖

Vulcan shenanigans are back with a fully human Spock, and indeed, this one is funny. Ethan Peck’s comedy chops are great here, especially with Sam Kirk’s mess. Anson Mount delivers in the funny department too as Pike serves up Vulcan food. Very poignant stuff here for Christine though, and though I was initially, “oh no,” continuity-wise, I really ended up liking what this MEANS to what we saw on TOS.

“Lost in Translation” 🖖🖖🖖

A bit cliche, but a good Uhura episode, and though it seems like they're trying a little TOO hard to bring Kirk in, the Lt. Kirk/Ensign Uhura dynamic here is really good. The Jim/Sam thing also something I enjoyed. What makes this episode for me though is when Uhur figures out what's going on, Pike trusts her. Blows up a whole-ass mining station on the word of one Ensign. Go, Nyota!

"Those Old Scientists" 🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖

Just perfect. From the seemless merger of Lower Decks animated characters, to the meta commentary about "oddly specific references" and people talking "really slowly and quietly" this just works. Also ENT love! Uhura and Ortegas geeking out over Sato and Mayweather just made my day. So much fun, nothing could wipe the smile from my face! (Spoiler alert: The next episode will gut me.)

"Under the Cloak of War" 🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖

Holy crap. You thought DS9 played around with questionable moral decisions in a war setting, SNW here shows us they're not afraid to travel into Moore/Behr's space and take a whirl. The weirdness with M'Benga pays off here, and as a veteran myself they way this episode delves into our inability to provide the emotional context to what war does to us to someone without the same frame of reference? Fantastic. I was pretty uptight for most of this episode, because I felt it. I cried in places, was made uncomfortable in places, and what a set of reveals for both Christine and of course M'Benga as we see those flashbacks.

"Subspace Rhapsody"🖖🖖🖖

I WANT to give this one another LLAP, as I love musicals, and I love the fact they were bold enough to do one. The cast pulls off their numbers wonderfully, there's some great moments, especially between Jim and La'an (HE'S BACK???), and they conceit that makes this work is though a hair silly, pretty consistent with Trek and it's quantum/multiversal/anomaly episodes of times past. The only thing that doesn't work for me are the songs themselves. A couple are OK, but they just didn't stick with me. And I made sure I watched a couple of times, just to see if it was my mood. I can't help but compare this to Buffy The Vampire Slayer's "Once More With Feeling" though, and there are three songs from that I keep on my permanent playlist, and can sing pretty much the whole ep verbatim. This didn't make me want to do that; I just really enjoyed it. I wanted to love it. (Shout out though to the "Once More With Feeling" Easter Egg.)

"Hegemony" 🖖🖖🖖🖖

As soon as they gave Captain Batel a first name in the musical, I got worried, and sure enough these Gorn bring that to fruition. She's not dead yet, but she's in trouble, and this is a tight action episode. I appreciate that this new young Montgomery Scott is a) played by a Scot, and b) something of a mix between the Doohan and Pegg versions of the character. My only fear now is we have this cliffhanger, and between the writer's strike and modern TV's general refusal to follow seasonal schedules, we may be in for a far worse wait than the summer of 1990 left us with William Riker's "Fire."

So that's my take. Yes, there are missteps, or things that don't QUITE work, but if I want to compare this to the glory days of 90s Trek, we're only 20 episodes in, and already having a great time when TNG, DS9, and VOY all took at least a season or two of 24 episodes each to find their way. Sure, classic Trek all but hit it out of the gate, but again, we don't have but slightly more than 2/3 of their first season of episodes. We’re 20 episodes in and the worst ones are JUST good, there hasn’t been a bad one yet. SNW has found a way to be a prequel without suffering from their audience’s foreknowledge, and fit themselves firmly into Trek lore without just relying on playing Trek Trivia Madlibs to write their scripts (though Kirk KEEPS showing up!). I'm a little worried as I was really digging on DISCO for the first two seasons as well, and season 3 was a huge disappointment to me. Let's hope whenever we get back to this, they keep up the good work. I am more than ready to again boldly go.

#star trek #star trek strange new worlds #strange new worlds spoilers

[yuzu-all-the-way]

Yuzuru Hanyu's senior SP costumes

8. Étude - Blue Flame (for more info, here)

This is one of my favourite Yuzu costumes.

The costume resembles waves as suggested by the dark blue-light blue-white gradient.

I adore the black see-through sleeve and the sequins complete the look of the costume without making it appear cluttered and heavy.

The material draped over the left shoulder reminds me of sea foam, the waves' foam. That's a very beautiful visual and, in motion, the costume looks exquisite. It can be seen that the fabric is not a usual gradient, but a sort of blend of dark and lighter shades of blue.

Also, the sequins that go from the right hip up to the left side are my favourite part of this costume. They seem to emphasise the lines of Yuzu's body and, combined with the interwoven colours, create a dynamic image even when standing still.

I like to think that the scattered sequins on the torso represent either water droplets or, somehow, air bubbles. It's a beautiful effect when looking at the costume up-close.

Now, the see-through semi-open back is something I didn't properly appreciate the first time I saw the costume. It's gorgeous and it makes me think of the waves' motion, constantly rising and falling, restless.

(Bonus because it highlights the lines of Yuzu's shoulder blade)

I believe Étude is best appreciated under ice show lights - basically when the background is dark. The photos below speak for themselves.

But there's something special about the costume in the brightly lit competition atmosphere, too.

