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mythaura-blog · 1 year

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Development Update - November 2022

Hello folks, Miyazaki here! Hope your holiday season is off to a great start–Thanksgiving was a whirlwind for me, but a tremendously fun time with friends and family. I’m coming out of my leftovers-induced daze to bring an update on what the team accomplished during November. There’s a lot of new content, so strap in and let’s get started!

Key points covered:

Mythaura FAQ

Quarter 2 Rewards Revealed

Sponsored by Alanna

Beast Design Contest

We’re back with another Beast Design Contest! We’re looking forward to all the fantastic creations that this community comes up with.

Here are the parameters:

Each individual can submit one (1) Beast option for consideration

Any species fine (babies included)

Fill out Google form; provide both a picture and the preview code

We’ll pick three winners to have their Beasts featured on the front page for Quarter 3 (January 1 - March 31). Winners will also receive:

1x Beta Key

1x Quarter 2 (2022) Skin: Phantasmal Plasma

1x Quarter 2 (2022) Companion: Wishing Tree Spirit

These rewards will automatically be applied to your account.

Submissions for the Beast Design Contest are due by December 15, 2022. The form will close at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be announced in the January 1, 2023 Development Update.

Hiring Freelance Artist

Earlier this month we made a post looking for freelance illustrators to work on Mythaura assets. Previously we had only had the opportunity open to residents of the United States due to concerns about differing international contractor laws. We’re happy to share that we have now extended this opportunity to artists based outside of the United States as well! International applicants are more than welcome to apply.

Applicants must be 18 years or older.

Responsibilities

Create and deliver PSD files that meet the creative brief.

Work with our senior artists and writers to ensure visual consistency.

Regularly demonstrate and update your work in progress.

Follow creative & technical briefs with regard to schedule.

Accurately quote and then produce work within the quoted timeframe.

Actively participate in an online team environment (currently Discord & Asana).

Required Skills and Experience

Must be able to match Mythaura’s 2D cel-shaded style.

Must be familiar with masks, layers, and templates. Photoshop expertise is a strong - plus but not mandatory so long as your program of choice can open and save in PSD format.

Real-world understanding of proportion, depth, scale, and physical space. A strong understanding of coloring and shading, and an accurate understanding of animal anatomy.

Organizational and time-management skills.

Ability to maturely handle critiques and change requests.

To apply, please email [email protected] with “Freelance Illustrator” in the subject line. Include a link to an updated portfolio of your creative works. Please be sure to include your availability and rate.

We will be reaching out to qualified applicants in the next few weeks with next steps. Thank you for your interest!

Code Updates

Items purchased through the Ko-fi shop will now automatically show in the reward lookup tool (with the exception of sponsored items, which still need to be created first).

Fix for tooltips and dropdowns to not clip over edges.

Fix for breeding demo always using one parent’s specials in some cases.

Fixed a bug where the reward lookup tool would sometimes have to be closed twice before it would actually close.

The menu can now stay open and be collapsed at will.

Adjustments to headers and text to make them easier to read.

Fixed a bug that made it so some emails would not work in the lookup tool.

Added tiered species rarity to the breeding predictor, making it so higher-tier hybrids show up less often when bred to a lower-tier partner.

Thank You!

Thanks for sticking through to the end of our November update! We’ve been really hard at work on the back end, and have been having a blast working with our Ko-fi sponsors on some really fun companions and apparel. We’ll be back on January 1, 2023 (2023!!) with an update of our work in December.

We’re thankful to have such a great community surrounding Mythaura. From us here in the dev team to you, we wish you a safe and happy holiday season.

See you around the Discord!

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periwinckles · 10 months

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He's a Keeper - Chapter 1

(I wasn't planning on posting this so soon, but in honor of @little-lynxpopping up again in my feed, and because this was inspired by this marvelous post , here is the first part of a new fic I'm working on. It might not look like it, based on the first chapter, but this is mainly Everlark.)

He’s a Keeper

An Everlark in Hogwarts story, or the one where Annie Cresta risks her dignity for a Quidditch Cup, Peeta Mellark drinks a full bottle of Veritaserum, and Rye Mellark declares war on all Hufflepuffs. What could possibly go wrong?

Chapter 1

Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It’s always a thrill to be back for another school year.

I watch the boats crossing the big lake in front of the castle. Headmistress Mags Flanagan is always stressing the importance of us giving a big welcome to the first years. All the other students are already waiting inside the Grand Hall. The four Head of Houses, stand with the Headmistress, in front of the stone steps, to wait for the group of eleven year olds.

Well, three of us, for now.

Professor Brutus, Head of Slytherin, stands tall and menacing to her left, the big scar across his face an unwelcome souvenir from one of his creatures, for sure.

Professor Beetee, Ancient Runes Professor, and Head of Ravenclaw, looks remarkably bored and unimpressed with all the efforts to make this a memorable Start-of-term Feast.

Hufflepuff is my House, and I’m technically not a teacher, just the Quidditch Coach. It’s fairly uncommon for someone so young to be Head of House. I was what they call a Career: a quidditch player who graduates from school tournaments to join a big league team and play professionally, but Mags offered me the spot, three years ago, and I was tempted enough to take it. Since there were no other former Hufflepuffs among the faculty members, she didn't have much choice but to make me Head of House as well.

“Anyone know where Abernathy is?” Mags asks with a smile, maintaining her impeccable posture.

Probably drunk, by now. I saw him retreating to his office, a couple of hours ago, with a bottle of Firewhiskey.

Haymitch Abernathy is one hell of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but also the most lazy and slack Head of House the Gryffindors could possibly have. I was his student myself, and we all stood in awe of his stories. As a Veteran of the Great War against the Dark Wizard Coriolanus Snow, and a war hero, he was our idol. Yes, the Defense Against the Dark Arts class couldn’t be in better hands. The House of Gryffindor? Not so much.

“Headmistress Mags!” The young wizard runs down the stone steps, his robes fluttering behind him from the haste, and his hair remaining perfectly in place. Probably some charm, no one has that perfect of a hair, all the time. Many call him handsome, even when he was just a scrawny pimply student. Now in his late twenties, he’s well aware of his good looks and how to take advantage of them.

“Headmistress, Professor Abernathy sends his apologies. He’s indisposed and asked me to take his place to welcome the first years!”

Indisposed. That was his excuse last year, as well.

“Good! Good!” Mags exclaims with a grin, and an affectionate pat to the young wizard's face.

He gives me a playful wink.

Finnick Odair. Charms Professor. The bane of my existence. We all know he’s the one who picks up the slack and makes sure the House of Gryffindor doesn’t collapse under Abernathy’s chaotic ruling. Don’t get me started on the Quidditch team. Abernathy hasn’t been to his own team practices in years. Yet, here they stand, as winners of the House Cup and Quidditch inter-house tournament for seven years in a row. All Odair’s doing, of course. I don’t get why Mags doesn’t make him Head of House already, Abernathy would surely be grateful.

In true honesty, I don’t care that much about the House Cup.

Yes, it would be nice if we won, every once in a while, but I’m lucky enough to lead the loyal and hardworking students. Hufflepuffs don't rely on external validation to always do their best, even when they lose year after year.

The Quidditch Cup? That’s a totally different game. I’m this school’s flying instructor and Quidditch Coach, I'm their Head of House, and still it’s been thirty nine years since Hufflepuff won a Quidditch tournament.

Well, this year, that is about to change.

“Miss Cresta, lovely to see you, again!”

