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osmw1 · 5 years

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Dimension Wave Chapter 28 — Drawing Aggro

“Ow… are you kidding me?! 5,000 points of damage with a single hit?!”

Even though I was in light armor, Cerberus hit me way too hard considering that I was in a defensive stance. I didn’t actually feel any pain, but that much damage was enough to make me wince.

5,000. Raid bosses in other games have a lot of attack too, but it’s almost as if Dimension Wave’s objective was to kill off players. In any case, I couldn’t respawn, so I had better make sure this was the last time I get hit. I turned to face Cerberus again. It would be dangerous if I stayed in this position. Cerberus looked like it was about to attack again.

“Tsugumi! If you’re out of MP, then fall back for now!” “O-Okay!” “Sorry, Shouko, but we’ll have to tough it out for the next little while!” “I understand! Tsugumi…” “What is it?” “You were very cool.” “… shut up.”

Tsugumi muttered out as she withdrew from the frontline. Well, I’m sure she’s proud of herself too, but I bet she’s embarrassed to be complimented like that by another girl.

“Big bro…” “Hmm?”

She moved behind a tank with a shield before calling out to me. Her scythe may be bulky, but her medium armor allowed her to evade and it seems like she didn’t take damage.

“Why did you come save me?” “Because we need you to deal damage later… or at least that’s my excuse.” “I thought so.” “It’s because I’m your older brother, I think.”

I don’t think I’d risk life and limb if it were anyone else—save for the three girls in my party. It’s not like I’m noble enough to try to save everyone.

“But Spirits are…” “Why are you worrying about it? 5,000 is but a bee sting… well, not really, but… I mean, umm, it’s not a lot either?”

I wanted to play it cool, but now that I do some mental math, it really was quite a big blow. It’s a game. This much is expected. Grinding isn’t everything and I love just hanging out and chatting with my friends, so that’s not a waste of a time. But still, especially because I’m a Spirit, I don’t want to throw my life away.

“That’s right! Spirts don’t let their friends die on their watch!”

I know exactly how much it sucks to lose Energy, so that’s why I really don’t want anyone to sacrifice their lives. We’ve got to aim for the best and beat the status quo. That’s what it means to be a Spirit! I blurted that out loud, but surely, that’s a good response.

“Miss Kizuna…” “Agh.”

As soon as I made my excuses, Yamikage popped out from nowhere. I bet she witnessed everything. And I mean everything… Oh, god. That’s so embarrassing.

“Miss Kizuna… how wonderfully moving art thy words!” “Huh? Huh…”

I questioned her a second time before I fully comprehended what she had said.

“I wish to offer myself to the party.” “… okay?” “Perhaps we could have thy sister join our party.”

What, are you going to use a support skill or something? There’s lots of different targets for support skills, including self, all, party only, and so on. For example, my Speed Gutting is a self-buff.

“Can we do that, Tsugumi?” “Yep. Should be possible.” “Then I’ll send a message over group leader chat to let Roz know.”

There were countless people dedicated to fighting one monster. There’s no way I could pick Roz out from the crowd, but I can use leader chat to contact him.

‘Roz, I know you’re here! Just wanted to let you know I’m borrowing Tsugumi!’

I shouted out loud and someone shouted back. That’s gotta be him. Then, I opened up the party menu to invite my little sister.

—You have sent Tsugumi an invitation to your party.

“She’s in the party now, Yamikage.” “Aye, then I shall use my recently acquired skill.”

Yamikage then casted a skill as she tends to do. It took but a second; much quicker than Drain.

“Energy Converter!”

Greenish white orbs began to flow from Yamikage to Tsugumi once she exclaimed her skill. Honestly, I was a little weird out seeing her use a skill other than Drain. Tsugumi looked in astonishment at her as well.

“MP recovery?” “‘tis a skill for all Spirits for transferring Energy to another party member.” “What, does it heal HP and MP for non-Spirits, then?” “Aye, verily.”

That’s a pretty handy skill. But why does only Yamikage have it’s for all Spirits? From the discussions on skills with Shouko, she’s never mentioned this one. Maybe it’s really hard to unlock.

“So that skill, what are the unlock requirements for it?” “‘tis to gain more than 1,000,000 Energy.” “… what did you say?”

That must mean total accumulated Energy over 1,000,000 from the start of the game. But even then, it definitely takes time and effort to get there, especially considering that Yamikage loses 3,000 Energy each hour. I guess she must have gotten used to it before she even met us.

“I don’t know exactly how much Energy it burns but are you okay with it?” “I have no doubts as I have been moved by your words, Miss Kizuna. Not to mention, I currently have more Energy than I need.” “… alright, then, please.” “Aye, aye!”