This is a post-series that's meant to complement the ranking of Yuzu's senior SPs in order of personal preference

Note: The costumes are in the order I ranked Yuzu's SPs, not in order of least favourite to favourite costume

#yuzuru hanyu #figure skating #etude #costume #yuzu costume #sp yuzu costumes #etude in d-sharp minor

[stealyourblorbos]

How do you as an artist feel about AI generated art? I’ve seen so much of it lately on here and twitter and IG and I feel like it’s a dangerous thing.

Hey nonnie! Thanks for the nice question. Short answer is: no, I'm not worried abt it in the slightest and neither should you💜

Here comes the long answer. Please bear with me and allow me to use some irl examples. Short disclaimer: I'm in no way a market expert or career couch and this is my personal opinion and observations.

When years ago I was entering Foreign Languages faculty, all the internet gurus and influencers were screaming that learning languages as a main occupation is useless and soon machines gonna translate everything for us. Now, much time later, phrases like "did you do it with Google translate" became a swear, derogatory term among translators and related specialities.

Have automated AI translation programs became important part of the workflow now? Indeed, but they didn't manage to steal the work from real people. The results still need heavy proofreading, checking and etc, not even mentioning things like poetry that mostly needs manual translation, and person doing this job still needs to be perfectly fluent in the language. AI still haven't "conquered" the market and pushed human element out, but became an optimization tool.

Now many web designers and clout chasers saying all the artists will be left without work because of AI art, blowing things out of proportion to get more attention (surefire ways to attract people online - fear, hate, lust, cute baby animals).

Some of the AI generated results are pretty impressive. MidJourney kicks absolute butt when it comes to complicated backgrounds, Dall-E 2 perfectly gets all the keywords from request, and there's a new one - based off Octane Render that specifies on realistic lighting - coming out in New Year which I'm extremely excited about.

But the resulting pictures STILL need extra work put on top of them. It may impress people online at the very beginning as a fun toy to test each own's "artistic abilities", but companies and people with taste still would need professionals to work with those AI results same way translation market did. Because those programs cannot trick human eye yet. Our brains still can perceive repetitive patterns in those gorgeous AI backgrounds, and human faces made in My Heritage still have uncanny valley effect because they're eerily symmetrical. Or remember that Twitter drama where anime AI program drew girl with 6 fingers and poor OP didn't notice that?

AI doesn't understand emotions, symbolism, storytelling and many other important art things. Yes, it will generate catchy icons for phone apps like no problem and junior artists in big enterprises like Tencent would have to learn something else. But I don't see AI creating storyboards, comic, movie concepts, complicated portrait paintings/illustrations and animation fully without human involvement any time soon. I don't even mention complicated 3D render with textures for character concepts.

AI makes a wonderful tool to save time or do the work that you don't like to do. So I'd rather try to benefit from it. Here's an example of work made with MidJourney, it was fast and I had tons of fun. IMO the key is staying up-to-date, working on one's unique style, skills and nurturing your visual library - no AI would ever compare to a human mind 😄 sorry if answer was too detailed but I hope you found something useful in it!

Nice vid on it:

#ai art #midjourney #dalleart #machine generated art #asks

[talktalitha]

I'm so happy about the cover reveal!! Aaahhh!! Mimo did an amazing job!!!!

First off, I LOVE the color choices that were made here. Shen Qiao is already associated with light green-blue and white. The way he looks on the audio drama covers is more to my personal tastes, but I think this and the donghua design are well crafted. The dark trim on his sheyi (i think?) provides some contrast - you could say edge - on him and also make him a little more recognizable among the sea of pretty danmei men dressed in white or pastel blue/green with middle parts and top knots. Yan Wushi's donghua design is awesome and iconic, but I think making him look more like he did on the original Chinese covers works better for a few different reasons.

For one, the dark blue of his clothes contrasts nicely with the pale shades on SQ, but the similar tones instantly tie them together visually.

I personally think YWS this design with the high ponytail has a bit more of an imposing, stern aura. And as much fun as the donghua design is, I think it fits better for that softened version of him. Book YWS is a little scarier, and this design reflects that.

To bring it back to color: I think they're set up pretty cleverly. Blue and orange contrast nicely bc they're complimentary to each other, orange being very warm and energetic and blue being calm and cool. Orange is also a very autumnal color - I know "Thousand Autumns" doesn't refer to literal thousand autumns but I think it's neat and it works. It captures the weirdly cozy vibes I got when I read this book.

Both SQ and YWS have abilities with water associations - the Canlang Sword Style and Chunshui Fingering respectively, so again, I like the blue tones on both of them. I think in Chinese culture water is actually more associated with black lol but both of them also have black on them so *shrugs* still works for me.

Some other things i like: I assume that gorgeous background is Xuandu Mountain or more specifically Banbu Peak, which. Yes. Literally that just has to be on the first and last volumes. It's just right.

YWS is holding the Zhuyang Ce! AND HE HAS HIS WRINKLES BACK! YES! I adore this shitty, slightly crusty man.

There's a little bit of water at the bottom, which is appropriate as I said. Also I'm a sucker for this style of - well, stylising water. Idk the whole illustration looks like they might put some gold effects on the letters and some of the background?

I wonder what other symbols they'll put on the spines of the following volumes... SQs bamboo stick makes sense for this one. Are they going to put a deer face on one of them? That would be kinda funny ngl

#thousand autumns #art hype #tali talks character design #tali's ramblings #shen qiao #yan wushi #yanshen #cant wait to see bai rong... zhao chiying... bian yanmei.... my beloveds

[pjsim2001]

Bejeweled 2 Review - Match 3 Finds Its Footing

Summary ★★★★ Essential

Bejeweled 2 makes improvements on the addictive match 3 formula its predecessor popularized, while ramping things up with a gorgeous presentation and a hypnotizing soundtrack that's debatably one of the greatest in video game history. Its new modes will delight casual players whether they're looking for relaxation or action, while still providing some ridiculous secrets for hardcore players to rage over and grind to achieve.