Read the rest on AO3

#the hunger games #everlark #everlark fanfiction #peeta mellark #peeta x katniss #katniss everdeen #katniss x peeta #thg #Hogwarts #everlark in hogwarts

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wrightfamily · 1 year

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oh my god. kh dq11 au

i dont have many thoughts abt kh characters going in erdrea unfortunately (im sure if i thought hard enough about it i COULD. easily.) HOWEVER. i already had thoughts about keyblades for most of the dq11 cast :3 (as in which keyblades would they have that already exist in kh im not much of a designer for anything)

i'd go with either master's defender or starlight for eleven! they just feel right to me. you could also go with kingdom key if you wanted to do a classic look!

erik: lost memory (god i wish this was bigger) OR wheel of fate. well he loses his memory at some point but also he has a pirate costume. there are no viking inspired keyblades also fjhdsfjkds. i also think the pirates keyblade in kh2 is ugly so...

veronica: counterpoint. it's a magic keyblade and also has a funny little hat (plus reality shifting and. well act III). hidden dragon is also a good one for her considering where you meet+its got magic boost but idk.

serena: ever after, it's magic based and a little bit green! plus her love for romance :) also fairy harp for similar reasons, but instead of the romance bit it's because she plays a harp :)

sylvando: lady luck. i had a hard time picking one but? idk. he grew up in a town with a casino, plus like... circus? magicians? even if he isnt technically one. but all for one isnt a bad option either considering his arc w his dad? idk im so sorry my beloved sylvando

jade: rumbling rose. i IMMEDIATELY knew what i wanted to give jade. it's strength based, big, green, and it has a giant claw. though i think that divine rose also works beautifully with her (i included the kh1 and leveled up ux versions)

rab: winner's proof. wasnt sure, but i thought a silly one would be good for him! its a good mix of strength and magic, but grants you 0 exp. perfect for someone who's seen everything

i had a hard time with hendrik but because i felt like there were so many that fit him... it's either oblivion, guardian soul, ends of the earth, end of pain, or kh3's ultima. ouchie!

jasper: actually. if i go with oblivion for hendrik... oathkeeper would be an excellent choice for jasper. but i also think you could reverse it... i can also see him with void gear OR. unbound. bc of his. you know.

ok thats all i have for now but u are free to suggest or ask for other characters 👀

#aesthetically i dont think unbound fits jasper but hey. his one form was called that so why not #asks #dq11 #kh #i love giving characters from other series keyblades its so much fun.#still torn btwn who in the hendrik-jasper dynamic gets oblivion and oathkeeper though #bc u either go aesthetically or thematically/story wise #thank u for indulging me

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iciclearmy7 · 2 years

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Minecraft Experiment: Good or Unhealthy?

That is the total Minecraft Server record. Find a Minecraft server right here! To prevent from spending probably tons of of hours scouring the world of Minecraft seeds with little to no steerage, we’ve put collectively a complete listing of the most effective Minecraft seeds for update 1.18. Here are ten of our favourites. On the whole, once you start experimenting with seeds you’ll by no means want to stop - it’s a great thing we’ve collected a number of so that you can mess round with. Okay, so earlier than you determine which of these ten seeds you need to check out first, it’s essential to know what a Minecraft seed is and how to make use of one. When you verify the seed you need to use, you’ll spawn in the world in query and be free to explore at your own tempo. For those who don’t prefer it, you'll be able to easily simply create a brand new world and use a different seed. Selecting this will generate a random world seed and drop you in it, although you may be a complete lot extra selective about the entire course of if you’re sick of limitless acacia trees and diamondless mines.

These may seem like crazy ideas to contemplate, but it is a real incontrovertible fact that the people love Minecraft because of how it enables them has a part of a world which is truly theirs. This Minecraft Recreation brings you new blocks-framed world the place you're free to place the architectural thoughts into apply. You cannot precisely find out about what it's essential to do in the meanwhile, but you possibly can at least make the things happen by taking help from the World Vast Web. Get assets, build homes and various mechanisms, make mates, protect themselves from evil mobs at night time and aggressive gamers. So you need to make your choice earlier than you progress ahead. We have Creep Craft prepared for you to decide on the side of your characters. Jaap Buitendijk Primarily based on the favored Ernest Cline novel of the identical title, Ready Player One is a nerd's feast, dropping over one hundred references to popular tradition from various time periods, including Minecraft, Batman and Back to the long run. When you get pleasure from constructing even more, then Minecraft Stage Construction is prepared for you to design your base and world, utilizing out there objects in the sport: weapons, animals, blocks and so on. Then face the issue of not getting access to their account.

Then you may curate the videos into a playlist that the group can get pleasure from while eating their Christmas cookies. While there are many seeds for easily accessible Woodland Mansions on the web, most of them are fairly related - you find one, loot all of its assets, and head off in your merry approach. Whereas there are technically hundreds of great Minecraft seeds price checking out, listed here are ten of our favourites to get you started. Whats up good Minecrafters, listed here are the three winners! They're amongst the preferred variety of Laptop video games being performed as we speak. From YouTube to Minecraft and Fb, there are various activities accessible online right this moment that devour our youngsters's time. For those who fancy inviting pals to hitch you in your new virtual pad, be advised a Minecraft Realms world permits up to 10 players at a single time. Skeletons use bows. Arrows to assault the gamers. Once the solar has set, and evening has fallen, the landscape will fill up with zombies and other monsters that will attempt to assault you. You can use magic to realize completely different powers like underwater breathing, resistance to fireplace, mending, unbreaking, and night imaginative and prescient. Magic can also be used by the evil Pillagers who use it to hurt you.

Well, who does not just like the previous air hockey game, proper? The game will only get old when the participant runs out of concepts. We additionally add new games every day to make sure you won't turn out to be tired of old video games. Up to date each day with the best 2022 Minecraft Servers. The servers are listed in descending order from highest votes to lowest votes. The very best Minecraft servers for multiplayer games. We've picked the most effective Minecraft video games which you can play on-line without cost. Taking part in on-line games is considered one of the most typical choices you might have at hand on the subject of leisure over the online. It could not have the epic battles or graphics of Fortnite, or the adrenaline rush of Grand Theft Auto V . These graphics are perfectly appropriate for good gameplay. Graphics: Normally inexpensive machines have wimpier graphics hardware, and costlier ones have more highly effective graphics. Deep Space The exit gate will appear right after you might have collected the entire gems obtainable. All in all, you should have a lot of enjoyable! Minecraft may not have reducing-edge graphics, however that is intentional.

#deep space #deep space exploration #MINECRAFT

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tailorbonsai5 · 2 years

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A Novice Can Help make Money Online

You can learn quite some sort of bit about making money online if you have good information first of all. Here you're going to understand what goes into this so of which you can use this to your advantage. If this appears interesting to an individual, the one thing you should do now could be examine through the ideas here. When planning how to help to make money working on-line, never put all your own eggs in one container. Keep as numerous choices open as possible, in order to ensure that you will always include money coming inside. Failure to plan like this can actually cost you if the main site all of a sudden stops posting do the job or opportunities. Acquire paid surveys on the internet if you need to make a few extra cash quietly. Market research firms would want to get just as much consumer opinions as possible, and these surveys are some sort of great way to accomplish this. Surveys may vary anywhere from 5 cents to 20 dollars based on the type you do. If you love to draw, you are able to sell some involving the photography that you create on the net. Initially, you might want to publish your goods in Craigslist or a smaller site in order to get the expression out and discover if people will certainly bite. If there is a high following, you may move to a far more prominent site. Try out freelance writing like a form of on-line income. There will be many websites around that open upwards the doors to contract writing, like oDesk and eLance. Together with both, you are able to apply for and buy online jobs coming from all types. Many regarding them are composing focused. If you're some sort of fast writer that will composes quality parts, you can do very well! Have you been a grammar nut? Do you recognize the nuances associated with the English language? Consider working as a copy editor. You can find paid to appear over articles of which were authored by other people, seeking out virtually any errors in the work and then correcting them. Typically the best part is that you will do it all from the comfort and ease of your personal home. Design and create websites for folks on the net to help to make some extra dollars on the area. This is a good way to showcase the relevant skills that you have got using programs like Kompozer. Take a course beforehand on internet site design if an individual want to improve on your abilities before beginning up. Be warned sites where a person have to help make a bid to be able to complete someone's work. These sites devalue you based upon the fact that the lowest bid most frequently is the winner. There will be some people hiring on these types of sites who will be decent, of study course, but the bulk just want their particular work done quickly and cheaply. Great way to be able to make money on the web through writing blog page posts or posts. There are some sort of few sites many of these as Helium and even Associated Content that could pay for blog posts and posts that you write. You can make up to two-hundred dollar for articles on topics they happen to be searching for. Never shell out money to obtain work online. Legitimate work online should shell out you, not vice versa. If a service is charging an individual to provide you with work opportunities, chances will be these are just playing middleman and providing links that are available for free once you know where in order to look. Today generally there are many associate positions available on the web. If you happen to be great at office jobs and they are technically savvy, you could be an online assistant providing office support, telephone or VoIP support plus possible customer support. An individual may need several training to conduct these functions; however, a non-profit party called International Virtual Assistance Association may help you get the training and certifications you will need. Create honest reviews associated with some of the new software of which is available today. SoftwareJudge is a site that will possibly be beneficial to try out this particular new software and even create a review of great or perhaps bad you believe this is. This will certainly skyrocket your income if you can do this often. Selling items on craigs list is a great way in order to make some cash online. You might have items that are simply collecting dust within your home plus using space. On eBay, you could sell these materials. สล็อตแตกง่าย have to do is create a profile and set your items up for sale. You should by no means put all of your respective hope into a single online job. It can far better to have more than one online source of salary. The explanation for this is usually because the Net is always changing. While some day a company could be thriving, you never understand what could happen to be able to that source regarding income. Now you probably are able to notice that it is usually possible to create money online. Whether you're just seeking a little tad of income, or perhaps you may want a career, you can find these kinds of things done given that you know this specific information. Best of luck and don't forget in order to give it your own all!

