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globosetechnology · 11 months

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Evolution of AI Training Data: From Data Origins to Intelligent Horizons

With the rise of AI in people’s lives, the need to acknowledge good training data has not been more significant in the past. AI, ML, and Big data play an important role in various industries including government, corporate, science, and more.

The AI market has been expanding like wildfire. AI Market size was 1.3 billion USD in 2021. It is expected to grow to a whopping 2.8 trillion by 2023, according to McKinsey Global Survey. According to IBM, 35% of companies are already using AI and 45% of companies are exploring AI to adopt them in the future.

Even though AI and ML are quite a buzzing topic nowadays, the “thing” that fuels AI and ML remains under the shadow. AI Training data is something that trains the AI to function in the manner it should. And the quality of data matters a lot in this respect.

In this blog, we’ll explore the evolution of AI training dataset, understand what qualifies as a quality dataset, and dive into its past, present, and future.

What is AI Training Data? — In Simple Terms

Training data is a set of carefully curated information that is fed to a system for training. The quality of training data fed to any system determines the AI’s success. Better quality data means better intelligence of the computer or system.

While training any data, loads of information are fed to the system. For example, for teaching the system about cats, a whole lot of cat images, videos, characteristic info, etc will be provided to the system. So, when the system encounters any such information or visuals about a cat, it understands that it’s a cat, and provides more information about the cat from its database if needed.

This also means that the data must be so accurate and diversified, that the system must not confuse every four-legged animal as a cat.

So, AI training data is like training a child. Kids are taught language by labeling A, B, C, D, etc. Similarly, the Machine is also trained about the information by feeding data to it.

What is the Definition of AI Training Data?

A collection of labeled data fed into the machine-learning algorithm to enable it to make accurate predictions is called AI training data. On the basis of the data, the ML system tries to identify, recognize, and understand the relations between different components and make necessary decisions by evaluating them.

So, for enhancing the overall quality of machine learning, the data fed to it must be both in large quantity and good quality. The data must be unbiased, diversified, and valuable. Also, it needs to be well-structured, annotated, and labeled training data.

The Three Phases of AI Training Data

Let’s dive into the timeline of AI Training data evolution.

The beginning phase of AI Training Data

The beginning phase of AI Training data was sans Machine learning. That is, humans (programmers) manually created new rules to create accurate module outputs by evaluating the existing module outputs. This was the 1990s.

During 2000–2005, Machine learning began to rise. The first major database was created, which was not very efficient. It was slow and expensive and relied on the resources.

From 2005 to 2010, Amazon’s MTurk entered the playground and provided a widely-available platform for developing datasets at scale.

2010–2015 encountered human labeling and annotation. Human non-programmers evaluated the medium output and annotated data. It was this time when deep learning models came into play, known as data-hungry neural models.

Since 2015, Adoptive models began to rise. That means a system needs small datasets for making predictions. They do that by linking this small information with the pre-existing information. These state-of-the-art pre-trained adaptive models became available to others for free.

AI and ML are becoming more accessible to people other than programmers such as analysts, business owners, decision, and policymakers, or simply people who are interested in AI and ML. The non-programmers can evaluate the data models too, without the need for complex AI models.

Quality over Quantity: Previously, the quantity of data was given value. It was thought that more quantity means accuracy in module output. With time scientists realized that for accurate results, quality matters more, such as data completeness, reliability, validity, availability, and timeliness.

What was lacking in early AI Training data? A combination of poor training data and a lack of advanced computer systems resulted in the early AI system fiasco.

The lack of quality training data resulted in faulty recognition of visuals. Due to the lack of speech datasets, spoken language recognition did not come to fruition too. Additionally, computers at that time did not have good storage capacities, which was one of the major setbacks in recording large datasets essential for machine learning.

Quality AI Training Data: The Transition

In order to upgrade to a better Machine learning process, It was crucial that systems learn to mimic human intelligence and make decisions like them. This needed to thrive on high-quality and high-quantity data.

For better recognition of patterns and accurate decisions, a data sample that contains all the possible variables is needed.

Need for Quality Training Data For the advancement in AI Technology, quality AI Training data is needed. In order for ML models to be reliable, there is a need for efficient data collection, annotation, and labeling methodologies.

Quality Data Collection, Filtering, and Accuracy Data needs to go through iterative data refining steps to draw accurate outcomes. An ML model needs, thousands of accurately labeled and annotated information and visuals to link its trained information with the information existing in the real world. That’s when it provides accurate results.

The ML algorithm ML will render useless if the data is not reliable.

Need for Data Diversity and Representative Training Data In today’s world, even humans are scorned for being biased. Then it is crucial that the machines are unbiased, just, and competent. This goal could be achieved by gathering diverse information globally. A homogenous dataset will serve only a particular group of people when it is structured to serve “humans”. A biased model would be considered an inaccurate model.

The curated data needs to be annotated and labeled with diverse information that is balanced and represents the diverse population.

AI Training Data: The Future

Although both the quantity and quality of data are relevant, the relationship between quantity and quality of data differs with each prompt.

Data Collection and Annotation Techniques Breakthrough There need to be effective policies for data collection and annotation, in order to derive accurate results. These policies are needed to minimize faulty output or errors such as inaccurate content, misrepresentation, incomplete measurements, data duplication, errors in data collection, erroneous measurements, and curation errors.

There are various methods of accurate data collection including data mining, web scraping, data extraction, and crowdsourcing.

Ethical Values in Training Data Training data collection is prone to various ethical issues such as bias, non-consent, lack of transparency, and vulnerable data privacy.

Data now contains vulnerable data including facial images, voice recordings, fingerprints, and other sensitive biometric data that puts people’s crucial data at risk. Thus, it is important to adhere to ethical and legal processes to maintain a healthy environment and avoid lawsuits.

Potential for Improved Quality and Diverse Training Data With time, the relevance and adoption of AI are only going to become more pronounced. The credit goes to awareness and interest in promoting high-quality AI growth and a vast number of AI data providers.

The present times encounter data providers that use advanced technologies to derive high-quality, diversified, ethical, and legal data. These are also adept at accurately labeling, annotating, and customizing data for different ML projects.

The Bottom Line

In order to create top-notch AI models, businesses or institutes needs to collaborate with organizations that have an accurate and reliable understanding of data and how to integrate it.

Globose Technology Solutions Pvt Ltd is a leading vendor of high-quality data to train and validate your systems to execute your AI projects effectively and efficiently. Partner with us and experience reliability and competency at their best. Previous

#ai training datasets

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stages-of-mania · 3 years

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Lord Huron Timeline Masterpost

Disclaimer: A lot of this information is speculation and consists of a lot of theories. Feel free to take things with a grain of salt.

Lonesome Dreams:

Setting: 19th century Wild West (some theories suggested could be the Middle East in the mid-20th century)

Characters:

Huron (main character)

Blaquefut (Huron’s best friend)

Helena (Huron’s girlfriend)

nameless Helena’s Ex (we're gonna call him Sonny for convenience)

Story: (I’m sure that most of the songs are in chronological order from the album but a few of them I believe are flashbacks so I had to move them around.)

She lit a fire/one of the best love songs ever written: The story goes earlier in the timeline technically, as it’s flashing back to how Huron met Helena. This is how the pair met. She lit his fire to travel the world or something.

Ends of the earth: early on in Huron and Helena‘s relationship. He wants to travel the world but she doesn’t so they’re kinda like “let’s split up for a bit”

Setting sun/the most mindfucking song (yes this bonus track is played at the end of the song, but hear me out ): Sonny has noticed that Helena has found someone else. They both know that Huron is better for her, but Sonny’s still pissed so he goes full yandere and chases after Huron. This story was put at the end and made “unfinished” because Sonny will always have a vendetta while Huron’s alive.

Time to run: Huron and friends are being chased by Sonny’s goons. Blaqufut gets shot in the head while helping Huron escape.

lonesome dreams: now this is a bit of a stretch, but from this theory, LD is basically purgatory and Huron travels to it to rescue Blaqufut from death.