For more game reviews, check out https://pjsim2001.tumblr.com/reviews.

Background

Bejeweled 2 was my first Bejeweled game - I actually downloaded the WiiWare version initially since I was trying to get as much as I could out of my Wii at the time, but to make a long story short, don't play that version, it SUCKS. Just get the PC one.

I already got into my thoughts on Bejeweled in general back in my review of the first game, so I want to get things started right away. This sequel came out three years after the first game, so what had PopCap been able to do in that time?

Presentation

...well to start, they made the game a whole lot sexier. Now the game runs in a higher resolution of 1024x768. Gone is the flash game sidebar and crusty lookin' gem and menu graphics, now we have a cool 3D look, with crystal-like purple balls for menu buttons and awesome planetary backgrounds.

The game takes on the theme of traveling across different planets in the galaxy. When you beat a level, you travel through a wormhole which sucks in the UI elements and camera, then spits them back out at the end with a different background and new gem layout. There's a lot more effects and effort put into the graphics this time around, probably because this game was actually made for PC unlike the first one.

Something you'll notice is the lighting. While the first game lit up the gem you had your mouse over, that's nothing compared to how it's handled in this game. All the gems shimmer on their own, but on mouseover, they'll shine even brighter, and the light will seemingly bounce off the neighboring gems. When you've created one of the new special gems this game has to offer, the entire area will be noticeably brighter from the glow. Everything feels so much more lively.

There's even a bunch of secret visual changes you can activate by typing in certain things. For instance, you can get rid of the UI elements by typing "noframe", change the background to an animated Matrix-lookin' one by typing "network", change the background to a classic animated starfield by typing "starfield", or even change all the graphics of the gems to the ones from Diamond Mine (a precursor to Bejeweled 1) by typing in "oldskool".

Gameplay

If you've somehow forgotten, match 3 works by matching three or more gems of the same type together to get rid of them from the board. But Bejeweled 2 expands upon this by having certain combinations not only get rid of the gems, but create special ones as well! Woah!

Two special gems have been added to all modes of the game:

A Power Gem is created by either matching four gems in a row, or matching gems in an L shape. The gem will be the same type as the ones you just matched. Match it with the same type, and it'll explode, destroying anything surrounding it.

A Hyper Cube is created by matching five gems in a row. Once created, you can switch it with any other gem, which will cause every single gem of that type on the board to be destroyed. It's extremely useful for when you run out of moves, but be careful though, since if it gets blown up by a Power Gem, it'll be destroyed without doing anything! This would later be changed down the road, but there's some merit to the challenge of having to be more careful when trying to save Hyper Cubes for later.

These gems feel like a natural evolution, and they work great. They give you a goal to achieve, forcing you to play better so you can get the opportunity to make larger matches, creating the cool items with their crisp explosion effects and cool electric shocks. They can also help shuffle the board a bit, making them potential lifesavers.

Game Modes

B2 has the two modes from the first game, Classic and Action (renamed from Time Trial). There's nothing really new to say about these modes aside from the new gems I described above - Classic still has you matching gems with no time limit until you run out of moves, while Action has you matching gems to fill the score meter before it depletes over time. But there's also two new modes to try out:

Puzzle mode gives you a bunch of different boards to clear. The idea is that you travel from planet to planet - each with a set of puzzles that employ some sort of theme or difficulty level - and try to clear all the gems from the board. There's actually another two new gems for this mode - Bomb Gems, which explode like Power Gems after a set amount of moves, and Rock Gems, which can't be matched and must be destroyed with either a Power Gem or a Hyper Cube. It can get pretty difficult, and you'll find yourself hitting the hint button after every move, since it'll tell you whether the puzzle is still solvable or not, and if you want, what the next move to make is. So you can easily cheese your way through everything, if you'd like - there's only one puzzle near the end that doesn't allow hints, but it's not too difficult. I'm glad the game gives you the unlimited hints, but I just wish there was an option to have it tell you if the puzzle becomes unsolvable without having to move your mouse to hit the hint button all the time. All-in-all, I'd recommend this mode as one to pay attention to if you want to get better at the game, since it gets you used to moving the jewels around and making plays.

Endless mode, on the other hand, is completely chill. All you do is match the gems - you can't run out of moves. This is a simple but honestly genius mode, and when I think about it, there doesn't really exist anything like it nowadays. It might sound boring, but it's really not. It's fun to see how far you can get, and you even get to build up a little jewelry collection with each level you clear. There was also a study talking about how playing games like Bejeweled can decrease stress and increase mood, so that's pretty cool - it's nice to just chill and match some gems, looking at all the pretty colors and listening to the good soundtrack.

Soundtrack

Oh yeah, the soundtrack! There is absolutely no way I can talk about Bejeweled 2 without mentioning it's incredible soundtrack. Remember in my first review, when I mentioned how we'd be seeing more of Peter Hajba/Skaven? Well this, in my opinion, is his magnum opus. The game is worth playing for the music alone. I actually think the mixing sounds a bit better in the game version than the album linked above; the album makes some of the instruments too loud over the others. Either way, still some great compositions.

