#What is digital twin technology

[p24rana]

Transform With Digital Twins

Empowering Industries: Leverage the 60% Growth Potential with Coditude's Digital Twins Innovation

Coditude's Digital Twins Innovation leverages the transformative potential of digital twins, revolutionizing industries like manufacturing and healthcare. These virtual replicas enable real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and simulations, enhancing efficiency and reducing costs. By replicating the physical world in a digital space, digital twins promise to redefine traditional practices, leading to seamless convergence between digital and physical realms.

Understanding Digital Twins

Definition and Concept

A digital twin is a virtual model mirroring a physical object, evolving from basic CAD systems to incorporate real-time data and analytics. It creates dynamic simulations updating alongside their physical counterparts, ranging from small components to complex systems like buildings and healthcare applications.

Historical Development and Technological Advancements

The concept of digital twins originated in the early 2000s, initially seen in NASA's full-scale mock-ups for space missions. However, the term gained popularity in the last decade due to advancements in IoT, AI, and cloud computing, allowing for more sophisticated virtual replicas. This evolution represents a significant technological leap, transitioning from static digital models to dynamic twins that learn and adapt, offering insights into the life cycle of physical assets.

Components and Architecture

The architecture of a digital twin involves several key components:

Physical Object: The real-world counterpart is mirrored.

Virtual Replica: The digital model that simulates the physical object.

Data Linkage: The continuous data flow from the physical object to the virtual model, enabling real-time updates and simulations.

Analytics Engine: Software tools that analyze data from the digital twin to predict performance, identify potential issues, and suggest optimizations.

Digital twins process stimuli to mirror physical objects in digital space, offering insights surpassing traditional methods. Utilizing advanced modeling and diverse data sources, they provide a holistic view of object operation within its environment.

Applications and Implications

Digital twins have diverse applications, optimizing manufacturing processes and enabling personalized medicine in healthcare. They offer predictive insights and operational efficiency, driving innovation across sectors towards a more sustainable and customized future.

Digital Twins in Manufacturing

The manufacturing industry will significantly transform, primarily fueled by the advent and integration of digital twin technology. By providing a dynamic, virtual replica of manufacturing processes, equipment, and even entire factories, digital twins have begun to redefine what's possible in terms of efficiency, innovation, and product quality.

Accelerating Innovation and Efficiency

In manufacturing, digital twins play a vital role by enabling engineers to simulate and test various configurations and operational parameters during the design phase, eliminating the need for physical prototypes. This accelerates innovation and reduces costs and time-to-market for new products significantly.

According to McKinsey, the global market for digital-twin technologies in manufacturing is expected to grow at a staggering 60 percent annually, reaching $73.5 billion by 2027, indicating their expanding role in the sector.

In the aerospace industry, digital twins are utilized to optimize aircraft design for improved aerodynamics and fuel efficiency, conducting high-speed simulations to test thousands of configurations without real-world testing expenses or risks.

Improving Production and Maintenance

Digital twins revolutionize both production and maintenance phases by providing real-time monitoring and control of manufacturing equipment. They detect potential issues preemptively, preventing downtime or defects. Additionally, in predictive maintenance, digital twins forecast equipment failures and schedule proactive maintenance, thus extending machinery life and minimizing unexpected breakdowns.

Case Study: Enhancing Automotive Manufacturing

In the automotive sector, digital twins were employed by a leading company to model software and hardware configurations of their vehicles. This allowed for simulating design improvements and delivering updates directly to customers via over-the-air updates, ensuring ongoing enhancement of vehicle performance and customer satisfaction.

Challenges and Solutions

Integrating digital twin technology presents challenges such as data management and compatibility with existing IT infrastructures, often addressed with scalable, cloud-based platforms.

Digital Twins in Healthcare

In healthcare, digital twins offer personalized care and advance medical research by replicating human organs or physiological systems to predict treatment responses, significantly improving outcomes.

Personalized Patient Care and Treatment

The development of digital twins for individual patients or specific organs allows personalized treatment planning and disease management to be previously unattainable.

A prime example is a European software company's creation of a Multiphysics model of the human heart for drug and medical device development.

This model can simulate how changes in devices or drugs affect heart function, potentially speeding up the development of new treatments and improving patient outcomes (McKinsey & Company).

Advancing Medical Research

Digital twins accelerate medical research by offering a virtual environment for testing hypotheses and validating findings without the ethical or logistical challenges of traditional clinical trials. For instance, tumor digital twins could revolutionize cancer treatment by enabling oncologists to optimize regimens based on specific cancer characteristics.

Challenges and Future Directions

In healthcare, overcoming challenges such as data privacy and integration within existing IT systems is crucial for the future of digital twins. However, the immense potential of this technology, from enhancing surgical precision to personalized medicine, promises to revolutionize patient care and usher in a new era of healthcare innovation.

Technological and Market Analysis

The integration of digital twins across sectors like manufacturing and healthcare signals a significant technological shift. Key market players like ANSYS Inc., General Electric, and IBM Corporation drive innovation and ecosystem expansion, shaping the competitive landscape through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.

Market Dynamics and Regional Insights

The digital twin market is driven by factors such as IoT proliferation, AI advancements, and cloud-based platforms, particularly benefiting SMEs. North America leads in adoption, driven by robust manufacturing and healthcare sectors, while Asia Pacific shows the highest growth potential due to investments in Smart Cities and industrial automation, notably in China, India, and Japan. Europe's industries, especially in Germany, France, and the UK, actively embrace digital twins for efficiency, innovation, and sustainability in advancing Industry 4.0 practices.

The digital twin market faces challenges like data security and infrastructure investments, particularly in developing regions, alongside organizational inertia.

Strategic moves involve partnerships and acquisitions for market consolidation and technological advancement, exemplified by Dassault Systemes' collaboration with IBM.

Sustainability and Digital Twins

Digital twins promise to contribute to sustainable development goals by optimizing resource use and enhancing urban infrastructure management, ultimately leading to more sustainable cities. As technology progresses, responsibly harnessing this potential presents an opportunity for a future aligned with sustainability and equity principles.

Looking Forward Digital transformation services play a pivotal role in harnessing the transformative potential of digital twins across industries. From manufacturing to healthcare, these services unlock efficiencies and competitive edges by navigating technical complexities and strategic planning. Coditude, with its expertise in digital innovation, offers comprehensive digital transformation services, guiding businesses through the intricacies of digital twins to ensure success and visionary outcomes.

#digital twins #digital twinning #digital transformation #digital twins meaning #digital technology #What is digital twin #What is digital twin technology #digital twin technology

[lets-try-some-writing]

You got any more creative juices for the Twins AU O.O that was such a jummy au angst with the truth and pinpricks of healing at the end nom nom nom

I'm Listening, all of us are

Ah yes the twin au. Its been a while. Honestly I am low on ideas for this au. It was a concept that I took and ran with and failed to make notes for. However, I will write what I can.

Previous part here. (excuse the formatting I was still figuring tumblr out when I wrote the last piece for this au.)

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━

To wear the face of another was a... difficult thing. It wasn't merely a mask for Optimus. In order to take the identity of his brother, there were sacrifices that had to be made, ones beyond losing his connections and name. Most of the augments had long since been forgotten, but with his identity revealed to his team, it was not hard to find those augments now that the difference was clear.

"Orion, what is this?" Ratchet's digits hovered over sealed compartments on Optimus's frame. The medic worked worked the plating before Optimus could respond, and within a klik, his data cable ports were revealed.

"Sir, you..." Arcee stared in horror, as did the rest of the team. Optimus for his part merely shrugged. He was from the data caste. Optronix was not. His twin had been an enforcer, and no enforcer in Iacon had data cables of all things.

His were cut and cauterized, stopping them from every fully regenerating. It was painful in the extreme, and the instincts of the Archivist demanded he engage his data cables whenever he interacted with technology. He gave up the ability to ever perform his one soothing duties for the sake of appearances. It didn't hurt anymore, it merely prompted a vague feeling of loss.

Ratchet made attempts to assess the damage and repair the worst of it, but all he got in return were hisses of pain from Optimus. His cables were sensitive, even when cut and hidden away. To repair them would be to reopen millennia old wounds and fish around in what amounted to a sensory organ. Without proper tools, it would be needless agony. Ratchet gave up on repairs but did put caps over the cut data cables to limit additional pain that Optimus had been walking off since his rise to Prime.

Arcee worked with Ratchet quietly to make prosthetic data cables for Optimus to use. The prosthetics attached to the caps and simulated the feeling of connecting to a device via electric pulses. It didn't actually do anything, but it would ease the archival coding. Optimus was dubious, but later in the dead of night he could be found with a smile on his face as his prosthetic cables attached to the console. The simple act have him comfort, and for that, the team found the effort worth it.

His devastated data cables were not all the team discovered. As Ratchet ran examination after examination, a whole plethora of augments were swiftly located. Optimus did not stop them. There was no point in it. They knew now, and it was not as though his augments could be removed now.

His optics had been remodeled as one of the first changes to his frame. Optronix's optics had full optical glass coverage. Orion's were of the cycling variety. Optronix needed protection from shrapnel and explosions. Orion needed to be able to capture everything with photographic clarity. When he took on his brother's identity, his sensitive optics were covered with thick optical glass and changed in color to match Optronix's gold ones. He had not seen his own optics since he became Prime, and he had long grown used to the faint pain that came from having to squint just to see through the optical glass.

Ratchet offered, or rather begged to be able to remove the glass. Optimus allowed him. However the glass had to quickly be put back into place when Optimus all but screamed in agony at the sheer level of sensation. After so long seeing through lenses, he couldn't handle light or the level of detail his optics afforded him.