#สล็อต

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interact-if · 2 years

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Day 5 of the Game Jam Winners Months Featured Author Interviews, starting with Khairika!

Khairika (KhairikaSinani), author of Chloe is Home

A flatmate group chat unknowingly welcomes an uninvited guest into their midst.

Read more about Chloe is Home [here]

Demo | Website

Tags: Thriller, Slice-of-life

[INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT UNDER THE CUT!]

Q1 . Tell us about the story you made for the Jam!

Chloe is Home is about a seemingly harmless interaction that could potentially lead to a very dangerous and unpredictable result. A group chat between four flatmates (Meghane, Sam, Kayleigh and Yourself) are expecting Meghane's cousin, Chloe, to be added to the group chat as she's on her way to spend the weekend with them. But Meghane accidentally adds the wrong number, and you're left alone to interact with Chloe unsure of whether or not there's an actual threat looming.

Q2. What was the biggest challenge in creating a game in such a short time span? How did you manage it?

I think the biggest challenge for me was to not only try to make everything flow smoothly between player choices, but to also make Chloe sit right between creepy and overly friendly.

Adding to that, keeping up with alll the changes I had to make! Gosh, that was mind boggling. Especially since I unfortunately left it all to almost the last second. At some point I got a bit lazy, but that was the tricky part. Game flow, and the touch of creep-factor in Chloe's interactions with the player.

Q3. What was your inspiration for your entry?

Long story short, it started off with a mindmap with 'cliffhanger' smack dab in the middle. Other ideas included:

- A guy called Cliff who gets turned into a hanger.

- Chatting with a person from the past/future on a computer.

- 'This chat room could literally kill you' (A Mr. Ballen video on Youtube, but a reversed POV).

* Fraternity/sorority chat room.

I liked the chat room idea, so I stuck with it. I was intrigued by the experience of being in a chat room and talking with someone who isn't who you think they are, and the different roads that could lead you down.

Regarding Chloe's character and behaviourisms, my partner suggested the movie Creep, which was really great. It perfectly balanced that bizarre-friendliness that I wanted to capture for Chloe.

(If you do decide to look at my inspo/references, be warned, they're a bit shocking)

Q4. Is this your first time working on a game like this? What do you like (or not like) about working in this format?

I've done CYOA before. Not many, probably only like 2-3 others before. I've always loved CYOA, especially those Goosebumps books as a kid? I loved finding different ways to die!

It's such an intricate and detailed format that requires a lot of planning, and that's the part that overwhelms me, but honestly, I think with practice I'll eventually get the hang of it. It's just that sometimes if the scope gets too big, and you have all these tiny little details sprinkled in between, it's really daunting and tedious to have to go through everything to make sure it all lines up smoothly.

Q5. What is your favorite part about your entry? What have you enjoyed most doing during the Jam?

I really enjoyed working with Brushmen, he was so insightful and really patient. It was really great having an extra set of eyes and he had the technical skills that I don't posses. So everytime we'd touch base and he'd input the text it was so exciting to see it all slowly come to life!

But overall favourite part of the entry is the knocks at the end. Silly, I know. It's just the one thing that gets you, cause the whole game is silent. Then suddenly, knock knock knock.

Hehe.

Q6. What is your advice for sprint projects like this one?

Don't stress. Take it easy and be ready to ADAPT. Especially if you're collaborating with others, sometimes you'll have to let your ideas go to make space for time, and even sometimes, better ideas. Trust me, we don't always know all the answers, and that's great! Stay open, stay curious and flexible. Communicate like never before and just have fun with it!

Q7. Do you have any other works you’d like to promote?

This was my first game jam ever, but I do have a few other projects that I've worked on. I guess I'll link my website here? I'm not very good with self-promo... I'm still learning, and tyring out new things. Process, process, process.

#if: events #if: game jam #if: game jam 22

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celepeace · 3 years

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A monster-taming game recommendation list for fans of Pokemon

Whether you're a pokemon fanatic obsessed with all things pokemon past and present, or a veteran fan disillusioned with GameFreak's recent adoption of monetary philosophies and strategies reminiscent of other major game publishers, or looking for a monster-taming fix as you await new Pokemon content...

I'm compiling here a post of little-known games in the genre that Pokemon fans are likely to enjoy!

Under readmore cause long, but some of these games really don’t get the attention they deserve, so if you have the time, please read!

(I am also likely to keep updating and editing this post)

First up is Temtem!

Temtem is a game made by and for Pokemon fans, from the spanish indie developer Crema. Temtem is currently in early access on Steam and PS5, and is likely to remain in early access until sometime late next year. Full launch will include a Nintendo Switch release, too. Despite this, it has plenty of content to explore before full release. The developers are active, release new content on a semi-regular basis, and are responsive to the community as a whole and individuals if you happen to come across a bug you want to report.

Temtem boasts a wide variety of monsters to collect and train. It takes place in the Airborne Archipelago, a system of floating islands that orbit their star, the Pansun. The monsters inhabiting the archipelago are called Temtem, or tem(s), for short.

As far as game mechanics go, it has many similarities to Pokemon, but also many important distinctions. The biggest one, in my opinion, is that the element of chance has been removed from battle entirely. Moves cannot miss, have the same power constantly, and status afflictions have an obviously displayed countdown to when they will wear off (for instance, sleep lasts as long as it says it will last. Not 2-4 turns). PP does not exist, either. Your tems can battle for as long as their HP holds out. In place of PP, a new system called Stamina exists. Stamina is an individual stat, like HP and Attack. Each move costs a certain amount of stamina. If you go over the amount of stamina your tem has, the deficit is detracted from your health instead, and that tem cannot move next turn. Stamina passively regenerates a certain amount each turn, and items and moves exist that can heal stamina. All battles are also double-battles, you and your opponent will typically have two tems on the field at a time. This is just a few of the differences Temtem has from Pokemon, but they're some of the biggest ones.

Temtem is also a massively multiplayer game. You complete the storyline independently (or with a friend through co-op!), but in the overworld you can see other, real players moving around and interacting with the world. There is also public and area-specific chat you can talk to other players through. Despite this, all multiplayer functions are (currently) completely optional. You do not need to interact with others to complete the game.

Overall, Temtem is suitable for the Pokemon fan who is looking for a more challenging experience. Temtem is not a walk in the park you can blaze through with a single super-strong monster. For one, individual tem strength is more well-balanced than it is in Pokemon. There are very few (if any!) completely useless tems. Even some unevolved tems have their niche in the competitive scene! Aside from that, enemy tamers are scaled quite high, and you typically cannot beat them just from the exp you get from other enemy tamers. You have to do some wild-encounter grinding if you want to progress.

Temtem is a very fun game and I've already gotten over 100 hours out of it, despite only 3/5-ish of the planned content being released!

However, I do feel obligated to warn any prospective players of one thing: the current endgame is quite inaccessible. After you complete what is currently implemented of the main storyline, there is still quite a lot left to explore and do, but much of it is locked behind putting a lot of hours into the game. You kind of have to get perfect temtem to do the current PVE (and this is also somewhat true for the PVP too). By perfect I mean you have to breed a good tem and then train it to get the preferable EVs (called TVs in temtem). This takes... well, for a whole team... tens of hours. Of boring grinding. Some people enjoy it! But I don't. Regardless, the game was still worth buying because the non-endgame content is expansive and fun.

So overall, pros & cons:

Pros

Battle system is more friendly towards a competitive scene

Cute monsters

Lots of gay characters, also you can choose pronouns (including they/them) independently from body type and voice

Less difference between the objectively bad tems and good tems than there is in Pokemon

Lots of stuff to do even in early access

Most conversations with dialog choices have the option to be a complete ass for no reason other than it’s fun

Having less type variety in your team is less punishing than in Pokemon due to the synergy system and types overall having less weaknesses and resistances

At least one major character is nonbinary

Cons

Falls prey to the issue of MMOs having in-game economies that are only accessible to diehard no-life players

Related to the above point, cosmetics are prohibitively expensive

Endgame CURRENTLY is inaccessible to most players unless you buy good monsters from other players or spend tens of hours making your own. However I must add that the grind is great if you like that kind of thing and is quite easy and painless to do while watching a show or something.

