#i need more video games the pay homage to one of my favorite movies

[localpizza-bot]

You’ll never guess what I did again

90% of people won’t get why they are mixed like this lmaoooooo

#who You gonna call? #Ghostbutters! #most people von be so confused I just know #Luigi’s mansion #Yokai Watch Busters #Blasters if you hate comedy 😒 #Yokai watch #some of y’all may remeber hen I fused the characters a while back #this is like that but what if crossover #not sure which idea I like better #i need more video games the pay homage to one of my favorite movies #Luigi #Jibanyan #Komasan #Whisper is not having a good time LMAO #king boo with limbs what will he do #the other bros just kinda chilling in the painting #because why not #also how has this crossover not been done more they even have a gooey green counterpart cmon man it writes itself #also you can tell i didn’t look at references in some spaces #im just tryna doodle I ain’t got time for googling #this is way too many tags #Piper’sPizzaria

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 15

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more! We’ve reached the Top 15!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.”

Number 15 is…both Judy Hopps AND Nick Wilde, from Zootopia.

Just like our previous pick, this time I’m picking a crime-fighting duo. This isn’t the only reason, however, why Nick & Judy are slight oddballs on this list. Another point is that, unlike nearly every other detective on the countdown, they haven’t really had a SERIES of adventures. At least, not so far. This was what held back several of the sleuths who appeared in my Honorable Mentions: Jake Gittes from “Chinatown,” Mark McPherson from “Laura,” and Eddie Valiant from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” are all great characters, played by phenomenal actors, but they only have one story to their name. Also, all of those stories are limited by the concise format of a singular motion picture. Nearly every other gumshoe gathered on the main countdown so far has had more than one to their name, or has been adapted and reimagined multiple times (or even both). This sly fox and not-so-dumb bunny, however, have only appeared in a single mystery movie, so far: the original “Zootopia.”

Thankfully, in the case of Nick and Judy, that’s really all they need. I absolutely LOVE these two, and there was never any doubt in my mind that they’d wind up SOMEWHERE in the ranks. I will admit, I struggled with exactly where to place them, given the fact they DO only have one movie to their name so far. I think this spot is more or less appropriate.

For those who don’t know, here’s the skinny on “Zootopia”: Disney’s homage to film noir, the movie is a detective mystery that begins with a bunny named Judy Hopps, who becomes the first rabbit officer of the Zootopia Police Department. (This all takes place in a world of anthropomorphic, “evolved” animals.) Despite her accomplishments and hard efforts, Judy is doubted by her Chief and many others, as her small stature and status as “easy prey” cause her to be perceived as “just a dumb bunny.” Eager to prove herself, Judy takes on a missing person’s case that the rest of the department has been having trouble with, as a way to try and show the others she’s more capable than they realize.

This is where our other main character, Nick Wilde, comes into the plot. Nick doesn’t start off the story as a detective: he’s a con artist, whom Judy effectively blackmails into helping her on the case, as she believes his information and insight will be of use to her. Nick is a jaded fox, disillusioned by events in his past; he finds it hard to trust people, and is used to people who don’t trust him, despite his silver tongue. On Judy’s part, she’s also got some issues, which she actually doesn’t recognize at the start of the film: her own past has led her to feel prejudiced against certain kinds of animals, foxes among the rest. As the movie goes on, the two start to help one another through these issues, as Judy learns to see the bigger picture, and Nick learns to open up. Each eventually realizes, in somewhat different ways, they can be more than what they are. All of this while trying to figure out a case which gets more and more twisted and bizarre as the story continues.

A big part of the reason why I love Zootopia IS that it’s a legitimate and really fun mystery story. The way the plot unfolds has a lot of great elements, with some twists you don’t see coming. (As well as a few you do, but you forgive it because the rest is so great, and it’s trying to pay tribute to a particular kind of film and storytelling style, at least in my opinion.) While Judy is the only ACTUAL detective at the start of the film, and I was tempted to just include her, it really is the pair of protagonists and their interactions with each other that makes the movie so great. I don’t really like either Judy or Nick more than the other; both are excellent main characters, and their personalities complement each other in an interesting way, as well as their methods.

On that note, something else I appreciate about these two – and about the film itself – is that, if you really look at it, you’ll realize that (in spite of being a Disney movie) these two aren’t really squeaky-clean heroes. Not only do they just have some personality flaws in general, which each of them have to work through, but both are willing to bend the rules to get by. Nick starts off as a criminal, to begin with, and Judy, as the film goes on, becomes more and more willing to use underhanded tricks to get what she wants. What ultimately separates them from the antagonists of the film is WHY they do what they do, and the fact that each learns a valuable lesson along the way. It’s neat to see characters like this dynamic duo in a Disney movie, and it’s a big part of why Zootopia is one of my favorite animated films (if not my favorite) to come out within the past decade or so. While Nick and Judy’s adventures haven’t officially continued since, the Zootopia universe has continued to branch out in unique ways, including announcements of a possible sequel on the horizon. Here’s hoping these expansions will ultimately show more of Wilde and Hopps doing what they do best: proving that, in Zootopia, anyone can be anything. Except maybe a flying coconut. Somehow, I doubt anyone can be that in Zootopia. But I’ve been wrong before. Ha Ha.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 14!

CLUE: “You attacked reason. It’s bad theology.”

#list #countdown #best #favorites #top 31 fictional detectives #gathering of the greatest gumshoes #number 15 #mystery #animation #film #movies #disney #zootopia #nick wilde #judy hopps #nick and judy

[wratts]

5 Things About Me

I was tagged by @faetales-weaver (much appreciated!) to do the 5 things about me game!

The Rules: List five things about yourself you want your followers to know. they can be as simple as your age or as complex as your deepest fear, as long as it’s something you’re comfortable with sharing. when you’re done, send this to (tag) 10 people you want to get to know better.

1. My biggest inspirations for writing, both when I started, back when I was 12 as well as now in my thirties, were the German author Wolfgang Hohlbein, author of over 200 books across multiple genres; the inventor of the poetic sword and sorcery adventures of Conan the Barbarian, Robert E. Howard; and a renowned little horror writer you all may have heard of, Stephen King. The three things they taught me, respectively, were to

not stay in my lane. To write in any genre I felt like writing. If you do it well, you’re allowed to write whatever you want.

use modifiers and poetic rhythm despite common advice to the contrary. Which generally tells me to just do what a lot of people advise against in writing. All rules like “write this way” and “don’t do this” are made up. There’s a time and a place for every stylistic choice. It’s one thing to learn rules just like you need to study grammar, but once you’ve learned them, you’re allowed to break them if you have a good reason.

favor immersion and natural character development over rigid and artificial story structures.

Obviously, back in the day, I just thought their stuff was cool. But I can now identify what must have unconsciously stood out to me, and they became lessons that I continue to internalize.

2. Although I have ridiculous, borderline encyclopedic knowledge of the Star Wars universe, I was always more of an Indiana Jones kid. I got into Star Trek much later, and I kind of prefer it over Star Wars by now. Speaking of movies, I will never shut up about how much I love Point Break. Or Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Hmm. Might be some pattern in there.

3. One of my all-time favorite video game series is Saints Row, which is what my avatar pays homage to. I love stories about street gangs, the series has an impeccable sense of aesthetic, and they’re obviously made by people who know how to make games really fun to play. Speaking of video games, the first I ever played was Castlevania on the NES.

4. I’m an avid fan of tabletop role-playing games. I run two game sessions every weekend, in two different groups. I love the format of storytelling it creates where you cannot write the story. It writes itself in play, and as a GM, you only set up situations and then reactively spin tales from whatever the players do. One of the games is a long-running D&D campaign using the Pathfinder scenario Rise of the Runelords, while the other group alternates between different ones in bursts of short series across different systems and genres, notably Unknown Armies, Monster of the Week, or The Mecha Hack. And the latter is currently getting started with Pitchforks & Torches, which uses my own homebrew game, settled in my gaslight romance / Gothic horror / Edwardian era / Victorian era world of the Crimsonport chronicles.

5. My screen name is a synthesis of “wraith”, “wrath”, and “rats.” It’s the chosen name of a devil and pivotal character in a long piece of fiction which I wrote in my early twenties, and will eventually revisit in full when I feel that my skill matches my ambition for the story. If you encounter a “wrattsy” out in the wild of some other platform, that’s usually also me, which I choose as an alternative for whenever “wratts” is already taken.

---

I tag @tlbodine @evanthenerd83 @matt-i-guess @emilyelizabethfowl but no pressure—feel free to do this if you want and say I tagged you!

[neon-dynasty]

Kamigawa was a failed endeavor. Released in the autumn of 2004, Champions of Kamigawa promised some new things for Magic the Gathering, and the return to some old things as well. Most importantly, in my opinion, it showed that Wizards was paying attention to what fans were interested in (outside of Magic) and wanted to provide a way of relating to the fans. However, just about everything they did with the setting and game either couldn’t live up to expectations or outright failed. Here’s why I think the original Kamigawa block failed, and why I think a return would be a resounding success.

This came out much longer than I’d expected, so hit the jump.

For its entire existence up until 2004, most of Magic’s settings were a hodgepodge of fantasy tropes, and the storyline had been following or tying into a single thread for years. Kamigawa was the first setting to truly be free of the ongoing Magic story. Nowadays, however, Magic is known for its settings based on real-world places and cultures. Just this past year, we’ve visited Eldraine (Arthurian Britain), Theros (ancient Greece), and Ikoria (less a real culture and more about giant monster tropes). Back in 2004, however, visiting a clearly defined theme world like this was something that hadn’t been done in a long time. In fact, it’s something the franchise traditionally shied away from. 1996’s Mirage block took place in Jamuura, a continent on Dominaria based on sub-Saharan Africa.1995’s Ice Age was set in a Viking-inspired Terisiare. (You could say that Arabian Nights and Portal Three Kingdoms also count, but those were more wholesale copies than homages.) Based on ancient Japan, Kamigawa was the first herald of a new worldbuilding philosophy for Magic, one that would see the creative team at Wizards of the Coast put their own spin on familiar cultures and mythologies, while still keeping them distinctly their own. Kind of like Disney movies.

The mechanics also promised to shake things up. While I don’t remember any of the card announcements, Kamigawa block introduced many new pieces for the game. Samurai and ninja had their own keyword abilities in bushido and ninjutsu, and most of the sorcery and instant cards dealt with arcane and spirits. Legendary had its own theme as well, with 138 unique creatures (139, if you count the other Yamazaki brother) and 39 other permanents, with a number of cards that cared about the supertype. Finally, there were flip cards, a mechanically and visually interesting way of getting more value out of those creatures and introducing a sort of sidequest to your game. 

Kamigawa was gearing up to be something special in Magic. But as I said at the very beginning of this piece, it failed.

The mechanics were kind of a disaster. Splice onto arcane was parasitic and to get any value out of it, you’d need to go all-in on overcosted cards. Bushido, sweep, offering, and most of the rest of the keywords were similarly underwhelming, either providing minuscule value or actively getting in the way of what you wanted to do. Putting the legendary supertype on a card is a downside when Commander doesn’t exist and singleton formats are not a popular way of playing. It doesn’t help that having too many legendary creatures in a set thend to make them feel less special, as well. Flip cards, while cool in theory, wound up being a logistical mess that didn’t add much to the enjoyment of casual games, and barely saw tournament play. All of this meant the cards didn’t really impact Standard, and Limited was a clunky ordeal more often than anyone would have liked. Following Mirrodin block, the most powerful three sets since Urza’s block, was also a tall order, and one that almost no set was equipped to fulfill. 

Admittedly, while I love the card game, I absolutely adore everything else about Magic. The storyline intrigued me when I started playing during Onslaught block, and knowing that there was this vast body of lore kept me hooked. Hearing that there was a Japanese-inspired setting coming up was pure hype for someone who’d also been into anime for years and video games for years before that. The early 00s were an interesting time for entertainment, as Japanese animation had finally infiltrated American mainstream media. Pokémon had been a successful card game for years (another story for another day), and Yu-Gi-Oh had just hit the scene in America after doing well in Japan for a few years. With all this and a burgeoning internet, fans of anime, video games, and Japanese culture had certain expectations. To say Kamigawa did not meet them would be an understatement. 

The general setting was based on an older Japanese culture, one which didn’t see much representation in media. Samurai, ninja, youkai, along with other popular figures and tropes were either later inventions or had a more solidified image hundreds of years after the source material took place. While I remember many Magic the Gathering fans being worried that the game would take on an anime aesthetic to capitalize on what was popular with the wider geek audience, they actually took it in the opposite direction. Instead of bright colors and bold outlines, Kamigawa was a dark and gritty place, which was made even more evident by the increasing demand for realistic detail in the art department. The kami themselves, one half of the conflict, were alien and foreign to behold. These weren’t based on images that otaku would have been familiar with, Japanese or Western, but based on much older stories that had been phased out of the public consciousness.