To try and slowly acclimate him back into his original frame, Optimus was ordered to take out the optical glass at least once a cycle for five minutes. The children did their best to make it more bearable for him by having him read books to them. The small text gave his optics something to focus on and helped him reintroduce archival programming back into his priority trees. Every day he would take time out of his usual working hours to read a book to the children. Usually this amounted to reading out their homework questions or helping them get through their assigned reading. However it was always enjoyed and more than once, Bumblebee sat in to listen and see what his Sire's optics actually looked like.

The collective agreement around base was that Optimus's real optics were far more attractive than his fake gold ones.

Optimus had always had a rather boxy build as an Archivist. The frame type allowed him to process all of the data that assaulted him. Optronix however had a slim build, rather unusual for an enforcer. But it fit him due to his position as an investigator. Optronix was designed to be seen by the public and both fast and flexible. Orion had not been forged with such intentions in mind. In order to achieve his brother's frame type, Optimus went through extensive fasting periods and slowly had his waist taken in over the course of vorns. The damage to his internals meant he could never consume great quantities of anything and instead was forced to fuel slowly in order to not overwhelm his crushed tanks.

When Ratchet discovered that fact, he nearly lost his mind in rage. He immediately began attempting to find the bindings that kept Optimus's frame from reverting. However when he did locate the bindings, it was a slow and painful procedure trying to remove them. The bindings had been welded into Optimus's spine and served as a sort of ribcage for his waist. Getting it off involved surgery and Optimus being a wet noodle for several weeks while he recovered.

He vented far better after it was taken out, and for the first time since his rise to Prime, he actually felt like he fit into his frame. Getting him to fuel properly became a new fight for the team, especially once Optimus began to grow unhappy with his frame as it reverted. After so long, the shift began to come rather quickly. He maintained his waist, but he bulked up considerably. More than once the team caught him trying to wrap makeshift binds around his middle just to alleviate his discomfort at losing what he had long since deemed "necessary augments". Bulkhead came in clutch when it came to easing Optimus's concerns. The Wrecker was quick to bring Optimus into sparring matches, showing him that being extra bulky didn't do a thing to his combat capabilities.

Optimus was still the Prime and just as deadly. A supermodel waist didn't define his skill level.

The team were more than pleased when Optimus began to go without his mask without seeming on edge. They smiled when his optics adjusted enough to the light that he didn't need the optical glass anymore. They were all but thrilled when he openly used his prosthetics and moved comfortably in his frame. He had never been visibly as happy as he was, even though they were still at war.

Then Smokescreen arrived, and all that hard work went down the drain. Optimus was dead set on keeping up his persona around those who didn't know.

Ratchet wanted to scream.

#transformers #maccadam #transformers prime #optimus prime #team prime #ratchet #alternate universe #twin au #bumblebee #arcee #bulkhead #tfp kids

[rain0tes]

(Happy you like the Goose!Hacker!Reader idea. And here's how I picture the interaction with Sir Pent goes.)

Reader: And yeah, all you need to do is close this line with a curly brace, and the computer should do the rest of the work for you. See? Congratulations, Pent. You just printed your first 'Hello, World!' Going from steampunk into the digital age. You're a natural at this!

Sir Pent: *Eyes widening* A-am I?

Reader: Sure? Anyway... I'll bring some 'Python for dummies' books up for you to read. I think that programming language would be very... fitting for you.

*A week later, the airship is being filmed flying over Hell. Shooting its death ray everywhere.*

Sir Pent: AH HAHAHA! COWER IN FEAR DENIZENS OF HELL! COWER, AT MY LATEST INVENTION! FOR I, THE GREAT SIR PENTIOUS, HAVE ENTERED A NEW AGE OF TECHNOLOGY!

Cherri: Okay Edgelord. But that won't make any difference, it'll still just be me versus you and your little egg minions.

Sir Pent: AH, that's where you're wrong, Missy! For I, have a new allie!

Cherri: *Chuckling* Oh really? WHO would want to team up with YOU?

Sir Pent: I'm glad you asked. BEHOLD! For I, Sir Pentious, future overlord and ruler of Hell, have teamed up with none other than the mysterious anonymous Hacker Demon, READER! *Holding up a photo of him and Reader holding up twin peace signs and a piece of paper with 'Hello, World!' printed on it.*

Cherri: Wait... You... and the Hacker Demon?

Sir Pent: Jealous? I know them personally, we're close, in fact. They even entrusted me with their secret identity! With their genius and generosity to help me, I'll be unstoppable! Thanks to them, my defenses are impenetrable! My death ray is far more powerful than before! Soon, we'll be able to take over all seven rings of Hell! TOGETHER!

*Hacker!Reader slowly curls into a ball of shame as Sir Pent continues to describe what will happen when 'they' take over Hell together, more embarrassed by what's going on than all of Hell now knowing their face.*

*Vox is pissed as he watches it all happen on TV. He watches as his ship with Hacker!Reader, TelePrograms, is no longer trending, and the new Sir Pentious and Hacker!Reader ship, PythonCoding, now is.*

OH MY GOD, THE SHIP NAMES HAD ME CACKLING THEY'RE SO CREATIVE.

I don't actually have anything to add to this, but oml😭 thank you, nonnie. I'll giggle about this as I fall asleep tonight.

#🌧hacker!reader #hazbin hotel x reader

[picnokinesis]

My friend is running a text-based rpg campaign, and I'm absolutely in love with it, so I decided to draw a 'cover' for each day in the story. We'll see if I can do one for each day, but I'm SO proud of how these turned out so far - all of them are inked in my notebook first, and then coloured digitally. If anyone's interested in the story, I've explained more about it all under the cut!

OKAY. So the game is called City of Mists, and basically it's...kinda hard to explain, but I'd call it 'cyberpunk noir', but with a 90s technological aesthetic. Kinda like when you read Issac Asimov's books and they're using computers but it's all cassettes and film-based technology. Anyway, it's awesome. Every character has a normal life in the city - their 'logos' - but there are some characters who are called Rifts, who have something mythological manifest within them - their 'mythos'. Now, the mythos can kinda be anything, but the point is that it's a legend or story that manifests within the character, and thus gives them new abilities. And every Rift has to balance their logos and their mythos - because to delve too much into your mythos means you forget your normal life and become entirely consumed by the mythos...but to focus too much on your logos means to lose, and forget, your mythos entirely. The 'mist' of the city obscures mythological and supernatural things from those who haven't 'awakened' yet - but Rifts can see through the mist.

So, my little guy is - sighs. Okay. Y'all are gonna laugh. Please be aware that I know, okay? I know. It's fine. This is a choice I've made. But he's called Nakis Sandhu, and he's an investigative journalist (NOT with amnesia) who, when he was a kid, was involved in a train accident that killed his parents, but him and his twin sister miraculously survived. He's trans, and he has a van - he doesn't live in it, thank goodness, but it is important because his mythos is Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas (this is why he looks like Sacha Dhawan, because like....Sacha Dhawan should play Captain Nemo and I'll die on that hill). And so Nakis, when his mythos awakened, turned his van into the Nautilus - Captain Nemo's submarine - and so it now works underwater too, and can travel undetected. He also becomes like, a technological genius and can invent stuff on the fly, but he never studied engineering or anything - it just comes to him in flashes of inspiration.

Nakis' main thing is that he's trying to figure out what happened in the train crash when he was a kid. He saw something different to everyone else, because he saw through the mist - what everyone else thought was an accident was actually two Rifts duking it out (I think). One of these Rifts was a blue bull that is apparently called 'the Bull of Thunder', and the other was a man with fire based abilities - called 'The Burning Man'. On Day 2, Nakis discovered a metal case that had belonged to the Burning Man, that had been hidden for twenty years - since the day of the accident - and was full of clues, including some photographic film that needed developing. Unfortunately, seems that there's a strange filter on the photos, so it's impossible to tell what's on them...luckily, my guy made friends with a photographer on Day 1 (who I believe is another player character) whilst investigating something else, and as a result he's now passed the film on to him, in the hopes that he'll be able to clear them up.

One funny thing: Day 0 was supposed to be a 'chill' day to figure out how the game mechanics worked, and figure out what your character would do on a normal day. Nakis immediately went to investigate something and then nearly ended up drowning RIP. On Day 1, when continuing to investigate the thing from Day 0, he...got shot in the shoulder HAHAHAH but he's fine, he's doing great, he didn't bleed out in his apartment which is always a win. He also bumped into another player character by doing this - so yay!

#taka draws #city of mists #uhhhhh idek what to tag this?? #art #original art #digital art #SKSKS anyway it's like #if i had a nickel for every time i had an investigative journalist character with a van and a train crash related backstory #i'd have two nickels #which isn't a lot but it shows that i have a type SKSKKSSK #but yknow i wanted an investigator character #and i didn't want a police officer or detective or PI so.... #ANYWAY #nakis sandhu

[zytes]

I know that the average person’s opinion of AI is in a very tumultuous spot right now - partly due to misinformation and misrepresentation of how AI systems actually function, and partly because of the genuine risk of abuse that comes with powerful new technologies being thrust into the public sector before we’ve had a chance to understand the effects; and I’m not necessarily talking about generative AI and data-scraping, although I think that conversation is also important to have right now. Additionally, the blanket term of “AI” is really very insufficient and only vaguely serves to ballpark a topic which includes many diverse areas of research - many of these developments are quite beneficial for human life, such as potentially designing new antibodies or determining where cancer cells originated within a patient that presents complications. When you hear about artificial intelligence, don’t let your mind instantly gravitate towards a specific application or interpretation of the tech - you’ll miss the most important and impactful developments.