Yamikage casted Energy Converter again. It seems like it’ll take at least five times to get Tsugumi back to full MP, but it should get her back to full operating efficacy soon. After three times, Tsugumi was already itching to get back into the fray.

“That’s good enough! I’mma join the fight!” “Aye, very well. I can cast it at medium range, so I shall keep at it!” “Gotcha. Thanks, girl!”

Tsugumi gave Yamikage a big smile before jumped back to face Cerberus. Shouko had been working extra hard to compensate for the missing Tsugumi. Analyzing its attack pattern, each of Cerberus’ three heads are controlled by different AI since each head attacks a different target. I’m not 100% sure, but it seems like it saves its fire breath to attack the ranged attackers. As it tries to spit fire, Shouko attacked its face to mess up the monster’s aim. Then right after, Cerberus targeted Shouko. Instead of dodging, she aimed squarely for its right arm…

“Wild Dance, the Fourth: White Feather Reversal!”

Shouko caught Cerberus’ attack with her folding fan and activated her skill, dealing a great blow. … that’s a counter, eh? You see skills like that in fighting games. You can only activate them when your opponent attacks. It’s hard to use since you’ve gotta predict the enemy’s attack, but it usually deals quite a lot of damage. I don’t know how strong Shouko’s was, but I bet it was very powerful too.

“Soul Size!”

Tsugumi joined the battle and attacked all three of the monster’s heads. Does each head have its own individual health bar? I’m guessing each head is separate from the torso too. There might be a separate health bar for its arms too.

“Damn! The boss isn’t focusing on anybody! We’ll fall apart like this!”

It was a tank who shouted out loud. He has a point. Cerberus was switching between Tsugumi and Shouko, then sometimes it attacked other allies with its flames and tail. It makes sense why this was happening, but it wasn’t a good situation for our archers and mages. Archers wear light armor and mages wear robes. Neither have really good defense. We’d be out of luck if they get wiped out by the boss. It’d be awesome if I could draw hate from just even one of its heads!

“I’ll try to pull aggro from the head that spits fire!”

I whipped out my Rod of Humanoid Timber from my inventory. Frankly, this isn’t equipment suited for the battlefield. I moved past the tanks and archers. From a distance, I could see that Shouko and Tsugumi were like acrobats zipping around the boss. If I moved far enough, maybe it’d look like a circus or something. I guess that’s just how much better they are than me…

“Looks like the head in the middle is the one that breathes fire…”

Damn! It moves around too quickly but I have to give it my best shot!

“Hate & Lure!”

A blue light glowed as my sinker bounced off Cerberus’ head. It looked over my way… except it was really targeting the archers instead. If it doesn’t work the first time, I just have to try over and over again.

“Hate & Lure!”

I used the skill three times in a row. Hate is accumulative, so luring it from range took quite some time. Whoa! It looks like it’s totally ready to bathe me in flames! I stepped to the side and away from the archers. The fire barely managed to toast me for 1,500 points of damage. I’m glad the other girls can evade so easily, but unfortunately, I couldn’t do acrobatics like they can.

However, the effect was great. The archers and mages came out completely unscathed, meaning we still had a chance of winning. Alrighty. Lemme use it once again. This time, Hate & Lure hit its left arm. Crap, it’s swinging right at me.

“Fast Shield!” “… oh, hey, Roz.”

Roz tanked for me with his shield skill. Naturally, I was unharmed. It looks like the skill did what it’s supposed to do.

“Kizuna, you keep drawing aggro and I’ll cover you. If it targets you, I’ll be able to melee attack it too.”

A bunch of players drew near with powerful two-handed axes and two-handed swords, all clad in medium armor. It’d be ridiculous to expect everyone to be as acrobatic as Shouko and Tsugumi, I guess. Oh, and it seems that most taunting attacks are melee skills, making Hate & Lure pretty rare. The downside is that its damage is absolutely trash. I think this skill is actually meant for luring fish instead of monsters. Well, I’ve gotta make do. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

“Gotcha! Now let’s take down the beast with your powerful skills!” “Leave it to us. Let’s go!”

Arrows, spells, and arms all worked together to take down the boss. This was the beginning of the end of Dimension Wave.

contents: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /ch007/ /ch008/ /ch009/ /ch010/ /ch011/ /ch012/ /ch013/ /ch014/ /ch015/ /ch016/ /ch017/ /ch018/ /ch019/ /ch020/ /ch021/ /ch022/ /ch023/ /ch024/ /ch025/ /ch026/ /ch027/ /ch028/ /next/

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knightknightfriendo · 6 years

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Merry Christmas to @nighttyger! I’m your Rhythm Thief Secret Santa, and I hope you like what I wrote for you!