In short, there is no “in short.” There are many reasons why it didn’t succeed, but ultimately, it came down to being something that no one really expected or wanted. Instead of taking the cheap, easy, and profitable route by leaning into anime culture, Wizards bucked the trend and used a setting that most Magic fans would not have been familiar with, forcing it to fit within the franchise. They also filled the block with parasitic mechanics that were clunky and actively detrimental to play. And yes, I’m leaving out dozens of other reasons why Kamigawa failed, but those are the main ones that I personally feel hurt the setting. 

Sadly, as public-facing employees remind us constantly, Kamigawa is a very difficult sell to the higher-ups. It was one of the company’s biggest failures, and they can’t use tweets and Tumblr asks from enfranchised fans as justifications for its return. And yet, the requests still pour in. I believe that the reasons for this desire are the key to a new set based in Kamigawa. 

Let’s start with the biggest one: Commander. In many ways, this format is kind of the anti-MtG. It’s a long, drawn-out process that uses decks built with your whole collection, rather than the newest releases. Cards that are awful in most other formats are amazing in Commander, and one of the biggest drawbacks a card can have - the Legendary supertype - is a major boon here. It’s also the current most popular format for old and new players alike. I think that more than anything else, Kamigawa’s legendary theme is what draws new players, as Commander enthusiasts will inevitably find some interesting cards that would never have worked well in the old days.

I also think that Wizards of the Coast has learned a lot since 2004 (and whenever they started work on the original block). Remember, Kamigawa was the first of its kind: a real-world inspired setting completely separate from what the entire franchise had been doing for years. There were bound to be mistakes, and they’ve clearly learned how to rectify them. The following setting, Ravnica, used an Eastern European city aesthetic to compliment its two-color guild theme, but was still constrained by the block structure. Upon our return there, they changed the block structure to better fit what the themes and story wanted. On the other hand, Zendikar, their D&D-inspired adventure world, was beloved for its fast and fun mechanics, as well as the feeling of exploration on the cards and in the media. The return, however, involved destroying all of that in favor of an extradimensional war setting. Guilds of Ravnica and Zendikar Rising each supplied what the fans wanted out of those settings, to varying degrees of success. 

Wizards also keeps showing us glimpses into Kamigawa through Core Sets and supplemental products. Tamiyo showed up on Innistrad and Ravnica. They printed new shrines (compatible with the old Honden) in Core 2021. Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow, is one of my favorite commanders of all time, and she’s from the 2018 Commander set. They still value the setting, and don’t seem to be interested in ignoring it to the point of obscurity (like, for example, Mercadia). 

And, obviously, there are the rumors. With a blog name like mine, you have to have known this was coming. The three planeswalker concepts from surveys could point to anything: Commander products, supplementary sets, etc. However, I think that the web domains for Kamigawa Neon Dynasty point to a full set of some kind.

Interestingly enough, the events of the original Kamigawa block take place in Magic’s very distant past, so it’s been a tantalizing prospect to see how the place might have changed in the past few thousand years. Skipping over medieval fantasy and bringing it past the present into a cyberpunk future might be an excellent way to go about it. Aesthetics from early 90’s anime could still be stylistically unique in Magic, while keeping elements from the old setting would root us to the original block. I could see the new story centering around a conflict between one faction clinging to ancient traditions and another pushing magical technology to its futuristic limits. After all, Tamiyo still dresses in old-fashioned robes and reads from scrolls, and the moonfolk were known to be almost completely isolated from everyone else. I wonder what the kami would look like, if we even saw them at all.

Ultimately, I think that Wizards is in the perfect spot to try Kamigawa again. Between their worldbuilding experience, the rise of the Commander format, and a willingness to push the aesthetics of their game in different directions, there’s a lot of reason to hope that we’ll be heading back sooner or later. 

Please feel free to let me know if I missed something or got any details wrong. And please discuss what you’d like to see in a return to Kamigawa, either new stuff or old. 

#mtg #kamigawa #kamigawa neon dynasty #tamiyo

[incandescent-creativity]

20 Questions Tag

tagged by @homesteadchronicles !

OKAY SO

I accidentally answered all of the ones Jake answered, before I saw he left questions for me at the end, and I didn’t want to waste all that time, so

This was originally a 10 Question tag, and I’m putting his questions first, but there’s 10 more below the cut because I say so.

1. When you find a book at the store, what about it makes you decide to buy it or put it back on the shelf?

Well, if it’s a book in a series or by an author I know and like, I’m going to get that. I barely look at the premise of new Stephen King books anymore.

But other than that, if the inside flap sounds like a good story, and if the first page sounds like something I can read and enjoy.

2. What would your book’s ideal cover look like, should you have access to any artist you’d want and any resources you would need to make it a reality?

I’ve already made mock covers, you can find them on the title slides of my comic sans presentations, so I guess they’d just look like those, but nicer?

Although, tbh, I’m a bigger fan of these SOLE fan covers by @writeouswriter. I think they capture the themes of the story better, and I might play around with remaking the SOLE cover soon, inspired by their work!

3. If you could rewrite one story - be it a book, game, movie, show, etc. - which would it be and why?

Two options:

One, the ending of Game of Thrones. I know that might be a cliche or expected answer, and I’m usually not one to critique works that I watch, but Jaime abandoning Brienne made literally no sense.

The other option is a book we’re reading for class: Phantoms, by Christian Kiefer. Inconsistent grammar, bad writing style, hardly any plot actually happening, fake deep sentences and weird descriptions... Ugh.

4. Have you ever given a story a second chance and liked it better the next time through? What caused your opinion to change?

Really, truly, changing the urban fantasy TREE Series to the high fantasy LORE Series was the best decision I’ve ever made. I went from feeling lukewarm about the story to feeling on fire, and it might be solely because of the opportunity to worldbuild so much.

5. What do you believe endears an audience to a character?

Relatability! A character has got to be relatable, at least in some capacity. That’s how you make good villains: you show that they are so far gone down whatever hole they’ve fallen into that they can’t be relatable anymore.

(Also what makes a good villain is making them just relatable and logical enough that you see where they came from. It’s a weird line that never appears in the first draft)

6. What kind of romances do you prefer to read about and/or watch unfold? (Soft and shy, hot and sexy, slow burn, enemies to lovers, etc.)

Soft and shy slowburn of best friends to lovers will get me EVERY TIME

Like do y’all remember Percy and Annabeth from Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series? That was the ULTIMATE romance of my childhood. I bet if I went back and read it, it would still hold up, too. Those two went to Tartarus and back with only each other. Peak Romance.

7. What type of AU’s are your guilty pleasures, be they for your stories or for others? (Modern, High School/University, Coffee Shop, Vampires, etc.)

I’ve never written a vampire story, but I think I’d like to try.

This was not the question, but I don’t really have any guilty pleasures! I write what I write and I write what I want and I hardly ever do AUs.

8. If only one age demographic would ever read your books, which would you choose and why?

“New Adult,” which I’m not even sure is a genre. Like, early 20 year olds.

9. If you could pay homage to one person in your life through your stories and/or characters, who would it be and why?

Probably myself?

These are my stories, and as much support as I’ve gotten from friends (and even the occasional family), at the end of the day, they’re most important to me, I’m the one who’s put the most work into them, and if I can represent and immortalize myself...

I think I’ll be happy.

10. If every reader walked away from your story having been changed in one significant way, what would you want it to be and why?

For the SOLE Project, I want readers to learn that isolating themselves will never solve anything, and will probably make things worse. Also, take action against climate change (but do it with other people).

For LiaHT, I want people to know it’s okay not to have all the answers, and be at peace with all parts of themselves.

For LORE, I want people to start treasuring the power of friendship and the power of hope.

---

SECOND BATCH

1. What are your character’s favorite foods or snacks?

Christian will snack on anything he can get his hands on. Nora likes cookies. Zach likes fruits and pastries, especially fruity pastries. Dr. Agau and Beth are (shockingly) very practical people: nuts, berries, cheese, handfuls of those... think of trail mix.

2. What playlists do you listen to when writing?

I use video game playlists! They’re usually wordless and motivating, which is nice. I like to use this playlist on Spotify, or this website (you can’t skip songs, but there’s also some weird metal and screaming songs on the playlist so like. Pick your poison).

3. Which OC is/was your favorite to create?

Dr. Agau is still my favorite, I think. She’s just so... I don’t know, in control? Obviously, she uses her control and power to abuse children, so she’s an awful person, but come on. Who doesn’t long for a sense of absolute control over circumstances in their life.

A close second are Ash and Zach. It’s fun to think of all the ways they balance each other and differ from each other, and the few areas they are similar in.

4. What is the first book you read that made you cry?

The only book that’s ever made me cry is the ending of Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman.

5. Do you hide any secrets in your books as a way of foreshadowing?

Not intentionally? The things I hide are mostly references to old drafts, like when Beth finds a body in Agau’s laboratories that’s named Kati (an old character who I cut out of the story).

6. What is the most difficult part of your writing process?

Starting.

Seriously, whether it’s starting a chapter, figuring out where to start the story as a whole, starting to resolve something, I just find beginnings... very difficult. I haven’t found a good formula for them yet.

7. Which of your characters would you like to meet or get to know irl?

I think Zach and I would get along fabulously! 

I also have trouble with Matt’s character, and Hans’s, so maybe I could get to know those boys a bit better.

8. Was there a situation in your writing that you took from your own life?

I don’t take exact situations as much as I take feelings. All the pieces of my writing that are Beth having panic attacks, of Zach not knowing where he’s going with his life, of Nora stressing over school... Our circumstances may be very different, but the feelings are usually pretty direct.

9. Do your characters have reoccurring symbolism in their dreams?

Weirdly enough, I don’t think I’ve ever written a dream sequence for a character. I’ve written a nightmare, but only one, in all of my writing.

Huh.

10. Which Hogwarts houses would you sort your characters into?

Slytherin: Dr. Agau, Beth, Ash, and Maluka

Ravenclaw: Michael

Hufflepuff: Hallie, Hans, Zach, Olufemi, Finnigan, Nora

Gryffindor: Christian, Matt

Apparently I have a type.

#tagged in #about me

[justanotherdumpingground]

Ride or Die: Personal Impressions

So @playchoices released a trailer for a new book titled Ride or Die: A Bad Boy Romance. After watching it and taking previous announcements into account, that got me thinking.

I'm very wary of this series because it looks like it appeals to players who prefer one "type" of character. In this case, it's the "bad boy", which appeals mainly to females. As someone who doesn't judge characters by "type" because it prevents me from evaluating the depth and uniqueness (or its potential) of all characters, it irks me that Pixelberry would use a character type as the main thing for the story just to pander to part of the fanbase. I beg you to be more creative than that, PB.

According to the Wiki, it might pay homage to the Fast and Furious movie franchise and the Need for Speed video game series. I've played a Need for Speed game on PS1 as a kid, but that was a long time ago. Nevertheless, it also reminded me of the racing video games I used to play as a kid, such as Crash Team Racing (my all time favorite). As for Fast and Furious, I don't watch it. With that said, I think it would be cool if the story is themed on racing around town and maybe even saving a spot in town for racing.

A Pixelberry blog post states that there will be a mix of books with single-gender protagonists and books with gender options. My guess is this: What if Ride or Die will be the first story to feature a male-only protagonist who serves as a "bad boy"? This is neither a good nor bad thing. I'm saying this because Choices has great, average, and lousy stories regardless of gender option (or lack thereof). Moreover, the same blog post mentioned that one of the new stories will involve running from the law. This raises another question: What if this means we have to run from the law because of illegal street racing?

Anyway, that's my two cents. I'll keep an open mind on it the moment it releases. Who knows if it will surprise me with an interesting story and lively characters? That happened with Bloodbound and Desire & Decorum, so it better happen with Ride or Die.

#choices stories you play #choices ride or die #choices rod

[aion-rsa]

Creepshow: Greg Nicotero Unpacks the Skeletons in His Closet

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

For more than 35 years, Greg Nicotero has not only played in a lot of sandboxes within the horror genre, he built the toys that go inside. When he talks about the work of John Carpenter, Don Coscarelli, Sam Raimi, and George Romero, he’s not doing so only as a fan, but as a colleague. As a special makeup effects artist who evolved into a director and executive producer he doesn’t only get to tell the stories he wants to, he can pay homage to the films and filmmakers he admires.