Notably, NVIDIA is holding a keynote presentation from March 18-21st to talk about their recent developments in the field of AI - a 16 minute video summarizing the “everything-so-far” detailed in that keynote can be found here - or in the full 2 hour format here. It’s very, very jargon-y, but includes information spanning a wide range of topics: healthcare, human-like robotics, “digital-twin” simulations that mirror real-world physics and allow robots to virtually train to interact and navigate particular environments — these simulated environments are built on a system called the Omniverse, and can also be displayed to Apple Vision Pro, allowing designers to interact and navigate the virtual environments as though standing within them. Notably, they’ve also created a digital sim of our entire planet for the purpose of advanced weather forecasting. It almost feels like the plot of a science-fiction novel, and seems like a great way to get more data pertinent to the effects of global warming.

It was only a few years ago that NVIDIA pivoted from being a “GPU company” to putting a focus on developing AI-forward features and technology. A few very short years; showing accelerating rates of progress. This is whenever we began seeing things like DLSS and ray-tracing/path-tracing make their way onto NVIDIA GPUs; which all use AI-driven features in some form or another. DLSS, or Deep-Learning Super Sampling, is used to generate and interpolate between frames in a game to boost framerate, performance, visual detail, etc - basically, your system only has to actually render a handful of frames and AI generates everything between those traditionally-rendered frames, freeing up resources in your system. Many game developers are making use of DLSS to essentially bypass optimization to an increasing degree; see Remnant II as a great example of this - runs beautifully on a range of machines with DLSS on, but it runs like shit on even the beefiest machines with DLSS off; though there are some wonky cloth physics, clipping issues, and objects or textures “ghosting” whenever you’re not in-motion; all seem to be a side effect of AI-generation as the effect is visible in other games which make use of DLSS or the AMD-equivalent, FSR.

Now, NVIDIA wants to redefine what the average data center consists of internally, showing how Blackwell GPUs can be combined into racks that process information at exascale speeds — which is very, very fucking fast — speeds like that have only ever actually been achieved on some 4 or 5 machines on the planet, and I think they’ve all been quantum-based machines until now; not totally certain. The first exascale computer came into existence in 2022, called Frontier, it was deemed the fastest supercomputer in existence in June 2023 - operating at some 1.19 exaFLOPS. Notably, this computer is around 7,300 sq ft in size; reminding me of the space-race era supercomputers which were entire rooms. NVIDIA’s Blackwell DGX SuperPOD consists of around 576 GPUs and operates at 11.5 exaFLOPS, and is about the size of standard row of server racks - much smaller than an entire room, but still quite large. NVIDIA is also working with AWS to produce Project Ceiba, another supercomputer consisting of some 20,000GPUs, promising 400 exaFLOPS of AI-driven computation - it doesn’t exist yet.

To make my point, things are probably only going to get weirder from here. It may feel somewhat like living in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, only with fewer years in between each new step. Advances in generative-AI are only a very, very small part of that — and many people have already begun to bury their heads in the sand as a response to this emerging technology - citing the death of authenticity and skill among artists who choose to engage with new and emerging means of creation. Interestingly, the Industrial Revolution is what gave birth to modernism, and modern art, as well as photography, and many of the concerns around the quality of art in this coming age-of-AI and in the post-industrial 1800s largely consist of the same talking points — history is a fucking circle, etc — but historians largely agree that the outcome of the Industrial Revolution was remarkably positive for art and culture; even though it took 100 years and a world war for the changes to really become really accepted among the artists of that era. The Industrial Revolution allowed art to become detached from the aristocratic class and indirectly made art accessible for people who weren’t filthy rich or affluent - new technologies and industrialization widened the horizons for new artistic movements and cultural exchanges to occur. It also allowed capitalist exploitation to ingratiate itself into the western model of society and paved the way for destructive levels of globalization, so: win some, lose some.

It isn’t a stretch to think that AI is going to touch upon nearly every existing industry and change it in some significant way, and the events that are happening right now are the basis of those sweeping changes, and it’s all clearly moving very fast - the next level of individual creative freedom is probably only a few years away. I tend to like the idea that it may soon be possible for an individual or small team to create compelling artistic works and experiences without being at the mercy of an idiot investor or a studio or a clump of illiterate shareholders who have no real interest in the development of compelling and engaging art outside of the perceived financial value that it has once it exists.

If you’re of voting age and not paying very much attention to the climate of technology, I really recommend you start keeping an eye on the news for how these advancements are altering existing industries and systems. It’s probably going to affect everyone, and we have the ability to remain uniquely informed about the world through our existing connection with technology; something the last Industrial Revolution did not have the benefit of. If anything, you should be worried about KOSA, a proposed bill you may have heard about which would limit what you can access on the internet under the guise of making the internet more “kid-friendly and safe”, but will more than likely be used to limit what information can be accessed to only pre-approved sources - limiting access to resources for LGBTQ+ and trans youth. It will be hard to stay reliably informed in a world where any system of authority or government gets to spoon-feed you their version of world events.

#I may have to rewrite/reword stuff later - rough line of thinking on display #or add more context idk #misc #long post #technology #AI

[aurosoulart]

finally got around to recording and subtitling my performance at the Augmented World Expo 😤 it's 6 minutes long, but worth the watch if you wanna understand more about what I do!

this was part of a competition centered around using XR technology (virtual reality, augmented reality, spatial computing - whatever you want to call it) to fight climate change.

we were the only ones competing in the category of Replace - and I gave this performance showing how Figmin XR, a software that can create free-to-download digital objects (aka 'digital twins'), could be used to massively reduce material waste in the future.

AR glasses and haptic feedback technologies are still in their infancy, and they're not YET at the stage where they can be as ubiquitous as smartphones - but as someone lucky enough to work with them every day, let me tell you:

this stuff is powerful. being able to to see, hear, and FEEL digital objects in 3D space changes the wiring of your brain. it's truly indescribable unless you've experienced it yourself, but everything feels real, like it's there with you, especially if it's something you've brought into existence with your own two hands. I share my virtual inventory with my friends - we play with confetti together, paint together, make things together - all in-person, the entire process feeling so natural that we forget all of it is just made out of light.

this is the entirety of what Figmin's mission is about - empowering people to re-learn the joy of playing (which so many of us don't have the time or money for anymore!), while also reducing material waste in the process.

once this new form of 3D computing finally becomes accessible to the public (and it will - it's too magical to be forgotten), we could see a huge cultural shift of innovation similar to what happened with the rise of the internet and personal computers in the first place.

and, like the original PC, it's only going to get better once it does reach people. I'm not going to say that every person out there will use XR for good (we all know how corporate greed goes by now), but that doesn't mean it's inherently bad or scary.

all technology is still just a tool, and we can still use it to connect with one another, to learn, to create... and, hopefully, to change the world for the better.

#art #digital art #artists on tumblr #3d art #vr #virtual reality #ar #augmented reality #xr #extended reality #awe 2023 #figmin xr #tilt brush #i understand why we didn't win (we are ahead of the curve. this solution isn't accessible yet) #but i was STILL RIGHT AND SHOULD SAY IT #BECAUSE VERY FEW OTHER PEOPLE ARE!!!! #anyways i've been recovering from this event+mold damage since june #and have mostly just been playing in figmin with my friends which is why there hasn't been much new art lately #but i have a lot of video to edit now! #multiplayer has been incredibly magical and i can't wait to share what me and my friends have been making #i'm gonna keep sharing and creating magical wizard shit!!!!!!!! and i will not stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

This exclusive radio accompanies Victor’s mind quest Not the Slightest Gap (至无隙无间).

⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for content yet to be released in the global server! ⌚

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

Victor: Come in.

Goldman: CEO, the Digital Twin technology project we participated in is already moving forward according to the plan.

Victor: Mm, is the meeting in question scheduled for tomorrow?

Goldman: Yes, it’s tentatively scheduled for tomorrow at 3 pm. Do you see any need for adjustment?

Victor: Mm... bring it forward to the morning.

Goldman: Okay.

Victor: By the way, there’s one more thing that I need your help with.

Victor: Help me find a Latin dance studio that offers professional Paso Doble dance courses.

Goldman: Are there any specific requirements?

Victor: One-on-one class. The class time needs to be flexible so that it can be adjusted according to my schedule.

Victor: Aside from being professional, the instructor must be patient.

Goldman: I’ve made a mental note.

Victor: Sign up for two people.

Goldman: For two people… are you going with MC?

Victor: Mm.

Victor: …the setting needs to be better. I guess she will want to take pictures when we check-in.

Goldman: Okay. Do you need help with the outfits for the two of you for your dance classes?

Victor: No need. I’ll take her myself tomorrow.

Victor: That’s all. If you find something suitable, feel free to send me any time.

Goldman: Roger. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave now.

Goldman: [after walking a few steps] CEO, can I ask you a personal question?

Victor: Go on.

Goldman: How do you still manage to have the energy to exercise after getting off work? When I go home every day, all I want to do is lie down.

Victor: Each individual obtains their energy in different ways.

Victor: For me, proper exercise works as a stress reliever.

Goldman: Eh? But don’t you go for an early morning jog every day?

Victor: …dancing is not the same as a morning jog.

Goldman: It’s not the same?

Goldman: Uh, I mean, it sounds like they are both aerobics…

Victor: Do you want me to make a report for you on that?

Goldman: No need, no need. I’ve been blabbing. I’m just curious.

Goldman: And one last thing. Since you two are learning ballroom dancing, then for the company’s annual meeting program…

Victor: How come I don’t know that you’re doing all the administrative work now?

Goldman: A-ah, I’m just asking since I’m here…

Victor: Get off work if there isn’t anything to do. Or don’t you want to go home and lie down tonight?