Ghost on the shore/best song: nothing too significant to the story, it’s just Huron talking about how he misses home/the Great Lakes

I will be back one day: again, nothing much, just Huron reminiscing over Helena in pursuit to find her.

Man who lives forever: again nothing too significant, just Huron not wanting to die.

Brother: this is possibly the aftermath of an altercation between Huron and Blaqufut that they resolve. It pretty much just reaffirms their friendship.

In the wind: this one actually occurs while Huron is still on the run but from Helena’s perspective. It’s basically her reminiscing over him. I think they put this one at the end because it’s spiritually the end of the album, as it discusses how long distances and death can stop love.

Lullaby: Huron finally makes it back to Helena. He’s a complete wreck but Helena’s just happy he’s back

Sidenotes: Lonesome dreams are a collection of stories from Jorge Ranger Johnson, a writer character that Ben made up. Because of this, some of lonesome dreams might not actually be real within the universe of Lord Huron. Or they might be real events and just happened to be written about by an author.

Alternate theories suggest that Setting sun was actually about Huron the entire time and it did take place at the end of the album, causing Helena to find someone else and Huron to becoming a murderer.

One last important thing, because these are stories and might not actually occur within the universe of Lord Huron, it is possible that there is no afterlife, as suggested in later albums.

Strange Trails:

Setting:

1950s, somewhere in America.

George’s: A bar that several characters tend to spend time at (probably in reference to George Ranger Johnson)

Characters:

Frankie Lou: washed up singer who presumably had a failed romance that fucked up bad. Probably an alcoholic. Sings at George’s

Cobb Avery: zombie brought back to life out of vengeance. His family was killed because his boss gave him a piece of land on a sinkhole. leader of the “World Enders” gang. Basically a bunch of terrorists. Kills everyone from the company that sold him the house. Hangs out at George’s

Jonnie: member of the world Enders. Kind of trigger-happy in a thrill seeker. Probably one of the less malicious members of the group. Probably 19.

Buck Vernon: I also think another washed-up singer. What’s important though is that he suffers from hallucinations and is desperately trying to find the girl of his dreams.

Lily: some girl that every guy in town has the hots for. Hangs out at George’s

Jim: Lily's boyfriend. Hangs out at George’s.

Danielle: Young girl. The only child character, I’d say 11-14. Best character. You’re never too young to have an existential crisis.

Justine: not really important, presumably a writer.

Louisa: some random girl (Assuming that this theory is true, she might also be a witch and might’ve started out as an asshole, might also hang out at George’s)

There’s also some other guy but he was part of one song and it wasn’t significant so disregard him.

Story:

Love like ghosts: this is Frankie reminiscing over her failed relationship

When the night ends: Jonnie talking about appreciating the finer things in life while everything’s going to shit

Dead man’s hand/also best song: buck finds Avery presumably dead while wandering the desert. He buries him only to find out that Avery is still alive. Avery says that there’s no afterlife for him and he doesn’t want to go back in the grave. The pair become friends and go their separate ways.

Hurricane: just Johnny talking about living life on the edge

La belle fleur sauvage/the beautiful wildflower: just the lead singer gushing over Lily. The guy singing this only shows up in this song, but it’s just meant to establish that everyone has the hots for Lilly. The song could also be talking about Buck in his pursuit.

Fool for love: Buck goes to George’s to win over Lily, but Jim is already with her. Being delusional, buck tries to take on Jim (in the music video he gets Avery to fight him), he trashed the place and because of this is kicked out. He’s pretty optimistic but after this, he feels kind of defeated. (*Post-Rejection Depression Time*)

World ender: focuses on Avery‘s story. Follows him as he seeks vengeance and kills the people from the company that sold him the shitty house.

Meet me in the Woods: more of Frankie reminiscing over her failed romance

Yawning grave: (OK so this is the first big roadblock in the story, so the character that this song is about is very much left up to interpretation) I assume Avery has kind of calmed down But still intends to pursue the people that have wronged him.

Frozen Pines: (disappointingly) The only song about Danielle. Her parents were abducted by aliens in front of her. She is sort of in denial and refuses to leave where she is in the middle of the forest out of the delusion that they’ll come back. The song ends with her realizing that she has to move on as she attempts to leave the forest. (also, frozen Pines is the name of the motel so it could also just be that maybe Danielle is stuck at a motel which would honestly be kind of funny.)

Cursed/best love song ever written: Buck has found himself a new girl. However, due to previous failed romantic endeavors and hallucinations, he thinks that she’s an asshole trying to put a curse on him. (The song is presumably about Louisa. It’s entirely possible that Louisa was being manipulative but they sort things out)

Way out there: (The most difficult song to figure out) presumably about Avery. I can only best describe it as him having an existential crisis and him missing his dead family.

Louisa: after Buck was tempted to kick bricks, Louisa helped him out and gave him a newfound appreciation for life. Now they’re happy =]

Night we met: last song of Frankie reminiscing over her ex. Also, the lyric video confirms that Buck & Louisa either broke up or she was just a figment of his imagination, so uh, ya. Hopefully you weren't as emotionally invested in these characters as much as I was because that tore me a new one.

Sidenotes: this album definitely had the most interpretations. The biggest issues are the stories of yawning grave and way out there, as I am unsure that it is even about Avery. The real issue tho is the lack of songs about Danielle. Ben Come On!

There are also a couple connections between this album and the next

Vide Noir:

Setting: 1960s. Detroit & Los Angeles.

Background info: A drug called vide noir has recently been legalized. It’s basically just a hallucinogenic that destroys the fabric of reality, good times.

Characters:

Buck Vernon: Christ Ben just can’t seem to give this guy a break.

Lee Green: Buck’s new girl. Probably wants to be an actress or something.

Lady moonbeam: A medium/psychic. I think she’s black but it’s hard to tell because of the lighting.

Cobb Avery: Best Boy Electrician on “Products of the Universe” TV show. (only mentioned in 1 song)

Marsha Tanley & Dale Frander: “Products of the Universe” host; guy selling vide & its derivatives. (not in the songs)

Story:

Lost in time and space: Buck is upset because Lee left. He decides to chase after her nonetheless.

Never ever: Buck's spirits are lifted as he heads out to find Lee.

Ancient names: Buck goes to Lady Moonbeam For advice but she sees into the future and sees that Buck will become a drug addict. He’s in denial but she knows otherwise.

Wait by the river: just Buck talking about how you would do anything for Lee. Also reveals the potential of an altercation between the two of them, presumably the two of them having a fight before she left.

Secret of life: (OK this one’s a little hard, the singer is clearly Buck, but it’s hard to tell if he’s confronting either Lee or lady moonbeam) either way, whoever he is confronting has allegedly made a pact with Avery that will cause something bad to happen to Buck. Because of this, he downs a bottle of fukitol/vide noir.

Back from the edge: the MF dies but comes back (where have we seen that before)

Balancer's eye: Buck runs into God and is denied access to heaven. Either because he wasn’t supposed to die or maybe people who take drugs aren’t allowed in. Or God has really high standards and no one‘s allowed in (again, weird knowing that Blaqufut experienced purgatory and Avery said there’s no heaven at all)

When the night is over: realizing the effect of VN, Buck is becoming worried for Lee that she might overdose if he doesn’t find her soon enough

Moonbeam: Like with Louisa, Buck ran into a girl that saved him from a bad place. Hard to tell if it’s Lee (it likely isn’t because of later in the story) or lady moonbeam.

Vide Noir: Buck talking about the effects of the drug.

Emerald star/The most depressing song ever written: after doing everything he can and fucking dying, Buck finally finds Lee but he is turned down as she would rather be a junkie. It’s also possible that she might die or be dying, judging by the fact that the second half of this song is just instrumental followed by a sudden halt at the end. {Yay, I get to experience “close to you” all over again}

Sidenotes: George ranger Johnson is a spiritual advisor for the show that Avery works on.

The events of the film are claimed to come at the end/after the album.