Here is their Steam page and here is their official website.

Next is Monster Hunter: Stories!

This is a spinoff game of the Monster Hunter franchise released for the 3DS in 2018. If you're anything like me, and you've played the core Monster Hunter games, you've often thought "Man, I wish I could befriend and ride these cool dragon creatures instead of killing or maiming them!"

Well now you can! In Stories, as I will be calling it, you play as a rider rather than a hunter. Riders steal monster eggs from wild nests to raise them among humans as companions and guardians. And yes, egg stealing is a whole mechanic in of itself in this game.

This game works pretty differently from most monster-collecting games. You do battle (usually) against one or two wild monsters using your own, except you fight alongside your monsters too. With swords and stuff. There's armor and weapons you can smelt to make yourself stronger. Type match-ups also kind of don't exist in this game? Except they do? But not in a way you'd expect?

The vast majority of attacking moves you and your monster use fall into categories reminiscent of rock-paper-scissors. Moves can be categorized as power, speed, or technical. Speed beats power, technical beats speed, and power beats technical. The matchup of your move vs your opponent's determines how a turn will go down. If one move beats the other in matchup, then the winner's move will get to go and the loser doesn't get to do anything. If you tie, you both get hit, but for reduced damage. There's also abilities and basic attacks, with abilities basically being the same as pokemon moves, and basic attacks just being "I hit you for normal damage within this category". Also, you don't control what your monster does all the time in battle. You can tell it to use abilities, but what kind basic attacks it carries out is determined by its species' preference. Velicidrome, for instance, prefers speed attacks, but Yian Garuga prefers technical. Stamina also exists in this game in a very similar manner to Temtem.

Overall this game carries over a lot of mechanics Monster Hunter fans will find familiar (how items and statuses work for instance). You don't have to have played a core Monster Hunter game to enjoy Stories though! It's fine and is easy to understand as a stand-alone.

The story has some likable characters and is rather long (it was actually adapted into an anime!), for those of you who enjoy a good story.

I'd really recommend this one especially. If it sounds fun to you and you can drop $30, just do it. I bought it on a whim and I got a few weeks' worth of playing almost nonstop out of it, and I didn't even get to do everything! (I got distracted by Hades, oops)

Stories is also getting a sequel later next year on the nintendo switch! How exciting!

And yes, you do ride the monsters.

Pros & cons:

Pros

Large variety of cool monsters to befriend and raise

Pretty lengthy story

Every tamable monster is also rideable

Deceptively simple combat mechanics, easy to be okay at, hard to master

Incorporates some mechanics from early turn-based party rpgs like Final Fantasy for a nice twist on the monster collecting genre

Cons

Many monsters are objectively outclassed by other ones, making what can be in an actually good team more limited than you’d expect

3DS graphics inherently means the game looks like it was made 7 years before its time

Here is the Monster Hunter Stories official 3DS product page.

And here is Monster Sanctuary!

Monster sanctuary is a game that just had its 1.0 launch- meaning it was in early access and no longer is! Although the devs say they still plan to implement a few more things into the game in future updates. It is available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4.

Monster sanctuary is a metroidvania twist on the typical monster collecting game, meaning it is also a sidescrolling platformer in which you use abilities you gain throughout the game to explore the world around you. The abilities in this case are the monsters you get! Every monster has an ability that helps you traverse the sanctuary.

Speaking of the sanctuary, the game is set in one. The monster sanctuary is a magically shielded area, cut off from the rest of the world, created by an order of monster keepers, people who befriend and protect the mystical monsters inhabiting the world. Humankind encroached too far on the natural habitat of monsters and were hostile to the native wildlife, so the keepers created an area of varied environments to safely protect and preserve the remaining monsters of the world.

Unlike many other monster collecting games, this game only has 5 types: fire, water, earth, air, and neutral. However, the types themselves do not possess resistances and weaknesses. Instead, each monster has its own assigned weaknesses and resistances. And yes, this can include things like debuffs, physical vs special attacks, and the typical elemental types.

All battles are also 3 vs 3! And unlike in pokemon, where you can only hit the enemies nearest, all monsters have the ability to hit any opponent they want. Turns also work a little differently in that speed doesn't exist, you just use 1 move per monster in your turn and then it goes to your opponent's turn. Your monsters hit in whatever order you want them to.

There is also a quite important combo system in this game, where every hit builds a damage multiplier for the next. Moves often hit multiple times per turn. Healing and buffing actions also build this combo counter. So what monsters you have move in what order really counts!

But the main mechanical difference between this and other games in the genre is how it handles levels and skills. Instead of learning a set move at a certain level, this game incorporates a skill tree, and you get to allocate points into different skills as you grow stronger. And jeez, these skill trees are really extensive. Monster sanctuary is a theorycrafter's dream. Each monster has a unique, specially tailored skill tree, making every monster truly able to have its own niche. You can make use of whatever monster you want if you just put thought into it!

And like Temtem, this game is not made to be beatable by children. I'm sure a child could beat it, but it's not made to be inherently child-friendly like pokemon. It's honestly quite difficult.

On top of that, you are actively encouraged to not just be scraping by each battle. Your performance in battle is rated by an automated system that scores your usage of various mechanics like buffs and debuffs applied, type matchups, and effective usage of combos. The rating system directly influences the rewards you get from each battle, including your likelihood of obtaining an egg from one of the wild monsters you battled (no, you don't catch wild monsters in this game, you get eggs and hatch them). If you're not paying attention to how the game works and making good, effective use of your monsters, you'll have a hard time expanding your team!

The music is also really good, it's made by nature to be able to play over and over and not get old as you explore each area, and the composer(s) really did a good job with this. Some area songs, namely the beach one, I especially enjoy, so much so I've actually played it in the background while I do work.

This is a game I would really recommend. If I made it sound intimidating, it is by no means unbeatable, you're just gonna have to put some thought into how you play. At no point did I actually feel frustrated or like something was impossible. When I hit a wall, I was able to recognize what I did wrong and how I could improve, or I could at least realize something wasn't working and experiment until I found a solution. It's challenging in a genuinely fun, rewarding way.

Pros & cons:

Pros

Extremely in-depth combat system

I genuinely don’t know if there’s an objectively bad monster in this game

Evolution exists but is completely optional, as even un-evolved monsters can be great

Entire soundtrack is full of bangers

Large and diverse variety of monsters to tame

Cons

Story is a little lackluster, but passable

That’s the only con I can think of

Here’s a link to their Steam page and the game’s website.

A kind of unorthodox recommendation is the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series!

Likelihood is that everyone reading this has heard of this series already, but just in case anyone hasn't, I thought I'd include it! I would categorize this as a hybrid between the mystery dungeon genre and the monster collecting genre, because you recruit pokemon as you play and can use those pokemon on your team!

If you're unaware, the mystery dungeon genre is a small subset of dungeon crawler games where you progress through randomly generated levels called mystery dungeons. Throughout the dungeons, there will be enemies to fight and items to collect. The challenge of these games is mostly due to the stamina aspect of them, in that you have to manage your resources as you progress through the level. If you go all out in each fight, you will inevitably lose quite quickly. You have to learn to win against enemies while balancing your use of items and PP, so you have enough for the next fight, and the fight after that.

Pokemon mystery dungeon in particular is famous for its stories, the likes of which isn't seen often in Pokemon games. They are hugely story-driven games and are notable for the emotional depth they possess. It's pretty normal for the average player to cry at least once in the span of the game. There's lots of memes about that specifically.

This entry in my list is also unique for being a series. So, which one should you play first? It actually doesn't matter! Each storyline is entirely self-contained and requires no knowledge of prior entries. The quality of each entry varies and is a point of contention among fans. I say you should play all of them, because they all have their merits (though some more than others.... coughgatestoinfinitycough). They're mostly distinct for the generation of Pokemon they take place in. Rescue team is gen 3, Explorers is gen 4, Gates to Infinity is gen 5, Super Mystery Dungeon is gen 6, and Rescue Team DX is a remake of a gen 3 game but has the mechanics and moves of a gen 8 game.