I don't even know where to start. Basically, aside from the loading screen, title screen, and credits, the game's soundtrack is one continuous song (although in the remastered OST link above, it's separated into parts), and oh man, it takes you on a journey, complete with its own highs and lows. Some of the synths just have the sound of jewels, twinkling as you travel across the galaxy. You've got tracks that are videogamey and catchy, you've got your slower pieces, you've got your optimistic beats, your introspective moments, mysterious secrets... basically everything.

My favorite tracks are... I'm not telling you. Play the game and experience it yourself.

The ONLY song in the soundtrack I think is a little weak is the loading screen, Autonomous V2... at least, the very first half of it. It's a remix of the loading screen from the first game, but I think the first part doesn't sound as good. There's this annoying, offbeat beeping sound that plays throughout it - and while this sound did exist in the first game, the song was more bleep-bloopy there, so you didn't really notice it, and even if you did, it added to the whole internety vibe. The song in general is also more intense and emotional in the first one, although the second half of this song definitely gets the goosebumps going with the twinkly synths, so again, it's not outright bad.

Also, while we're on the topic of sounds - they're good in this game. Mostly the same, but with higher resolution and a few newcomers, so nothing to report. The low-resolution announcer guy from the first game has been replaced by deep voice dude, who's really pleasing to listen to.

THE NEGATIVES OF THIS GAME

"Wait a minute, there's NEGATIVES of this game? But didn't you give it a 4/4 in the summary?"

Yes, but that's only because I think the soundtrack and presentation combined with the generally addicting gameplay and varied modes are so insanely good on the surface that everyone should at least TRY the game out. But that doesn't mean that aside from that, there aren't some things that piss me off. Besides, if you love something and spend more time with it, you'll start to notice the things wrong with it.

Now, full disclosure - most of this stuff won't affect casual players. They probably won't care. They'll just play the game for fun and whatever. But as someone who's somewhat of a Bejeweled pro, playing and reviewing every single game and nitpicking the details, there's two things I need to mention:

Action Mode's Music and Gem Shuffling (or Lack Thereof)

So, just to remind you, in Action mode, you need to keep your eyes darting around the board to find matches to make as quickly as possible.

Humor me for a bit - listen to a some of the song that plays in Time Trial in Bejeweled 1 (also check out the part at 2:31, lol, love that part). As I mentioned in that review, it's a perfect choice - high energy, action packed, gets you groovin'. And here's a fun fact - PopCap didn't actually make any of the music in B1 FOR the game, they just asked to use songs that already existed.

So now that B2 is out, and has a soundtrack tailor made for it by the same guy, which has references to the music in the first game, you'd bet that the song for Action mode is gonna be even better! I mean the rest of the soundtrack is great, right? Well guess what. Action mode no longer has its own music. Instead, they just skip to a specific point in the main music suite. Want to hear it? Scroll up to the music player, and go to track 11 (or 10 if you want the intro). That's where the music starts in Action mode.

The music suite in B2 is one of the major things I like about this game, and I wouldn't have it any other way - it's relaxing and beautiful. But that comes at the cost of a lethargic Action mode. It gets even worse when you realize that the song IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS is "Schein", one of the SLOW JAMS!!!!! It might seem like a nitpick, but music is important and sets the tone. When Schein is sending me into a lullaby, I can't focus as well on quickly finding matches.

Another issue related to Action mode is that, unlike in the first game, the board won't shuffle once you run out of moves - instead, it uses whatever algorithm Endless is using so you can't run out of moves. This might seem like a positive and an improvement on paper, but in practice, it actually ends up making the game way harder.

If you were about to run out of moves in B1, you would make the last move (or find it with the hint button), then the board would reshuffle to give you a BUNCH of matches, keeping the pace going. But in B2, if the board gets bricked, the game will just drop in gems to make matches in one little corner, which is BORING and not usually enough to recover whatever time you've lost.

Even worse is once you get the gems in that little spot shuffled enough, the game will just say "alright bye bye" and make you go search for whatever little spot your shuffling made, which can either cause the cycle to repeat, or have you waste time by second guessing yourself, looking around the board, trying to figure out if you just missed some oblique match in a corner somewhere.

It doesn't ruin the mode by any means, it can still be fun, but these bits certainly cause a bit of frustration.

Bats**t Insane Unlockables

Here's the big daddy of the problems with B2 - in fact, this part is so crazy, it literally delayed this review by a week as I judged whether or not it'd warrant a drop to a 3/4.

Basically, when I went over the new game modes, I actually lied - there's more than just Puzzle and Endless! I think these modes are what makes the game Bejeweled 2 Deluxe, since the Wii version of the game - which doesn't have these unlockable modes - drops the Deluxe moniker. So, if you're buying the deluxe version of the game, and the deluxe version gives you these game modes, then, wouldn't you agree with me that it's pretty important to be able to, ya know...

ACTUALLY UNLOCK THE GAME MODES?!?!!?!?!?!?

The requirements to unlock these modes are so incredibly ridiculous, especially one in particular, that I legitimately believe that the amount of people in the entire world who've spent the time to unlock them is probably under 1,000. I'll go over them, from least ridiculous to most ridiculous.

----------------------------------

Original

Original is more-so a secret than an unlockable. Just move your mouse clockwise 8 times around the four main game modes on the main menu, and you'll be sent straight into a game. It's just B2 but without the new gems, making it the same as B1. Next.

Cognito

Cognito is pretty standard to get - all you have to do is finish every single puzzle in Puzzle mode (including the optional ones). The mode uses the same layouts as Puzzle mode, except you automatically travel through each planet in order, completing the first four boards of each. But what makes this interesting is that it runs off of score like the other modes - if you use a hint, you won't get any points for that board, so you're incentivized to complete the boards without using any. I actually really love this idea, and from what I played, it was super satisfying to use the skills I've gained to reapproach these puzzles without offloading brain power to the hints - it gives you a reason to not just cheat your way through them, and take the time to get a satisfying victory.