The first time Raphael met Charlie, Private Eye and never a constable, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to think of him. It was hard to be intimidated by someone shorter than himself that wielded a soccer ball as if it was an ultimate weapon, really.

The ball came flying out of nowhere, and it was pure instinct that kept Raphael from receiving a nasty hit to the face. As it was, the flip was probably unnecessary, but if he was going to dodge an unexpected projectile then he was going to do it with style. At first he suspected a game of sorts being played by someone nearby, but a quick scan of the area revealed no players.

“Was that on purpose?” He murmured, finally spotting a figure moving out from behind the tree. The boy that had appeared was shorter than Raphael- well, Phantom R at the moment- with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a confident walk that drove him right up to Raphael.

“You’ve got guts, Phantom R!” Were the first words out of his mouth, accusing tone so similar to that of the constables, and Raphael couldn’t interject with the witty remark he would’ve liked before the boy picked up the soccer ball and began to speak again.

“Trespassing in Constabulary HQ? I will apprehend you now, and prove my worth in the process.”

They were a solid few feet away from each other, and while the boy’s words amused him, he knew better than to underestimate an opponent. As logical as that sounded, however, he could hardly help throwing on something of a smirk.

“What’re you talking about? You don’t look like a constable to me.” And he really didn’t- the constables had their hats and blue uniforms, and this boy was dressed more stylishly, with a matching brown hat and coat- not to mention that Raphael was fairly sure constables had to be older than this. Granted, the boy didn’t seem far from Raphael’s age, but one didn’t exactly need to be a certain age to be a thief and dancer.

This seemed to be exactly the right thing to say for all the wrong reasons, because the boy scoffed and looked like Raphael had just told him the earth was flatter than a pancake.

“I would never be a constable!” And just a moment after, his expression was serious once more. “I am Charlie, Private eye. So, you come quietly, or do you require a penalty kick to the head?” The boy’s words- Charlie, Raphael would remember- were sharper now, and while he should have found it intimidating, Charlie’s words felt like a challenge. Phantom R’s eyes narrowed, and his response was deliberately delayed, gaze rising to meet Charlie’s eyes. Fondue only added to his effect, growling at the boy as if prepared for a fight.

“Is neither an option?”

Charlie’s response was almost as delayed, but with the full confidence from earlier.

“No! So I will choose for you!”

Charlie immediately rushed at him, soccer ball in on hand ready to be thrown, and Raphael found himself flipping through the air to avoid being tackled to the ground. His current rival reacted quickly though, and with seemingly no hesitance spun on his heel and flung the ball at Phantom R’s still flying form. Raphael couldn’t mask his surprise at his opponent’s and it took instinct once more to twist his form out of the soccer ball’s way. That was when he grinned- this was going to be fun!

0 0 0

The second time Raphael met Charlie, Private eye and always prepared, he did so with the knowledge that Charlie was Vergier’s son, and that bit of news couldn’t have made the second encounter more interesting if it tried. Then again, the next conversation also included a hang glider. It was all sorts of interesting already.

He’d just successfully acquired the Queen’s Pendant and escaped the constables through the roof of the Paris Opera house this time around. Gazing at the city below, he’d already begun a trademark grin- at least a little celebration of success was in order, wasn’t it?- when he heard a shout from above. But that was ridiculous, wasn’t it? He was already on the roof-

“I’ve been waiting for you, Phantom R!”

No- Raphael knew that voice! Both he and Fondue looked up, and he could hardly contain his surprise at the sight- high above and closing in fast on a hang glider was Charlie, who he now knew to be Charlie Vergier, son of the Inspector! The new news of his lineage might’ve been more of a shock upon seeing the boy again if it hadn’t been for the hang glider, really. The two hardly looked alike.

When Charlie jumped and flipped his way onto the ground, though, Phantom R pushed down any surprise or shock in favor of wit. That had seemed to work well so far, and he could hardly help a little sarcasm here and there. Still, Charlie won first words once more.

“With all the constables below, I thought you might head for fresh air.”

His usual menacing look was in place, even with such an incredible view around them? Raphael could only feel slight pity, there. Some people just needed to stop and smell the roses once in a while, take a break! Those were just as important as catching famous art thieves. Actually, why dedicate so much time to catching art thieves if one didn’t stop to appreciate the art they were trying to save?

“And you had a hang glider ready? Are you always so well prepared?”