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

All information was aggregated from the albums, interviews with Ben, music videos, articles about the film, Products of the Universe, & whatever else I could scavenge from LH’s YouTube channel.

I’d also like to give a huge thanks to the fanbase for their theories and research. It really helped out a lot piecing this all together. I had a lot of fun discussing this with fellow Wanderers and Enders and really appreciate being a part of this fanbase.

If you have any alternative theories, timelines, etc, be sure to mention them. A huge chunk of this info will probably become obsolete when the film/next album comes along so enjoy this while we can still be optimistic.

Dear Balancer help us.

#lord huron #lonesome dreams #strange trails #vide noir #cobb avery #buck vernon #ben schneider

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lesliemitchellwriting · 2 years

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“That’s just like… The rules of feminism!”: An intersectional feminist review of the film “Mean Girls”

In modern western society we spend a lot of time telling ourselves that we are entirely inclusive of other people. We call ourselves a “mosaic” (as said by Jimmy Carter), that there is no right or wrong way to be human. While that is a wonderful notion that politicians and salespeople like to use a lot (see one of Justin Trudeau’s addresses (“Diversity…”), or the Dove Beauty Campaign (“Dove…”)), it is not entirely true. It is my belief that media is the most accurate depiction of what the general public actually believes, and so through that lens we can see that there is a clear definition of what is acceptable for a woman to be and not to be, and the consequences to be had if that definition is not upheld by a certain person or peoples. So, on that note, my chosen medium is through film, and specifically the 2004 American teen comedy Mean Girls. Through the dissection of this film I will discuss how Mean Girls portrays intersectional identities as background characters to Ideal Female leads, thereby othering them and deeming them unworthy of good social reputation, and what that means for us as a society. And, in good Mean Girls fashion, I have come up with a series of “girl rules” on which to structure my argument, beginning with this:

Girl Rule #1: “On Wednesdays, we wear pink!” or, “the structuring of the Ideal Female”

One of the first things that needs to happen is to identify what the supposed baseline is, which in this case is the Ideal Female—which is the term I have chosen to use to describe the people in this film that are considered worthy of respect, admiration, and of a good reputation. If one looks through this film, it is not hard to see what that is; the film implies heavily that in order to be the Ideal Female you must be white, wealthy, young, thin, and in this case, female. Being all of these things ensures that she is able to subscribe to all of the consumerist necessities—mainly, she is able to wear all of the most fashionable clothing (in accordance to whom those companies intended their clothing for (see Victoria’s Secret (Phelps) and Abercrombie and Fitch (Denizet-Lewis)) and access to living conditions far above basic necessity (i.e. expensive car, large house, etc..). This is important because it gives her so much free mental space that she is able to concentrate on the unchangeable faults of her body, and the items she can consume to fill that ever-growing pit of self-loathing.

This seems like a bleak baseline, but this film reasserts it over and over again. We see it most obviously in the scene where Regina, Gretchen, and Karen, all of whom have everything they could ever need and more, stand in front of a mirror saying out loud things they hate about their bodies, and Cady—someone who is not yet Ideal Female—has to think hard of something to add. It even asserts this message when it implies that it is not, like how Cady Heron benefits from her role as Ideal Female later in the film when that role is essentially supposed to be abolished—she now dresses more fashionably, wears makeup, and is socially acceptable and therefore still well-liked because she now upholds certain female standards.

Now that we have a baseline of what we’re looking at, that can bring me to my next point:

Girl Rule 2: “You can’t sit with us” or “scorning alternate identities”

This is a big one. The main thing that makes Mean Girls so problematic is in the way that it portrays literally anything other than the Ideal Female, and there are two scenes which portray this the best—or perhaps I should say, the worst. The first scene is the one in which Janice is going through each of the cliques that exist within the school vis a vis the cafeteria. It scans through each table and gives them a name—"cool Asians”, “nerdy Asians”, “girls who eat their feelings”, and “girls who don’t eat”, just to name a few. This actually does a couple of harmful things: the first is that it implies that people within certain races or disabilities only can and do associate with those other similar people, and the second is that it strengthens the idea behind the “truth” of stereotypes. Both of these things are harmful to the people who fall within these categories, because it furthers the social stigma that already exists, and mocks these people. And while of course it is a comedy and mocking is a large part the comedic factor, it is one of those things where it is unacceptable because they are only mocking those who are not the Ideal Female, i.e. those people who are already in power.

The second scene I want to discuss is the one that is a series of interviews of people who are asked about Regina George—the Ideal Female Elite. Every single one of these people is somehow an outsider—they have a fat girl, a girl in a wheelchair, a hyper-masculine girl, and every one of them is talking about how they love Regina George, even in terms of the abuse they face regarding her. This in and of itself sends the terrible message that the Ideal Female can and should be able to get away with even horrendous acts—a message that is often quite prevalent in our own society. Not only that, but it also reinforces the almost inherent competition between women, which is mainly manufactured as a form of oppression. There was a study done in which obese people were assessed in their biases towards other obese people, and it showed a great amount of negativity was held regarding obese people, even though they themselves were (“Internalized Weight Stigma”), which is similar to women. Often times, women are so involved with being in competition with each other (be it through body, clothing, or societal expectations) that they fail to remark on how to join in a more uniformed way in order to battle this manufactured competition—an idea that is fallaciously brought up in the film, when it is in fact encouraging it.

On the flip side of this, all of the men are exempt from the scorn of social acceptability—and are actually quite afraid of it when confronted directly with is, as can be seen in the scene when all of the girls are fighting in the hallways, and we close in on one boy who utters the words, “mom, can you pick me up? I’m scared” on his cellphone—except for one boy: Damien. Which brings us to the next rule:

Girl Rule #3: “Almost too gay to function” or, “the Damien Factor”

The thing in this film that singles him out from the rest of the boys in this film is that he is gay— “almost too gay to function”, as Janice so lovingly puts it. It is interesting to note, because while the other boys take a back seat to the stories of the girls, Damien is one of the main characters. This is often misconstrued as being forward thinking and almost radical for its time in Hollywood, but in reality it actually furthers the idea that gay males are inherently more female. He is the complete and utter stereotype of what a gay boy should be—he is only friends with females, he sings a normally female-lead song at the school talent show, and he is the one who offers Cady Heron a pink (a socially feminine colour) shirt, to name a few examples out of dozens within the film. The thing about this is that it is built for a straight audience, so while perhaps a gay person could theoretically gain some value by having a gay character in a big Hollywood film, I would actually argue that it is far more damaging than helpful in that it furthers this idea of what “should be” in the same way that the Ideal Female does for its straight female counterparts.

Furthermore, in keeping with the subject of homosexuality, while Damien’s gayness is considered an asset to the movie through its inherent femininity, Janice Ian’s supposed lesbianism is throughout the film silenced, and then only brought about at the end as some kind of major plot point about why Regina is so bad. And while of course it is wrong to assume the sexuality of anyone, let alone spread rumors about it—because as we find out, Janice is in fact not a lesbian—there is something to be said for the way that her gayness is considered different to Damien’s. Because lesbianism is considered to be almost a protest of female femininity, her gayness had to be hidden and publicly revoked, much unlike that of Damien’s.

Girl Rule #4: “Whatever, those rules aren’t real” or, “upholding of arbitrary standards”

The final thing that this film does to completely decimate intersectional identities beyond the Ideal Female is by, at the end of this film, implying that all of the standards that the girls in this film were held to were entirely false, and that with a quick speech and the metaphorical breaking of these rules through the literal breaking of a Homecoming Queen crown, we too could break these rules if we choose not to let it control us.