Twilight

To unlock Twilight, you need to reach level 18 in Classic. If you've been reading these reviews without having played the game, you don't understand how difficult this is. As I explained in the B1 review, the game is a lot like Tetris in terms of luck - yes there are things you can do to increase your chances, but in general, the game can easily screw you over by not giving you what you need. You can get blindsided and run out of moves in level 4, so to make it all the way to level 18 (with the level clear requirements increasing each time, by the way) without getting screwed over even ONCE is a herculean task that could easily burn hours.

But honestly, it's kinda worth it. Twilight mode is simple, but cool - basically, the game runs in slowmo with a darker background and lower pitch sound effects. But the real change is that every single time you make a match, the gravity flips. So the first match you make will have the gems fall down as usual, but then the next match will have the gems fall up, with new gems coming from the bottom. It's a simple change, but one that makes the game both harder and easier. Easier since you can unbrick the board and make special gems easier (I got two Hyper Cubes on one board my first time playing it), but harder since thinking ahead is REALLY difficult, and before you know it, you might end up without any more moves. It's the right mix of challenging and fun.

Hyper

To unlock Hyper mode, you need to reach level 9 in Action. Yes, it's only half of what you need in Classic - but even if you haven't played the game, you can tell that this gonna be more difficult. At least Classic allows you to spend as much time as you want planning out your moves, but Action straight up requires you to get good. For a while, I could barely reach level 5 much less 9. The timer drops like a damn cinder block in the later levels if you aren't making matches, to the point where waiting around for 2 seconds feels like losing the points gained by 10 matches. Even with my friends helping me on a screenshare, I just consistently got screwed over by level 6. It takes the perfect storm of luck and raw skill to get far enough (or if you need some extra help, I'll explain an option later on ;))

Hyper mode is a bit lamer than Twilight, but still fun. It's the same as Action mode, expect now it runs at like 2 or maybe 3 times speed. Gems drop super quickly, so there's no time to waste. I was surprised by how well I was able to survive though - it makes you realize a lot of time spent in Action mode is waiting around for gems to drop and reveal the moves, so having it happen in an instant and just flying through the levels was pretty satisfying.

Finity

OK, what the hell were the developers over at PopCap smoking when making this game? Can I have some? To unlock this mode, you have to reach level 280 in Endless mode.

TWO. HUNDRED. AND EIGHTY.

Every time you beat a level in Endless mode, the point requirement increases, just like in Classic or Action. I have video - it took me about 10 minutes to complete level 41. 280 levels - 41 levels = 239 levels * 10mins = 2930 mins = 48.33 hours. And guess what? THIS CALCULATION DOESN'T FACTOR IN THE REQUIREMENT INCREASING OR THE TIME I SPENT BEFORE THIS! 48 hours straight at a minimum. Dude. And one guy in the comments of a video showing gameplay of this mode said it took him 3 months, another person an entire year.

The mode seems interesting though. I say "seems" because I haven't been able to unlock it in the... like... month I've been playing. It's Action mode, except you don't get points by matching gems - instead, you need to get them by detonating Power Gems and Hyper Cubes. To spice things up even more, the bombs and rocks from Puzzle mode drop in too. Sounds cool - I could imagine the bombs help you move things around, while the rocks provide an obstacle. But is it worth the amount of time you'd have to spend to unlock it? I don't think so. At that point, you'd probably be sick and tired of the game.

----------------------------------

You know what the funny part of all this is? The console versions of the game actually CHANGED these requirements to be MUCH easier - Twilight & Hyper now only need lv 6, and Finity is lv 11 (LOL) - so obviously, SOMEBODY down the pipeline looked at this and went "nah bro", so why was it like this in the first place? It just seems kinda random.

Here's the thing though - should you get pissed over not being able to unlock these modes? Maybe. But I don't think it ruins the game. I consider these modes as little extras for people who are REALLY into the game - I think most regular people are perfectly fine with the standard four modes that are in the game, and it's not like there were two separate releases of the game on PC, one having the modes and one not, and one being cheaper than the other. And hey, maybe somebody could even stumble upon these modes without knowing they exist. Maybe they like to have Endless on in the background while they watch videos, or maybe they're just having a really good day on Action. Trying to strive for the modes can be frustrating, but when you do unlock them, it feels super good. I have my save data with Classic on level 18 and Action on level 9, and I'm very proud of it.

Here's a neat little trick I used to help me get the modes - if you go to "C:\ProgramData\PopCap Games\Bejeweled2" on your PC, you can find the save data under the "users" folder. Every time you reach a new level in Classic or Action, back out of the mode, then copy and paste the folder (or maybe one of the files inside that saves the data for the mode, idk). That way you have a little save to restore and fall back on in case you lose. But the funny thing is, I actually only needed to use it once in Classic mode - I still made the backups on Action, but I got super lucky and didn't die a single time. Also, I unlocked both Twilight and Hyper on the same day (just yesterday actually, with a draft of this review in progress). That was hilarious.

Verdict

Bejeweled 2 is a damn good game. Yeah, it has those little hiccups in design with the unlockables, and the Action mode could be a bit better, but literally everything else about the game is a 10/10. It's an upgrade in every way possible, for a game that was already incredibly addicting. If you're gonna play this: choose a time without distractions, get some headphones on, turn the volume up, and get ready to embark on a journey across the galaxy.