After the slightest pause, Phantom R just had to add a little more icing to the cake.

“On second thought, maybe you’re just obsessed with catching me, like your dad.”

The words had exactly the desired effect, with Charlie’s face taking on that same fiery expression from before, when Raphael had compared him to a constable.

“You leave my father out of this!”

But Raphael barely gave Charlie a chance to reply again, simply giving him another grin and tilt of his hat before speaking once more. I hate writers block

“Like to fly solo, eh? Too bad, because you’ll need an army to catch me!”

Charlie glowered at him, seemingly irritated by his arrogance. Was it really arrogance if it had already been proven often enough by the constabulary was the question, here. He was sure Fondue would agree.

“You won’t be talking so tough when you’re behind bars, mate.”

And with that, the battle begun once more.

0 0 0

The third time Charlotte Vergier saw Phantom R, escape artist extraordinaire, was in a significantly more tame location and with significantly less robbery involved, though she almost spilled her tea. That would’ve been a disaster- she was wearing one of her few dresses, and she really did need those for off days and school days.

She’d had a terrible day already, actually. Failing to apprehend Phantom R the day before, at the Paris Opera, was already a blow to her pride. She’d been perfectly prepared, and he bested her yet again- and saved her right after, to boot! His arrogance would be his downfall someday, she was certain! After that, a fight with her father, and a half-day of storming through the streets of Paris until she reached the cafe.

Charlotte was about to take a sip from her tea, finally feeling relaxed, when a boy that seemed oddly familiar walked up to her table. He walked with an irritatingly recognizable confidence that, for some reason, did not remind her of anyone in particular. His face was partially hidden by a blue hat with a red stripe- again, familiar- and when he spoke it was familiar as well.

“Bonjour, Charlie. Is this seat taken?”

Charlie finally took that sip of tea, eyes still scanning him to figure out where she knew him from. It wasn’t until she focused on his face that she recognized him, and the shock threw her from her chair, knocking it back when she yelled.

“You! Y-Y-You’re Phantom R!”

Phantom R seemed delighted for just a moment by her revelation, before casually taking a seat as if nothing had happened. People had begun to stare, which prompted his ever present grin- she hated that thing! One day he would be captured, and that pompous expression would disappear faster than he could say that line he always shouted to his dog- cheese it, Fondue, wasn’t it?

“Now, now- we wouldn’t want to disturb the other customers.”

Unfortunately, he had a point, and with a scowl she put down her tea to fix her chair. He spoke as she did so, chattering away like he had all the time in the world.

“I’m just as surprised as you are! I never thought that you’d look so good in a dress!”

Just like him to comment on the unimportant details. Charlotte nearly scoffed when she finally sat down.

“So, the truth’s out. This is how I look when I go to school.” With that, she gave him a piercing look.

“What do you want?”

Phantom R tilted his hat once more- why he felt the need to do so, she had no idea. It was as irritating as the rest of what he did.

“I’ve come to ask for your help.

0 0 0

The fourth time Charlie Vergier saw Phantom R, she wished she could punch his lights out and be done with this entire mess. How an art thief had gotten himself involved in a plot involving resurrection and magic violins, she hadn’t the slightest of ideas. But still, she could grudgingly admit that currently, he was doing the right thing. Saving the blonde girl, Marie, and stopping whatever these… undead soldiers were doing was crucial to keeping Paris safe, and if she could help her father realize that he didn’t have to shoulder that burden alone while she was at it, then Charlie would tolerate the red-headed menace for now.

Charlie’s role in this plan was fairly simple- act as a distraction on her hang glider and activate the trick in the fake dragon crown remotely so Phantom R could get Marie out of the Eiffel tower and away from Napoleon. Which she was still trying to wrap her head around. Honestly, what was that Phantom even thinking?

The plan was going perfectly, too- Napoleon had fallen for the thief’s desperate act, demanding the crown be given before Marie was handed back to him. The moment the smoke screen went up, Charlie soared in- dressed as that dancing pest, so as to cause confusion, and exactly as planned, the undead emperor and his legion of clawed knights was looking up at her and lost sight of the real Phantom R. She continued to distract from above as R took down the knights below until he got to Marie, dragging her out of their hold and towards the planned exit point.

Of course, that was when things went wrong. The moment Charlie was out of sight- and by extension, unable to see what was happening- she heard a gunshot.

Making the u-turn in the air from where she was really was no easy task, and figuring out what angle she had to dive in at to get the Phantom out of whatever mess he’d landed in was something that she wished didn’t take her so much time. Along the way, she also discarded the Phony R suit- it would only get in the way if she kept it on.