Though that admiration has been on display for years through his work as a director and EP on The Walking Dead — for which he’s still in the process of shooting the eleventh, and final, season — Nicotero seems to be having a grand time crafting love letters to horror as showrunner on Creepshow, the anthology series on the Shudder platform in its third season.

In our recent video interview with him, Nicotero describes Creepshow season 2 stories “Public Television of the Dead,” “Model Kid,” and “Night of the Living Late Show” as very personal because each spoke to a different aspect of his life.

“Whether it was my collaboration with Sam Raimi, my love for monster models, or the game I used to play with the guys in the shop: If you could go back in time and be in any movie, what would it be?”

But the story “Skeletons in the Closet,” in the latest episode of Creepshow has it “all in there,” and might be the peak of Nicotero’s nerd-out. Directed by Nicotero, with a story by him and John Esposito, it is a tale about an obsessive movie prop collector who takes things a bit far by stealing a screen-used skeleton. 

Between the endless stream of movie quotes, the collector’s memorabilia (most of which is the real deal) to a re-creation of the Psycho shower scene and a Ray Harryhausen skeleton fight from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, this installment of Creepshow is an Easter egg feast for horror fans.

In the following excerpt from our interview, Nicotero breaks down the Creepshow story, and in the accompanying video, we likewise discuss the John Carpenter homage (and practical monster effects) in the “Queen Bee” story, as well as his working relationship with Joe Hill, and the relevance of social commentary within horror.

On the origins of “Skeletons in the Closet”

“‘Skeletons’” came about because it’s based pretty much on a true story,” Nicotero says. “After Dawn of the Dead was filmed, there was a skeleton used in the movie found in a costume shop in Pittsburgh. They called the coroner, and he was like, ‘This is a real skeleton,’ and they gave it a burial. That all really happened. I was always fascinated with the idea you could get, at one point, real skeletons. Where did they come from? Whose skeleton was it? Did some guy go out and kill somebody, and use their skeleton for a movie? No. My first job on Day of the Dead when I got hired by Tom Savini was to call a medical supply place and order skeletons. They came from India or somewhere.”

The real movie props on display

“Most of the stuff in that museum is stuff from my actual collection, up to and including my favorite joke, which I am probably the only who will laugh at it: The decapitated head of David Warner from The Omen,” Nicotero says. “While we were writing that, that head went up for auction, and I won. I actually bought it. We have it and restored it. That was the first movie decapitation I remember seeing that blew me away.”

The Omen isn’t the only prop on display, with a photo of the mysterious sphere from Phantasm also making an appearance.

“I called Don Coscarelli [and] said I was doing a Phantasm homage and wanted permission,” he says. “I wanted him to know we were giving this nod to him. He was super down for it.”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

On that skeleton fight

“[I had] a Super 8 The 7th Voyage of Sinbad skeleton fight that I probably played forwards, backwards, sideways, upside down a hundred thousand times,” Nicotero says. “I really wanted to do the ultimate homage to Ray Harryhausen. We ended up not doing those stop motion, which I would have preferred. There’s just so many shots that I don’t think we would have been able to do it in the time frame. But the VFX company did an amazing job. I used the same framing and same shots from Jason and the Argonauts and 7th Voyage because I wanted it to feel like a Ray Harryhausen sequence.”

The significance of filming the Psycho shower scene

Nicotero describes recreating the Psycho shower scene as “one of the most unique experiences” of his entire career. 

“You get to a point where you have to deconstruct every shot, and wonder why [Hitchcock] did this, and what piece of equipment he needed to do it,” he says. “The most interesting thing was being in there while we were shooting it, and seeing the red blood against the white tile, and realizing how shocking…to see how gory it was,” he says. 

“If that movie had been shot in color, that scene would have been much more shocking – which is hard to imagine. I really loved deconstructing that, and looking at every single frame. There was only one shot we didn’t end up doing out of the entire sequence. There was an overhead shot looking down where we saw Marion in the shower, and Norman from the top. We weren’t able to do it just because we didn’t have time. I shot that whole scene in three hours.”

The post Creepshow: Greg Nicotero Unpacks the Skeletons in His Closet appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3mmeXfV

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[podcake]

Podcast Teatime: The Case of the Questioning Cheesecake

Hello and a happy August day to everyone. Welcome to a new Q&A to cap off the summer, starring the masterminds behind the adventures we’ve grown to love in The Penumbra Podcast.

As a loyal patron of the arts, I took it upon myself to do some of my own detective work for a change and see what’s going on in the heads of creators Kevin Vibert and Sophie Kaner .

(The following is a direct copy-and-paste from the email)

Question One: Let’s get the most pressing question out of the way first, at least for me: Is there any reason why you chose a hotel as a framing device for your stories? Was it always something you had planned?

Kevin: To start, Sophie and I were thinking that the Penumbra would be an anthology show, along the lines of The Twilight Zone or old radio drama anthologies like Suspense. The idea that the narrator would be a spooky, semi-omnipotent character voiced by the lead writer (hi) was Sophie’s, and is a very, very direct reference to Rod Serling’s narrator on The Twilight Zone. (“Shaken,” which is the one episode that remains mostly intact from this first view of the show, is full of Twilight Zone references — Louise’s surname “Serling” is not a nod to Rod Serling so much as a head-shake-so-hard-you-can-hear-our-necks-crack.)

As for the hotel itself: I have a real love of weird horror and descriptions of impossible places. House of Leaves, which is about ten billion things but one of them is a house that’s slightly bigger on the inside than the outside, was definitely bouncing around in my head as we were pitching ideas for the frame. So was The Shining, which is one of my favorite horror novels of all time, as well as Invisible Cities, which is a really bizarre collection of stories in which Marco Polo describes a bunch of cities that couldn’t possibly exist to Kublai Khan, saying they all lie somewhere in his empire. The description of the infinite hotel is definitely connected to that the most.

For season two we changed the game a bit, but I think even that has connections to this weird thing about places that are horrifying and impossible and kind of mundane — hotels and trolleys and things you see every day. I don’t know why I like making normal places scary. It is either a little bit of cruelty or a complete terror of everything around me, or both. Yeah, both.

Question Two: You have quite the talented cast to work with for your show. Did you have to look far and wide or was it a simple casting call? Or are these just close friends who happen to know how to act?

Sophie: Aren’t they great? It’s important to remember that the Penumbra Podcast was never intended to be a podcast in the first place; it was just going to be one radio play written for fun, except that one turned into two and then three and then we really let the whole thing get out of control. In any case, the first few people we brought on board (notably, the three actors at the core of the Juniverse: Joshua, Noah, and Kate) are old friends of mine from college, though I know them from a theater group, so it’s most accurate to say that I know them because they know how to act. We are always adding new actors, though! 

I perform a lot myself, so I ask a lot of the talented people I’ve worked with in the past to join the show, and I’ve also solicited auditions from friends of friends. (I don’t hold open auditions: we are still too small a production for me to feel safe doing that.) One exception: last year I went to see a play with a friend, and the lead actor was so incredible that I said “THAT. That’s who I need on my show.” So I found him on Facebook and asked him if he would be interested in joining the production, and luckily he had not only heard of the show but was totally on board! (If you’re wondering, the actor was Matthew Zahnzinger, who now plays Ramses O'Flaherty in the Juniverse and Sir Damien in Second Citadel.)

Question Three: What is it that inspired Juno Steel’s adventures? Do you ever see yourself paying homage to Sherlock Holmes and the like or are you more interested in other media to act as a muse?

Kevin: This answer will be relevant in, like, two seconds. I promise.

Sophie has a theory regarding directing actors towards new voices that I really love: she likes to get people to do impressions of people they sound nothing like and then shape the voice from there. Leslie Drescher, who plays Sir Caroline, Valles Vicky, Cassandra, and Cecil, has thus far gotten the brunt of this: for Vicky Sophie sent her videos of Robert DeNiro and Jabba the Hutt, and they shaped a character from there. Cassandra was Joan Jett, Cecil was a French aristocrat and Scott Disick, and so on.

Anyway: the reason this works for voice acting is that you’re relying on the natural chemistry of getting someone to do something they can’t actually do perfectly. When Leslie imitates Robert DeNiro, she does not sound like Robert DeNiro. But she can use that approximation as a starting place to figure out how to sound like a tough, brusque crime lord, and that’s what we needed Vicky to be. And better yet: the voice she does it not one Robert DeNiro could do, and it’s probably not one any of us would have thought she should do until we asked her to do something way outside what she was used to.

We treat inspiration and genre in our stories similarly. In the Juno stories, noir and scifi are always what we go back to… but usually we start by looking at another genre or story that doesn’t quite fit, but that we really love. Juno Steel and the Train From Nowhere happened because we really wanted to write a Bond movie, and then we decided it would be interesting and new if Juno was the “Bond girl” instead. The framing device in Angel of Brahma exists entirely the way it does because I’m obsessed with the first section of the novel Dracula, in which Jonathan Harker is simultaneously a guest and a hostage in Dracula’s house.

It’s worth noting that neither of these episodes are very much like the source material, and that’s where the shaky line between “homage” and “inspiration” comes in. Very often we start with a story convention we love because we love it, and then over the course of outlining and drafting and editing naturally branch off in a new direction.

When I was younger I would get really self-conscious about having “original ideas,” and of course I still do — but it’s really important to remember that “original” is not the same as “immaculate conception.” Just because you can trace where an idea came from doesn’t mean you stole it. If I rewrote It or The Shining and changed the title to Juno Steel and the Day That Wouldn’t Die and tweaked a few names, that’d be plagiarism. 

But if we read It and go, “Damn, I really wish I wrote this,” and then we examine what it is we like about the story, what we wish we wrote about it, what parts we don’t like and we’d take out, and what other influences we want to incorporate… suddenly we’ve made something brand new, even if the first thought was, “I really wish I wrote this story that already exists.”

Question Four: The Penumbra spans genres from mystery to fantasy and science fiction. Does it ever become a struggle to juggle so many different themes?

Kevin: For genre and theme, not really. The more difficult thing is bouncing between all these different characters.

Sophie and I talk incessantly about stories, and our interests dovetail really nicely for writing genre stories. I really like pulling apart plot structure and she’s obsessed with tropes; I like figuring out how a joke works and she likes figuring out how to make people cry. 

So entering a new genre is never terribly difficult for us because chances are we’ve already had forty conversations about that genre anyway: that’s why when we wrote The Coyote of the Painted Plains, but we knew we didn’t actually like Westerns very much, we gave it all the structure and tropes of a swashbuckler instead, like Ivanhoe or The Three Musketeersand so on. 

By the same token when I need to explain the Second Citadel stories to people, my shorthand is usually, “So there’s this fantasy world with knights and stuff, only the knights are kind of like superhero beat cops and the Queen is their chief, so it’s kind of a police procedural with a monster-of-the-week spin, and…”

So genre doesn’t tend to be an issue for us. But making new characters? That’s really, really hard.

Part of the reason we honed down to two main series in season two was because making new characters and getting an audience invested in them in half an hour was a good challenge, but completely exhausting.

 I can’t tell you how many half-finished outlines we have for season one one-shots, just because we realized we’d never be able to get people invested in these characters quickly enough and also have time to complete an actual plot. We also just really fell in love with the process of diving deep into a few characters over a long period of time, honing in on the ones with conflicts unresolved and seeing where they go next.

Question Five: Would The Penumbra still be The Penumbra if it wasn’t audio? If it could be recreated in any other format, which would you pick and would it still feel the same? (By the way, I would totally read a novelization of Juno Steel mysteries.)

Sophie: Oh god, if we could make the Penumbra in another format, it would be a TV show–well, two TV shows, probably, one for Juno Steel and one for Second Citadel. And if we had the resources, we’d create an animated series with Penumbra artist Mikaela Buckley! But that being said, the Penumbra would definitely lose something in the transition from audio to visual. Many of the plot points were written explicitly with an audio format in mind (the abilities Juno gains from the Martian Pill, the Ruby 7 car chase, the action scenes in the Head of the Janus Beast), and other setpiece moments were designed in post-production without even being a part of the original script (Annie Wire’s death, the music at Ingrid Lake’s party, Sir Damien’s storytelling). Which is all to say that the Penumbra would be an extremely different show if it hadn’t been created as a podcast.

Question Six: How long does it usually take to make an episode? Including voice acting, sound editing, and of course writing, is it especially time consuming or is it something that can be knocked out in a day?

Sophie: This is a tough question to answer because the first part of the process–the dreaming up of the stories–is the part that can vary the most. Sometimes Kevin and I agonize over characters and plot points for months, but on some very special occasions, when we’ve been in a really great groove, we’ve been able to outline an entire episode in one day. 