★★★★ Essential

Get the game from here: https://archive.org/details/bejeweled-2_202202, just download the ISO and install it.

(Yeah, I know I didn't link the web archive download for B1 as an attempt to be fair, but that was before I saw how poorly EA treated the series, so by all means, please download it from the web archive for free. You could buy the Steam version, but don't do that, since they basically just dumped it on there a long time ago with no effort. Don't support these fuckers. This game is basically if not literally abandonware.)

I think Bejeweled 2 can hold it's own against the sequels. While it might not have as much content as later entries (that's easily accessible at least), I think this version is the best experience of the series just because of its (inter)stellar music and presentation - once you get going, it really is magical.

I can barely remember the time before I had played any Bejeweled, back when I just knew it as "that casual game with the jewels". This game should be legendary. And it was - until it got buried underneath the sands of time. It just frustrates me that PopCap is owned by EA now, and that Bejeweled is totally dead. This series had so much personality and a truckload of awards and accolades behind it - this game (and its sequels) should be ported on every console like Tetris is, but it just isn't, and it'll never be, because Candy Crush totally demolished it. I was actually playing a little bit of web browser Bejeweled in a class once, and someone I was working with actually said "oh, is that Candy Crush? Or like, Gem Crush?".

But there's no reason to be down - there's still two more games left, and spoiler alert - they're both masterpieces as well. What a twist!

#bejeweled #bejeweled 2 #popcap #retro #retro gaming #game review #game reviews #PC #PC games #gaming #videogames #review #retro review #small reviewer #puzzle #puzzle game #Bandcamp #puzzle games #hidden gems #casual games #pc gaming #pc games

[iamvoid0]

Does Megaman 11 deserve to be the best-selling game in the franchise?

Megaman 11 brought the classic blue bomber back to new heights, and with that, it took the title of best-selling classic Megaman title. Capcom had pre-emptively purchased the domains of Megaman 12, 13, 14, and 15. With the glaring success that Megaman 11 has, there is still a demand for classic Megaman. That raises a question, though, Does Megaman 11 deserve to be the best-selling game in the franchise?

Short Answer: Yes. But let us dig deeper as we prepare for Capcom's announcement for Megaman 12.

An Evolution of form

Megaman 11 was a return to form for the blue bomber that harkens back to the old school days while modernizing a notorious, mechanically demanding game for audiences of all skill levels. Megaman 11 simultaneously invokes nostalgia while pushing every aspect of its design, audio, gameplay, and art to new heights. It not only separates it from the mega man clones of today but also prevents it from being another hollow Megaman clone.

It is easy to view Megaman 11 through the lens of pure nostalgia, a cash grab, stomping on the cold dead corpse of a long-dead franchise for an easy payday. What is hard is accepting the fact that the team that took Megaman 11 from idea to product outdid themselves.

Another Dimension

Megaman 11 takes the classic game out of its 2D roots and into a new 3D space; though at times it may look like it's 2.5D, I have a sneaking suspicion that it is a full 3D space that is 2D in the viewport.

The art direction of this game is stellar. I cannot begin to describe just how gorgeous and warm this art feels. Every character and background is just bursting at the seams with personality and life. From Roll, Auto, and Dr Light to the various enemies you encounter, many of which are callbacks to the original Megaman 1, to the new ones that blend so seamlessly into the world of Megaman that you will question if it had always been there. Megaman is expressive, clear, and concise in his actions and animations.

Dynamic lighting effects breathe life into every nook and cranny of this gorgeous hand-drawn environment. The stunning illustrations that wash the backdrops are often reminiscent of old 90s cartoons, although that might be my nostalgia bleeding through.

Despite that, however, the game continues to be a breath of fresh air. We rarely get such a visually distinct game from a large publisher. It was clear from the get-go that Capcom needed – no, wanted – Megaman 11 to be an evolution, the springboard for the next generation of Megaman.

Lessons from yesterday

Megaman 11 takes a vast array of cues from its predecessors. From its punishing difficulty to its ease of access. The deceptively simplistic level design hides brilliantly crafted sequences that encourage experimentation while also providing a challenge for those willing to take it on.

One of the strengths of Megaman 11 lies in how it carries its legacy while also being distinct and new. The previous two Megaman games, 9 & 10, felt more like the recently uncovered Nintendo Entertainment System games that were lost media than they did a proper sequel for a new generation.

The previous games introduced a shop, which is brought back for the ride in this new entry. The game also comes preloaded with multiple easy-to-hard difficulty challenges.

The game makes excellent use of the various bosses' gimmicks to give Megaman a new way to interact with the stages. Megaman controls much better than I anticipated. The game was responsive and kept the old-school feeling of Megaman in this new perspective.

I mentioned before that the game could be unforgiving at times, and it is very unforgiving. Several passages throughout the game will give even seasoned Megaman players a challenge.

It is hard to describe how Megaman plays and controls, and it is ultimately something you will have to experience to understand Megaman 11 at its core gameplay.

Listen

If it's one other thing Megaman is known for, it is the absolute jaw-dropping, iconic soundtracks of the past. Megaman 11 is no slouch in this department. Every single stage gets a theme song that fits the environment, matches the scenes' intensity, and pairs well with the various bosses.

Marika Suzuki shines as Megaman 11's composer, having attained experience in various games across multiple genres. She clearly understands what made the original soundtrack so appealing, and she carries much of the soundtrack to its logical climax.