This, of course, is an utter fallacy. There are so many more ways that the oppression of women is fundamentally upheld than through the asinine squabbling’s of teenagers. And while this is meant to reinforce the “it starts with us” discourse, it ignores all the other factors that are entirely out of one’s control—religions, ruling governments, laws, and many others—and essentially dismisses them and puts the blame for how women act and are treated back into the hands of women as being a fault of their own. And again, one could argue that a film can hold no such power, but the entire point of comedies is to reinforce the ideas that we already hold in our society. Karnick’s article speaks about romantic comedies, and they way in which they show traditional beliefs, like nuclear families and traditional gender roles, and how they are essentially just a mirror of society already (Brunowska Karnick). If you extrapolate that into this film, it is easy to see that there could be dire consequences.

In conclusion, Mean Girls, a comedy meant for teenage girls, with inherently impressionable minds and limited knowledge on the systematic oppression of women, portrays all identities not in line with the Ideal Female as being included solely as background characters and comedic relief to those that are the Ideal, which others them and shows them as being unworthy of admiration, love, or any other benefit. Instead of allowing this kind of media to poison the young minds of women, we need to set higher standards for what we think is comedic, and what is actually good.

Works Cited

Brunowska Karnick, Kristine. “Commitment and Reaffirmation in Hollywood Romantic Comedy.” Introduction to Film Studies Readings, edited by Andre Loiselle and Jose Sanchez, Pearson Custom Publishing, 2007.

Denizet-Lewis, Benoit. “The Man Behind Abercrombie & Fitch.” Salon, 24 January, 2006. https://www.salon.com/2006/01/24/jeffries/.

“Diversity is Canada’s Strength.” Government of Canada. www.pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2015/11/26/diversity-canadas-strength.

“Dove Campaigns.” Dove. https://www.dove.com/ca/en/stories/campaigns

“Internalized Weight Stigma and Its Ideological Correlates Among Weight Loss Treatment Seeking Adults.” US National Library of Medicine. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3165020/.

Mean Girls. Directed by Mark Waters, Paramount Pictures, 2004.

Phelps, Nicole. “‘we’re Nobody’s Third Love, We’re Their First Love’—the Architects of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show are Still Banking on Bombshells.” Vogue, 8 November, 2018. www.vogue.com/article/victorias-secret-ed-razek-monica-mitro-interview.

#mean girls #movie #film #chick flick #intersectionality #intersectional feminism #feminism #feminist #essay #writing #writer

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luimnigh · 4 years

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Would you still consider RWBY to be an indie show? RT has grown massively in size and budget since 2013, but they've remained smaller than most professional studios iirc.

That’s a very good question.

The define something as “indie” is a difficult thing, because the definition of indie does change between mediums. Indie games and movies are made without the financial backing of a major publisher/studio. Indie music seems to have instead evolved into a genre, a band can make Indie Rock even on a major record label. Indie art is defined by distribution, it’s art that exists outside commercial fine arts establishments.

There’s also the question of whether something can stop being Indie. If an indie games studio gets a publisher partway through development, does that game stop being Indie? If it’s an early access game, does it retroactively make previous versions “not indie”? If a piece of indie art gets put in a museum or gallery, does it stop being indie art?

RWBY began as an independent production. RoosterTeeth at the time was a self-owned company. In November 2014, it was purchased by Fullscreen, which was owned by Otter Media, which was part-owned at the time by AT&T.

But AT&T was not a studio, despite being a major company.

However nowadays, when you go up the chain of ownership, you’ll see the RoosterTeeth is now owned by Warnermedia. Specifically, the Warnermedia Entertainment subsidiary, which is the part of the company that runs Warner’s TV Channels and Streaming services.

Now that seems pretty cut-and-dry. Warner is a big-name production studio, RWBY isn’t an indie production anymore. But we don’t have any idea of RoosterTeeth’s financial situation, aka how much they’re being funded by Warner vs how much is self-funded. And how much of that funding is going to RWBY specifically.

Ultimately the best indicator we have is RWBY’s credits. If a studio provides funding to a project, they’re credited. That’s the rules. Same with individuals, though that usually comes with a producer credit.

And we can see that in RWBY’s credits, as it credits the Texas Film Commission. They got that credit for providing tax incentives to create the show in Texas.

There’s no mention of Warnermedia. No mention of Otter Media even, which is RoosterTeeth’s direct parent company.

Compare it to gen:LOCK, which not only credits the Texas Film Commission and the Screen Actors Guild, but also credits Michael B. Jordan’s production company, Outlier Society, and lists him and Outlier Society’s Head of Production, Alana Mayo, as Executive Producers.

So despite being owned by a major studio, it doesn’t look like RWBY is funded by a major studio. That RoosterTeeth seems to be, for the most part, still self-funding.

Which is a very long way of saying “Yeah, probably still technically counts as Indie”.

#rwby #roosterteeth #Anonymous #asks

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acsisoftpull · 3 years

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Soft Pull Training: How Soft Pulls Can Help Transform Your Business

Would you like to know how to pull your customer’s credit using their name and their address only?

Learn how iSoftpull enables you to check your customers’ credit using their name and address only. Keep reading to learn more, or enjoy our complimentary soft pull training video that outlines everything you need to know.

Introduction

So, you want to learn more about soft credit checks. You’re probably a lender or a broker, or work in some type of industry that requires financing for your customers. And, because of that, you want to know your customer’s credit score at the beginning of the sales cycle, that way you know whether or not they would be approved if they applied. Our software delivers you just that, your customer’s credit score and their full credit report using their name and address only — keep reading to learn more.

The Problem

When we first started developing the technology for soft pulls back in 2017 we primarily served the auto industry. And, if you’ve ever financed a car through a dealership, you know that it takes a long time to get a deal done.

When you get to the dealership, you’re most interested in knowing what the potential payments would be for a particular financing plan. Generally, the salesperson will require you to do a hard pull where you’ll fill out a formal credit application just so you can know how much your payments will be. And then there’s this back and forth on the dealership side. You have to sit down with the sales manager, and then he has to talk to the financing guy, and you go back and forth for hours. Only to find out that the payment is not right. Or, you know you have good credit, but you don’t want to do a hard pull, you just want to know what the payments are.

Well, YOUR customers are probably thinking the same thing. They simply want to know how much their payments are going to be but, like the auto dealer, you probably have to have them apply first. It shouldn’t have to be that complicated, right? That’s how we got our start, we needed to help solve this problem for auto dealers on how they could speed up their sales cycle. To help solve this problem, we’ve introduced soft pulls for businesses.

Our Solution

Soft pulls help to bridge the gap in the sales cycle. Now, the customer simply gives the dealer their name, their home address, and the permission to do a soft pull. With that simple information, the dealer can then offer terms based on their credit report and their FICO score but without harming the credit score, or putting a hard inquiry on their credit report, AND without needing their sensitive information.

It not only helps the customer know their payment plan, but also helps the auto dealer. Now, the salesperson won’t have to spend three to four hours on somebody that in the end, won’t even qualify. Soft pulls help you find out at the beginning of the sales cycle, whether or not someone will be approved.

Industries We Serve

Back in 2017, when we were only serving the auto industry and we were doing a lot of cold calling. We were trying to get more deals, and were doing okay but knew that there had to be more people out there needing this type of software. Then, we heard about digital advertising and that changed everything. After posting a Google ad targeted towards auto dealers, we started getting a lot of calls from random companies across many industries — from solar, to business loans, even dentists. They’d call us and we’d ask why they needed soft pulls, and they would start telling us their story.

There was a guy who worked in solar, for instance, who explained that he had a whole team of door knockers in the field and they’d spend a lot of time and resources working on a deal. They’d spend weeks, even months, driving back and forth from a potential job site talking to the customer, only to find out that the client isn’t even qualified. Imagine doing all that work and having it be a total waste?!? Unfortunately, some of you might know this feeling all too well. And with that, we realized the home improvement industry needs soft pulls so they can know their customers’ credit at the beginning of the sales cycle, to help know which customers to pursue.

Or, people who do business loans, they used to have the customer submit a credit report so they could review it and know where to send the deal. But sometimes, the customer would never submit the credit report, so then the business loan people would shotgun the deal out to four or five lenders, and the customer would end up getting five different hard pulls on their credit report. So, this business loan company definitely needs to know the customer’s credit score so they know where to send the loan.