Once we have an outline, Kevin writes a draft, which can take anywhere from three days to three months (though both ends of the spectrum are very unusual). After that, we spend two to three weeks editing on our own and then with a few other people, and once the script is complete we can move onto rehearsal and recording.

This part is a ton of fun! Scheduling (handled by Noah Simes, our production manager) is a bit of a nightmare because the actors are all extremely busy, but we always do our best to have at least one rehearsal for everybody, and then 1-3 recording sessions. Those are usually long days, but we all love each other a lot, so it’s worth it. The final piece of the process is the sound design, which I usually spend about two full weeks on. I almost never think I’m going to get the whole thing done in time for episode release day, but so far I’ve always managed it!

BONUS: What are some future plans you have in mind? Without going into spoilers, can we can anticipate some new characters, exciting cases, and big reveals to come up?

Kevin: It is very much the Penumbra Brand to make sure all new information only raises forty new questions and makes everyone terribly upset, and so in that time-honored tradition I bring you this fun exclusive:

The structure of this Juno season — number of cases, number of episodes, plot structure, etc. — is so different from season one that we can’t even post a release calendar or tell you how many more you have left to expect, because it would spoil some major reveals coming up in… a few weeks? A few months? I don’t know. You’ll have to wait and see.

Thank you to Sophie and Kevin to taking time to answer my questions. If you haven’t already, check out The Penumbra Podcast yourself to get the scoop on Juno Steel and The Second Citadel as well as enjoying all the beautiful art provided by the talented @disasterscenario.

Another tea pot emptied and another case solved.

#the penumbra podcast #q&a #podcast teatime #juno steel gives me juno feels #sophie kaner #kevin vibert

[cidolfus-a-trahan]

The very first MonsterClash!

As part of the kick off for my yearly series of horror reviews on my Youtube channel, I dug up the very first review I ever wrote, which was a comparison of the 1931 Universal film Dracula with the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola Version.

Since the video, which you can see here references this article, I had decided to post the full text here rather than link to the original Facebook page that hosted it.

Be warned, this was written long before I started writing film reviews in earnest and has not aged particularly well.

Without further ado, here is the very first edition of MonsterClash

Romney’s Reviews “Reviews I’d want to film but am unable to.” #1: Bram Stoker’s Dracula 1931 vs. 1992

Dracula, his name is known the world over. Many images come to mind when it is uttered. Starting out as a fictitious character in the novel by the Irish author, Abraham “Bram” Stoker, in 1897, this icon of gothic horror has appeared in everything from movies, to television, to even video games among other things. Even the original story itself has been adapted numerous times as stage plays, movies, and games. Now I know what you’re probably thinking, what about Vlad Țepeș? Contrary to popular belief, this Romanian prince was not the direct inspiration for Dracula. According to his working notes, Stoker had the basic outline of the story already layed out before tying in the stories of Vlad the Impaler. Many scholars believe that this is more of an afterthought, but I digress.

What I am here to talk to you about are the two most well know adaptations of the famous novel. The first version being the 1931 version of Dracula directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the titular villain, and the 1992 version, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gary Oldman in the role of Dracula. Both versions have been praised by fans and critics alike. Having now seen both versions, this review shall compare the two, seeing what each one has over the other. From here on in, it shall be category based, so let’s not waste anymore time.

The first category, or round, shall be: Atmosphere

One of the major facets of any horror film is the world it creates and how it pulls you in. This category shall go into the details of setting, sound design, and to a lesser extent music.

1931 version: The settings of this film evoke the imagery we always see when we think of horror films. It shows the quaintness of the Transylvanian village, the eeriness of Castle Dracula and the various undercrofts depicted. The gothic sets are extremely well done, although simple by today’s standards, capture the gothic atmosphere that was most likely what Bram Stoker had pictured. The sound design in this film is minimal at best, more of the focus put on the dialogue. There are a few audio cues inserted here and there, but only to really announce the arrival of Dracula. In the case of music, the version I watched was the version with the added score by Philip Glass, however, I managed to see what I could of the original version. In the original version, the only music in the film served as overture and concluding themes as well as a few diegetic pieces for the music box and the scene at the symphony. In the version with the Philip Glass score, the music overpowers certain parts of dialogue and detracts a little bit from the atmosphere of the film. I don’t know if it’s always the case with this version, but on the DVD I watched it on, the music was too loud and got a little irritating. To me, it seemed as if it was composed more for a silent film.

1992 version: The settings in this film are on the same level as the 1931 version, but Coppola didn’t hesitate to use many colorful elements as part of the sets. However, as it can be seen in both the film and the interviews with the costume designer, Coppola used the principle of “the costumes are the sets”. He uses color to differentiate the different settings, a grim black for Transylvania and a shade of gray for London, and more extravagant colors to express the characters’ personalities. The sound design is a lot more atmospheric and really draws you into the world. However, it is important to note that sound design was on a different level of priority at the dawn of the talking motion picture, but the effort is an added bonus. The music in this film is more present, with the amount of diegetic music greatly reduced. The score of this film functions in the same manner that a film score is usually employed, so there is not much else to say.

Victory Tally

Setting: Tie

Sound: 1992 version

Music: 1992 version

Conclusion: 1992 Version, the atmosphere of this film is a little more complete and is a little bit easier to be drawn into.

Round 2: Cinematography

Where would film be without the camera? Last time I checked, there hasn’t been any film made without a camera, thus the name of the medium, FILM. (Even animation uses cameras people.)

1931 version: The cinematography of this film is what makes some of the moments of this film classic. It shows the grandiose and derelict nature of Castle Dracula, making the halls and undercrofts look even emptier. When you remove the Phillip Glass score, a lot of the shots create the eerie atmosphere we associate Dracula with today. This was what made the film terrifying to most people in its initial run. One of my favorite scenes in this film is the standoff between Van Helsing and Dracula. The shots are simplistic, but in the same fashion as the silent film, the picture is worth a thousand words. The rest of the film is filled with moments like this, again more effective without Philip Glass’s score.

1992 version: You can tell that this film pays homage to the rich film history that Dracula is associated with, at one point even being shot with an old camera, changing the type of film mid- scene from black and white to two color Technicolor and then finally to full color. Everything in this film is shot in a style that is reminiscent of all of the classic horror films, but Coppola also puts his own style into the film with some of the more artistic shots. It achieves it’s eeriness in a completely different way that doesn’t rely entirely on the cinematography, which can be considered either a plus or a minus, depending on which school of thought you come from.

Victory Tally

IT’S A TIE! The Coppola version wouldn’t be there without the standards set by its predecessors.

Round 3: Characters

What’s a story without characters? Not a story, that’s what. They don’t always need to be human, but there are always characters. This round comes in two parts; I don’t feel that need to explain why.

Part 1: Dracula

1931 version: Even though there were versions before this version, the earliest surviving example being Murnau’s Nosferatu, Bela Lugosi’s performance set the standard for how Dracula is portrayed in many other forms of media. A fact that is only known amongst the more hardcore film buffs is that Lugosi got the role because of his performance in the Dracula Broadway play, so he was already adept at his performance when they began performing screen tests at Universal. In addition to his earnest performance, Lugosi had a look that was both alluring and terrifying, reflecting the hypnotic effect a vampire is known to have on people.

1992 version: The way Gary Oldman portrayed Dracula captured both the terrifying elements as well as more of the romantic elements that were brought to the character in the 1979 remake made by Universal. However, some of the terrifying elements were aided by the make-up, cinematography, and the other atmospheric elements. However, when it came to the romantic elements of the character, that is where, in my opinion, Gary Oldman is at his strongest. It may not have been on the same level as Lugosi, but Oldman gave a performance that create another original form of Dracula that has also translated to other media, as well as indirectly serve as inspiration for some “other” vampire lore.

Part 2: The Other Characters

1931 version: The cast of characters is greatly reduced in this version from the original novel, mainly Arthur Holmwood and Quincy Morris are omitted. The dynamic between characters is also changed. For example, the love affairs of Lucy Westerna (changed to Western in this version) are also omitted. Dr. Jack Seward’s character is aged to the same age as Professor Van Helsing and is the father of Mina in this version. Instead of Harker visiting Dracula in the beginning, it’s Renfield who delivers the deed to the Count, the incidents that took place at the castle being the explanation for his madness. The characters that are focused on in this film are Dracula, Van Helsing, and Mina. I say this because they are the only ones who have any real character development. Harker looks as if he was put in just as the love interest and potential victim of Mina, therefore, he has little to no personality in this version. The insanity of Renfield is done incredibly well in this version, capturing the split personality and schizophrenic elements of the character. The suave and intelligent nature of Van Helsing is captured beautifully, making for a character who is almost a badass. The innocence of Mina is a typical female archetype, so it’s not something someone can do wrong unless they try REALLY hard.

1992 version: The characters in this version are a little better developed. In this version, Quincy and Holmwood are present and play a great role in the story. All of the characters in this film have an equal role and are a little closer to the personality of the characters in the original novel. Now the believability of some the characters is thrown in to question, mainly with Harker, played by Keanu Reeves. To his credit, he did give a decent performance, but I had trouble taking his accent seriously at certain points. Mina and Lucy are given more of a personality in this version. Lucy is seen as the flirtatious romantic, toying with her three suitors the way many women do today. Mina is seen as a more headstrong character that has her weaknesses that she tries to keep hidden. Renfield’s madness is on the same level as the Renfield of the 1931 version, but is given more animalistic traits. Van Helsing’s more quirky traits are more apparent and Seward’s ambitious nature shines through in this film. Despite the casting choice, Harker is given more personality in this film and is seen more as the guy who’s in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Victory Tally

Dracula: IT’S A TIE! (This is turning into Telos* people, be very afraid.) The winner can’t be decided because it’s two entirely different schools of thought at work here. It’s a case of classic vs. contemporary. I leave this decision to you.

Everyone else: 1992 version. These characters are a little more fleshed out and developed. They have more personality and make the film feel a little more complete.

Round 3: Story

The purpose of film is to tell a story, whether realistic or fantastic. So let’s take a look at the overall story of both films.

1931 version: The story of this version is a simplified version of the story from the novel. As a result, this gives off the same air as an adaptation of Greek mythology like the original Clash of the Titans. Things are kept simple and treated like a stage play. The pacing of the story does feel a bit rushed at times, with some unexplainable transitions put in to keep things moving. To me, it feels a bit like the cliff notes version of Dracula.

1992 version: This version is a little more complex than the 1931 version and has more events happen overall. The pacing of this is steadier, nothing feels rushed nor dragged on. Now the fact that so much happens may feel a bit stymieing, but it’s not like so much is packed in that it leaves the viewer confused. This seems like a more detailed version of a mythological adaptation that adds subtle nuances here and there to make a more realistic world.

Victory Tally

IT’S A TIE! That’s mainly because it depends on how you want to see the plot. If you want a simple, more mythic version, the 1931 version is a good place to start. If you want something a little more detailed, then the 1992 version may be more up your alley.

Round 4: Faithfulness to the source material

This is a common case of argument for and against a movie based on a book. This round is to show which one is more faithful to the original novel by Bram Stoker.

1931 version: This version has minor deviations throughout. I’ve already mentioned the omission of Quincy and Holmwood as well as the replacement of Harker in the opening scene with Renfield. The climax itself is also different, with only Van Helsing killing Dracula in the undercroft of Carfax Abbey instead of the full party of Harker, Van Helsing, Quincy, Holmwood, Seward, and Mina slaying him back in Transylvania. The other deviations are mainly character based while the main heart of the story, that of a demon terrorizing the civilized world, is kept intact.

1992 version: A good friend of mine put it best with this sentence. “It’s the truest to the novel, but it makes the biggest departure.” It stays incredibly true to the novel, but it’s large departure is the romance between Mina and Dracula, this involves a subplot about Dracula’s lover from when he was alive, Elisabetha, looking exactly like Mina. This was probably added to make Dracula a little more sympathetic, but people tend to be divided about this, especially in recent years with “certain” iterations of vampire lore.

Final Round: Overall

Both films are noteworthy in their own right, but which film is the definitive version of the tale? Looking at the tally so far, although it is close, there can be only one winner.

WINNER

1992

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Starring

Gary Oldman

Keanu Reeves

Winona Ryder

And

Anthony Hopkins

The 1931 is a classic, but the 1992 version is the more complete film. If you are in the mood for a poetic form of gothic horror, then this is the version for you. I still highly recommend the 1931 version of Dracula since it’s a classic and gives you a great insight into the evolution of the vampire in fiction. This version is also great to watch if you have kids watching with you, while the 1992 version is better enjoyed with a more adult audience.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this review. We conclude, I shall impart on you the remaining words of a lost speech, given by Edward Van Sloan, the actor who played Professor Van Helsing, after a screening of the 1931 film in its initial run.