The soundtrack is more electronic-based, but Marika Suzuki masterfully makes every single instrument sing a dazzling array of notes and phrases that matches everything surrounding it.

Marika Suzuki's soundtrack was so rendered that it beautifully tied all the extremities of the game into an even more closely knit experience that all provided a sense of cohesion that ultimately elevated the experience of Megaman as a whole.

Conclusion

Whatever you think about Capcom's business practices, Megaman 11 is truly one for the history books. A fun-filled experience with a visually unique art style and a lavish soundscape that perfectly blends all parts of Megaman into an experience worthy of the franchise.

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The Void Calls, Will you Answer?

#megaman #capcom #megaman 11 #franchise #best selling #side scrolling #jump and shoot #review #games #video games #blue bomber #rockman #mega man #rock man #mega man 11 #steam #switch #playstation #xbox #game pass

[iloveabunchofgames]

#JakeReviewsItch

Amelie

BIG OL' CONTENT WARNING! At the bottom of the description on the Itch page

by Two and a Half Studios

Price (US): $3.99

Included In: Bundle for Ukraine, Queer Games Bundle 2022

Genre: Visual Novel

Pitch: Aristocrat Amelie is in lockdown while the plague ravages the outside world. Her maid feels prickly about a visit from Amelie's pen-pal. A short, anime-style visual novel, retold three times from each character's perspective, with a few branching paths

My expectations: Much to my disappointment, this does not appear to have anything to do with the major motion picture of the same name. Fox Interactive's Alien: Resurrection: The Game and Psygnosis' The City of Lost Children remain the only games based on Jean-Pierre Jeunet's illustrious oeuvre. Is no one brave enough to take a chance on a Micmacs game? So anyway, I'm going to have to put that disappointment out of mind and try to focus on reviewing Amelie for what it is rather than what it is not. I'm open to a queer visual novel with "psychological horror." Two and a Half Studios released five games in this style from 2018 to 2022. Given my recent experience with prolific visual novelists, I have concerns about them being stretched too thin. They're saying Amelie is ~20,000 words (1-1.5 hours), which is relatively constrained. This could be good!

Review:

A young woman lives with her maid in an ornate manor. Her parents, infected by the plague, have left their home until they’re better. When the woman’s pen-pal arrives for a visit, the maid is livid. The pen-pal assures them that lockdowns are lifting and travel is becoming more common, but the maid insists that for everyone’s protection, this interloper must go.

Ooooookay… It’s a game from 2021, back when we still kinda took the pandemic seriously, but society at large was starting to get comfortable admitting that we’re more concerned with Starbucks and letting children be someone else’s problem for eight hours a day than we are with preventable deaths…

One possible reading of Amelie is that we have to get back to normal. Making minimal personal sacrifice to curb the spread of a case of the sniffles that’s not even dangerous if you’re young and healthy is oppressive. Women are being oppressed by life-saving courtesy.

My reading is that it’s a ghost story. Current events like the pandemic and attacks on womens’ rights influenced it, but it’s primarily a self-contained story about ghosts.

The presentation and design are uneven. The ghost story isn’t bad. Maybe a light recommendation?

+ As trope-y ghost stories go, this one is fine. I was a few steps ahead of almost everything, but even so, it had me asking questions and looking forward to what might happen next. Plus, feminism and lesbian visibility. Cool and cool. + Dig those backgrounds and special insert shots. + The developers call the music "gorgeous." I don't agree, but it is memorable and effective, both when trying to lure you in and spook you out. + Each character is distinct. Most of the time, there aren't visual or audio cues to indicate who's talking. The name of the speaker is displayed, but I could usually ignore that and still figure it out based on the written voice.

– It's possible the ultimate message is that we need to stop living in fear and forget about coronavirus prevention. I'm immunocompromised. A member of my family died from COVID-19 last week. I believe it's just a funtimes ghost story, but maybe, just maybe, this is a work of COVID denial, and I'm not onboard with that. – Background/character art mismatch. – Going through the story multiple times with multiple characters and multiple outcomes? Good! Clicking through repeated dialogue but not clicking too fast because there might be something new inserted between the old stuff? Not good. Did we learn nothing from Arrested Development's fourth season? – Two and a Half Studios, you have promise, and I hope you learned some lessons. Think about how long we're going to be in these scenes, and figure out your artists' priorities—and make sure they're working together. Think about what you're saying. Are we making choices or not?

🧡🧡🧡🤍🤍 Bottom Line: If you got Amelie in a bundle and creepy ghost stuff is up your alley, sure, why not? It's nothing new or exceptional, but the ghost stuff? It's fine. For potential paying customers, here's an endless list of Itch visual novels tagged with "horror" and "LGBT". You don't need this one.

#JakeReviewsTwitch is a series of daily game reviews. You can learn more here. You can also browse past reviews...

• By name • By rating • By genre

#JakeReviewsItch #Computer Game #Video Game #Indie Game #Visual Novel #Itch.io #Amelie #Two and a Half Studios #Jean-Pierre Jeunet #Ghost story #Scary visual novel #Anime #Horror #Psychological horror #COVID-19 #Coronavirus #Pandemic #Lockdown #LGTBQ+ #Feminism #Women In Games

[andorianminingconsortium]

Watching the first Star Trek movie now! This is a review I'm typing while I watch!

For a second I forgot that I was going into a TOS era movie and the effects made me laugh put loud. But then I got into it and I'm already intrigued by the plot! And like five minutes in, the effects don't bother me anymore! I just came straight from watching SNW hahaha

I don't think I've ever heard full conversations of spoken Vulcan before! It's very cool! Sounds like I hoped it would. The high priestess(?) is slaying with her outfit and her long nails with the mind melt lol. Can't he practical. Fashion > logic.