Victor: There will never be a shortage of things to do in the company.

Goldman: …got it. I’ll go and do what you asked me to do.

Victor: Wait, there’s one more thing.

Victor: About the dance studio, try to choose a place as close as possible to MC’s company.

—

#you do need to read the mind quest for context BUT THIS CONSIDERATE™ MAN!!!😭😭 #also Goldman pls go home & give Vivian a call take her out on dates aksjxhdj then you’ll understand where Victor gets the “energy” from🫠🫡 #p.s. i started doing the translation after 1 AM last night and then fell asleep on my laptop. so obviously it’s not done yet :’) #but this time i can promise that i’ll be able to post it by tomorrow morning i.e. 24 hours from now~ #mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc #mr love victor #mr love queen's choice #恋与制作人 #李泽言 #love and producer #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc translations

[dduane]

...A lighting and positioning test for the scene from chapter 5 of The Door Into Fire where Herewiss and Freelorn are reunited after a couple of years apart.

...It's scenes like this that point up some of the most trying of the difficulties of working (in the artistic sense) with digital media. Basically, it's hard to express real tension in a medium where flesh can't be indented when you press on it, and when the design limitations of the models themselves physically prohibit them from doing some of the things that the scene calls for. You can sometimes cheat the look of the pressure, the strain, by the way you position and light the characters. If you can hide the places where the figures "collide", as it’s called—i.e. illegally pass through and into each other, like a micro-Transporter accident—and fake the closeness that way... okay, fine.

Yet faces say so much. And if the digital models' faces can't be forced into the eyes-squeezed-hard-shut-because-of-the-twinned-pain-and-delight-of-holding-him-after-two-damn-years, oh-Goddess-I-forgot-how-warm-he-was,-he-is,-how-could-I-forget-something-like-that,-what-kind-of-person-am-I? expression... then you have to fake it some other way. Little things: the way a fist closes on the other party's surcoat (which can't be deformed or pulled because it's too old a piece of technology, so that too has to be carefully faked, and as you can see it's not perfect yet): the tilt of a head against another, the toward-you curve of a pulled-in waist (not in place yet), the way the light falls over faces. Or whose thigh is pushed between whose (I think Dusty's going to win that one, since Lorn's surcoat is conveniently split in front).

...And of course that's another issue, because the surcoat—an important clothing item and vital battlefield identifier for someone in an alternate-medieval-European scenario—is absolute crap. There is, in fact, not a single damn decent medieval surcoat to be had anywhere on the Daz 3D platform: not even one that's worth the electrons it's hung on. (And it's not like such a thing should be difficult to design, at least for the people who specialize in such work.)

The mail that comes with that surcoat is also total crap, and ideally needs to be rebuilt. Look at the way its texture deforms near Freelorn's armpit.

If the arm and the chest were two different texture "regions", I could have put it right myself with just a few clicks. But (sigh) nope.* ...The sword is also crap, but that's going to be broken next book anyway, so I don't much care.

...Anyway. One other pressing issue to be handled is the lighting from the fire in front of them, which is way too flat (and the wrong color temperature). A problem for another day. ...But the sunset's nice, at least. The really talented maker who goes by Orestes devised it, so that's pretty much a given.

So: not bad for a couple hours' work. Now to leave it alone for a day or so and—on reviewing it—see what all the other things are that need attention.

(shrug) Ars longa, yeah? ...Or at least we have to act like it is, even when it's as ephemeral as (under some circumstances) electrons.

*The mail coif that goes with it is crap too, and Dusty's hand on Lorn's neck is hiding the complete lack of the damn thing, which I threw the hell out because it has no "coif down" setting. WTH kind of thing is that?! It'd be like having a metal hoodie permanently stuck in the "up" position. :/

#digital art #Daz 3D #Middle Kingdoms meta #The Door Into Fire #Herewiss #Freelorn

[monsterfloofs]

Sil and Vessa (A x F Aliens) x Female Reader (Sfw)

Part I ♡ Part II

(This story has sat on the back burner for a very long time, if you still remember these two, you deserve a digital cookie 🍪)

You ate quietly while Sil fiddled with the straw in their fingers, their smooth face plate edging back just enough so that they could fit the straw into the crevice. From what you glimpsed the edging around the faceplate was dark colored and slick, similar to a human’s gums. You do you best not to let your curiosity get the better of you, catching yourself staring and turning your gaze away. Letting your companion drink in peace.

You didn’t know that much about Kestron anatomy. Some alien species had to wear full-bodied sealed tech suits to exist in multi-racial spaces. The few facts you could remember knew that Kestron’s plating served as an exoskeleton. Even the dark visior looking part around their face was evolved to protect their delicate eyes from the harmful rays from their homeworlds twin suns. You liked to do reading of the different species in your spare time, but it had been a while since you had read much about your chitinous companion. It was more of a tradition to research other beings as you run into them. So to not accidentally create any social faux pas. . . Like. . . yesturday.

You inwardly wince, but you also let yourself feel grateful for being able to clear the air from the previous day. You truly hoped that things were looking up from here. Even if the two of you didn't get along enough to be on speaking terms a comfortable silence was better than walking on eggshells.

You chose to let your hearing wander, picking up the other bits and bobs of conversation that floated around the room. Spacers talking about this and that. The price of supplies and equipment. The things that they had been watching or viewing. There was a pair to your right excitedly conversing about the great drifting galactic Amphitheater, where it was stationed and who was entertaining there.

“Esh you! You came to lunsch! May I sit here?” You turn your head up at the familiar voice, a smile already jumping to the corners of your mouth. The white Spidery creature shuffled their long legs back and forth with excitement.

“Hey, hey,” You beam, drawing their cheerfulness around you like a huge fluffy blanket. “Sure, there’s room, I don’t mind!” Vessa didn’t need prompting twice, the fluffy creature shuffled beside you and gave a more respectful distance to your other companion sitting at the other side of the table.

“Oh great,” Sil quips as Vessa folds in their legs to rest at the seatless opening at the table. “You brought the giant furrball over here.”

You shoot them a cross look before Vessa pipes up cheerfully, “Don’t lishten to them! They are jusht grumpy! I’ve been trying to get them to socializh forever! Sil normally eatsh in their room.”

You flash the arachnoid a smile as Sil shakes their head, “Is your communicator broken? Why are you talking like that?” Sil’s elbows resting on the table as their posture relaxes, becoming teasing. “Oh I think I get it now, trying to impress the newbie huh?”

Vessa fluffs up, eyes widening. “W-w-wha?! Me? No!” The fumble with the little communicator clipped to their doctor's coat.

“I jusht forgot to turn it on— There we go!” They raise their paw like hands, “It’s probably easier to understand me, now huh?”

You blink as the slow endearing way of Vessa’s learned English turns into rapid fire speaking.

“Whoa. That’s certainly different.” You laugh and shake your head, “But I don’t really mind, I thought it was sweet. I rarely hear others try to learn other languages now. Technology is so progressive it’s almost unnecessary.”

“It’s fun!” Vessa chatters, “Hydrax brains need a lot of stimulus to keep functioning at a commendable rate. Language is a good way to keep those neurons firing. I’ve learned about five languages thus far, but I do enjoy Earthian English. I have a soft spot for it! It was one of the first ones I began to study.”

“Easy now chatterbox,” Sil huffs, “I can barely listen to myself think, let alone follow what you’re saying,”

Vessa wiggles playfully, “Perhaps I should turn the communicator off after all,”

You put a hand to your mouth and stifle a giggle, perking up as you watch Sil rise and stretch. “Eh, do you what you want,” The Kestron sighs, “I have to get set up at my dig site.”

Vessa tilts their head, “Ohh, outside of the space craft today? Please do be careful.”

Sil waves their hand dismissively, crunching up the nutrient pack in their hand and tossing it into a recycling bin. "Sparky," They tap the com. clipped to their clothes and gave a small gesture before moving away.

You were unfamiliar with the meaning, so you raised an awkward hand for a goodbye. Turning back you see Vessa with their pincers held wide. You look down at the sharp mouthpiece, not sure what to take the expression as. Was Vessa angry?

"W-what?" You reply nervously, taken aback by the alien expression. She squeals and hugs your arm, jostling you back and forth.

"EEEEEEEEE little peacekeeper! I am so proud of you!" Your hands scramble out to grip the table holding on for dear life so you don't tumble out of your seat.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Vessa chirrups, patting you down, their paws gently straightening your clothes. "I got too excited, but I am so happy! I have been trying to befriend them ever since I began working as a ship's doctor! Imagine my surprise to see the two of you together at the mess hall! They never come here! Let alone sit with anyone. I can't believe they stayed this long!"

"Oh," You say, quickly realizing the intimidating expression had been a smile. A quick flash of guilt slunk through you before you admit. "I was assigned to share a room together, and we ah. . . had a bit of a miscommunication issue, I think they were just being kind and letting me have some time to myself in the room. . ."

You trail off, noticing Vessa have been moving closer and closer. You lean back and the arachnoid realizes they have been encroaching on your space.

"Ah! Ahaha, sorry!" Their arms hide their face for a moment. "Forgive me! But I am both in awe and pleased!" Their fur ruffles and they sigh, "I have been keeping an eye on the Kestron. I was afraid I would have to intervene at some point or another. I feel that Sil is unhappy, but they do not come and ask for help, they do not speak out about how they feel, only speaking with others when necessary. I have expected them to leave this ship and join another crew, yet they do not. They self-isolate, which I would not be bothered about, except that I feel it is because they are not being treated well.

The beady eyes scrunch up, "I do not have proof, and the only way I can get proof is through the person who refuses to talk to anyone."