“Just a moment, ladies and gentleman…just a word before you go. We hope the memories of Dracula won’t give you bad dreams, so just a word of reassurance. When you get home tonight and the lights are turned out…and you’re afraid to look behind the curtains…and you dread to see a face at the window….well, just pull yourself together and remember, after all… there are such things as VAMPIRES!”

Thanks for reading, and Happy Halloween.

*Telos is an awards show where the students of my high school would submit short films to be judged by outside parties that had film experience. During this particular year, a number of films had tied with one another across multiple categories, so much so that it became a running joke throughout the awards show.

#Film Review #dracula #bela lugosi #gary oldman #tod browning #francis ford coppola #1931 #1992 #bram stoker #bram stoker's dracula #throwback #film criticism

[talk-time-live]

TALKTIMELIVE.COM EXCLUSIVE with YEO: by Daxavier Josiah

37 years game developer Vadim Gilyazetdinov from Moscow, Russia, goes by the name “YEO”, which is a nickname he came up with in his school days while achieving a high score in a racing game. The name also pays homage to his appreciation and fandom for the Japanese culture. 

YEO has a passion and ambition to bring his narrative to life in the form of his favorite fandom which is video games. This led YEO (and his team) to create one of the most compelling retro 2D open world games out now for STEAM and recently Nintendo Switch called “The friends of RINGO ISHIKAWA.” which has received much praise by fans and media. I had the opportunity of talking with YEO about the creation of this title and more more. 

DAX: Where did your journey begin as a game developer?

YEO: I wanted to be connected with game development since University (I have a master’s degree in chemistry) but I didn’t know how to code and I couldn’t draw (I believed that I was good at writing dialogues though) so I applied to some Russian game development companies for any minor junior role they had but they just ignored me. It was no wonder since I hadn’t any work experience.

I started to work at some government company and in 2006 I was introduced to Game Maker 6.1 by my colleague and close friend with whom we run first Russian Nekketsu fan-site. And I made some beat-em-up action with Kunio-Kun sprites in a week ) And it was like whole new world opened for me )

But I never thought that I could do commercial games. I was just having fun with Nekketsu of Mighty Final Fight sprites. I made some small games with them for my local web friends and for myself and most importantly for the process of doing it. Since I don’t believe in result too much, you could achieve it or not, but the process is what you got anyway, so if it was fun and interesting that’s more than enough.

DAX: How many people did it take to develop this game as well as how long did it take to develop it?

YEO: The Steam made possible for small developers to be introduced to the large audience. And when my fellow developer passed Greenlight and then successfully released a game in 2015 I started to think of doing the same. I had quite good and stable job as a team leader at the Moscow IT Government Department so I could afford to hire an artist at last. I never thought of it before though, that you can just hire somebody.

So, I started to look for an artist. Prototype of the game was ready. All these years I tried different battle mechanics with Nekketsu sprites, and literally honed my skills little by little. You can see how Ringo looked back then: 

I posted some job description on game dev forums and it started (“your game is shit”, “you’re a moron” “you’re paying too low” “you should better be doing some Russian aesthetics”, “it’s a dumb clone”, “nobody could do 60 backgrounds alone”, “you should hire a team”) It really was hard to get by. I read all these insults and recommendations for 2-3 months and then suddenly one man sent me a really beautiful background and I thought “no kidding? It could be a BG for my game?” That’s how we started to work with Artem “Wedmak2” Belov, a man who made my game even possible. 

Then I had to recruit a characters artist. And it was another 2 months of hell. And I almost lost hope already. I asked every real live person I knew who could draw a straight line besides web searching and all my friends refused. I even asked my 58 years old father and he opened some image redactor, looked at pixels, closed and said no.

I was walking with my mother one day and she asked about the game, how the things going, and I said “mom, I can’t find an artist, please, talk to dad, he doesn’t work, he has nothing to do, maybe he can try again, it’s not that hard” and she said, “I’ll see what I can do”. I must say that my father is no artist. But he’s very talented in different areas so I believed that he could handle it if he wanted to. And couple of days later I installed him the graphics gale and taught him how to choose colors and place dots. And little by little, step by step, he drew around 1000 frames for Ringo in next 2 years. 

 I tried to work with musicians also but we couldn’t get along. First musicians wrote 3 tracks that I love though, and they wrote final theme among then (the best track in the game), the band named “indian&fox”, very talented guys, it’s sad that they couldn’t do whole soundtrack. So, in the end, Royalty Free Tracks saved me. It was really months of listening and choosing tracks and it was really time-consuming (I was doing it at night usually when I was too tired to code) but I’m proud of the result. I also don’t care about them been royalty free. Almost any Tarantino’s soundtrack is Royalty Free. 

And it was guys who did translations but it could be too long to tell about them. I want to mention Dmitry Ostrozhskiy above all who did English translation. And also Guillaume Veer, and Indienova team for Chinese localization and Misa Sekiguchi Webb, Ueda M. and Chie Koizumi for Japanese. If I started to name one I can’t forget others.

And, I had 2 web friends who discussed with me everything and gave their opinions and insights all these years. I consider them as a team. stray_stoat and Mr.Chelnoque. They were there for me anytime I needed them. And while they didn’t actually write dialogues or code or something like that’s a core of my team. It’s really hard to go such distance on your own. Only some hardcore guys like Eric Barone is capable of that.

So I was doing Ringo and when I was watching some movies like “La-La Land” or “Joy” or any other dream related stuff I couldn’t look in their eyes cause they asked me “all right you had a dream and you found out what you really love and you’re good at it but have you done everything you could? Did you give it all? Did you risk any?” And I couldn’t say “yes” to any of them. But it’s the life without regrets that give you real freedom. 

When I said to my wife that I had to quit the job she wasn’t really happy about it. But she said “Do what you gotta do. We’ll manage somehow.” I didn’t have to quit my job to release the game. I could easily release it while still working; I had a lot of free time there. But I was a casino gambler in my youth days so I knew that you need to bet something if you want to win any. And you better risk high if you want a jackpot). So my career was the only thing I could bet actually.

DAX: The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a very ambitious and free-thinking experience with no rules and direction. Can you talk about what led to this form of gameplay?

I usually reflect on everything I do so when I reflected on my gaming experience I noticed that I don’t play to win a game. I play to live in a game. I played it like this since ZX Spectrum’s Saboteur for example

I never passed 3 first screens in the game since it was awfully controlled and dogs killed you by touching but you could be a ninja in it. In the first scene a ninja sails on the boat, then he enters some building and then dogs and enemies appear). But I was pretending that I was a wounded ninja who’s going to a suicide mission. And I was sailing in the boat like in a movie. So I was walking fearlessly and dying like a warrior. 

And I played almost any game like that. And on NES my favorites was Technos Japan’s Nekketsu series. All of them, but especially Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (River City Ransom) and Nekketsu Kakutou Densetsu. You could live there. It was like early GTA game. Free roam/open city, usual daily activities. You couldn’t die also. 

And you had all other Nekketsu games as a part of one big Universe. So you could live in DNM, then switch to Ike Ike and play some hockey, then go fighting in NKD. I wished there was one big Nekketsu game where you could live and participate in different activities without changing cartridges. And I was designing one on the paper when I was at University. Just for fun. Just for “what if I could do a game someday”. And I wrote to notebook “You can smoke by pressing a button”. It was 2002 or 2004.

DAX: This has the definite essence of the classic 8-Bit series RIVER CITY RANSOM. Where there any other games that you were inspired by in the making of this title?  

Beside Technos games I was heavily inspired by Shenmue of course. That was another game of my dream. Martial Arts, Japan, snow flying right in the face.

Another obvious inspiration is Persona games, especially 3rd one. I didn’t like Tartarus part (though JRPG is my favorite genre) but the school part was perfect. 

My personal best (is) Final Fantasy 7. I believe it’s a perfect game and it inspires me every time I even think of it. You won’t see exact influences from it, but it’s there. For example, you could buy a villa later in the game (FF7). And by the time you could buy it you actually don’t need it. But it was something special when you just entered (the) menu and it said “Cloud’s Villa” in location’s name. Or you could hit a heavy bag in the basement. It didn’t do anything. You just could hit it. And that’s all.

DAX: Where there any coming of age/gang related movies, anime, or manga that inspired the creation of this game as well or maybe some past experiences growing up?

YEO: I think that everything you have seen and read and played is inspiring you and forming your sense of style and aesthetics. I was a delinquent myself, and a gambler addict, I used to box and kickbox and I’m still training, actually almost all Ringo movements are redrawn (not rotoscoped) by my father from my photos. So I wanted to share some personal feelings with players and I knew what I was talking about hard way. So I wasn’t look up to any manga or a movie actually. But I read and watched a lot, and I gave homage to some of my favorite works, Ringo can read some of my favorite books in the game.

Between youth gang movies my personal best is Korean “Once upon a time in high school”. That’s a real masterpiece, real masculine movie. I was aiming at this level of quality but I didn’t reach it. This movie is on another level. I hope that Ringo can still be compared to it.

DAX: You are obviously a fan of retro games, what were some of your favorites growing up?

YEO: I’m still playing retro games actually. I don’t really like new games and I hadn’t completed a game in 5 or 6 years. Last game that blew my mind was Way of Samurai 3. It’s a really awesome game. I didn’t like 4th game in the series and didn’t play first ones. But this game is something else. I also played a lot of EA Fight Night series, all of them are good and it’s a pity they abandoned the franchise. That’s my favorite “next-gen” games.

I like many PS one games, mostly JRPG: FF7, FF8, Xenogears, Wild Arms etc. There was some interesting CAPCOM beat'em up on PS2 I can recommend: Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance and Shinobido Imashime of course.

For real retro games, I still play first Streets of Rage from time to time, I beat it 3 or 4 times some weeks ago on Switch. My favorite straight beat'em up is Mighty Final Fight on NES though. I really love this game, it’s a gem. Also, I like Bucky O'Hare, Mitsumi ga Tooru, Double Dragon 2, Duck Tales. That’s my favorite on NES. Beside Nekketsu of course.

DAX: There are multiple ways to play “The friends of Ishikawa.” Is there one true way to play this game or did you have the idea of letting the player go to any direction they want and have different results?

I’m really tired of modern games that take you by the hand. If there’s a mini-map in a game you don’t look at the backgrounds, you play it on the minimap, so any game comes down to some white triangle moves to green circle which activates a cut scene, richly animated and directed, voiced over, cinema-like. Then you gain control over the character again and go to another green circle, sometimes you mash buttons between. I drop games like that in half an hour regardless the quality and graphics and wrinkles on the face when chars do smile.

I also tired of tutorial messages on any action. So I made only the basic ones in my game. So it’s easy to pick up like older games where any tutorials weren’t and there were 2-3 action buttons and you just tried everything. And I think its fun. It’s a kind of exploration. You try different things and see outcome and you investigate and when you discover something you really enjoy it and you feel smart and by doing it you (are) starting to feel connected to a character.

We argued about all this with mr.chelnoque and stray_stoat but I believed in my vision and positive reviews proved my point. I knew that there’d be many players disappointed that the game doesn’t give you any direction and you don’t know what to do etc. But I also knew that some players would love it for the same reason. And that goes for multiple endings as well. I considered different endings of course and at some point, it was even “A friend of Ringo Ishikawa” so you had to generate your character who was Ringo’s best friend from childhood and you could more role-play in the game, it was a date-sim part also. But then I decided to tell this exact story about this exact character with the exact ending. So some things just fell off. It’s not in Ringo’s character to have multiple girlfriends for example, so I gave up on the dating sim. And there were more sacrifices I had to do.

As for the right way to play it, on the contrary, I wanted players to play their own but to stay in a character. That’s why you can’t rob your classmates, for example, and you still have to fight in some scenes cause Ringo is a gang leader, after all, you can’t turn him into a complete nerd.

The whole game came from one final scene and I designed it backwards actually, I wanted players to really feel that very scene. I don’t want to spoil it though for those who didn’t complete the game. So I wanted payers to live in the game and to feel the ending if they care to complete it. 

DAX: What’s next for you? Is there any chance we will see a sequel following The Life of RINGO? 

YEO: I’d rather not do it and I have some reasons for it.

First of all, I’ve said what I wanted with this game. I also wanted to make a game with a generated character where you could really do what you want and have different endings (like Way of Samurai for example) but if I expand Ringo’s Universe his story could fade. And I don’t want to sacrifice it.

Secondly, it’s really common to make a sequel to a well-received game. And while it’s easy it could turn into creative chains, I want to be free. That’s why I quit my job also. To do what I want to and not what is best for business or others. 