My only real caution is that you play Explorers of Sky, not Darkness or Time. Sky is basically a combination of the two games with added items and content. It's an objective upgrade over its predecessors, and I honestly wouldn't waste money on the other two.

I’m not going to include a pros and cons list for the PMD series because I’m incredibly biased and it wouldn’t be an honest review.

Next is Monster Crown!

Monster Crown is a monster collecting game that seems to take heavy inspiration from early-gen Pokemon games in particular. It is currently in early access on Steam and is not expensive. I learned about it through the developers of Monster Sanctuary, when they recommended it on their official Discord.

The game has lots of charm and interesting creature designs, and an entirely new take on monster typings as well. Instead of monster types being based off of natural elements like fire, water, electricity, etc. Monster Crown uses typings that seem to be influenced by the personalities of the monsters. For instance, Brutal, Relentless, and Will are all monster types!

It also captures a lot of the charm many of us look fondly upon in early GameBoy-era games. The music is mostly chiptune, with some more modern backing instruments at times, and the visuals are very reminiscent of games like Pokemon Crystal in particular. Monster Crown is definitely the monster collecting game for fans of the 8-bit era!

The thing that stands out the most to me about this game is the breeding system. Instead of one parent monster passing down its species to its offspring, you can create true hybrids in this game.

However, it is very early access. I would consider the current build as an alpha, not even a beta yet! So temper your expectations here. I have not encountered any major bugs, but visual glitches here and there are quite common. The game also could definitely use some polish and streamlining, and is quite limited in content currently. But the dev(s) seem quite active, so I fully expect these kinks to be worked out in time!

The reviews are rather positive, especially for being in early access. I'm all for expanding the monster collecting genre, so if you're looking to expand your horizons in that sense, I would recommend you at least give this one a look! I personally had quite a bit of fun playing Monster Crown and am going to keep an eye out for updates.

Pros & cons:

Pros

Charming artstyle, appealing monster designs

Faithful callback to a bygone era of gaming

Controls are fairly simple and easy to get the hang of (and are completely customizable!)

Cool breeding and hybridization mechanics

There's a starter for each monster type!

You can choose your pronouns, including they/them!

Cons

Inherent nature of being very early access means can be clunky and unpolished at times

Also not much content as of right now, see above

User interface could use some redesign in places

Here’s their Steam page and the official website!

Here’s an oldie but a goodie, Azure Dreams!

This is one I actually haven’t played, mostly because it’s really old and therefore only practically accessible if you play it on an emulator, unless you're one of those old game collectors. Azure Dreams was developed by Konami and released for the PS1 in 1997. My impression of it was that it either didn’t sell well or only took off in Japan, because it’s actually really hard to find any comprehensive information about it on the internet.

Azure Dreams is a monster collecting - dating sim hybrid. You can build relationships with various characters and can pursue some of them romantically, although that isn’t the main draw of the game. There is also a stripped-down version that exists for the GameBoy Color, which forgoes the dating portion of the game entirely.

Azure Dreams is kind of like a mystery dungeon game in that you progress through a randomly generated, ever-changing tower using the help of the familiars you have accrued throughout your adventure. Similarly to Monster Hunter: Stories, you yourself also take part in the fighting alongside your monsters. Each time you enter the tower, your character’s level is lowered to 1, but your familiars keep their experience. Thus, progression is made through strengthening your monsters. To obtain monsters, you collect their eggs, just like in Monster Sanctuary (which, turns out, was at least partially inspired by this game!)

Due to this game being very old and on the PS1, the visuals leave a lot to be desired... but if you can get past that, Azure Dreams has lots of replayability and customization to how you play the game. To this day, it appears it has a somewhat active speedrunning community!

If you don’t mind the effort of using an emulator, and like old games, Azure Dreams just might be that timesink you were looking for in quarantine.

Honorable mentions:

Pokemon Insurgence (or any Pokemon fangame/ROMhack, really!) is a Pokemon fangame that introduces Delta Pokemon, which are really cool type-swapped versions of existing Pokemon. It’s sufficiently challenging and has a lot of variety in what you can catch in the wild, so you can pretty much add whatever you want to your team! The story is quite good, and the main campaign is multiple times longer than a typical Pokemon game’s campaign. Download it here!

ARK: Survival Evolved is NOT a monster collecting game BUT you do get to tame and fight alongside a lot of really cool extinct species, including but not limited to the dinosaurs we all know and love. This game is genuinely fun as hell, especially with friends, but I must warn you: never play on official servers. I highly recommend singleplayer, playing on a casual private server, or making your own server. Here’s the Steam page.

#pokemon #temtem #monster sanctuary #monster hunter stories #monster crown #azure dreams #pokemon mystery dungeon #pokemon alternatives

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the-phantom-ender · 3 years

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okay serious entity assignments time now because i said i might yesterday and i am better rested now.

first off, ill say that like... i dont know everything about every empire, i might be a little off base with some of the members i know less about.

second, the thing about aligning characters with entities is that it doesnt tend to be as easy as just something they fear. they also have to thrive in it. if all it took was fear, there would be lots of people marked directly by the web, if all it took was the ability to thrive, most introverts would be marked by the lonely. it takes a careful balance of both (unless the characters hand is forced, which we do technically see in t.ma canon at least once) for someone to be effectively marked by a fear, much less be an avatar (which is... a loose term at best but i digress because the explanatory bit is getting long dfjkhdf)

stuffs under the cut because it got. long. and feel free to share your own thoughts about them!!

shelby: an interesting case where my gut said corruption but upon reflection i think aligning her with the eye makes more sense? she definitely is shaped by corruption, but her arc thus far has mostly revolved around her desire to learn and her fear of what that knowledge might reveal. after her encounters with xornoth, she also seems very nervous about the idea of being watched.

lizzie: the vast is obvious for her, but it does make sense. its the fear of heights and deep waters and human insignificance, infinity. lizzie absolutely thrives in the depths and holds no fear for the waters but she does show hesitance when it comes to leaving. the danger comes from the outside, the other. which seems more like the lonely, sure, but the vast and lonely link greatly.

joel: im a little biased with the desolation alignment for joel because of 3l. i still think it could work for empires, but... the stranger might work better. i dont think theres anything quite as 'stranger' as filling your home with statues of yourself, giving workers your face, but everything is just slightly... wrong. be it that they dont fit quite right or that their limbs are leather and wood. Unfamiliarity, the uncanny.

gem: so id originally said eye for gem but @loganprobably (i hope the tags cool sjgkhdfh) mentioned the lonely and... both work i think. gem has an appreciation for knowledge, for awareness and learning. but shes also in a position where she both isolates herself and gets overly involved. being one of the people to try to ally with everyone but having a clear side picked. the welcome and the shunning. whats a girl gotta do for some peace and quiet?

scott: scott is... hard. itd be so easy to just throw lonely or eye at him because he stays to himself and knows a lot. id wager the web might work better, though. he keeps his distance, keeps an eye on all that goes on, and... makes no moves. he waits, plans ahead. if war brews he needs to be able to side with the winners. he shows a distain for the idea of being controlled and avoids situations where he could be. hes careful with his choices when theyre made.

jimmy: jimmy. lonely, but for a different reason than gem would be. he is friendly and kind and cares deeply for others, yet hes so clearly... the outcast, even within his own circles. hes the picked on, the betrayed. a friend to all but loved, respected, by none. in his times of need he is forgotten, silenced. yet he doesnt seem to hate the loneliness, just the fact that no one came.

joey: oh god here we go. joeys hard to pin down. the hunt might work? he could fall into the lonely but being lost doesnt inherently mean lonely (it actually ties more in with the vast). i say the hunt, though, because he refuses to back down from his stances, even if theyre objectively wrong, and will do so by whatever means necessary. hell instigate the death of others for the sake of getting what he wants.

fwhip: the slaughter. sacrifice and destruction follow him in everything and he thrives in it. his violence isnt entirely mindless but he has a penchant for war and the things that go into it. heres where my stuff starts getting less cohesive as i watch these members much less ;^^

sausage: the corruption and the desolation lay equal claim on sausage. in everything he plays tricks and feigns niceties and makes himself out to be the one in the right. all the way he makes it seem as if hes kind and just in his actions even if his motives are chaos and destruction. he still holds a fear for things going wrong and holds tight to his alliances.

pixl: the end. his vigil is very very 'end' to me. death, to him, is inevitable, a fact of life, and he choses to honor it and give it respect. in all things he does he knows death to be a cause and an end to the means. even if his trickery may just be a signal of the spiral... whos to say?

katherine: okay. bear with me for this one, yeah? the flesh. no im not only saying this because of the bone garden. the fear that we are just meat and bones, the realization that animals go to the slaughter. i believe its a fact that many involved with the flesh become vegetarian after encounters and her whole thing is plants. she shows a distaste for killing animals but a desire to use them in projects.

pearl: the dark. yes, this is the obvious choice, but i do have reason beyond it. pearls character in empires is directly contrary to her name. she revels in the light and lives around sunflowers and growth. despite this she will let herself work into the night, she will let herself turn a blind eye to damage being done. what she cant see cant hurt her.

bonus:

xornoth: the extinction. i know there are no actual avatars of the extinction in the source, however: it makes sense, right? more than this creature is corruption or the end it wants mortals gone. it wants mortals gone and to be released and freed to do this deed.