You sit chewing on that information. Biting your lip as you stare into space.

"I. . . From how I've seen them act, I think you're right. They told me that well. . . most people who get assigned to bunk with them are moved because of some rumor about their species."

Vessa twitches eyes blinking, "Oh dear, oh dear, it wouldn't be that rumor would it?" They make a distressed sound. "That is cruel. Very cruel. . . Would you do a favor for me, little one? If you could?"

"I. . . That depends," You began wearily.

"Nothing bad! I just erm. . ." Vessa stands and shuffles, "I must go back to the medbay, and this may be asking a lot but please, don't let your bunk station get reassigned."

"Oh, don't worry Vessa, I wasn't planning on it." You gave a small nervous smile.

"Thank you, thank you, I must away now, good day little melon! Good day!"

Your ears perked up at the odd translation watching Vessa scuttle away. "Little melon? . . huh. . ."

Every once in a while there were things said in languages that could not be properly translated, the words would either filter out as they were said in the home language, or be given a strange placeholder derived from the closest common word the translator could find. You hoped that melon signified something good in any case. You packed up your tray, tossing the leftover wrappers in the bin to get recycled and reused. Following the groups of workers leaving to get assigned to their posts for the day.

When dinner rolled around you found that Sil was not present in the mess hall. Sil was also not in your room when you returned for bed. You changed into your night clothes a little hurriedly, not sure whether their delayed arrival was good fortune, or something to be worried about. You had just gotten comfortable in bed when you heard the thick metal doors slide open.

"Are you alright?" You turned over in your bed to face the doorway. Finding Sil's figure standing in the threshhold. The plated visor tilts and you hear a string of sounds and inflections rather than words. Your hand goes to where your communicator is normally clipped, patting the empty space.

"Oh right I took it off, sorry give me a second."

You sit up, grabbing it off the nightstand and clipping it onto the front of your shirt. Sil silently enters the room, slithering out of the black and orange mechanic jumpsuit they had been wearing. They let it drop to the floor.

You raise your head, "I was just asking if you were o-" You blink and look down abashed. "If you were okay."

Sil tilts their head again, and you give an amused huff. "Well I can't talk to you when you take yours off– geeze. Nevermind." You wave your hand dismissively, mimicking the gesture you've seen them use.

Sil makes a huffing sound crouching to pick the device off of their jumpsuit.

"What was it?" The words filter to your ear and you give a huff of your own in a small laugh. Rolling your eyes.

"I asked if you were okay. You were gone for a long time."

"Oh." They sat on the edge of their cot. "Yes, things went well, there was one problem that arose, which is why we ended up working late. A tunnel broke apart and we had to find a work around."

Your eyebrows raise and your lips part. "Is everyone okay?"

Sil nodded, "Thankfully, yes. No one was occupying that sector. . . Are humans always so expressive?"

"Hm?"

Sil gestures with a finger at their own face. "Just a curious question. Your face seems to be constantly. . . changing."

You wince and give an awkward smile. "Ah yeah. . . Some humans have a lot of facial expressions. Others don't though, it just depends on the person."

"Hmph," Sil bounces their knee, and you remember that they aren't clothed. Your eyes darting away to look elsewhere.

"I don't know how you can be comfortable like that myself," You say with a shy laugh. "Though I was always the type of person who likes to hide in my clothes."

"Does. . . this make you uncomfortable?" They ask slowly, and you shake your head.

"I don't think so? . . . No, not really,"

Sil gives an amused sound, "There isn't much to see in any case. All of that intimate junk is internal." You rub the back of your neck, catching your eyes traveling down the length of their thigh. You couldn't seem to get your eyes to be decent enough to stop staring.

"Welp! Goodnight!" You squeak in embarrassment, rolling over and throwing the blankets over your head. You fumble, unclipping your communicator and unceremoniously shoving it onto the bedside table.

You hear whatever Sil was going to say cut out to an indistinguishable language. But you can hear the tone of their voice. A light playful tone to it that has blood thrumming in your ears.

You wake up the next morning to find the Kestron sitting on their bed unclothed. In their hands was a tablet that they had angled towards their face, reading. You blink, taken aback as Sil looks up at you.

"Oh haha," You quip sarcastically as the Kestron makes the same swirling motion with their finger pointed at their face. The one they had used last night to indicate your expression. You scrunch up your face, wrinkling your nose at them, as you gather up your work clothes. You sit back down onto the bed, throwing your blankets over your head. Changing your clothes underneath the canopy of fabric.

You throw off the blanket with a rush of fresh air. Finding Sil had also taken that moment to change as well. They stood with their back to you, zipping up their jumpsuit. Turning back around while affixing their communicator to their clothes.

"Good morning," You shoot them a dubious expression,

"Morning," They reply, their tone sounding thoroughly amused.

Sil doesn't mention what they said the night before, or comment on the makeshift changing room, thankfully. The two of you leave for the mess hall together. You pause in surprise as you turn to see Sil, following behind you.

"Are you coming to have breakfast?"

They shrug offhandedly. "For a little while."

You take a breath, pondering on whether or not to add what you had planned to say next. You take the jump, and tease them.

"I bet I know who's going to be excited about that!"

Sil groans, but not in a way that sounds serious. It sounds playful and relief washes over you.

"Don't remind me."

You let yourself snicker mischievously.

"You'll hide me. . . right?" Sil falls into step beside you, shoving their hands into their pockets.

"No way!" You chirp cheerfully, "I am way too short!"

"My hero."

You purse your lips trying not to grin. To your surprise you find Vessa already sitting by one of the table's waving both of you over. Sil gives a resigned sigh. You sit down next to Vessa while Sil again takes a seat that is a polite distance away from both of you.

"Esh messhed up," The Hydrax looks at you with a guilty expression. Pushing over their communication device. "Esh acchidentally broke et. Can you fixsh et?"

"Oh, yeah, I should be able to. What happened?"

Vessa looks away and hums, sounding embarrassed. "Et fell off, and Esh didn't know. Esh– err, shtepped on et?"

You smile gently, picking the device off the counter and turning it over in your hands.

"Don't worry, stuff like that happens, I'll go grab my tools and see what I can do. . . uh. . . mind you, you'll probably want to get a new one, the outer shell is broken, but I think I can jury-rig it for you, for at least a little while.

"Jury-rig?" Vessa echoed, her expression blank.

"Oh, it means uh, well. . ." You rub the back of your neck and smile sheepishly, "I may not be able to fix the outer frame perfectly, with what I have on hand. But I can make something that will hold it together good enough?"

Vessa bobs their head enthusiastically. "Good enough!" They echo.

"Do you want me to take a look at it?" Sil asks.

"Oh no! I got this, I have had to do this before, I'll be back, don't wait up." You stand up from the table, "Oh, and in the meantime," You unclip your own com. setting it on the table. "Take mine just in case something happens while I'm gone." You pocket the broken device as you head back to your room.

You sit with your tools laid out on top of your bedspread. Tinkering with the little box that lay on your lap. The backing was taken off to reveal a criss-cross of delicate wires and motherboard. With a delicate hand you poked and prodded at the contents with a small pair of tweezers looking for loose wires or broken pieces.

You hadn't heard Sil come in, and you jump when a tray is set on your bed.

"Ho- My-" You bring a hand to your heart, eyes closing for a moment "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that," Then you pause watching them tap at their face plate. You quirk an eyebrow, looking down at the tray of food.

"Thanks Sil, I got busy working on this and lost track of time. . . You can still understand me right?"

Sil nods in response

"H'okay, well that's good, at least."

The Kestron crouches next to you, as you pick up the small gadget and continue to poke around.

"I haven't found the problem yet– oh? Maybe I have." You gently tugged at one of the wires watching it wriggle around from where it should be stationed. A quick smile crosses your face as you pick through your tools, sautering it back into place with a quick spark. You click on the device and replace the back.

"Say something," You prompt hopefully. Your eyes go wide as Sil's voice filters in, in yet another language. You sputter then laugh, "Duh, Vessa's home language isn't English, hold on," You tap the screen, saying a few commands to the communicator until the screen switches to English.

"Okay, try again?"

"Something."

You nod and laugh, "There we go." You take tape from your kit, careful to sandwich the sides together and tape the instrument shut.

"Maybe I should just let Vess keep mine until I get a replacement, she does seem to like her acrobatics."

"It wouldn't be a bad idea," Sil mumbles. Their hands reach for your tools and help put them back into the box then they straighten. "I would let her know at least. Oh, since you have been helping the doctor, I also wanted to tell you, you've been assigned to check up on machine diagnostics. You did a good job installing the new wares, and they want another eye to check over a couple of the drills before they are relaunched into the dig site."

You pause at that, cocking your head curiously. "Do you think. . . it was a calibration error that caused the tunnel to collapse yesterday?"

"Mm," Sil hesitated, "It could have been a number of things."

You frown at the comment, "This mining ground hasn't been leased to anyone else right? We should have maps of where all the tunnels are. . ."

Sil crosses their arms and nods. "Vibrations can cause enough disturbance that it could break apart the rock in other places. But protocol usually has us digging in targeted areas."

Their voice didn't sound convinced, or perhaps it was more like Sil was trying to convince themselves that this is what happened.

"Are you. . . working out there again today?"

". . . Thankfully no. I'm going to be rerunning our maps and updating them, now that those tunnels aren't safe."

You close your tacklebox with a snap and flick the metal latches over. Then the two of you part ways. Sil moving towards the opposite end of the ship while you travel towards the infirmary to update Vessa.