And Charlie arrived just in time to grab his hand and pull him up into the air, away from the new man with the weirdly purple hair who had a gun pointed at his head, where R had stood ready to protect Marie anyways-

Ugh, that insufferably noble Phantom R was going to be the death of her.

#RTss2017 #Merry christmas!#rhythm thief #phantom r #raphael #charlie vergier #charlie #fanfiction #?#nighttyger

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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Making a Video Game Hero: Sports Edition

May 29, 2020 1:00 PM EST

Our latest Making a Video Game Hero series takes to the digital sports arenas around the world as we strive to create the best athlete.

Thus far, these lists have been relatively easy to put together. After all, whether you’re platforming in 2D or 3D, you’re still jumping around. Action-adventure is a little murkier, but even there, you basically know what you’re getting yourself into. However, when trying to build the ultimate sports game star, we ran into some obvious difficulties.

What sport are you playing? How do you possibly weigh the difference between a silky smooth jumper and a devastating stiff arm? We decided to just do the best we could to build the Bo Jackson of virtual sports. Except without, ya know, the crippling hip injuries that will derail his career before it really gets started.

So, what does this monstrosity of bulging muscles, computer-like intelligence, and boyish charm look like? Well, give our creation a look below, and be sure to let us know why we’re wrong in the comments below. And remember, the only rule is we can only use one character per game entry. Otherwise, this would just be all Backyard Sports characters.

Brain: Pablo Sanchez (Backyard Sports) Runners’ Up: Tom Brady (Madden NFL 09), Tiger Woods (Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14)

Tom Brady in Madden NFL 09 is the football savant’s most cerebral version. While his arm skills are worth salivating over, it’s the star’s mind that makes him one of the all-time greats. And while he lost that season in real life due to injury, his virtual counterpart tore up the NFL with reckless abandon.

Likewise, there aren’t many athletes that possess the same killer instincts that Tiger Woods had in his heyday. While we can argue over which video game version is his best, you can’t tell us there’s a virtual player who dominates with their brain and brawn more than Tiger did.

However, our ultimate choice is Pablo Sanchez from the Backyard Sports series. Look at the young lad. If you’re on the playground and selecting your first pick for any sport based on appearances, Pablo is one of the last kids you pick. He’s short. He’s got a potbelly. Heck, he even pretends like he can’t speak English, tossing in an unneeded communication gap for literally no reason. But then you see him on the field.

Regardless of the sport, Pablo Sanchez is, in action, the most dominant athlete in the video game sports world. He is good at everything. Literally everything. That talent has to come from somewhere, and it’s definitely not his 8-year-old beer gut. He’s like that kid in intramurals who was a stud in high school but came to college wanting to party more than practice and got kicked off the football team. Now he looks out of shape, but if you give him a sliver of lane, he’ll still dunk all over you. Not that that specific situation ever happened to me, or anything.

Put that propensity to be great in a genetically superior body and you have something truly scary on your hands.

Eyes: Vladimir Guerrero (MVP Baseball 2005) Runners’ Up: Barry Sanders (Madden NFL 99), Kobe Bryant (NBA Live 2005)

Barry Sanders is one of the best to ever lace up. What set him apart from other running backs was not just his other-worldly body control that let him slip away from would-be tacklers, but his vision to find a sliver of daylight where no one else could. Plus, he was the subject of one of the best video game commercials of all time.

Kobe, on the other hand, had that locked-in glare that made opponents whither late in games. The Black Mamba was one of the most intimidating players in the NBA. When he got serious, you knew you were in for a show.

However, our choice for eyes is Vladimir Guerrero. Vlad never saw a pitch he couldn’t hit. Just watch some of the garbage he’s able to get a hold of in this video. And, in MVP Baseball 2005, the man was absolutely dominant. Manny Rameriz gives him a run for his money, but Vlad is certifiably that dude. He hit pitches off the ground, for goodness sakes!

Mouth: Michael Jordan (NBA 2K11) Runners’ Up: The Announcer (NBA Hangtime), Quentin Sands (Blitz: The League)

Please tell us you’ve watched The Last Dance by now. For sports fans, it is must-watch TV. Like, take a break from reading this, flip to another tab, and enjoy 10 hours of some top-tier content. Now that you’ve seen it, you know that MJ isn’t just the greatest basketball player ever. He’s also a truly next-level trash talker.

Sure, if our abomination had the booming voice of the Hangtime announcer, he’d be fun to hang out with. And, Quentin Sands certainly knows how to talk some junk. That said, Jordan takes it to a different universe. While some are going to say we’re wasting our Jordan slot on his mouth, others will remember he allegedly killed a man’s whole career just by talking to him. Ruthless.