That’s why my second game will be quite short also. I understand that some players have great expectations of my games but it also can drain creativity, fear of failure. So again I decided on what to do next just by listening to myself. "What kind of game you want to do now? What inspires you?” And when I captured setting and gameplay it turned out that I can’t do a long game with it. But gameplay is really good and I have one interesting idea also, and some thoughts I want to share. So I decided on what could be good for this idea to be properly told.

I want to try to stay creatively free for as long as I can.

I almost ready with this game, but Artem Belov (who’s in charge of BG again and he’s doing astounding work again, even better than in Ringo), he got married and got an office job so he (has a) lack of time now, and he draws slowly. And while I’m waiting for him I started to work on another project but it’s a secret for now. 

Thanks to YEO for taking the time to chat with me on such a great game. Be sure to check out “The friends of RINGO ISHIKAWA” available now on STEAM and Nintendo Switch (and Nintendo E-Shop).

#nintendo #nintendo switch #the friends of ringo ishikawa #ringo ishikawa #yeo #games #video games #retro gaming #game developers #indy games #steam #anime #comics #manga #movies #Vadim Gilyazetdinov

[metalgearkong]

Resident Evil 2 (PS4/Xbox One/PC) - Review

Developed by Capcom, released January 25th, 2019

The Resident Evil series was first to put the “survival horror” genre on the map. The very first game released in 1996, surviving the zombie filled Spencer Mansion, immediately became a revolutionary and iconic experience in the video game industry. Resident Evil 2 in 1998 was a well received sequel that further popularized the series and the genre. With the series changing and evolving over the generations, it took a more action-oriented tone. Resident Evil 6 was the peak of the over the top action phase the franchise transformed into, and the worst reviewed in the main series to date. Fans became extremely vocal and specific about how Resident Evil, their beloved video game series, had become unidentifiable, and needed to change. Capcom heard player feedback, and course corrected strongly with the extremely subdued, suspenseful, disturbing, immersive Resident Evil 7, which fans any myself adored.

Resident Evil 2 2019 continues Capcom’s streak of making games that returns the series to its roots. Remakes and re-released have been big business for this current generation of gaming, but I was skeptical about how faithful the Resident Evil 2 remake would be. Unless you’ve been boarded up in R.P.D. for the past few weeks, you may have heard how outstanding Resident Evil 2 turned out. From the graphics to the faithfully recreated maps, puzzles, retained difficulty, and modernization of the gameplay, Resident Evil 2 yet again is a smash hit. Not only is this already a contender for the best game of 2019, this may be my very favorite incarnation of a Resident Evil game of all time. While its level of commitment to the original does inherit some of the 1998′s imperfections, Resident Evil 2 stands as an industry standard on how to remake or re-imagine an old classic.

We chose to play as either Clair Redfield or Leon S. Kennedy, both with similar campaigns which overlap briefly on occasion. Whether you pick one protagonist over the other, the game is largely the same. Something I was worried about was the 3rd person camera angle, and the ability to shoot and move at the same time. Hearing about these features conjured bad memories of the action-heavy Resident Evil 6, notorious for being too fast paced and completely lacking in horror and suspense. Resident Evil 2 may have similar gameplay, but major tweaks keep this game from making the player feel too empowered. Any movement whatsoever while aiming greatly drops your firearm’s accuracy, so holding still while shooting is basically the only way to do it. The camera follows the protagonist closely, and nearly every room and corridor of R.P.D. is shrouded in darkness, barely illuminated by emergency lights and the beam of your flashlight. Somehow Resident Evil 2 has the best gameplay of the series, while still retaining nearly every shred of suspense from the original games. It’s the best of both worlds and I’m honestly shocked how well Capcom pulled it off.

The game begins with extremely limited inventory space, but can be grown over time by finding hip pouches. This is crucial as you’ll want to carry as many items with you as possible each time you navigate the halls and corners of the dark police station. There’s nothing more frustrating (in a good way) than finding an item and not being able to bring it with you because your inventory is already full. This retains gameplay from the old games that makes the series just as much of a strategy game as it is an action game. Resident Evil 2 retains the universal item boxes as well, usually found in save rooms safe from monsters. One of my favorite parts about this remake are key features that make the game less of a chore to play without sacrificing the atmosphere or suspense. For example, your map has always been your best friend in a survival horror game, and in Resident Evil 2, the game will indicate which rooms have had all of its items collected or not, and will label items on the map if you came across it, but didn’t pick it up yet. This is incredibly helpful for finding all the items in the game but also gives substantial peace of mind as you look at your map always wondering if you’ve truly found everything that can be found in any given room or hallway. It completely eliminates the “backtracking out of desperation.”

Saving is much more convenient as well, as in any difficulty short of the hardest, saving can be done as many times as you’d like. I do miss the Ink Ribbons from the past, as it added yet another layer of strategy to the original games, but I will take this level of convenience over having to suffer through the hardest mode in the game (when its already difficult enough). Ammunition is still very limited, and even simple zombies can take anywhere from 3-6 head shots before they are truly defeated. Zombies lumber around and moan more organically than ever before, and even with the added mobility of the characters, the small rooms still mean you’ll be grappled and bitten by a zombie more often than you’d think or care to admit. It makes all those “how did they not see it coming?” moments in zombie movies or TV shows much more understandable when you have to experience it for yourself. Most of the times zombies will even get back up after being defeated, requiring another 3-6 head shots to permanently kill them.

A great new twist are how we use knives and grenades. If you are carrying one of these items, you can trade using that item when being hurt instead of taking the damage. It’s like a safety net to keep you from damage if you foolishly get to close to a zombie, licker, or zombie dog, and I love the new way these items are used. The biggest and baddest enemy of them all is Mr. X, an Umbrella B.O.W. as persistent as a S.O.B. This does lead to a slightly negative aspect of the game I have, as he can follow you into almost every room except save rooms, meaning you have to run around losing him if he’s in an area you need to focus on (i.e. solve a puzzle or collect items). The sound design is fantastic as you can hear him through the R.P.D. stomping on the wooden and tile floors. Capcom wisely changed the sound of his footsteps if Mr. X enters the same room you are in, queuing you into getting the F out of there. He can make the second half of exploring R.P.D. a bit more tedious than it needs to be, which is why I find him almost as annoying as I do terrifying.

Claire and Leon’s campaigns do slightly differ, but not as much as some people may make you think. While you do explore the same levels, fight the same bosses, and solve most of the same puzzles, items are in slightly different places, and certain areas of the game are only seen by one character or the other. Each campaign also has a guest hero, who we get to play as in exclusive sections unique to each campaign. For example, Claire has a small scenario playing as a little girl escaping a creepy orphanage, and Leon has Ada Wong also running from Mr. X in the sewers. But, I do recommend beating both campaigns as this is how you get to see the true ending of the game. Plus, the game is so damn fun and well made, its easily worth two plays anyway.

Nearly every aspect of Resident Evil 2 is executed perfectly. From the graphics to the lighting, to the difficulty, to the strategy aspects, nearly every part of the game is a major win. Capcom did the world right with a reimagining that not only is great as a stand alone game, but is also a faithful and compelling recreation of the 1998 classic. Game studios across the world should take note on how to do survival horror well, including how to properly pay homage to a series fan favorite. Resident Evil 2 does become annoying with one or two puzzle areas, and Mr. X isn’t always a warm welcome, but with how intelligently the vast majority of the game was pulled off, it’s easy for the imperfections to sink below how awesome the rest of the game is. I can’t wait to see what Capcom does next for their Resident Evil series, whether it be a remake of Resident Evil 3, or make an entirely new entry with a Resident Evil 8. Both are exciting prospects, and I have confidence they will do it right.

9/10

#residentevil #residentevil2 #survivalhorror #ps4 #remake #reimagining #1998 #playstation #playstation4

[spicynbachili2]

Team Xbox Looks Back on Their Favorite ID@Xbox Memories

All of us right here on Staff Xbox are great followers of the expertise concerned within the creation of video games, particularly those who come into the ID@Xbox program. From cartoon platformers to journey video games to technique simulators, there’s a sturdy catalog of titles that ship numerous recollections from these gaming worlds. It’s nearly unfair that we are able to solely share just a few of these with you too, however we’ve taken a few of our most memorable moments and captured them right here on this function. Get pleasure from.

Chris Charla – Senior Director of ID@Xbox

Having been a part of ID@Xbox because the starting, it’s extraordinarily laborious to choose one second from the 1000’s of nice moments and video games and folks concerned with this program on each the Xbox and developer aspect. However for those who made me decide only one, it could be E3 2015, once I was onstage, at midnight, watching Chad and Jared Moldenhauer introduce Cuphead. I knew how laborious they have been working, and I knew that after the teaser the 12 months earlier than, folks have been anticipating quite a bit. I additionally understand how a lot that trailer was going to blow everybody away. That second when the StudioMDHR emblem got here up on stage, I received goosebumps like I by no means have earlier than, and I simply couldn’t get the foolish grin off my face watching that recreation personal the stage at E3. There have been tons and tons and tons of different unbelievable moments and video games during the last 5 years, however that second will all the time stick with me!

Phil Spencer – Head of Xbox

The sport that involves thoughts for me is Brothers. I’ve such a vivid reminiscence of the primary time I accomplished the sport as there’s a key second on the finish during which the sport mechanic is designed to strengthen the emotion I felt as a participant. When you haven’t performed it, Brothers is a cooperative, puzzle-based recreation the place every thumbstick controls one of many two brothers on display concurrently. Within the recreation, the brothers’ mom has died and their dad is sick and in want of drugs. The sport is in regards to the brothers’ quest to get drugs and by the top of the sport, the older brother dies as properly. Because the story attracts to an in depth, the youthful brother is alone, attempting to get again to his dad and to take action, he should swim throughout a stream. We be taught early within the recreation that the youthful brother doesn’t swim. Till this second within the recreation, he’s solely crossed water on the again of his older brother.

So there I used to be, attempting to complete the sport, pausing and dealing to resolve the puzzle of how one can get the youthful brother throughout the water with out his older brother. After which the reply simply got here to me and once I tried it and it labored – it was backbone tingling. I felt the loneliness and disappointment of the younger brother. I don’t suppose I’ve ever encountered a gameplay mechanic that evoked emotion in the way in which Brothers did for me and so many different gamers.

Ashley McKissick – Head of Xbox Recreation Go

4 years in the past, when my son was six-years-old, we spent our winter trip enjoying By no means Alone and exploring the Iñupiat tradition collectively.  It was the right recreation to play with my infant. The co-op nature meant that we needed to work collectively, and the controls have been so intuitive and well-crafted. The truth that, whereas enjoying via the journey, we additionally received to find out about this particular Alaskan Native group, made it much more particular. I additionally simply completely cherished the artwork type in By no means Alone, particularly the environments, and I’m so glad that ID@Xbox enabled us to find this recreation. Taking part in this little gem will stay a fond vacation reminiscence for my son and I.

Craig Duncan – Studio Head, Uncommon Video games

I’ve loved many unbelievable ID@Xbox video games over time however my favourite second is sort of a latest one whereas shopping the what’s new in Xbox Recreation Go part there was a recreation known as Guide Samuel. I hadn’t heard of it however was drawn to the artwork of a cartoon loss of life holding a puppet after which spent the subsequent few hours being pulled out of my gaming consolation zone doing what seemed to be regular on a regular basis duties; with out spoiling the plot which everybody ought to expertise spoiler free it made me smile all through and snicker at among the dialog and the loopy moments that poor Samuel needed to navigate with applicable properly deserved achievements awarded all through together with in all probability the craziest driving achievement I’ve ever earned A very humorous, pleasing and distinctive little journey.

Katie Stone Perez – Principal Program Supervisor, Mixer

The timer ends, you see the outcomes, and my daughters leap up and cheer “We did it!” Now we have come collectively as a household and defeated the unbread. That’s my favourite ID@Xbox second. My household loves enjoying video games collectively and Overcooked 2 offers an excellent degree of problem however once we work collectively we are able to all the time achieve success. Every degree begins with us arising with a plan after which the chaos ensues. The sport has change into an nearly nightly ritual for us earlier than mattress and I really like that we are able to have that second of success that unites us as a household.

Jeff Rubenstein – Xbox Comms and Inside Xbox Host

I could not recall my daughter’s first phrase, or precisely when she took her first steps. Ought to we’ve got saved a lock of hair from her first haircut? But I vividly bear in mind her first Minecraft world, I confirmed her how one can document her first PotG in Overwatch, and was sitting proper subsequent to her throughout her first Fortnite Victory Royale – the fruits of a rigorously laid recreation schooling curriculum that started with… Chariot. Sure, Frima Video games’ platformer has gamers dragging a king’s coffin to a extra luxurious burial web site to placate his demanding spirit (who berates you in your journey), however it’s colourful, kid-friendly, and teaches the mechanics of platforming and cooperative play. Extra importantly, it sparked a love of gaming and a father-daughter bonding exercise that continues to at the present time. And that’s higher than a pair of bronzed child footwear any day.