#monster x reader #monster x human #exophilia #alien x reader #alien x human #me lately like : I can't write my brain eon't story #I am unfunctionable I cannot type things #uselessness is me #me today: writes 3000 words #¿¿¿??? #I don't know what I am anymore

[jmechner]

Karateka Climbs Again

When the Digital Eclipse team told me they wanted to give my early game Karateka "the Criterion treatment" and re-release it in a deluxe remastered edition, I couldn't quite picture exactly what they had in mind. Their enthusiasm and evident passion for video game history inspired confidence, so I said yes. I never in my wildest dreams imagined how far they'd take it.

The photo above captures my dad's reaction as (age 92) he watches himself climbing up onto the hood of our family car forty years earlier. He's wearing a karate gi at my request, in a Super 8 film I shot at age 18 to create rotoscoped animation for Karateka. (This was three years before I pressed my 15-year-old brother into service as the model for my next game, Prince of Persia.)

Digital Eclipse has reconstructed my Super 8 rotoscoping process — from film to pencil tracings to pixelated game character — in their interactive, hands-on "Rotoscope Theater." And that's just one element of "The Making of Karateka." It's packed with audio and video interviews with me, my dad, and game-industry luminaries; a podcast about Karateka's music (which my dad composed); rare original design documents; excerpts from my journals; and 14 playable games — including not only the final Apple II, Commodore, and Atari versions of Karateka, but also work-in-progress builds I submitted to Broderbund along the way, tracking its development from prototype to gold master. All the games are playable on a choose-your-own nostalgic menu of period monitors and TVs, with optional audio commentary and a "watch/play" mode that the Dagger of Time would envy.

As a bonus, they've salvaged and resurrected my never-before-published arcade shoot-em-up Deathbounce (the game I made before Karateka, which teenage me hoped would be my ticket to software success in 1982)… and the one I did before that, an unauthorized Apple II clone of the arcade hit Asteroids. Incredibly, they've not only remastered Karateka, but also remade Deathbounce, using today's technology to reimagine my 1982 prototype as a jazzy twin-stick shooter. All these are included and playable in "The Making of Karateka."

If "The Making of Karateka" were an interactive exhibition in the Strong Museum of Play (from whose collection many of the archival materials came), it would require several rooms and a full afternoon to explore. Now, you can download, play and discover it at your leisure, on your favorite platform. Details and links are on the Karateka page on my website.

With this release, Digital Eclipse has set a new bar for game-development history preservation. I'm touched and honored that they chose Karateka as the first title in their planned Gold Master series. I can't wait to see what comes next.

#retro gaming #atari #retro games #arcade #game development #gamedev #indiegamedev #indiedev #gaming history #video games #apple ii #playstation #nintendo switch #xbox #steam #1980s #1980s nostalgia #programming #coding #programmer #graphics #animation #2d animation #rotoscoping #c64

[kingkyle5]

Cassie at the end of her story in my (not happening anymore) Transformers au TF: Armageddon! I still would like to explain what happened to her so prepare yourselves It's gonna be long af! . . . . . .

Cassie’s story:

She sneaks into the pizzaplex with her (fraternal) twin brother Gregory to get away from her caretaker Ravage after finding out he's a wanted war criminal. They move around the pizzaplex for a while, grabbing walkie-talkies from a gift shop, one of Roxy and one of Freddy. Eventually they split up, with Gregory going off to the arcade and Cassie going to Fazer-Blast putting on a pair of AR glasses for an AR princess quest game. She eventually encounters the M.X.E.S but it quickly disappears out of her view. As she continues through the game she finds a Faz-wrench with a message written on it, seemingly by her brother. It tells her to use any AR device to see and deactivate the security nodes. Not trusting it she just ignores the message and takes the Faz-wrench planning to hand it to a security guard. But gets a message from Gregory from her walkie talkie telling her to follow the instructions on the Wrench. And that he was trapped underneath the Roxy Raceway, and to get him out she needs to deactivate the security nodes. Nervously she put on the AR glasses and began to deactivate the security nodes. Traveling deep into Fazer-blast ready to turn off the last one but before she could, she was stopped by the M.X.E.S who shut off her Faz-wrench. Mistaking the digital rabbit for a monster she ran stopping when she encountered Funtime Freddy laying face first in a pile of trash. Funtime Freddy is possessed by Powerglide (A young soldier enlisted into the autobot military during the beginning of the war, and executed by Ravage per Megatron's orders along with two other young warriors. He is one out of four spirits[Wedge, Seaspray, and David] that keep Megatron's soul at bay) who reactivates the bear and begins chasing Cassie with Wedge who possesses Funtime Foxy, and Seaspray who possesses Monty. Things would be shaken up when some bounty hunters Shockwave employed started to bust up the pizzaplex as the Autobots fought them outside eventually after running from some of the drones that the bounty hunters deployed eventually finding herself under the raceway. She ran over to what she thought was Gregory but it was actually THE MIMIC!!!! Who then revealed itself to be Megatron in a new body and with Cassie's (Unwilling) help he finishes his main body and 3 other bodies A Glamrock animatronic version of himself and 2 pretenders one of which was the same size as Cassie.  

She questions the warlord on the purpose of the pretenders and he explains that he needs extra fail safes. Cassie nervously laughs at his plan and asks where he's going to get skin for the pretenders he looks at and says that he just needs a sample. Cassie tries to run but is caught and turned into an imperfect bio-polymer. (Bio-polymer is a fleshy substance that when perfected is supposed to gray so it can have any attribute applied to it. Imperfect bio-polymer is the opposite and still has genetic attributes from the host.) Which he used to coat not only his pretender shell but also Cassie’s. Bringing her back from death and putting her soul into the robot body, using his glamrock body’s stomach hatch as a rejuvenation chamber to make sure nothing went wrong as she came back to life. They both make it out of there and Cassie gets to reunite with Gregory. Cassie asks what happened to which he explains that he made an E.M.P gun to shoot the bounty hunter drones with. Cassie is about to explain what happened to her when suddenly Megatron activated his main body causing all technology connected to him to bug out that includes Cassie causing lots of blood to fly out of her nose as well as making her die (again). She wakes up in a limbo space and meets Tigatron who watches over said limbo. Tigatron teaches her to truly value life and nature. Reformatting her, interweaving her flesh with the metal on the cellular level. Giving her the ability to control non sentient machinery.  She wakes up with her new biomechanical body, and teams up with the spirits that were chasing her down, and with their help she goes to deactivate the now revived Megatron, which they do after he gets some damage from Optimus Prime. After that she helps Cassidy, her aunt Elizabeth, and Charlie save Cybertron from Shockwaves tyrannical rule. 

#security breach #fnaf fanart #fnaf #fnaf sb ruin #fnaf ruin #ruin dlc #ruin fanart #cassie fanart #fnaf cassie #cassie #transformers #beast wars

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hi! A lot of people think QotD hasn't happened yet and that we will see it set in present time, what do you think? Actually the Merrick time would make sense

Hey there!

Mhh, personally, I think there are a few facts that speak against that. (And with only so few facts those that we do get weigh even more, >imho< *laughs*)

First off, there's Louis apparent state of mind. Though deep in grief he wasn't suicidal post IWTV. He was however trying to end it all after Merrick. Which fits with the torn out pages in Claudia's diary - they're torn out in the books to conjure her spirit (or a spirit that claims to be Claudia).

That diary was in the vaults of the Talamasca in the books, iirc. Which would put this post QotD.

Then there's the offhand comments in the first few episodes in regards to technology and an ever multiplying vampire community, which would move the story up closer to Prince Lestat.

Louis and Armand spend lots of time together, more or less healing each other. Not the healthiest relationship either (for REASONS), but one that they both need. And that happens on and off again throughout the books, and in various locations.

In order for Louis to be able to play a digital recording of "Come to me" with Lestat's voice on it Lestat had to have been around at some point (and recording music. And it did seem like Daniel might have recognized his voice). Him being not there now means he's either asleep (Merrick, The Vampire Armand), or roaming (Prince Lestat).

Marius' painting. Now that apartment has to be Armand's, whether Louis is there voluntarily or coerced may be open to debate (in the context of the show) but for Armand to put up one of Marius' paintings? Stuff must have happened.

Louis has the fire gift but isn't yet powerful enough to withstand the sun. So, pre (end of) Merrick.

The "groan", and Grace's twins are another hint, imho. You don't use details like that in a show like this. And I know it's not picked up yet, but they're going for the big picture, as AMC has repeatedly said. WITH the Mayfair Witches. (And Rolin Jones has repeatedly held a stack of 6 books into the camera saying that they're looking at that story).

So yeah, I think we're close to the end of Merrick. I think they might be combining the story lines of QotD and Prince Lestat in regards to the threat to them - I've said it before, but the events of episode 5 might actually play into that.

As per the rock era thing, I think we'll get to see it maybe through videos or something... I mean... IF Daniel recognized Lestat's voice there... there have to be videos and records and interviews around, right? (I'd love that) What do you think?

#asks #thank you nonny #iwtv #interview with the vampire #iwtv meta #book spoilers #speculations #season 2 #merrick #the vampire lestat #queen of the damned #prince lestat #amc's interview with the vampire #amc's iwtv #louis de pointe du lac #lestat de lioncourt #armand #just some thoughts #ask nalyra

[capucapo]

(( continued from here. consider this an epilogue lollll. no dueling here, just a summary of it and then the aftermath. not super long !!! I promise!!

Seto Kaiba @blueeyesking , me as Noa, Mokuba, and the Yugis. Wyatt @seashaper , Hika @nameless-brand , and Pyre as Joey @redeyesandchilifries ))

[ Noa explains the Deck Master system, allows Seto to choose his and then shuffle. The rooftop arena falls away as volcanos rise from the void instead, an ocean of lava surrounding them, confining each Duelist to a small, stone platform as the cages containing their friends hang overhead

Noa also explains that he was born, that he was Created, weak and sickly. That Gouzaburo deemed him too frail to ever hope to run Kaiba Corp, had hidden him from the public eye out of shame.