Torso: Jadeveon Clowney (NCAA Football 14) Runners’ Up: Dante Culpepper (Madden NFL 06), Karl Malone (NBA Jam)

Dante Culpepper in Madden NFL 06 was an absolute hoss: impossible to bring down in the backfield and nearly unstoppable once he got up to speed on scrambles. His insane power would make for an excellent base for our monster.

Likewise, the Mailman was a force in NBA Jam. His defense and dunking were off the charts, making him the perfect counterpick when your friend inevitably selected Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant.

However, neither of those characters were inspired by this kind of real-world performance. That hit from Clowney might be the greatest hit anyone has ever laid out in any football game ever. Best of all, his NCAA Football 14 counterpart is capable of the same type of backfield destruction. Good gravy.

Left Arm: Ken Griffey Jr. (The Ken Griffey series) Runners’ Up: Michael Vick (Madden NFL 2004), Mike Tyson (Fight Night Round 4)

Some will probably balk at having Mike Vick’s arm as the option over his legs. That said, the sheer power that his Madden NFL 2004 character was able to generate essentially made EA rewrite the game’s defense for Madden NFL 2005 to compensate. The things he could do in that game were downright silly.

Another potentially surprising inclusion that comes due to our one character per game rule is Mike Tyson. While his turn in Punch-Out!! is legendary, we’re saving that game for something else. Iron Mike’s left arm is earth-shattering in the real and virtual worlds. Watch him throw punches as a 52-year-old man and then imagine taking one of those to the dome in his prime. No thanks!

But, for our money, we’re getting Griffey. If you were a ‘90s kid, there wasn’t a more lovable baseball star than Ken Griffey Jr. He has four different video games with his name on them and is among the best in every single one of them. We’d probably go with his Slugfest version, but you’re welcome to your preference. Regardless, there isn’t a left-arm we want more than The Kid’s.

Right Arm: Waluigi (Mario Tennis) Runners’ Up: Steph Curry (NBA 2K20), Scott Stevens (NHL Hitz 2002)

Steph Curry might just be the best pure shooter in NBA history. His touch from beyond the arc is without equal in the modern game and he makes full-court shots look routine. And Scott Stevens had one of the meanest right hooks in NHL Hitz. If you got into a fight with the New Jersey Devils’ man, you already knew the knockout was coming. But we can do better than either of those.

Waluigi was created in a vat at Nintendo for Mario Tennis. And, to this day, Nintendo refuses to allow him to take his talents to anything other than side games. They’re too scared to see what Waluigi could do to their poster boy in a mainline Mario video game.

We’re not afraid though. Instead, we’ll use what Nintendon’t and graft the best Wa brother’s arm onto our monster, turning his right arm into a machine of sports prowess.

Legs: Devin Hester (Madden NFL 08) Runners’ Up: Didier Drogba (FIFA World Cup 2010), Tony Hawk (Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3)

Excuse the potato quality, but watch this rocket Drogba delivers from almost the centerline in FIFA World Cup 2010. Sure, it’s on a lower difficulty, but the power that the man from the Ivory Coast possessed in that video game was astounding.

Tony Hawk brings a bit more finesse to the party. His level of control with his feet baffles the mind. Later games would let him do more with the board, but THPS3 is the series’ pinnacle. It’s the Hawkman at his best.

However, Devin Hester is the first Madden player to get 100 speed. Seeing him line up for a return caused grown men and women to immediately wet their pants. He was absolutely a game-changer in Madden NFL 08, and we had to include him here.

Mentor: Doc Louis (Punch-Out!!) Runners’ Up: Bo Jackson (Tecmo Super Bowl), Stretch (NBA Street)

Sports aren’t just about your own personal skills. You need someone to teach you how to be great. Jordan had Phil Jackson. Brady had Bill Belicheck. Even an early prodigy like Cristiano Ronaldo needed a top-class manager in Alex Ferguson to completely bring out his visionary skill.

And so, our creation needs his own mentor. While we considered going with an all-time great player like Bo Jackson or an old-timer who still has it in Stretch, we ultimately went with Doc Louis.

After all, if he can take that chump Little Mac and teach him how to beat the video game version of Mike Tyson, imagine what he can do for our hulking behemoth. Our creation will not only outplay his competition but with Doc Louis’ help, he’ll outwit them too.

So there you have it. Our third video game creation is finished. Are there any changes you’d like to see? If so, let us know about them in the comments. And check back soon for our next dive into the wonderful world of human body modification. It’s sure to be a doozy.