And the list goes on. We’ve found that there are so many different industries that need soft pulls. And they all have one thing in common, they need to know the customer’s credit at the beginning of the sales cycles, to know if they should spend time on this customer or not.

Today, we serve mortgage brokers, contractors, real estate agents, companies that do personal loans and business loans, auto dealers, we can serve most businesses who are lending money or administering services upfront who need to ensure that their client is able to adhere to lending terms.

Soft Pull vs. Hard Pull Difference

You might be wondering, what’s the difference between a soft pull and a hard pull? Well, let’s start by saying, it isn’t the data — hard pulls and soft pulls both show the full, up-to-date credit report and score. The difference is the borrower’s intent. See, with a soft pull the borrower is saying, “if I did apply, would I be approved?” They’re not actually asking for the loan right now, they’re checking to see if in the case they did want to submit a formal application, if they’d be approved or what they’d be approved for. So, by doing a soft pull, you can find out the terms and the exact credit score, so you can get the deal done.

You’ve seen this a lot, if you’ve ever shopped for a credit card online, like on a Capital One or American Express, it says, “get prequalified, will not impact your credit score” and then you put in your information and they say you’d be best suitable for the gold offer or the silver offer or the double points offer etc. In the past, this technology was exclusively used by the big players like Capital One and American Express but what we did was develop this technology and package it to bring to the middle market, to the small businesses and medium sized businesses. Now, companies of all sizes have access to the same exact technology as some of the largest lenders.

How it Works

The credit bureaus create data, and that’s all they really do, they’re data aggregators, but they rely on resellers like us to make technology to serve different niches and deliver credit reports. So that’s where we come in, we provide the software. We buy the data from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, and we enable you to run soft credit checks through our platform.

We help you to overcome the burden of not knowing your customer’s credit, we deliver you your customer’s full credit report and FICO score using their name and address only. Now, you might be wondering, how can you do that with just a name and address only? It’s simple really, the name AND address serves as a unique identifier, just like a social security number but without having to worry about the sensitive nature associated with that information.

We have an application programming interface (API) with the credit bureaus that enable us to pull credit using name and address only. This operates on a couple of assumptions:

The first being that the name and the address are only associated with one person. So if there’s a John Doe Jr. and a John Doe Sr. living in the same house, then we would need the date of birth or the social security number to access the credit report of the John Doe in question.

Or, if someone had gotten married and they gave you their new last name, we’d need their date of birth or their social security number.

Or, let’s say someone had moved and they gave you their name and new home address, but the new address wasn’t associated with any accounts on their credit report, then you’d need the DOB or ssn.

While there are rare instances (like those outlined above) that would require you to obtain additional information to pull someone’s credit report, the overwhelming majority of the time you’ll be able to successfully access the report using name and address only. The reason this is so important is because people have been trained not to give up their social security number, especially with the rise in identity theft and compromised data.

Benefit of Soft Pulls

Imagine if you’re cold calling, selling home refinances, or whatever it is, but you haven’t built up a rapport with the customer. Before, if you wanted to qualify a customer, you’d need to do a hard credit pull using their social security number but chances are they wouldn’t be willing to give that information because you’re a stranger, right? Makes sense. But imagine it now, with soft credit checks, that customer is going to be a lot more willing to share their name and address to see if they qualify, knowing that there won’t be any negative impacts to them in doing so.

This is HUGE! If the majority of people would’ve walked away because they didn’t want to give their social security number or apply with a hard pull, you can now overcome these barriers and turn them into ACTUALborrowers and ACTUAL prospects. You’re going to convert more leads, plain and simple. Try and envision what your business would look like if you were able to transform all of your no’s into yeses?

We’ve found that by only asking for a name and a home address increases the conversion rate by 300% online. If you’re shopping online for a loan, you have two options, one is fill out just your name and your home address, the other is put in your name, home address, date of birth, social security number, occupation, employment history, and this whole litany of information. Between those two choices, you’re going to chose the name and address application over the other one, right?

You’re not alone, the name and address soft pull inquiry converts over 300% more than the traditional hard pull application. That’s 300% more viable leads and and I’m sure you can infer what that would mean for your bottom line. At the end of the day, the opportunity cost of not having soft pulls apart of your sales process is something that none of us can afford to bear.

How Soft Pulls Transform Business

Let’s discuss how businesses from different industries are using soft pulls. It all starts with consent, you have to get the customer’s consent, you can do that over the phone on a recorded line, online on your website, or you can even use a paper application if you’re in-person with the customer.

Over the phone works really well when you do an appointment setting, so let’s say a company that’s in the home improvement industry is going to send somebody out to a potential job where the client will require financing. With soft pulls. the company can run the client’s credit report, with consent, using name and address to find out whether or not they would be approved. Companies can phrase this by asking if they can run a soft credit check on the customer so they can give them the exact terms and an exact quote.

Now, in order to get consent over the phone, you need a recorded line, that’s why a lot of companies will have the consent clause on a written paper application or digital consent form that can be stored. Capturing consent can be easily incorporated into normal business practices, you can do it on appointment confirmations before you send them out or apart of your inquiry forms or onboarding process.

Businesses that provide refinancing for Home loans, for example, can utilize soft pulls as a lead generation and pre-qualify tool in their email marketing campaigns. They probably want to run a credit check that’s going to show a potential borrower’s mortgage and how much they owe on their home. Well, the company likely already has the customer’s name and home address, so they can send them an email with a “get prequalified” call-to-action button with an embeded pre-qual and consent form. You can simply include the consent form at the bottom of the application and when they click I agree, you’re able to run the soft credit check on them. This is great for doing lead generation. Instead of simply getting a lead from Facebook or Google, you can now generate a new lead and also get their full credit report and FICO score.

What Our Customers are Saying

There are a lot of different ways that companies can use soft pulls depending on their industry or business model. Take one of our best clients, Jason from Capwell Funding, a business loan company. He’s been using our product for years and has been able to scale his business because of it. Before he used soft pulls he had to rely on his client to provide a PDF of their credit report. These reports would come from various credit monitoring sites and could take up to two weeks to obtain from the client.

With soft pulls, Jason and his team at Capwell Funding are able to acquire the client’s credit report right away. They simply collect a few data points from the client and are good to go. Furthermore, Jason has found that the soft pull data is more detailed and comprehensive than most credit monitoring platforms. By checking credit internally, he’s been able to provide an accurate pre-qual and doesn’t have to rely on the client to provide their credit.

“I almost didn’t believe it. Even after using it for a little bit, I still wondered, how long is this gonna last? How long am I gonna be able to do this? ’cause this is amazing, this is… I keep using the term, but it’s game-changing! We’ve been able to do a lot more deals with soft pulls because of the scalability. I really couldn’t imagine anyone that needs to review credit not having it. I don’t know how you would really be effective, how you would compete in the marketplace without soft pull. If you’re a business that needs to review your customer’s credit, I highly recommend iSoftpull.”

Jason, iSoftpull Customer

Check out this video to hear from Jason and learn how he’s transformed his business using iSoftpull.

Conclusion

We serve all types of businesses, from solar to business loans, auto, mortgage, the list goes on, but what all these people have in common is that they all want to pull their customer’s credit for financing purposes. Now, there are a lot of other industries that also have a reason to pull credit, like bankruptcy attorneys or credit repair or tenant screening but we are unable to provide our service to them at the moment. We specialize in financing and loans, net 30, and in-house funding. So, if you want to pull your customer’s credit for the purpose of checking to see if they can pay back a loan, we can totally work with you!

Hopefully, you got a lot out of this training! Now you should know what soft credit checks are, how different industries are using them, and how they will transform your business.

Want more information?

Click here to schedule an appointment with one of our sales reps.

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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The Best Games of 2020

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Despite how almost every other aspect of the year went, 2020 was a landmark year for video games. Not only did it see the release of highly-anticipated titles like The Last of Us Part II, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Ghost of Tsushima, and Cyberpunk 2077, but 2020 also marked the beginning of a new generation of console and PC gaming with the release of the Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and new GPUs from NVIDIA and AMD. We even got a new Half-Life game this year!