O! Recognisable music from TOS! Cute clothes on the background characters. Hey Kirk! Not on that Vulcan. Yay Scotty! Ok I don't need an hour long scene of approaching the Enterprise but ok.

Not a fan of the sad beige uniforms. Are those the uniforms? UHURA! Yay. Sulu! Chekov! The gang!

Dude THE KIRK is replacing you as captain, show respect. By the way you get to stay as Executive Office under KIRK? THAT'S COOL. You should accept right away.

Omg that transporter incident was hella scary wtf no thanks

There's a cute Andorian in the scene with the whole crew gathered but I can't take a screenshot :( timestamp 30:44 (mostly for my own reference because I love Andorians and I'm going to play one for a Star Trek TTRPG so I need all the references I can get).

Someone doesn't want to use the transporter. Understandable. Wait, that's going to be Bones, isn't it? YES IT IS! Love him. Pls shave. Thanks

Ooo cool alien girl! I like her. Cool but with the wormhole. Bones, don't agree with the dude. I'm also really liking the soundtrack.

Ooo mystery shuttle, it would be cool if that was - SPOCK! Good entrance, s-tier clothes. Hell yeah, Bones, we ARE pleased to see him. Hehe is he flustered? Cute. I forgot how handsome Spock is.

No wait he seems sad. Wow in the last like five minutes, I think Kirk said he needs Spokc like 3 times. But not like Oh having Spock here might come in handy. No. Kirk NEEDS Spock. If that isn't Spirk.

Oh wow inside the thing are some reeaaallly beautiful visuals and the soundtrack is soooo good!

Just noticed Uhura's hair. It's really cool! Looks gorgeous!

The plot is really cool. It feels cosmic horror-ish, which is my favourite sci-fi theme/genre. The imagery is so atmospheric. Beautiful and unique!

Spock goes on so many solo missions, if he were a D&D class, he'd be a rogue.

THEY'RE SO TOUCHY (Spirk). "This simple feeling". What feeling, Spock? WhaT FEELING? (don't go for friendship my dude, it's pride month). Anyway those sickbay clothes look really good on Spock. Unnecessarily so.

All of the uniforms, but especially those not quite space suits, look like super comfortable pajamas. I want them to sleep in. Btw plot is still really cool. I like that the crew in this movie takes a very diplomatic approach!

Oooo very interesting development and revelation. That's cool. Nice plot. Very clever. I like it.

Very satisfying end! Very comfortable movie! Would watch it again :) enjoyed it!

#st #star trek #star trek the motion picture #spock #tos spirk #spirk #james t kirk #captain kirk #star trek movies #tos #star trek the original series #st tos #star trek tos #bones #dr mccoy #spock x bones #bones mccoy

[bersergner-blog]

Practice 2_1.3 - Inspiration - Streets of Rage 4

Evolved Throwback

Released on 30 April 2020, Streets of Rage 4 is the newest in a long and well-decorated line of side-scrolling beat-em-ups. Streets of Rage 2 shifted a lot of Mega Drives in it's day and Streets of Rage 3 still feels great to play. But rather than rest on it's legacy when "retro-graphics" are still very much in, SOR4 broke completely new ground with this incredibly clean, juicy, modern visual style that includes reactive 2D lighting on characters, HD sprites, beautifully rendered backgrounds and bright flashy FX. It also built on previous games while modernising in it's gameplay, with attacks that have a little more cooldown while some moves have special properties such as picking knocked down enemies up, bouncing enemies off walls and it even features a new special attack system.

Crunchy Feel

Hitting enemies and stringing together combos feels great, enemies have painful looking hurt-frames and jiggle with hit-stun when hit by the right move before careening into a wall where they satisfyingly splat and rebound into a follow-up attack. SOR4's combat feels great, but it's also complex enough to facilitate player creativity which is essential in Beat-'em-ups.

Visual Pop

As touched on earlier the visual style of SOR4 is absolutely unrivaled. But it goes beyond the aesthetic, it also features very unique silhouettes, visual effects synced with the beat of the music, gorgeous rimlight on backlit characters, some of the smoothest animation with some perfect arcs and a large variety of colour temperatures and visual moods.

Bibliography

SIGNATUREDITIONGAMES. [Online] Available at: https://signatureeditiongames.com/products/streets-of-rage-4-standard-edition-pc?variant=31728901947456

POLYGON (2020). [Online] Available at: https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/12/21218322/new-video-game-trailers-streets-of-rage-4-meeple-station-the-last-campfire-pc-ps4-xbox-one-switch

PCMAG (2020). [Online] Available at: https://uk.pcmag.com/pc-games-2/126743/streets-of-rage-4-for-pc

HEYPOORPLAYER. [Online] Available at: https://signatureeditiongames.com/products/streets-of-rage-4-standard-edition-pc?variant=31728901947456

VULGARKNIGHT (2020). [Online] Available at: https://vulgarknight.com/streets-of-rage-4-switch-review/

RETROGAMS. [Online] Available at: https://www.retrogames.cz/play_389-Genesis.php

HOGANREVIEWS (2020). [Online] Available at: https://hoganreviews.co.uk/2020/08/16/streets-of-rage-3-mega-drive-review/

STEAM. [Online] Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/71165/Streets_of_Rage_2/

IGN. [Online] Available at: https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/08/23/streets-of-rage-4-7-minutes-of-new-fighter-cherry-hunter-gameplay

#game dev blog #game development #streets of rage