May 29, 2020 1:00 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/making-a-video-game-hero-sports-edition/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=making-a-video-game-hero-sports-edition

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laugaloraexplora · 7 years

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Rotorua and Maori culture

Before I start writing my new entry, I’d like to take the chance to say that everything I write in this blog is of course from my own perspective or it’s things I’ve been told, heard or read about. By this I mean to say that, on the one hand, whichever I explain from my own perspective is subjective and some people might have different opinions. On the other hand, things I’ve been told or have heard might not be true or depict reality. So, by writing this blog, I just mean to speak about the way I, myself, experience and perceive NZ and do not intend to offend anyone by any means. 😊

Back to Rotorua and Maori culture, if I’m not wrong, this city is said to be the place in NZ with the highest percentage of Maori population. A good way of getting to know their culture is to visit Maori villages. Ohinemutu, for instance, is a small one in the centre of Rotorua, which you can visit for free.

Ohinemutu Maori Village

Some of the renowned Maori villages are Mitai, Tamaki, Te Puia and Whakarewarewa. They all offer similar tours. I personally just visited the Mitai Village, because I heard it’s the best one and I got tickets for half price by working in Rotorua. :D It was a very interesting experience. I had already been in touch with Maori on Waiheke Island, but being told about/shown their culture and roots at Mitai was amazing!

I visited Mitai with my wwoofer colleagues. We got picked up from the hostel and were taken to the village in a small bus with some other people from the tour. The village was just 10 minutes away. We were all first gathered in a big room, where we had the food buffet later on, and had a welcome speech. The spokesman was very funny and welcomed almost everyone in the room in their different languages. That was impressive! Then we went outdoors in the village itself and were shown how Maori cooked their food traditionally. The method is called “hangi”, which involves the use of heated rocks buried in a pit oven. The hangi meal we had at the end of the tour included: lamb and chicken, potatoes (riwai), sweet potato (kumara), stuffing (bread, mixed herbs, corn, carrots and peas), seafood chowder, chocolate log, pavlova and steamed pudding with custard. It was delicious!! Also, the drinking water we got was taken from the freshwater river that they have in the village. It tasted really nice, even if water doesn’t taste like anything!

Hangi

At the river, we were shown how Maori used to travel in their wakas (canoes). A waka is usually elaborately carved and decorated, consisting of a main hull formed from a single hollowed-out log along with a carved upright head and tailboard. Its main purpose was to river/sea travel with and fish. Maori are said to be expert hunters and fishermen. According to history, Maori are Polynesian descendants. That is, their ancestors, Polynesian peoples, arrived in NZ on canoes from the Pacific Islands and settled in NZ. They lived in tribal groups and hunted and fished. After centuries of isolation in the country, they developed their own culture, language and mythology.

Waka

Here’s a video of the waka-show:

https://www.facebook.com/lauga.withdrago/videos/vb.631341175/10154683709416176/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

The most spectacular part of the tour was the performing show. The Mitai tribe showed us traditional singing and dancing (“poi”) and the usage of weaponry. The most renowned dance is “haka”: The haka is a type of ancient Maori war dance traditionally used on the battlefield, as well as when groups came together in peace. Haka are a fierce display of a tribe's pride, strength and unity. Actions include violent foot-stamping, tongue protrusions and rhythmic body slapping to accompany a loud chant. The words of a haka often poetically describe ancestors and events in the tribe's history.

A poem about haka

Today, haka are still used during Maori ceremonies and celebrations to honour guests and show the importance of the occasion. This includes family events, like birthdays and weddings. The first haka I saw in my life was on youtube, a performance in a Maori wedding. My first thought was like: “wtf?”. It just looks funny and scary at the same time. Them, pulling out their tongues, shouting, their eyeballs popping out…As if they were literally on drugs! But if you perceive it from a cultural perspective, it has a lot of meaning for them. It could be comparable to Spanish flamenco. If you think about it, it’s a similar conception: singing, clapping hands, dancing, and all coming “from the guts”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX4Q4AaVELw

This is the haka performance that we saw at Mitai:

https://www.facebook.com/lauga.withdrago/videos/vb.631341175/10154683717966176/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

Haka are also used to challenge opponents on the sports field. New Zealand sports teams' practice of performing a haka before their international matches has made the haka more widely known around the world. It was during the rugby season this winter (European summer) that I started loving haka! I’m not a fan of rugby or rather of watching sports on TV in general, but I must admit, I always tried to make it to watch the first few minutes of each game just to see the All Blacks (the NZ national rugby union team) perform haka! :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiKFYTFJ_kw&t=10s

A feature of the dancing movements that caught my attention was the shaking of the hands. It literally looked like them having Parkinson’s disease – Note: I don’t mean this in an offensive way! This movement is called “wiri” and has to do with Maori’s affinity to nature: To some, the wiri represents the heatwaves that shimmer on a hot day, and to others, it represents the sparkling of the waters as the sun dances across the waves.