As they Duel, that scenery changes with the cards that Noa plays. When he activates Giant Flood, a massive wave overtakes the field, washing away the lava as Noa babbles on about the Seven Days of Creation. A great ship rises from the tides, and Noa announces the arrival of his deck master, Shinato's Ark.

And Noa had vowed to prove his father wrong, to make him proud. He worked hard and studied hard and pushed himself hard to refute his place as heir.

From oceans to dense jungles and fields where dinosaurs roam, his Seven Turn prediction seems to liken the biblical legends to the more scientific phases of the Earth's natural history. Meteors rain from the sky, and the jungles freeze, ushering in the ice age.

So hard that his body finally gave out, just as Gouzaburo had finally seen some spark of potential in him.

As the ice age melts away to reveal lush, open fields of grass, Noa's confidence never wavers.

He explains the virtual system that his consciousness was transferred into. The virtual world that had been designed by the newly adopted heir of their company, as a final project of sorts to prove his own worth. A training simulator developed for the US Military, but Gouzaburo had found a different way to utilize its advanced technology.

The fields decay, turning to concrete below the Duelists' feet as Domino City rises up around them once more, Kaiba Corporation growing and towering behind Noa.

Noa explains that with his mind digitized, he was able to rapidly gain knowledge and information from both Gouzaburo's systems and the expanse of the internet. That he had run a million and a half simulations within his little world that showed how Kaiba Corporation could become the most powerful company on the planet-- it would only take a World War significantly reducing the planet's population! From there, he would rebuild as he alone saw fit. Ruling the new world as its God, as its Creator.*

Or its destroyer.

Even with all the assets that Seto had sunk into the ocean, Noa bets he could destroy the earth in, mmm 31 days.

He gets cocky though. For all his planning, for all of his deckmaster's ability to raise his lifepoints, to render the graveyards useless, Noa makes one tiny miscalculation.

He had anticipated Seto's Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon. After all, he'd summoned it against his own little brother. What he hadn't anticipated was the Dragon's Rage trap card, allowing Seto to inflict piercing damage with those hits. With nothing left in the graveyard, Noa suddenly finds himself losing control of the situation. But he puts his hand on his hip, smirking still as he looks up smugly through his thick eyelashes.

Until the second the attack hits, and his lifepoints drop to zero.

And finally, Noa's eyes go wide with the bitter realization.

He had hoped to use Mokuba at this exact moment. To summon up the baby brother at his beck and call, to stop Seto's attack in its place and buy him the time he needed to perfect his Creation strategy. But enraged by the betrayal, he had locked Mokuba up so tightly, even he would need to run the necessary processes to summon the teenage shield again. And even then, would it work?

That card's already been played.

Noa shakes with rage as his LifePoints hit zero. But his legs give way, as do the cages that hold the Kaibas' friends. He collapses to his knees, all his confidence and boasting shattered like glass ]

Rook

Rook didn't see the duel, or the shifting landscape around them. All they saw were the bars, the shouts of declared attacks drowned out by echoed screaming and burning pain. Shortly, they slide down the bars behind them to huddle on the floor of the cage, eyes fixed blankly on nothing as they sink into their helpless memories.

Seto takes the victory; the cage vanishes and Rook tumbles to the semi-real ground, the impact knocking them out of their trauma-trapped trance and making them gasp, hand reaching for their clasp again. The sorcerer blinks back into the moment at the seemingly positive outcome and shakily pulls to their feet, too dazed to taunt the villain and his loss, unfortunately, but looking around to make sure everyone is okay, or..at least not actively in danger, in Tristan's case.

Seto

Seto turns to see Mokuba's friends and Yugi's troupe fall, not even giving Noa the respect of facing him in his defeat. Noa knows the Kaiba family attitude toward Loss. He searches the sky for his brother, who surely also should have been released...

NOA

[ From where he kneels, broken, eyes wide in shock still, Noa begins to laugh. Some quiet, hollow, detached chuckle that builds and builds, until the fallen Kaiba is laughing hysterically, sitting back on his knees and head turned up to the sky. ]

Seto

Seto quickly snaps his attention back to Noa.

"What are you laughing at?!"

NOA

[ Noa's eyes fall to the side, staring at Seto with a manic smile, his head still thrown back.

"You might have beaten me... but... you still lose, Seto. You know what happens to losers in our family... But... there's only one way that I can truly die..... The countdown is already set. Do you really think... You can find Mokuba and a way out before this facility sinks? In only 25 minutes, Seto...?" ]

Seto

Seto's eyes narrow at Noa, and he bares his teeth, barely suppressing the urge to heel-stomp the blue-haired, arrogant child. He would be a child for the last 25 minutes of his life, and know he had lost... Seto doesn't need to stoop so low as to add true injury to this loss. But he still strongly considers it.

"Yes, I believe we can. You'll die here, Kaiba Noa- known by few, having left no mark on the world or your family's legacy. But we will live on and make it better than you could ever have dreamed... unless you had been anyone but Kaiba Gouzaburo's son."

Seto crosses the street to approach the Yugis, and stands calmly as their friends gather, before speaking.

"This boy doesn't have a creative script in his code; I'm certain he's keeping Mokuba in KC Tower still. Likely at the top, where he could force him to watch our Duel. Once we rescue Mokuba, he and I should be able to work with this old system to free us all, somehow; we'll work out the details when he's safe. Agreed?"

Yugi

Immediately upon being freed, the two Yugis had frantically occupied themselves with checking in on their friends. Yugi had gone to Rook, who had seemed especially distressed by the cages, and Levant and Téa who had landed nearby. While his Other Self had rushed to the side of Joey, Tristan, and Duke, where their cages had fallen on the opposide end of the arena.

But they both step away from the rest of their friends as Seto approaches, Yugi's sympathetic expression softening. The Other One gives him a respectful nod.*

"Agreed. I don't trust that Noa's out of tricks yet, we should all stay together and move quickly. Lead the way, Kaiba. The rest of us will support you however we can."

.

.

Mokuba

High above the scene below, somewhere in the towering Kaiba Corporation Headquarters, Mokuba sits alone on a concrete floor, in a dark stone dungeon. Chains restrict his wrists and ankles as he stares at the floor with an unfocused gaze.

He knows this prison. It's the same dark cell that Pegasus had trapped him in. But this time the iron cuffs fit a little too tightly, biting into his skin. The chains are a little too short, preventing him from moving more than a few inches, rather than the couple feet that Pegasus had granted him.

He had seen the Duel. Most of it, at least. Projected against the wall opposite where he sat in chains, Mokuba had watched, listened as Noa explained his origin to Seto.

When the video had first gone dark, it had filled the teenager with hope. Last he saw, Seto had made what he thought must be the final attack against Noa. He had cheered! But the metal cuffs didn't relent. Mokuba hadn't yet been freed.

And so all he could do was sit, and stare at the ground of his cell. Wondering, hoping, distressing, panicking. Accepting the worst.

Maybe Noa had won after all.

Maybe this is how he would die. Alone and cold, abandoned by both brothers and friends alike.

It's my fault, he thinks. It must be. If he were stronger, smarter, better. Maybe he wouldn't get kidnapped again. Seto must be so disappointed... If he's even still alive.

Mokuba wants to hug his knees to his chest, but the chains won't even give him that.

#ooc #ic action #[ not visible ic ] #rp #noa's arc #follow up to the brother's battle #we actually wrapped this arc today so I'm going to be moving on and dealing with the fallout IC #but #I will probably post a little bot more of this for context and archive tomorrow

[twistedminutia]

I'm still stuck on this, and I wonder about Found Footage Horror, or Analog Horror (maybe the recent Digital Horror). Like, I know for a fact that Twst is advance enough to have new technology. Like, those Horror are mostly found in the Internet with the rarities in main stream media like the Blair Witch Project.

There is also Liminal Space, like the uncanny feeling like there should be people here but there is no one. I feel Hearstabyul and Octa (this is the only dorm I can't spell with confidence) are the most creepiest. Hearstabyul cuz has the largest amount of people and it being fucking loopy. While, Octa being a rest of sort, and the big ass aquarium windows. Like some content creators, are good at it that it creates suspense and some lore. For example Kain Pixel's Backroom series and the Oldest View.

There are also other sites that are making horror stories with varying quality. Like the SCP wiki (but I have more fun seeing the world building, but there are some good stories in there), r/nosleep (it's a mixed bag), and my personal favorite podcast series The Magnus Archive (my fav is episode one)

There are a lot of similarities between horror in Twisted Wonderland and our own, primarily because we have significant overlap in the things we find scary. However, the existence of magic has made horror fiction both more and less scary. Less because if you’re a mage, there are a lot of things you can do to get yourself out of a situation or fight off the thing harming you. More because, well, imagine a powerful mage being the slasher in your horror movie.

The existence of magic has also created something of a niche of horror fiction: mage horror. Typically, it’s horror directed to mage consumers, often dealing with magic going out of control, overblots, and other general unsettling aspects of being a magic user. Overblotters mages also take a starring role in a lot of horror fiction- an overblotted mage actually is the main villain of a piece of horror media close in style to the Blair Witch Project film. A lot of the common tropes you might get from a witch on Earth are replaced with mages, often overblotted mage, in Twisted Wonderland. Demons roles are similarly filled by evil spirits.

Uncanny feelings in the dorms is an interesting idea. The Heartslabyul dorm at least seems like it would have some interesting shadowy places that would freak you out in the early morning. The dorm’s architecture is much less creepy to people who grew up in the Queendom of Roses, since that kind of architecture is traditional there, but people from elsewhere might be freaked out!