#empires smp #empires smp au #shubble #smajor #ldshadowlady #smallishbeans #solidaritygaming #geminitay #joey graceffa #fwhip #mythicalsausage #pixlriffs #katherine elizabeth #pearlescentmoon #long post

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riathedreamer · 3 years

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Zero is Null

A discussion of Zero’s love-hate-relationship with RvB and struggling independence; including a hotdog too big for the bun, tragic backstories, a single bow-chicka-bow-wow, and a cookie at the very end.

Welcome to what will be a lot of text. Basically, it will explore why Zero fails as an RvB (with emphasis on RvB) season. I will not be the first one to bring forth some of the points, and I promise to be fair and civil and fun. This isn’t supposed to be a piece of hate – in fact, I’m writing this because I love Red vs. Blue.

Okay, first of all, to increase your fun – take a guess on just how much of Zero is spent on fight scenes. You see, I’ve calculated the exact amount, and I will reveal it later, but for now, take a guess and remember the number. Maybe you are the winner!

Alright, time to share my thoughts. Wait! Since I suffer from anxiety and have this one annoying voice pretending to be all those critical statements my opinion could be met with, let’s give it an actual voice and address the points throughout this review.

“Why would I care about your opinion, Ria?” – I don’t know, you’re the one who clicked Read More.

“Your opinion doesn’t matter!” – Of course, it doesn’t! Geez. Do you think your opinion matters, though? Listen, we’re on Tumblr, the actual equivalent of screaming into the void. And it’s fun, too!

“If you don’t like it, don’t watch!” - *activates Uno Reverse Card* “You can’t talk about something you haven’t watched!”

“You’re just a Hater” – Actually, this is a point I’ll come back to. Like a cliffhanger. Also, at the end of this, there’ll be a cookie. But this will also include me talking about the stuff I like, because, surprise, Zero is not without talent!

“You just don’t like it because the Reds and Blues aren’t in it!” – Actually, that’s a good point, so instead, this review will start with a sole focus on Zero and discuss the problem that lies within that story. Then we can address why the lack of OG cast is understandable and problematic and weird.

But first! Backstory.

When the first 5 second teaser dropped back in spring (you know, when we were young and innocent and the world didn’t feel like an apocalyptic movie yet), I held onto that one image of what I thought (hoped) to be Grif and Simmons in the sunset, hopefully addressing Grif’s hateglue arc, but boy was I wrong because a) that’s not Simmons, that’s Sarge, and b) the image was from a PSA since the Reds are not in Zero.

Actual face-reveal of me below:

Admittedly, when I heard that the Reds and Blues were not going to be the main characters (or even show up), it felt like a gut punch. However, I actually found myself getting excited due to the creators’ hype. I want to praise them for this. It’s been a while since an RvB season was talked so much ABOUT before its release; it had advertisements, it had creators and voice-actors talking about it. Please. More of that in the future. Their passion rubbed off on me, and that deserves recognition. So it pains me that this was clearly a passion-project, and then when I gave it a try, I didn’t want to touch it again for weeks.

Here’s the thing. I cannot whole-heartedly say that Zero is bad. It’s not gonna melt your eyes. It’s not even so-bad-it’s-good. For me, it’s meh. It’s a Saturday-morning-cartoon aimed for a younger audience with a rushed plot and clichéd characters. The problem is that it calls itself RvB, and with that title comes something to live up to – but more importantly, something to continue.

My main issue is that Zero forces its story into existence by ignoring established content rather than adjusting to it. Let’s call this for the hotdog-too-big-for-the-bun syndrome solely for the sake of the bow-chicka-bow-wow that’s coming now. Bow-chicka-bow-wow. Many of the separate issues I will dive into all add to this hotdog-issue, so I will scream “Hotdog!” whenever this is the case so we can all keep track of my argument.

You can continue the story of Red vs. Blue without the Reds and Blues. While that would personally crush my heart, it can be done. There’s a story of Red vs. Blue that can be continued. The world can be expanded, the previous actions of the Reds and Blues can be explored from another angle.

So.

How does Zero do this? It doesn’t.

I just want to make it clear that new elements can definitely be added when it comes to worldbuilding. That’s literally the point of sequels. But Zero’s settings are presented with so little grace and with no connection to previously established worldbuilding. We get Alliance of Defense and GLASS thrown in our face as very big important organizations – yet we’ve never heard of them before. A big central plot point of RvB is the UNSC and Project Freelancers, and those were introduced naturally with the plot. We already have big established intergalactic organizations. What is AOD’s connection with those? We aren’t told. We are just told they exist and expected to accept it, no questions asked. If this was a whole new world and story – fine. But when you need to build on an already established worldbuilding, you need more grace than this. Chorus was a whole new setting, but it was explained, and it was connected to the previous plot. Same with Iris. Same with Desert Gulch. In Zero, it feels lazy. It feels forced. These organizations are just there because the story is built around them (HOTDOG).

This vagueness when it comes to wordbuilding is also reflected in the settings - we have a desert, a training base, a lab, temples, Tucker’s workplace, and we do not know if all those are set place on the same planet. If that is the case, what is this planet’s relationship with Chorus? Is it Earth? And most importantly, what is the deal with the temples? Why are they connected to Tucker’s sword if it isn’t the same planet. Are they made by the same aliens? Are people okay with this? Why haven’t these temples been explored before? Chorus makes sure to establish this, while Zero doesn’t, adding to a growing amount of confusion.

Okay, so no connection with previous worldbuilding. What about characters? I mean, we got Wash and Carolina and Tucker! So we have RvB characters, it gotta be RvB! Technically – yeah. But it feels dirty. These three characters are not here to be characters. They are here to be props to the new cast. They are not given any development. Their presence isn’t even that important, and if this was a whole new show, they could easily have been replaced with an unknown face. Worst of all, they feel miswritten.

Carolina and Wash are working at a new military organization? Leaving the Reds and Blues behind? To help people? First of all, fucking bad idea, Carolina, the last time you left the Reds and Blues alone, they changed the timeline. But most importantly – Carolina and Wash just joined this new super elite military organization? After being mistreated and manipulated by such an organization in the past?

Carolina is there to introduce the characters. That’s it. We are force-fed their personality by having her literally read out loud their personality. There is no gentle introduction to the new cast. We are not allowed to get to know them naturally. Why show when you can tell, huh? That’s Carolina’s role. That’s why she is there. To introduce the cast and explain their story. That’s it. (HOTDOG).

How about Wash? He is there to get beat up and be a damsel in distress so that the new cast has a reason to explore the plot. Oh, and that brain damage that was the consequence of previous seasons – gone now. The guy who literally has trauma from having an AI explode inside his head is fine with having a computer inserted into it instead. Because that’s needed. To explore his brain damage wouldn’t work now when his role is to be a prop to lure the new cast for one episode and then be put onto the bench for the rest of the runtime (HOTDOG).

And Tucker – he is there to die for a second and have his sword taken from him. That’s literally it. And for the few moments he is there, he feels like old super flirty Tucker, which erases the character development he went through in previous seasons. Okay, so Tucker dies, and then not dies, and then he is put on the bench with Wash where they can sit and talk or whatever (‘cause holy shit, the new cast is not allowed to that), because he isn’t important. The sword is. Tucker is just a prop, even more than his sword is (HOTDOG).

Damn. Wash gets beat up. Tucker gets beat up. Dies. Gets his sword taken away. Almost seems like a Red’s wet dream. Sorry not sorry, Blues, you were done dirty.