What would’ve made the gaming year ever better? Big-name video game companies could have done more to eliminate development crunch and be more transparent about their business practices with customers and the press. And we definitely could have all been nicer to each other.

But video games also helped keep us connected when we couldn’t see our friends and loved ones in person. They helped us travel to new and interesting places when we couldn’t leave our homes. Most importantly, all 20 games on our best-of-the-year list made us feel excited about this medium at a time when it was so difficult to enjoy anything else.

To that affect, Den of Geek is celebrating 20 video games our contributors and critics, as well as our community of readers, voted as the very best of 2020.

20. Star Wars: Squadrons

For the last decade or so, most Star Wars games have focused on the power fantasy of being a lightsaber-swinging, Force-wielding Jedi. That’s all well and good, but for a long time it seemed like everyone forgot that some of the most beloved Star Wars games of all time were actually space shooters like X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and Rogue Squadron. In many ways, Star Wars: Squadrons is a throwback to those games, both in terms of gameplay and design. Controls are a pitch perfect mix of arcade simplicity and strategy, requiring quick thinking about whether to focus your ship’s power on attacking or defending.

Squadrons is also much more tightly focused than other recent games from large publishers, with a breezy yet enjoyable single-player campaign, and a multiplayer mode that, while light on modes, eschews the more annoying modern conventions of the online PvP like invasive microtransactions. But Squadrons is not stuck in its old school ways.

If you have the hardware for it on PC or PS4, you can jump into the cockpit of any of the playable ships for one one of the most immersive VR modes around. Similar to how The Mandalorian has rejuvenated the live-action side of the Star Wars media empire, Squadrons is a perfect mix of all of the best things we’ve always loved about Star Wars video games, and everything we want them to be going forward. – CF

19. Journey to the Savage Planet

Science fiction writers have long held on to this idea that, if and when humankind eventually colonizes the universe, it will do so as some sort of united, utopian entity, like Starfleet. But that future seems less and less likely every day. If and when humanity spreads across the stars, it will likely be messy, absurd, and profit-motivated. Journey to the Savage Planet wallows in that type of future. As an unnamed human (or dog, if you choose), you’re dropped onto the planet AR-Y26 by Kindred, the fourth biggest intergalactic exploration company with the simple goal of collecting as many resources as possible and leaving.

The Metroidvania gameplay loop of crafting equipment to access new areas is compelling, a rarity for 3D games in the genre. And it offers plenty of surprises too. You’ll start off with the typical blaster and scanner before eventually unlocking a grappling hook that lets you swing around levels like Spider-Man. But it’s style that ultimately lifts Journey to the Savage Planet above so many other games released in 2020. For one thing, the world and the fauna you’ll encounter are incredibly unique, and well, alien. And the regular live-action updates from Kindred beamed directly to your ship are among some of the funniest and most bizarre cinematics out this year in any game, providing plenty of motivation to see this journey through to its end. – CF

18. Half-Life: Alyx

As VR gaming continues to evolve, it’s becoming clear that the technology is more than just one truly great game away from widespread adoption. If that were all it took, then Half-Life: Alyx would have put a VR set under a lot of Christmas trees.

It’s truly wild to think that we got a new Half-Life game this year and that it sometimes feels like the game’s release was barely a blip on the cultural radar. While its somewhat muted debut can be attributed to its VR exclusivity (and the fact it launched at the onset of a global health crisis), Half-Life: Alyx surpassed all possible hype by offering a truly incredibly narrative-driven adventure bolstered by some of the cleverest uses of VR technology that we’ve ever seen.

Half-Life: Alyx isn’t the first great VR game, but Valve’s glorious return to form does shows how VR can advance fundamental elements of gameplay and storytelling rather than just show familiar games from a new perspective. – MB

17. Carrion

The indie game space is where you typically see the most experimentation, and this year proved no different when the gruesome and morbid Carrion released back in July. Highly inspired by the likes of John Carpenter’s The Thing, Alien, and other cult classic horror films known for their excellent use of practical SFX, this platformer cleverly flips the script, putting you in the role of the monster to dispatch helpless scientists in the claustrophobic depths of an underground lab as an ever-growing amorphous blob creature. What follows is a brief but effective 2D platformer that is fast paced and delectably gory.

The controls could have made controlling the creature a real pain, but Phobia Game Studio recognized that the key here was letting you move swiftly through the levels. As such, gliding through vents to take down scientists from above or underneath quickly becomes second nature. Encounters still pose a good degree of challenge, however, thanks to the heavily armed soldiers that show up later in the game, but this never stops Carrion from fulfilling every horror aficionado’s devilish fantasy of being the bloodthirsty monster. – AP

16. Kentucky Route Zero

Calling Kentucky Route Zero an homage to classic point-and-click adventure games is technically correct, but it doesn’t come close to doing the experience justice. Kentucky Route Zero is more like a poem or fable in video game form. It’s a feeling, a distillation of what it’s like to come of age in the Great Recession and its fallout over the last decade. Kentucky Route Zero is an epithet for rural America told through a fever dream, an examination of a version of rural Appalachia where talking skeletons and robotic musicians live alongside gas station attendants and truck drivers.

Nothing about Kentucky Route Zero fits the typical confines of what we expect from a video game, and that includes its release. Developed by a team of only three, the first episode of the five-episode experience was released in 2013, but the final product was only realized in early 2020. That lengthy development cycle meant that the game’s scope and story could grow to only better encapsulate this moment in time, and the final product stands out as one of best games of the year. To say more is to spoil its excellent story. – CF

15. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2

Though it’s been a hot minute since skateboarding games dominated the console space, Vicarious Visions’ excellent remake collection of the first two Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater titles was a reminder of how the entire series captured a whole generation of players in the late ’90s and early ’00s. Whether it’s grinding down rails, performing kickflips, or landing the gravity-defying 1080 on a vert ramp, everything in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 feels and looks exactly as you remember it but touched up with modern flare. That’s the mark of any great remake, and why this game in particular was the best example of the practice this year.

Classic skating locations like Warehouse, School and Downtown have all been faithfully remade from the ground up for a 21st century audience, effortlessly delivering the same thrills and balanced challenge as they did before. The fact that select mechanical features like reverts, which wouldn’t arrive until later entries, have been retroactively added is also a nice touch, instantly making Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 the definitive way to experience these skateboarding classics. – AP

14. Ori and the Will of the Wisps

The fact that Ori and the Will of the Wisps managed to usurp the critically acclaimed 2015 original in most design aspects speaks to just how well Moon Studios has mastered the art of the Metroidvania. Whisking players off on another tight 10-hour journey set within a mystical forest full of secrets to discover, this 2D adventure gives off a fantastical vibe in a way few others do. It’s an expert blend between smart combat mechanics, highly polished platforming, and emotional storytelling. That it runs at a silky 60 fps both on Nintendo Switch and Xbox is the cherry on top.

The major improvements Will of the Wisps makes over Blind Forest relate to saving and combat. Whereas previously it was the responsibility of players to lay down specific checkpoints, progress is now more in line with other 2D platformers and less punishing. Combat, meanwhile, has been completely revamped with the inclusion of special charms and upgradeable skills, most of which result in more flexible enemy encounters. These tweaks are implemented without ever compromising on Ori’s core hook of magical exploration and challenging platforming, instantly making it one of the best Metroidvanias out there. – AP

13. Call of Duty: Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone was a natural and perhaps even necessary evolution for the long-running shooter franchise, carving out a space for it in the ever-crowding battle royale genre. While it’s largely derivative of battle royale titles that came before, the staggering 150-player count, always excellent CoD controls, top-notch presentation, and flexible cash system have made it eminently popular and fun for casual players and series vets alike. The CoD fan base feels vibrant again after years of stagnation in the shadow of breakout titles like PUBG and Fortnite, and that’s without going into how Warzone has revitalized the franchise’s presence in the streaming space.