Graeme Boyd – Xbox Stay’s AceyBongos and Inside Xbox Host

The day I received married is without doubt one of the biggest days of my life. I’m, after all, speaking about Stardew Valley. My actual marriage ceremony was fairly good too, I assume. However in Stardew Valley, getting married felt just like the fruits of months of laborious work and cautious relationship constructing as I carved out my new life on the farm. It felt like acceptance.

That’s the humorous factor about Stardew Valley – it begins out like a pleasant mash-up of Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing, and even Minecraft. However quickly sufficient the rhythms of it – tending your crops, promoting your items, making new mates, exploring the city, the seasons rolling out and in – they get inside you. You’re feeling a part of one thing particular. And for me, that have was one of the crucial enjoyable and fulfilling I’ve ever had in a online game. Stardew Valley grew to become my completely satisfied place (I nonetheless have a map of the city subsequent to my desk at work and I gaze longingly at it throughout hectic convention calls). Getting married made it even happier.

Oh, yeah. I received married to Leah. Clearly.

Will Tuttle – Editor in Chief of Xbox Wire

I’m a sucker for an excellent narrative and ID@Xbox has no scarcity of fantastic narrative-driven video games, from the haunting household drama of the superb What Stays of Edith Finch to the sci-fi horror of Soma. The most effective of those mix a compelling narrative with distinctive simple-but-complex gameplay. One among my favourite video games of this technology, Thomas Was Alone by Bithell Video games, is a pitch-perfect instance of that intoxicating mix. At first look, the sport seems like an easy, minimalistic platformer starring a gaggle of quadrilateral shapes, however it rapidly turns into clear that it’s rather more.

Due to top-notch writing and a few really fantastic narration by British humorist Danny Wallace (who received a BAFTA for his efficiency), these little blocks change into Thomas, Claire, Chris, John, and Laura. By combining these fantastically humanized shapes with some good old style puzzle platforming, Thomas Was Alone helped to push the medium ahead in unexpectedly new methods.

Larry Hryb – Xbox Stay’s Main Nelson and Inside Xbox Host

As a fan of movie, music and clearly video video games, I’ve lengthy had an appreciation for content material created and produced by unbiased studios. So, once I heard the ID@Xbox workforce was celebrating the discharge of their 1,000th indie title, I naturally thought-about a few of my favorites and it was unimaginable not to consider Cuphead.

Cuphead is an absolute gem, that includes fantastically crafted visuals paying homage to sound cartoons from the golden age of animation. The soundtrack is definitely among the finest music you’ll hear in a online game, composed utilizing stay musicians enjoying jazz, early large band, and ragtime music, a favourite style of mine. However Cuphead doesn’t simply look and sound nice, it performs nice too. My colleagues could heckle me a bit as I reward Cuphead’s gameplay since I’m admittedly “challenged” by among the ranges, however the recreation is simply a lot enjoyable to play.

As nice as Cuphead is although, the true magic of the sport is with the variety of refined references (some may even name them Easter Eggs) seamlessly interwoven into the sport. I heard point out of a Road Fighter reference if you battle the frogs Ribby and Croaks, and once I encountered that individual scene, it certainly seemed to be a transparent tribute to Road Fighter.

Positive, there are the extra apparent ones, like a constructing within the background named after the builders or the title of their studio showing in other places. However if you dig a little bit deeper, you’ll uncover a seemingly never-ending hyperlink to different cartoon characters, video video games and actual folks together with actors, musicians, artists, and cartoonists. It’s fascinating as you play the sport if you acknowledge one in every of these refined hyperlinks and much more fascinating to think about all of the hidden connections but to be found.

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from SpicyNBAChili.com https://www.spicynbachili.com/team-xbox-looks-back-on-their-favorite-idxbox-memories/

[aion-rsa]

How Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City Wants to Get This Franchise Right

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Before Resident Evil became a best-selling video game franchise, it was a passion project with a simple purpose: to scare the hell out of a generation of unsuspecting gamers. While 2002’s Resident Evil movie shared the 1996 game’s name, it emphasized sci-fi storytelling and action over scares. That movie—and the five sequels that followed—became box office hits, but ultimately divided video game fans who wondered if those movies really got the fabled franchise “right.”

For Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City director Johannes Roberts, the chance to reboot this franchise is less about correcting past mistakes than making the most out of the opportunity to explore what makes the games different. 

“I had a great time with those movies,” Roberts says of the Resident Evil live-action films. “But as I’ve got older, I’m much more of a gamer than I’ve ever been…I approached this film from a gaming perspective.”

From that perspective, Roberts was able to focus on the one thing that the Resident Evil films haven’t quite gotten right to this point: horror.

“The pitch for the movie was to go back to the series’ horror roots,” Roberts says. “The key was to make a horror movie…to make something scary…to make a survival movie…I really wanted to recreate the fear of playing that first game.”

Welcome to Raccoon City may aspire to recreate the fear of the first game, but the film actually utilizes characters and locations from the first two Resident Evil games. It follows franchise favorite characters Chris and Claire Redfield (Robbie Amell and Kaya Scodalario), Leon Kennedy (Avan Jogia), and Jill Valentine (Hannah John-Kamen) as they try to survive the night across two iconic gaming locations: Resident Evil’s Spencer Mansion and Resident Evil 2’s Raccoon City Police Station. 

Of course, locations and characters are only part of the Resident Evil experience, especially if we’re talking about the first two games in the series. After all, those are the games that introduced the fixed cameras, limited resources, confusing controls, and other restrictive elements that strangely helped elevate the terror of the franchise by making you question how confident you were in your gaming abilities. You often didn’t know where enemies were or if you were ready to fight them. 

While it’s obviously impossible to recreate all of those mechanical and presentation elements that helped the original Resident Evil games stand out, Roberts and his crew did find some ways to pay homage to some of the core components of those horror classics.

“We definitely play around with restrictive camera angles,” Roberts notes. “People walk off-screen and then they’ll back into view rather than having you follow them…even some of the actual camera angles, like the sort of high camera angles that were very iconic to the game…I would never use an angle like that normally because it sort of feels like a CCTV angle, but we use it a few times in the movie because it was fun and it very much reminds me of the game.”

While such homages will almost certainly grab the attention of hardcore fans, Roberts makes it clear that this movie is not just for those who already love Resident Evil.

“I very much leaned into recreating some of the things that I was excited to see,” Roberts says. “But I’m always wary about trying to specifically cater to fans because I can’t speak for what people like.”

It’s a fine line to walk. Whereas the previous Resident Evil movies arguably strayed too far from their inspirations, it’s easy enough to imagine how a movie could fail by trying the opposite approach. After all, if you’re just trying to recreate the games exactly as they were on the big screen, then you have to start to wonder what the point is. 

Instead, Roberts and the Raccoon City crew seem committed to honoring the spirit and style of those classic Resident Evil games without coming across as a fan film. 

“With both the narrative and characters, I didn’t just want to do a cosplay thing,” Roberts says. “I didn’t want the characters to have the exact haircut or exact dialog [from the games]. I wanted to feel emotionally attached to them and feel like they’re real people in a real town.” 

The film’s emphasis on Raccoon City is the first deviation from franchise norms that will catch many fans’ attention. While the town is featured in early Resident Evil games, those titles rarely left you feeling like Raccoon City was a real community with a personality and story of its own. The change can partially be attributed to the influence of one of horror’s great small-town storytellers. 

“[The movie] lives in a kind of Stephen King small-town world,” Roberts explains. “It’s like Derry. The actual place is rotten and dying.”

That dying town will not only help sell the terror of the film’s scenario but also conveys and contrasts with the movie’s ‘90s setting in some clever ways. 

“Because the town is kind of this forgotten, timeless place, you could go back to it 50 years ago and it would be almost identical,” Roberts notes. “The trends and fads pass it by…I sometimes feel like when you watch a period movie set in a certain year and everything is specifically from that year…that’s just not how life is. You have stuff from all periods.”

So what happened to Raccoon City that could possibly justify using words like “rotten” and “dying” to describe the community? According to Roberts, the town’s woes can be attributed to its association with one of the most notorious names in the Resident Evil franchise: Umbrella. 

“I look at Raccoon as a kind of Deer Hunter-esque place,” Roberts reveals. “Umbrella is moving out and has left a kind of dying town…not an evil place, but a dying, sick place.”

For those who don’t know, the Umbrella Corporation is pretty much the root of all evil in the Resident Evil universe. While many of Resident Evil’s monsters may appear to be supernatural or extraterrestrial, most are the result of Umbrella’s years worth of unchecked greed and dangerous experimentation. 

As such, it’s certainly not a coincidence that Umbrella’s departure coincides with the sudden appearance of an army of zombies in Welcome to Raccoon City. While Umbrella and zombies are the two defining antagonists of the original Resident Evil games, the truth is that in a post-Walking Dead world the undead aren’t as much of a novelty as they once were. They’re instead one of those iconic elements of the games Roberts embraced but didn’t take for granted. 

“When we did our first major scene with the zombies, I suddenly realized their history and baggage,” Roberts recalls. “I thought, ‘Wow, I have got to make this scary.’ I was very aware that if you get them wrong, they’re not scary.”

Rather than solely rely on Resident Evil’s Romero-esque zombies to still be effective all these years later, Roberts turned to an unlikely source for inspiration. 

“I was very influenced by Chernobyl, the TV show,” he reveals. “I found it incredibly disturbing seeing the effects of the radiation and seeing how people get sick…but it was human.  I really wanted to feel that within this scary, fun horror movie.”

Of course, Resident Evil fans know that zombies are sometimes the least of your worries. The games feature an array of horrors that can end your run before you’ve even had a chance to scream. While Welcome to Raccoon City will feature some of the games’ most notable threats, Roberts was careful to select creatures that fit into the film’s pure horror tone. 

“We don’t play with the giant spider side of the games and the slightly ‘b-movie’ stuff,” Roberts reveals. “I wanted to lean into some of the more disturbing and creepy aspects of the game, and we’ve really gone to great lengths to recreate some of the really cool, terrifying creatures within the game world… I won’t give away anything, but yes, there are really fantastic creatures and terrifying set pieces.”

Monsters like that may contribute to the scary portion of the film, but what about the “fun” side of the movie Roberts mentioned? Well, some of that fun will come from the film’s action sequences, but Roberts turned to another somewhat unlikely source to ensure the action doesn’t dilute the horror.

“My viewpoint is that Resident Evil 2 [the game] is very similar to Assault on Precinct 13,” he notes. “I sort of used Assault on Precinct 13 as a cornerstone for the with the whole police station under siege perspective…it’s an action movie, but it’s also a siege movie. The foes aren’t supernatural, but they might as well be.”

For the film’s Spencer Mansion sequences, Roberts taps into the classic horror spirit that has made him one of the genre’s rising stars over the last 10 years.

“When Alpha Team goes up to the mansion, it’s more like a proper haunted house with dark, creepy, and long corridors,” he says. “You hear that [zombie] noise and think, ‘Fuck, it’s somewhere, it’s around one of these corners.’ We play with that a lot.”

Such a contrast of styles reminds us that for all the talk about getting Resident Evil “right” on film, this is a video game franchise that has successfully embraced many different styles over the years. Getting Resident Evil right is really a matter of deciding which Resident Evil you’re talking about. 

For Roberts, though, there is one thing that his Resident Evil story needs to emphasize in order to do this franchise justice. 

“It’s about atmosphere, 100%,” he notes. “I would just say to the cast and crew, ‘Fall in love with this world that these characters are in.’ It’s dark, it’s raining, it’s bleak, and it’s scary, but it’s also fun. You leave the cinema with a smile on your face.”

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Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is scheduled to be released in theaters across the United States on November 24. 

The post How Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City Wants to Get This Franchise Right appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[templeofgeek]

If you’re like us at Temple of Geek, your closet is already bursting with geeky t-shirts. Tees that reflect favorite fandoms have long been a staple for the pop-culturally obsessed.

If this describes you, you might be in need of a bigger closet.

Last September, A Geek Girl’s Tees joined a growing array of small shops specializing in t-shirts emblazoned with fandom-themed quotes, slogans, and designs.

Geek blogger Michelle Stallings launched A Geek Girl’s Tees after custom-making a trio of Haunted Mansion shirts for a trip to Disneyland. A Ravenclaw who enjoys geek culture and playing games, her motto is, “Flaunt your fandom.”