So there are miswritten old characters. Even worse is the retconning. The plot needs a “normal” Wash, so, bam, magic computer solution. Never mind Wash’s trauma and character traits. Never mind the logic of the new worldbuilding which also includes a character suffering for years to heal an illness. But the brain damage that was such a big consequence that it became the main part of the plot of the last two seasons – gone. I mean, a gunshot to the head can be healed by CPR. That’s canon. But no one gave Wash CPR so it’s a big thing, okay. It was canonically a big thing, and Zero erased that. This is not me saying that a Cerebral Enhancer couldn’t work in the RvB universe. Imagine it being done right. Wash struggling with the choice of getting used to his disability or accepting the possibility of help - at the cost of reliving his trauma. The struggle between what to choose - what should he choose when he wants to help as many as possible, the sacrifices he thinks he has to make, the way it could have been used as a part of his character growth. But in Zero, the enhancer isn’t a part of Wash’s character. It’s there so the story can work without having to deal with the previous plot’s consequence (HOTDOG).

Same with the sword thing. They sorta explain it by having Tucker flatline, but it’s weak. Honestly, I find it sorta offensive. What about Locus’ sword as well? It’s twisting previous lore to make the new plot work (HOTDOG). (Also, are we not gonna talk about the ultimate power being Spencer Porkensenson’s helmet? Have the writers forgotten Spencer Porkensenson? Have we as a community forgotten Spencer Porkensenson?)

If you have Red vs. Blue in your title, you cannot ignore what you inherit from it. You need to respect the worldbuilding, the established characters, and the previous plot. Zero does not do this.

Let’s talk about the Triplets. No, really, let’s do it. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about them before, because season 14 was a mixed bag for me (that I have now learned to appreciate. Thank you, Zero.) because I have heart at the size of the Grinch and can only love a few characters at a time, and that did not include the Triplets. Can’t even remember their names. Well, I can, but I can’t for the love of me remember which state is which, and my tongue is twisted every time I try to say Ohio, Iowa, and Idaho, and I know it’s on purpose. I know it is. And it got me good. That being said, the fandom actually embraced them really, really well! Seriously, I’ve seen more content for the Triplets than for Zero as a whole.

Why talk about the Triplets? (Was Iowa the lesbian? Or was it Ohio? Fuck.) Because like Zero, they introduced new characters with a story of their own. The Reds and Blues didn’t play a role. But here’s what I feel like the Triplets got right. They didn’t change the settings to force their narrative. They used stuff already established (Project Freelancer), added their own story as a continuation of that. They even included old characters in the beginning (Wash and some other Freelancers) but it felt natural and it didn’t feel like it happened at the expense of the old characters. Wash’s writing felt natural, and his presence wasn’t needed to tell these new character’s stories. He wasn’t a prop to them. He was there to establish the setting and to establish the relationship with these new characters, and then he and the other familiar faces (helmets??) left, and we as the viewers were left with these new characters. And the new characters told their own story by themselves. It felt like, hey, here’s something you know – remember Mother of Invention, and remember Wash’ lower rank, but now, try to imagine being even lower rank than him, aren’t you curious about those fates? Now let’s hear their story! It was new, it was something else, but it didn’t wreck what came before it, and it stayed true to the classic vibes of RvB.

As I said before, the hotdog-issue is my biggest problem with Zero. It infuriates me. I will return to this. But there are more issues, even if we try to look past the title-related problems.

If we try to imagine Zero as its own story and universe (as it should be, in my opinion), it still earns the meh review from me.

These isolated issues include awkwardness, the writing, lack of self-awareness, and pacing. First of all, holy shit, this is a tell, don’t show. Nothing is subtle, nothing is allowed to develop. It’s like the show thinks you are six years old with an attention span of a goldfish. You are not just led by the hand – they have literally pulled off your arm by the end of the show. We are force-fed every bit of information, every bit of personality from these new characters.

The voice-acting is a mixed bag for me. Sometimes it’s pretty good, sometimes it’s not. Some of the problems can definitely be blamed on the dialogue that you can only do so much with. It’s not good. I can’t remember any good jokes (the one joke I really appreciate was the cast on armor, and that was freaking visual humor. That was so RvB. Kudos to that. It was fun. More of that, please.), and RvB is known for having memorably good lines. This is a show built on good, clever, funny dialogue. Zero does not deliver. You have to sit through clichéd lines – “You’re not my dad”, “I trusted you”, “Come with me”, “It can’t be!”, “She’s way too powerful”, and “We have to do this together” – performed unironically. I cringed more than I laughed. Worst thing is that Zero could be a good parody. Sometimes, it feels like it is. One-dimensional characters, a villain wanting ‘the ultimate power’, very overpowered characters, bad one-liners, etc. But Zero takes itself seriously, and I was one of the people rooting for Jax to show up at the end and yell “Cut”. That would have been a funny-as-fuck twist. A spin-off parody. If I can’t have “Sarge the Movie”, I would have taken that and loved it. I would have forgiven everything. “We put so much info into finding that power, but we had no idea what it was” is really a line in the finale, and I cannot believe this is real in a show that somehow still tries to present itself as serious. What a plot.

We have to talk about pacing. God, first of all it should be stated that RvB is a mess when it comes to pacing. I honestly get what they were going for. Sometimes, RvB has come across as a bit boring when you get three episodes stretched over three weeks without much going on. I know season 11 did not have the warmest welcome because it was seen as boring until the finale. But when you see season 11 as a whole, as a movie, as a part of a trilogy, it works so well. Zero is more focused on being episodic. They want something to happen all the time so we will stay tuned. The thing that will happen – a fight. Oh god. The fight scenes.

I have done the math. I have run the numbers. I deserve a freaking cookie for this. Are you ready?

If you put all the episodes together, you have a runtime of 106 minutes. HOWEVER, with the introduction of credits in every episode, you gotta account for this. Removing the credits, this gives us 94 minutes of actual runtime. Out of that, 45 minutes are dedicated to fight scenes. That means 48% of the show is fight scenes.

If I wanted that many fight scenes, I’d watch Death Battle. Except the actual RvB Death Battle episode has a runtime of 20 minutes, and out of that, 5 minutes is dedicated to the actual battle. For the people who hate math – that’s 25% of the actual runtime.

RvB Zero has more fight scenes than a show called Death Battle. Take that in.

The pace suffers from this. Where’s the time to explore the characters? Where’s the time for good dialogue? All I can think of is this:

I get that RvB is a show that’s literally making fun of itself by acknowledging all their characters do is stand around and talk. I get that you want characters to do more than that. But for the love of Church, would it kill the new characters to stand around and talk? For just a minute? Stop fighting, I am begging you, stop fighting! Am I a pacifist now? Am I purple? Have I joined Doc’s team? What has Zero done to me?!

The good thing though is that fight scenes are very good. They’re entertaining. However, they seem to deconstruct themselves when we need to get a fight scene in every episode. Usually, the few fight scenes in an RvB season were in some of the most climatic episodes. In Zero, I can hardly keep up with the pace because they won’t stop moving. Fight scenes aren’t plot. They aren’t character development. You need more than just fight scenes. They entertain, but there’s a limit to that.

Noël Wiggins, the co-writer, stated the inspiration was a Saturday-morning cartoon. They nailed that vibe. If that was their goal, hurray, they have accomplished something! Because of the poor plot and constant fight scenes, it feels like you could just switch on the TV and drop in at any moment and let yourself be entertained by the cool and colorful soldiers punching and kicking each other. I will admit that the fight scenes entertained me. But they don’t make it a good season.

If I were the six-year-old with the attention span of a goldfish that the show believes I am, I honestly would enjoy it. The stiff dialogue and the constant tell-don’t-show makes you feel like an audience that’s not supposed to do anything else but admire the flashy fight scenes. I miss the cleverness of RvB. I miss the characters I get to connect with as I see them grow.

I miss the tone of RvB. Because this isn’t RvB to me.

It’s not that RvB hasn’t changed its tone before. Holy shit, I sorta do want to experience the absolute shock the RvB fandom went through when s6 aired and they were given new characters and serious plot. I would have loved to experience that, but I was too busy being ten years old. The Freelancers seasons also introduced a new tone and more fight scenes with very talented fighters compared to the Blood Gulch gang, but a balance was kept by having half of the season still revolving around the Reds and Blues. But Zero – Zero is so much change. And it’s on purpose. At least this has been made very clear from the beginning.