One of the best facets of the game’s design is that the large player count all but ensures that, even if a player is new to the genre or series, the chances of them being the absolute worst player in the field is very low. Better still, the “Gulag” respawn mechanic opens up the possibility for ultimate revenge should you earn your way back into the match, which is a nice way to up engagement for those who suffer disappointing deaths.

The game doesn’t feel quite as dynamic or high-stakes as some of its competitors on the market, but it’s definitely one of the easiest to pick up and play. It’s no wonder Warzone has expanded CoD’s already enormous audience over the course of 2020. – BB

12. Astro’s Playroom

With launch lineups mostly filled with graphically enhanced releases of last-gen games, the release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X has been more than a little underwhelming. The one bright spot is Astro’s Playroom, a little first-party Sony game that received virtually no pre-release hype and comes pre-installed on every PS5.

While at first glance a typical 3D platformer, Astro’s Playroom soon reveals itself to be a fantastic showcase of what’s possible with the new DualSense controller. In one level, you’re feeling the resistance from the controller’s adaptive triggers as you spring jump through obstacles dressed as a frog. In another, you’re expertly moving the controller back and forth to climb walls in a robotic monkey suit. Even just standing in the rain causes the controller to pulse ever so slightly with each drop. And all of this takes place across worlds celebrating the entire history of PlayStation, where you collect classic consoles and accessories, culminating in an unexpected boss battle throwback to an original PSX tech demo.

Astro’s Playroom may be short, but it’s an oh so sweet and exciting taste of what’s possible with the power of next-gen consoles. – CF

11. Doom Eternal

It would have been easy for Doom Eternal to be more of the same. After all, 2016’s Doom became the surprising gold-standard for single-player FPS games by virtue of its clever writing and gameplay that blended the best of classic and modern design concepts. Yet, Doom Eternal proved to be something much more than “the same but bigger.”

With its arena-like levels and resource management mechanics, Doom Eternal sometimes feels like a puzzle game set in the Doom universe. While the transition to this new style can be jarring, you soon find that Doom Eternal is speaking the same language in a different dialect. The brutal brilliance of a classic Doom game remains but it’s presented in the form of a kind of FPS dance that puts you in a state of pure zen once you figure out how to make that perfect run through a room full of demonic baddies.

Four years after Doom showed this old franchise could pull off new tricks, Doom Eternal proves that this series is at the forefront of FPS innovation once more. – MB

10. Demon’s Souls

Although initially released in 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Demon’s Souls would help define the next generation of gaming by establishing the Soulslike genre, which has influenced everything from recent Star Wars games to The Legend of Zelda. The “problem” is that the legacy of Demon’s Souls has been sort of eclipsed by the accomplishments of its successors.

That’s the beauty of the remake for the PS5. Aided by the power of the console’s next-gen hardware, developer Bluepoint Games pays homage to one of the most historically significant games of the last 15 years while wisely updating it in ways that show that the foundation of FromSoftware’s breakthrough hit remains arguably the best entry in a genre that isn’t exactly lacking in modern classics.

In a year where finding a next-gen console proved to be more difficult than any Soulslike game, Demon’s Souls remains the best reason to battle the bots at online stores in the hopes of joining gaming’s next generation as soon as possible. – MB

9. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

There were multiple times this year where couped-up players relied heavily on “bean” games to help maintain a human connection. Before Among Us dominated the Twitch streams, it was Mediatonic’s intentionally clumsy and hilarious Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout that had us competitively raging with our friends. It did so by merging the wildly popular battle royale genre with the inflatable-fueled antics of early ’90s game shows, where dodging swinging hammers and battling giant fruit against 59 others became the norm for a few weeks – all in the pursuit of winning a highly coveted crown.

Needless to say, making Fall Guys free to PS Plus subscribers for a month turned out to be a genius marketing move, urging everyone to hop into the game’s inventive gamut of levels and make a fool of themselves. Much of what sets it apart from other battle royale attempts is its low-skill barrier to entry, and thanks to frequent seasonal updates, new unlockable outfits and fresh mini-games always being added, bumbling to the top of the pack as a colorful bean remains consistent fun. – AP

8. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Animal Crossing: New Horizons should be included in history books about the Covid-19 pandemic. Releasing just as lockdowns were being instituted across the globe, New Horizons provided the escapism we so desperately needed while quarantining, attracting not just the usual Nintendo fanbase, but even those who had never played games in the past but were now looking for something to occupy their time at home. Whether we played it with friends or alone, New Horizons provided the routine and distraction that so many of us needed in a world suddenly thrown into chaos.

Of course, it helped that New Horizons is the best Animal Crossing game to date, with tons of new ways to customize your island (and yourself). And as Covid-19 restrictions have stretched much longer than many of us anticipated, New Horizons has kept pace, with Nintendo releasing a steady stream of new fish to catch, fruits to harvest, and events to participate in throughout the year. It may not be the game that everyone wanted, but New Horizons is the game that 2020 needed. – CF

7. Cyberpunk 2077

When Cyberpunk 2077’s legacy is written, there’s no doubt that the opening chapter is going to focus on the bugs, technical shortcomings, and empty promises that have turned what looked to be one of 2020’s guaranteed hits into one of modern gaming’s most debated debuts.

Yet, the reason that this game’s initial issues will likely not ultimately define it is that Cyberpunk 2077 reveals itself to be a special experience whenever you’re able to play it without crashes or bugs ruining your experience. From its stunning side quests that revive one of The Witcher 3’s best elements to its shockingly human narrative, Cyberpunk 2077 regularly showcases the undeniable talent of the individuals who battled internal and external factors to deliver their vision.

Cyberpunk 2077’s technical problems wouldn’t hurt as much as they do if there wasn’t a truly great game at the heart of them that people are begging to be able to play as intended. – MB

6. Final Fantasy VII Remake

The pressure was on for Square Enix from the moment it announced Final Fantasy VII Remake back in 2015. For those who obsessed over the original back in 1997, the prospect of a remake was the stuff dreams were made of, and this year we finally got to relive Cloud, Aerith, Barret, and Tifa’s grand adventure (the first act of it, at least) with fully updated, well, everything. Astonishingly, the remake actually lived up to expectations and delivered not just a faithful update to the original game but a modern RPG that stands as one of its generation’s best regardless of nostalgia.

The key to Square Enix’s success was its approach, which aimed not to duplicate the experience of the original game, but to capture the essence and spirit of it while using modern game design to deliver the story in a way that doesn’t feel retro or rehashed at all. The game looks dazzling by 2020 standards (Midgar never looked better) but doesn’t compromise the integrity of the original designs, and the real-time combat—arguably the biggest departure from the original—is a blast to play.

Time will tell how exactly Square Enix will follow through with the rest of the remake as we enter a new console generation, but in the meantime, they studio has left us with a terrific reimagining of the most celebrated title in the studio’s expansive oeuvre. – BB

5. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Ubisoft deserves credit for keeping a franchise like Assassin’s Creed, which is 13 years old at this point, thriving in an industry that is flooded with more open world games now than it ever has been. The series is always competitive in the genre, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla proves why: it’s as refined as any of its predecessors and delivers a balanced experience with a rich world to explore, tons of strange stories to uncover, and a mash-up milieu that combines the eerie atmosphere of 5th-century England with the otherworldly spectacle of Norse mythology.

No open world game is perfect, and Valhalla certainly has a handful of shortcomings. But it’s a bloody good time to play, and there’s so much to do that there’s no question that you get your money’s worth. Eivor’s quest for glory and domination is also arguably the most cinematic story in the entire AC catalog, with some truly breathtaking cutscenes that rival those found in more linear games that can’t sniff Valhalla’s scope. Some of the more otherworldly moments in the back half of the game are pure, unadulterated, nonsensical fun, and overall, this is one of the best entries in the series. – BB

4. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Insomniac is one of those studios that you can always rely on to deliver fun, polished games that shine in every category, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales only adds to the team’s sterling reputation. Building on the already brilliant formula the studio created with the original Marvel’s Spider-Man, Miles’s story is one of loss, friendship, identity, and the strength of the Black and Hispanic communities of Harlem.