Her goal in starting A Geek Girl’s Tees was to tap into more niche fandoms and create merchandise with original designs she wasn’t seeing in the marketplace.

Stallings has long been active in the geek community, creating the blog A Geek Girl’s Guide in 2015 as a “place to be openly geeky about things I love.” The website features reviews, recommendations, guides, how-tos, and other geeky content.

She also founded Geek Blogs Unite, an online community of geeky creators that includes a Facebook group and Instagram and Twitter accounts.

A Geek Girl’s Tees offers tees, tank tops and hoodies, children’s shirts, baby bodysuits, bags, mugs, and stickers. The shop’s designs pay homage to everything from movies to video games, science fiction to anime, and tabletop gaming to Broadway.

Stallings’ designs feature playful quotes and graphics plucked from such properties as The Witcher, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star Wars, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kim Possible, as well as Disney movies like Frozen and Moana. Some are instantly recognizable. Others allow fans to advertise their passions in a subtle, sneaky way.

Theater aficionados will appreciate the musical-themed tops referencing such productions as Hamilton, Les Miserables, Wicked, and Hadestown. Good, old-fashioned games are also well represented. Examples include Dungeons & Dragons, Settlers of Cataan, and Clue. And if you’re into girl power, you’ll find plenty of items to add to your wardrobe.

Stallings prints every item to order, allowing customers a broad choice of styles and colors.

Temple of Geek Chic recruited a group of seasoned cosplayers to rock A Geek Girl’s Tees at the Santa Monica Pier. The group included Rae , Alexandra, Christina, Madison, and Aaron.

Wicked Witch Women’s Flowy Top

What we love about it: The highlight of this Wicked-themed scoop neck tee is its flowiness. The cut is stylish, flattering, and bears a slogan inspired by one of our favorite songs from the musical.

Model Rae found the top “very comfortable.” She’s a fan of the witchy, Elphaba-green lettering and appreciates that it’s “kinda blousey,” making for an attractive fit. Rae wore a size medium.

The fabric of this top is a little sheer, so you might want to layer it over a tank top.

Mandalorian Mantra T-Shirt

What we love about it: We, too, are obsessed with Baby Yoda, but it’s nice to see some merchandise saluting Best Dad Mando. Our favorite thing about this design is that it’s simple but recognizable. It features The Mandalorian creed in a Star Wars-y font beneath the silhouette of the bounty hunter’s signature helmet. The white on black is an understated alternative to flashier Mandalorian merch we’ve seen.

Aaron modeled a large. He liked the fit and feel of this tee.

Hogwarts Heartline T-Shirt

What we love about it: We’ve never seen anything quite like this Harry Potter-themed top, which features a subtle outline in striking Gryffindor red. That’s saying something, considering the wealth of wizarding merch that exists in the Muggle world. The clever design is ideal for Potter-philes who want to advertise where their true home and heart is.

“I like that it’s reminiscent of a heartbeat,” model Madison said. “For those people who breathe Harry Potter, it’s perfect.”

Madison wore a size small. She liked the fit of this comfortable, flattering basic tee.

Grinning Ghosts T-Shirt

What we love about it: Disney has released a slew of Haunted Mansion apparel since the classic dark ride celebrated its 50th anniversary. However, as with the 999 Happy Haunts, there’s always room for one more. This distinctive design depicts the silhouettes of the Mansion’s famous Singing Bust Quintet, complete with bowler hat-wearing Cousin Algernon and toppled-over Uncle Theodore.

The spooky font features a favorite lyric from the “Grim Grinning Ghosts” song against a cheery turquoise that pairs well with “Haunted Mansion purple.” This is a fun alternative to official park merchandise.

Alexandra modeled a large. She said the fit is true to size and noted this style features a heavier cotton. She liked the top so much, she planned to wear it to Disneyland after our photo shoot.

“It’s perfect to throw on for a Disney day if you don’t want to go really aggressive with a bound,” she said. “It’s simple and unique, which is nice to see at Disney.”

Kuzco’s Poison Women’s Curvy Top

What we love about it: We’re happy to see underrated gem The Emperor’s New Groove getting more love lately. This homage to the animated classic – yep, we said it – is an ode to one of our favorite villains, murderous sorceress Yzma. We especially love the llama in the middle of the circular emblem with the not-so-subtle label signaling Kuzco’s impending doom.

Christina modeled a size 3X and illustrated how you can use the tee in an Yzma bound. She tends to size up her tops for comfort, so she liked the fit.

Overall:

While there are other shops that have been offering similar lettering-based apparel for years, Michelle Stallings brings her own creativity and original ideas to A Geek Girl’s Tees.

We love how the lettering and minimalist images blend seamlessly with the look and feel of the fandoms they represent. Stallings is obviously a super geek who has put thought into her designs.

Another great thing about the shop is the comprehensive and diverse selection of fandoms represented. Whether you’re into D&D, Disney, or a dose of female empowerment, you’ll find something you like. Stallings is constantly adding new designs. The sheer variety on offer guarantees a color, style, and fit that works for you.

As always, we stan a shop that accommodates plus-size fans, offering sizes up to 3X.

The simplicity of the designs means they pair well with jeans and leggings. They’re also versatile enough to build looks with a little more flair.

We wonder how the t-shirts and some of the lettering — especially the white, which already seemed a little faded — will hold up over time, but we look forward to seeing how this new brand grows and matures.

We geeks like to say we have too many t-shirts, but secretly we can’t get enough. If you’re looking to expand your collection, A Geek Girl’s Tees is a promising place to start.

To shop A Geek Girl’s Tees, visit the website or check it out on Instagram.

More Fashion Reviews:

https://templeofgeek.com/temple-of-geek-chic-tee-rex-tee-brings-playful-puns-and-mashups/

https://templeofgeek.com/temple-of-geek-chic-insert-coin-supplies-gamers-with-comfy-clever-tees/

https://templeofgeek.com/temple-of-geek-chic-horror-blazers-let-you-show-your-creepy-side/

https://templeofgeek.com/temple-of-geek-chic-hoodies-feature-art-inspired-by-dd-csgo/

#TempleofGeekChic: Clear out some closet space for A Geek Girl's Tees If you’re like us at Temple of Geek, your closet is already bursting with geeky t-shirts.

[megadads]

Typically when I plan an installment of Family Game Night, it involves finding a family friendly video game for my kids and I to play and give our impressions on. It’s a fun formula and I’m proud of the stories that I’ve written. I’ve been thinking recently though “Not all Family Game Nights have to involve our kids, do they?” I mean… Adam is my family, his wife Kristy is family, my own wife is obviously a part of my family, right? So what if we did a different kind of Game Night? A grown up Game Night? Well, this is the story of our recent attempt to get together one evening and play Overcooked 2. We found out quickly it was easier said than done.

The four of us used to get together pretty regularly to have a few drinks and play some games, but since we started having children it’s become increasingly difficult to make this happen on any sort of a regular basis. The recent release of Overcooked 2 however, motivated us to try and give it another go. We had managed to get together a couple of times to play the original and had loads of fun, so we hatched a plan. My wife and I would pick up the ingredients for tacos, Adam and his wife would hit the liquor store for the wine and cocktails, and we packed a copy of The LEGO Batman Movie to keep the rugrats occupied after dinner. It was a solid plan, what could possibly go wrong?

Everything started out pretty well. The tacos were delicious, the wine was flowing, and after dinner we put all of the children into their pajamas and herded them into the bedroom where we had set up the movie for them to watch while baby Norah just play quietly on the floor. Easy peasy. We turned on the Xbox and booted up the game, ready for a fun evening of grown up entertainment… until Chloe emerged from the bedroom.

Damn. Almost made it to the title screen.

She said that she didn’t want to watch the movie and asked if she could sit with us in the living room while we played. No big deal, she’s old enough now to entertain herself quietly with a book or something, we’re still all good and ready to roll. We started the game and chose our characters,  reacquainting ourselves with the controls and movement of the game. If you’ve ever played the original you’ll immediately feel at home with the sequel. It plays very…. ah shit!…. here come more kids.

Samantha and Elliott come charging out of the bedroom, yelling and running for the play kitchen in the corner. Their tiny little heads bobbing in front of the television while I try and yell to Adam that I need more fish at my station. “What about the movie?” I ask as they dump out all of the toy utensils on the carpet. “We want to play!” They yell back, barely even noticing that we’re there. They bang their plastic pots and pans together, pausing occasionally to chase the cat around the room. Chloe turns up the sound on the iPad next to me in an attempt to drown out the noise of the younger kids. Norah starts to get fussy as she’s starting to get hungry. And through all of the chaos… my pasta is burning and our kitchen is now on fire.

Wait. Pause. Hold the f*ck on.

We sat there for a moment, watching the whirlwind of chaos swirling around us. We knew that we couldn’t continue playing under these conditions and with a few glasses of wine in us (and it being past 9pm) we knew that our window of opportunity to have a successful Game Night was closing quickly. So we set down our controllers down and like a parenting Voltron we combined to get the kids under control. Baby fed, changed and put in her crib. Check! Toys picked up and put away. Check! Kids tucked into bed with ‘Ryan’s Toy Review’ on the iPad. Check! 

These opportunities to get together and play don’t come around very often and we weren’t about to let some little snot nosed punks ruin that for us. I took us about 20 minutes or so, but we finally managed to get things back under control. A quiet fell over the house as all of the kids either fell asleep or at least were peacefully in bed. We filled a bowl with Doritos and sour cream dip and topped off our beverages.

*Sigh*. Okay… I think we’re in the clear. Now where were we?

Oh yeah… so Overcooked 2 will be immediately familiar to anyone who’s played the original game. There’s a new story which seems to weirdly pay homage to (of all things) Evil Dead, but the story is pretty inconsequential. This game is all about wild, frenetic action, and thankfully this sequel has cranked that particular dial up to 11. The addition of being able to throw raw ingredients is a game changer and it’s hilarious when a service gets out of control and you’ve got fish and steaks flying through the air, hitting cooks in the face. It’s a skill that’s incredibly useful though and it can save you a lot of time if done correctly. If you’re good enough you can even toss an ingredient directly into a pot from across the room, which is an incredible feeling (even if I only ever did it by accident).

The stages are also more diverse and zany than ever. From raging rivers to hot air balloons, there is no setting too crazy for this game. I think our personal favorite was one on board the previously mentioned hot air balloon. We soared through the sky cooking pasta fairly peacefully until a thunderstorm approached, the wind howling and blowing work stations around the room. Then lightning strikes our floating kitchen and sends us crashing back to earth, right into a… SUSHI RESTAURANT! We then needed to change up our strategy to whip up salmon rolls among the wreckage of our previous location. That scenario had us screaming with laughter as we struggled to get orders out, but we got the job done.

Communication is the key to success once again in Overcooked 2. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when things get hectic and you need to be able to clearly (and calmly) come up with a game plan and job assignments or you won’t get very far. Like the first game, our patience was pushed to the limit (it’s a great relationship test) but when we all focused and communicated clearly with one another we were able to get through most of the challenges. The game does offer an online mode as well, and while we’ve yet to try it out, I have a hard time seeing that mode being as much fun. This game is very much designed to be played in a room full of friends.

Due to the… “challenges” we had getting the night going, we didn’t spend as much time as we’d hoped with Overcooked 2, but I think we got a pretty good taste of what the game has to offer and we’ll definitely be back for seconds. It doesn’t try and reinvent the wheel, but it didn’t really need to. The game offers enough new cooks, recipes, stages and tweaks to the gameplay to ensure that your party of fledgling foodies will be entertained all night. If you’ve got a group of friends coming over for drinks, snacks, and a few games, you won’t find a much more exciting and hilarious time than Overcooked 2.

Just make sure you schedule a babysitter first.

Parent’s Take

Adam “More dynamic and even transformative levels keep Overcooked 2 from feeling like warmed up leftovers. Play on the couch with your friends for the best experience and you’ll discover that Overcooked 2 is a welcome second course.”

Kristy “Overcooked 2 is a fun and frustrating game that requires constant communication with your team members in order to successfully complete each order. Tips: Play while drinking, with no children around, and be prepared for when your husband takes over your station!”

John “Overcooked 2 is about as much fun as you can have with a couch co-op game, assuming you have patience and can work well as a team. It’s not a radical reinvention of the series, but there are enough new tweaks to keep things fresh.”

Cristina “I do better the more I drink!!”

Overcooked 2 is available now Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC

Family Game Night: Overcooked 2 Typically when I plan an installment of Family Game Night, it involves finding a family friendly video game for my kids and I to play and give our impressions on.

#Gamenight #Overcooked

[marcelohsr32-blog]

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