They constantly seem to appeal to new fans, rather than be directed towards older fans of the show. If you want an entirely new audience with a season with a new cast, new worldbuilding, and new tone, I’m confused as to why they don’t just make a new show. The hotdog-problem begs for this solution. This story and environment and characters feel so out of touch with the original RvB, that with a few rewrites and lack of Halo-armor, it could just be a new show. Problem solved.

If not this, then present it as a spin-off. In all ways, it feels like a spin-off (again, see everything marked HOTDOG). But the creators refuse to do this, and I don’t understand why. I could forgive many of these issues, had they officially separated themselves from canon.

Ah, what’s the idiom? You can’t both swallow and blow? (You can hear the Bow-chicka-bow-wow in the distance). Something about eating cake and having it. Forgive me, English isn’t my native language. POINT IS why are you calling yourself RvB while actively fighting against the core essence of RvB? In my humble opinion, you can’t be both. Marketing it as a spin-off would have granted it some defense when changing, well, literally everything, and I just, would someone please properly describe why it isn’t a spin-off? Isn’t this season marked by its association with the plot of RvB rather than a continuation of it? Zero presenting itself as not a spinoff feels like a toddler clinging to the hem of its mother’s dress while forcefully running away from her, ripping the dress in the process.

When they do connect with the original RvB, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. When they let Carolina, Wash, and Tucker appear for a moment, it feels like luring viewers in with the RvB title. Look at me. Look at me! I’m not saying this is the case. I say that it gives me the annoying vibes of being lured, rather than letting the characters be a part of the show for their own development, rather than having RvB in the title to continue its story. I should not be getting these vibes at all. But I am.

If you want to use RvB in the title, something from the core of RvB needs to be embraced. Things can be changed. They should. Something new should be brought in. But there’s a limit to how much you can change and replace and twist until it would have been better with an original show. As a season of RvB, it should tell the story of Red vs. Blue.

From my perspective, Zero fails to do so.

It pains me that the old cast has been replaced, but as stated earlier, a season could have worked without them. However, I do not like the take that one should be excited about all the new characters. That it isn’t a big thing that the OG cast got replaced. That we should just deal with it. Just, try to imagine another show suddenly replacing the main characters with characters we’ve never met before. Imagine RWBY suddenly only focusing on a new team of huntresses with the previous main characters reduced to an Easter Egg presence, or Camp Camp suddenly being about a new team of campers, no warning given. Can you imagine the outcry? So maybe let’s agree that a replacement of the main cast is a big thing and should be addressed and it’s valid to be upset about this change.

Could Zero have worked? It’s hard to answer this. How can I accept something as RvB if the season actively pushes away the core of RvB aside for an isolated story that could have been told in any other media? As a spinoff, I could have ignored it. To enjoy Zero, I have to fully separate it from RvB in my mind, and then it’s alright. S’not good. But it’s not bad. It’s entertaining enough. I really ended up liking Raymond and Tiny, and there were a few good jokes, and the fight scenes were admirable (but too much) and I love the creators’ passion. But it’s not RvB. I also wish that the new characters had been attached to previous worldbuilding, for example soldiers on Chorus or agents from Project Freelancer. That way we could build on familiar lore which would have decreased the confusion and added a much needed connection with the previous seasons of RvB.

God, the anxious voice is back (by the way, it sounds like Tutter from “Bear in the Blue House”).

“You’re racist” – I hope not. Literally, I do not want to be. Tell me if I’ve ever crossed some lines, because I swear, that is not my intention, I will apologize and most of all, change and do better. I included this because I’ve seen this take thrown around in the big ugly mess that is the fandom clashes regarding Zero. And racism is problem within RT community (this includes AH and RvB, sorry, I just use RT as an umbrella term for the latter), and I’m not saying it hasn’t been a problem with this season. Writers should never be harassed, and never-fucking-ever because of their skin color, and voice actors shouldn’t be treated like they are responsible for the choices of the show. But I was legit nervous to post this review, and I hope it’s been factual without feeling like personal attacks on the creators because that has never been my intention. I was delighted to hear about the diversity behind this project, and Torrian’s passion legit blew me away because it’s been a while since I’ve seen that for an RvB project. I’d hoped for it to be good, and when I feel disappointed, it’s for the reasons stated in this analysis. That said, Zero is made by a diverse cast and it’s made with love, and both of those things are so, so great, but it does not mean that Zero cannot be criticized. It can, and it should. It’s a product, just like all the other seasons, and fans are allowed to discuss it – both what they loved, and both what they found troublesome. And to repeat previous points, and be respectful, always, fuck racists, and never-fucking-ever harass the staff behind a season, what the fuck is wrong with you if you do this.

“Don’t you get it, it’s different because it’s trying something new!” – Hey, remember the philosophical question: if you replace all the parts of a ship one-by-one, is it still the same ship when you’re done? If it doesn’t include the Reds and Blues, if it ignores previous plot, if the old characters feel miswritten, if it values animation over dialogue, if it values fight scenes over comedy, if it wants to be Fast and Furious instead of Red vs. Blue – is it still Red vs. Blue? Because it doesn’t feel like it to me.

“It's been 17 seasons, it’s time to let the Reds and Blues go so someone else can shine!” – I simply do not understand us having been with the Reds and Blues for 17 seasons should be an argument to let them go, rather than be an argument as to why their absence hurt like hell.

“The Reds and Blues ran out of things to do!” – Did- did they, though? I mean, if we were discussing pretty much any other show, I’d probably agree that they were running out of content. But for the Reds and Blues… I think the PSAs nailed it this year! I’m not kidding, I had more fun watching the Reds and Blues discuss how to do laundry than watching Zero. You could literally give me an hour of the Reds and Blues trying to bake a cake or clear a gutter or simply settling down with an ordinary life, and I would trust them to make it worth the watch.

“The flaws were due to the fact it’s only 8 episodes long!” – Look, I can only judge a product the way it’s presented to me. I cannot come up with excuses for it. If they had 8 episodes to work with, they need to come up with a plot that works with this runtime. Seriously, this excuse cannot work when 48% of the season is spent on fight scenes. They could have used more runtime, sure, but the show needs to be able to pace itself and be planned accordingly.

“The OG cast couldn’t be a part of this year, hence Zero!” – That might be true. But. Would one year without RvB kill it? Is Zero necessary? Again, I just can’t judge excuses for the show. But trouble with the cast has been an issue before. Season 15 solves Geoff’s sabbatical by actually making Grif’s absence a part of the plot. Zero’s lack of Reds and Blues just feels like this excuse to tell a story that needn’t be a part of RvB.

Am I a hater? I guess? I greatly dislike Zero for the critique stated above. I do, however, not harass the creators and no one should ever do that. However, I have to admit that I feel there’s been this weird rejection of any critique of Zero where everything’s been brushed off as haters gonna hate, including the critique stated above. And I think that’s a problem because critique, as hard as it can be to hear (and I know this. I’m an author of original works. Weird flex, I know), is valid and necessary and shouldn’t just be shrugged away. As always, both sides of the fandom should always be respectful, but my own opinion is that addressing the flaws of Zero should not be controversial.

Does this super long rant/critique/whatever mean you cannot enjoy Zero? Gods no! I almost envy you if you enjoy this season, but holy shit, feel free to love it and tell the creators that you love it! Me pointing out the issues I have with the season shouldn’t be stopping you. I loved (and still love) s15 when it came out, and it was majorly rejected by the fandom. There were many, many critical posts, people were going on about how RvB should have ended with s13, and it evolved into the writer receiving death threats (me, once again: never ever harass the creators, assholes). But I didn’t tell people to stop being negative. I actually agreed with many of the flaws that were pointed out, and I enjoyed the season despite this, because that is possible. We, as RvB fans, should agree that RvB, is... I mean, it’s not the greatest, most flawless of shows, but we love it nonetheless. So go ahead and love Zero. This is not a stop sign. This is my opinion that you chose to read.

Wait, I promised you a cookie, didn’t I? Well, you’re not getting one. Why? Because I’m a Red and this is my chance to piss off a Blue. As Caboose wisely said: “Well, at least I don't go around... knocking on people's non-doors... and promising them cookies... and then NOT. GIVING. THEM. COOKIES!”

Blue Team sucks.

End speech.

#rvb zero #rvb #rvb zero critical #rvb critical #rvb0 #my rvb stuff #pls dont hate me for this #this is my honest opinion that people apparantly wanted to hear #as a standalone story zero isnt totally bad #as an rvb season it is

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