A very interesting cultural thing is also the traditional Maori greeting, “hongi”. Hongi is used at traditional meetings among Maori people and on major ceremonies and serves a similar purpose to a formal handshake. It is done by shaking hands and pressing one's nose and forehead, at the same time, to another encounter. While shaking hands, the left hand of each person may be placed on the other's near shoulder. The head is bent, the eyes are lowered or closed, and noses are pressed together either once or twice. Through the exchange of this greeting, one is no longer considered “Manuhiri”, a visitor, but rather “Tangata whenua”, one of the people of the land. The term “Tangata whenua” is one that essentially states that you are to be unified with those performing the hongi with you, by which you are to illustrate your loyalty and appreciation for the land itself.

Hongi

This greeting was shown to me when I lived on Waiheke Island by a Maori man who used to hang out with us at the hostel I lived at. The pressing of the foreheads together and staring at each other was pretty intimidating. This guy told me, traditionally they do this greeting to feel if you can be trusted in their land. Like I just explained, it’s a way to show respect and trust.

Tattoos are another specific feature of the Maori culture. The concept of Maori tattooing is called “Ta Moko”. Ta Moko was like a history of a person's achievements and represented their status in their tribe. It also served as a reminder to people about their responsibility in life. The different meanings of tattooing were linked to several aspects, such as family (physical lives), prosperity, travel, strength, your career path, etc. For Maori, tattooing was (and for some, still is) a rite of passage, which meant it was highly revered and ritualised. Therefore, it was a huge honour to have Ta Moko. Only people of rank or status were allowed to have, and could afford to have, tattoos. Ta Moko was worn by both men and women. It was applied to the face and buttocks of men, and to the chin, lips and shoulders of women. Since the Maori people consider the head to be the most sacred part of the body, the most popular kind of Maori tattoo was the facial tattoo, which was composed of curved shapes and spiral like patterns. The left side of the face related to the father's history and the right side to the mother's history. The Maori facial tattoo was not only seen as a sign of rank though, but was also used as a kind of identification card. For men, their face tattoo showed their accomplishments, status, position, ancestry and marital status. It is considered highly insulting to be unable to recognise a person’s power and position by his Moko.

Facial Maori tattoo

The last part of the tour at Mitai was a short walk through the bush in the village. We were shown some glowworms and told about their lives at the villages. A particular thing that I found interesting was the “use” of the silver fern. Silver fern seems to be, at least partly, the emblem of NZ. Apparently, Maori used the silver fern leaves to guide themselves in the bush. Just like Hansel & Gretel leaving bread crumbs to find their way back home, Maori would place silver fern leaves upside down on the way, because their silver colour would reflect at night, so they could orient themselves

Silver fern, both sides

The last curiosity I’d like to highlight is the New Zealand accent, this including both Kiwi and Maori. In comparison to the Aussie accent, the NZ one is clearer. To me, at least, it sounds more British-like. The Aussie accent is a lot more Americanised. Someone told me that the British settlers in NZ came from Kent, therefore it sounds more British. If this is true, I don’t know. How to recognise NZ accent? There’s a distinctive feature that makes it very easy to find out. They swap the sounds: /ɛ/ and /iː/ or /ɪ/. It sounds funny when you get used to it, but till then, you get VERY confused. Why? Because this creates a lot of homophones. For the non-linguists, I’ll give some examples. When NZ people say “bread” /brɛd/, you hear “breed” /briːd/, and so it goes on with: pen/pin, wet/wheat, when/win, etc. AND the funniest one, of course: deck/dick! :D

Here’s a post I’ve seen in some hostels on how to speak NZ-English, which depicts the situation pretty much accurately:

An interesting linguistic feature of the Maori language, in particular, for the Spanish is the vowels. We both share the same exact vowel sounds: a, e, i, o, u, by which it’s easier for us Spanish to pronounce Maori. Also, the “r” sound is similar to the Spanish one.

Again, from the linguistic point of view – I just love this! – Kiwi slang is pretty funny. They use a lot of “bro” (Aussie “mate”), “good on you” (which sounds like “goodonion”), “all good” (Aussie “no worries”), and the best one: “sweet as”, which, of course, sounds like “sweet arse”. The first time someone told me “sweet as” I turned and said: “Excuse me?!”

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