Octavinelle’s kinda creepy, too. To look out those windows and see nothing but the empty darkness beyond… That’d be enough to trigger anyone’s latent thalassophobia! I'd imagine there are some students who just avoid looking out the windows at night. Or maybe during the day, too!

Speaking of Octavinelle, my headcanon is that merfolk have the creepiest scary stories. Like, horrifically scary. They've canonically mentioned that a lot of merfolk go missing, and the sea is a very dangerous place to live (though it was the twins who said this, and I feel like they could be messing with us for fun. Until we have confirmation otherwise, I'll take their word for it). Merfolk horror media often is highly realistic, deals both with personal and cosmic horror in the same breath, and tends to get kind of graphic. A lot of hardcore horror fans on land will pay top dollar for copies of merfolk media. (Yes, Azul leverages this to hell and back.)

Generally, human and beastman media is pretty similar to what we have, with some modifications to existing myths. Vampires exist in horror media pretty much unchanged from our world, but werewolves are a tale from wolf beastmen, for example. Traditionally the same kind of horror. Fae horror is... well, it's either piss-terrifying or it doesn't translate well. Lilia's really good at identifying the piss-terrifying stuff and scaring people with that. Malleus will either tell you something that will make you stay up all night in cold fear completely casually, or he'll try to give some protracted horror story about the slow passage of time and the alteration of the world. It's a little unsettling, but it's not scary exactly.

That's about the sum of it. I don't think there's much more I have to say on horror here... though I'm sure if you ask more, I can come up with more headcanons!

#twisted wonderland #a million and one minutia #asked and answered

[spicyicymeloncat]

Okay weird post that I’m not sure anyone will get. But it’s late o’clock at night and I’m bored and going insane so here’s:

Ninjago villains if they were avatars from the Magnus archives

Skulkin: the slaughter, since they’re all fallen warriors and such

Garmadon: the corruption, due to his evilness being tied to the snake venom, and how he wants to infect the world with his evil. He also undergoes several bodily transformations

Serpentine: large connected cults with sects for multiple entities

Skales, and the hypnobrai: the web, due to their hypnosis. Skales in particular is always scheming behind the scenes, whilst being victim to being used and controlled by his superiors

Fangpire: the corruption. Contaminating and poisoning other things in order to grow their numbers

Venomarie: the spiral, their venom has psychedelics and trick and confuse others.

Constrictai: the buried. They literally dig and attack via choking, it checks out

Anacondrai: the slaughter. They are most feared and fiercest warriors and they ended up turning on eachother

Pythor: like Mary Keay, or Juergen Leitner, Pythor is a dabbler in a variety of entities, never truly being faithful to one. His ability to sneak up on others and be a childhood terror could be linked to the dark, his manipulative ways, the web, his anacondrai roots and being the sole survivor marks him with the slaughter and the lonely etc etc.

The great devourer: the extinction. Is a kaiju level threat, and acid attacks can be likened to radioactive waste. As well as this, the devourer’s own kind is extinct. The devourer is probably a failed ritual attempt.

The overlord: the web, he creates a web in s3 and has a habit of possessing and controlling others

Stone army: the slaughter. They are literally mindless soldiers built to fight in a war.

Nindroid army: the web due to their connectedness via the the internet and well as them being programmed to do what others say. Additionally they have control of the city due to the city’s reliance of technology

Chen: whilst his tournament feeds the slaughter due to it being about violence about each other, Chen, like leitner, would try to collect power from all entities

Clouse: the eye, he strives to study all about the dark powers

Morro: the end. He’s a ghost. The same for the preeminent

Ronin: the hunt. He’s a bounty hunter trying to avoid being hunted himself

Nadakhan: the spiral, twists one’s words into something else, lies and cheats and causes bafflement and pain

The time twins: idk probably the extinction. They’re connected to the great devourer due to the vermillion being created from it, and Krux hates technology which is linked to the extinction

Harumi: the web. She sings a creepy song about spiders and manipulates Lloyd

Iron baron: the hunt. It’s literally the name of the season.

The oni: the dark. They hide in the shadows and any who are lost in their darkness do not reappear.

Aspheera: the desolation. She has fire and her backstory is all about the sting of betrayal, and wanting to cause pain and revenge to those she felt hurt by.

The ice emperor and vex: the lonely. Zane is already incredibly inclined to the lonely, due to being an amnesiac orphan who realises he’s different from others and is afraid of forgetting everyone he loves. The ice emperor is that but more. Vex is also an avatar of the lonely due to his fury of being unlike the other formlings, and then being rejected by both the formlings and the ice samurai

Unagami: perhaps the spiral? Unagami creates a virtual world where the players can’t tell what’s real or digital, and the npc’s can’t tell if they’re real or not.

Vangelis: the buried. Vangelis traps and enslaved people under a mountain, and uses the powers of fossilised bones and skeletons

Kalmaar and Wojira: the vast. He believes in the superior power of the sea, and how it’s vastness can swallow any land dwelling life. Wojira is a creature tied to both the sea and the sky

#started writing this at 3am yesterday lol #ninjago #the magnus archives #idk what this is lol #also I didn’t include the mechanic bc I genuinely don’t know what he’s be lol #i guess he’s just not scary

[alexandriaisburning]

037: Satryn

A deliberate homage to Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar’s Robotron: 2084, Satryn initially feels almost too faithful to the original. It’s that close imitation that makes the differences starker, turning it into a companion that draws into focus how little aesthetic choices can drastically alter the feeling of what initially seem to be simple games.

Instead of modern analog movement and aiming, Satryn uses strictly digital 8 way movement and shooting. It goes against the assumptions of the modern twin stick shooter, but what it loses in finesse it gains in precision and readability. A similar philosophy drives the visuals. Backgrounds are stark black fields, with enemies coming in high contrast colors and silhouettes, making it simple to discern them at a glance. Each enemy has a distinct behavior, and a smart player will quickly learn which ones to prioritize.

Dotted among the hazards and enemies are Friends, small smiling creatures who you’re here to save from their banishment. Each friend saved gives a small boost to your score multiplier, which becomes important not only for scoring, but survival, since a random powerup will be generated at certain score intervals. These range in usefulness, from bursts that push enemies away, to adding directional coverage, fire speed, or giving you a shield that allows you to take an extra hit. 

Satryn demands a certain amount of adaptability, since powerups, hazard and enemy placements are randomized every run, keeping you from memorizing stages or developing repeat strategies. It generally works in the game’s favor, since the score based focus and lack of ending keeps it replayable. It’s only occasionally an issue where the random generation can cause wild swings in difficulty, with certain enemy combinations being overwhelming, or the random nature of shield bonuses essentially giving you an extra life through sheer luck. 

It’s also worth giving special attention to the soundscape. Satryn has no background music, instead the atmosphere is made entirely of the arpeggiated synth sound effects, and cold hum of this prison planet. There’s a surprisingly detailed use of directional audio, too, with the sounds of enemies and explosions tracking across stereo channels, adding to paranoia with a sense of danger approaching on all sides. 

This reaches a crescendo after you’ve lasted a few waves, where the diamond shaped Wardens that have previously watched from the game marquee enter the playing field. An audio countdown is initiated, before they burst from the sidelines and drop into the arena, approaching with their intimidating size and multiple layers of armor that need to be dismantled before attacking their core. It’s a terrifying reversal of expectations that suddenly projects another layer of uneasiness into future runs. What you previously believed to be a decorative element were actually sentient beings, observing you and deciding when they need to step in. 

Taken with the background fiction and enemy profiles gradually unlocked in the in-game manual, it provides an interesting subtext to the story, especially when compared to the fiction set up by the original Robotron. Robotron had you playing as a superhuman, the result of a genetic engineering error, saving members of the last surviving human families from an army of robots whose calculations have shown that humanity is its own greatest threat, with the only way to protect humanity being its destruction. The last human family has distinct roles of father, mother and child that mirror a stereotypical nuclear family.

By contrast Satryn’s protagonist, the Former, and the friends you save are considered Invalids, tossed onto the prison planet of Satryn to be disposed of by the creatures in its ecosystem. While Robotron draws on sci fi works like 1984, and fears of technology making human life obsolete, and disrupting the nuclear family, there’s an almost queer subtext to Satryn. Robotron’s menace is artificial, cold and calculating, while Satryn’s enemies are very much organic, splattering into streaks of color with each shot, reproducing and leaving traces of themselves in the arena’s aftermath. 

There’s malice in Satryn’s fiction, where extinction comes not from machine logic, but systematic exile and extermination. Satryn’s Wardens have sent you and your friends to this planet to watch you die, and they step in when they’ve decided it’s taking too long to happen. Intentionally or not, Robotron carries heteronormative assumptions about what the family looks like, with an inherent optimism that the same technological faults that bring upon our destruction can enable us to resist against it. Satryn’s Former is instead exiled by their genetic defects, using the powers granted by it to protect their friends. Even the name feels loaded, with the Former pointing to their status as an ex-human, someone who used to belong to society, or someone who underwent a great change. 

 Maybe that’s projection on my part, but there’s something about the fiction of Satryn that resonates with me. Robotron was painted in the colors of kitsch, the fiction little more than a backdrop for action unfolding. And still it came with assumptions about what the future looked like, and what was worth protecting. Decades later Satryn has provided a companion piece that, intentionally or not, reexamines those assumptions. 

Satryn is available for free on itch.io and Android. A "Deluxe" version is available on Steam with online leaderboards.

#twin stick #shmup #stg #maybell #satryn #robotron #robotron 2084 #pc #android