The side-quel is also one of the best launch titles arguably ever. While it is a cross-gen game, the PS5 version is currently the best showcase of what next-gen gaming is capable of from a visual and performance standpoint. You won’t find a better-looking New York City in any other video game, period, and Insomniac’s outstanding animation work looks insanely good when bolstered by the PS5’s considerable horsepower. Miles plays differently than Peter Parker did in the original game as well, with his Venom Powers giving enemy encounters a new feel and rhythm.

Insomniac outdid itself with an excellent follow-up that would’ve been a forgettable DLC expansion in the hands of a less ambitious studio. But Miles Morales is one of the best modern-day superhero characters ever created, and it’s only right that he get a game that lives up to his greatness. – BB

3. Hades

The popularity of roguelikes has been calmly bubbling up for years now, yet only in 2020 did it truly become mainstream thanks to an ideal balance between gameplay and story as demonstrated by Hades. Players who previously took umbrage with the genre’s nature to wipe out all progress at each run’s end suddenly had a reason to jump back in, now inspired by Zagreus’ various tries to escape hell and overthrow his eponymous father. This alone sees Hades tower over most of its peers in terms of balance, further backed up by rewarding gameplay and a gorgeous comic book art style that makes the well-worn mythological Greek milieu feel fresh.

Developer Supergiant Games proved its penchant for creating flexible mechanical loops in prior titles, and in many ways, Hades feels like a culmination of all those ideas distilled in one neat package. It’s a great example of semi-randomized systems layering perfectly on top of other systems, until players eventually find themselves completing runs using distinct weapons, upgrading persistent abilities and slowly discovering which of the god’s many boons gel best with one another. Hades is always a hellishly good time. – AP

2. Ghost of Tsushima

The concept of honor has never been explored in a game as lyrically and philosophically as it is in Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch’s story-driven samurai epic. Jin Sakai’s grand adventure is both brutal and beautiful, stretching across the grasslands and snowy peaks of the titular island, as he pushes the oppressive Mongol army out of his homeland, all the while wrestling internally with the kind of man, warrior, and leader he ultimately wants to be.

This game is outstanding on so many fronts that it’s difficult to list them all here. Visually, it looks so stunning that anyone who walks past your TV as you play is all but guaranteed to stop and stare for a while. The combat is fast and challenging, the stealth mechanic is on-point, the score is sweeping and sentimental, the character models are incredibly realistic, the online multiplayer mode “Legends” is actually a blast to play…and the list goes on. This poetic, pitch-perfect modern masterpiece is emblematic of the soulful, cinematic storytelling PlayStation Studios is known for, and it’s a wonderful way to send the PS4 off into the sunset. – BB

1. The Last of Us Part II (Also Reader’s Choice)

You can’t even say the name of our 2020 game of the year without sparking numerous debates that often make it nearly impossible to have a productive conversation about the game itself. That makes it that much more tempting to somehow find a kind of middle-ground that will “justify” the game’s lofty position to everyone regardless of where they stand.

The thing about The Last of Us Part 2,though, is that its divisiveness is very much part of the experience. Naughty Dog’s follow-up to arguably its greatest game is a bold attempt to live up to the franchise’s legacy by furthering what came before while trying to find its own way. Much like Ellie herself, The Last of Us Part 2 doesn’t always make the right decisions. Yet, at a time when bigger budgets are seen as an excuse to play it safe, The Last of Us Part 2 impresses through its willingness to present a big, bold, and personal adventure that is often anything but what was expected.

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

Anyone can generate a little controversy by saying something stupid, offensive, or hurtful. The beauty of The Last of Us Part 2’s controversy is that it stems from a heartfelt attempt to advance the conversation through indie-like passion and big budget production. – MB

The post The Best Games of 2020 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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ipsusa · 4 years

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Experiential Branding: A New Approach to Improve Your Website Ranking

Today, customers have so many options to shop!

Each business is trying to attract potential customers. For this, they are hiring web development services in the USA and adding new elements to websites o increase web traffic.

If we say that traditional marketing methods are now replaced by online marketing methods, it would not be wrong.

In such a digital world, how can a business compete with competitors?

How can a business stand out?

How will a company grow?

All of these questions can be answered via experiential branding – the experience a brand offers to the customers.

Brand Experience/ Experiential Branding

Experiential Branding refers to the responses, feelings, and sensations invoked by the brand. Web development plays an important role in this regard.

Nowadays, customer experience is all that matters!

A user-friendly experience evokes a long-lasting impression on potential leads/clients.

Customer satisfaction is another factor that can be enhanced via a detailed framework, and web development services in the USA effectively achieve this goal.

It creates an opportunity to build a loyal fan base that sticks with your brand despite the tough competition.

Experiential branding also subjects to the sales funnel that brands create for their customers. Stimulating emotions is the end goal of any website. If your website cannot do that, it’s high time to consult professional website development companies.

Influence Customer Preferences via Efficient Web Development

The way you put elements on your website and how you present them indirectly reflects your company’s professional abilities.

There are many factors that make a brand or break its reputation. In the end, we have to achieve brand equity, which is to be consistent with all the elements.

It definitely helps to build the perception that you as a brand want to portray over potential customers.

Experiential Branding Gives Direction to Project

When businesses grow, they require detailed operations on their website design to incorporate a variety of options. The purpose is to simplify user access to the brand. However, it is easy to get lost in the maze of trends. To counter this, experiential branding helps marketers and development companies to stay on track while modifying the goals.

Branding, when done right, creates hundreds of B2B (Business-to-Business) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) opportunities. While upgrading your online presence, marketers must not get overexcited and focus on maximizing customer experience.

User Interface, design elements, navigation functionalities, and others must be in place to enhance the experience of how customers interact with the brand.

How Web Development Services in the USA Creates Experiential Branding?

Professional web development companies design and create websites that are needed to create to communicate with the audience.

The layout should be visually pleasing

The website should be user-friendly

Functionalities should be well put together

Communication medium should be easy

The website should be responsive

Knowledge should be updated

All elements should be compatible with the latest practices

If only one thing is not up to the standards, SEO efforts will not be maximized. So, an optimized and well-developed website is easy to rank, and it can bring more traffic.

How to Maximize Your Opportunities for Branding?

First, it starts on the website. An appealing website takes the potential customer halfway through the sales funnel.

Many big brands pay special attention to the construction and outlook of the website. They hire web development services in the USA that are dedicated to providing a satisfactory user-experience via the website.

With immature or beginner web developers, you can save money, but it will affect your online presence in the long run.

Imagine, you invest efforts in the website development, and in the end, it does not turn out the way you wanted or does not attract traffic.

Would it not be frustrating?

To avoid the inconvenience, it is better to work for experiential branding from the day you plan to build a brand. Moreover, if you take help from professional web development services, they will guide you in the right direction based on their experience and expertise.

To be honest, you are encouraging your clients to spend on your product. And, if you are not providing them satisfied with your front look, you are missing opportunities.

Conclusion

Build your website via web development services in the USA, keeping in mind the expectation of a potential customer. It will not only boost your marketing efforts but also improve conversion rates exponentially.

#web development #web design #website traffic #IPS WebDevelopment Marketing Internet Websites DigitalMarketingServices USA #website #seo services #SEO #call center services #DM IPSUSA DigitalMarketing SEO SMM SEM PPC ContentMarketing OnlinePresence VideoMarketing

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idontworkforsega · 4 years

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This isn’t a prompt, just a question open for general discussion, do you see SonAmy becoming canon in the future? Teeeechnically it already is, but do you think there will be any comic or series or game where SonAmy are affectionate like how SonAlly (rip) was in the Archie comics? Just basically, is there any hope for my ship ;-;

I’ve answered this a few times, but with how popular trends are going, romance within more medias is becoming more accessible/acceptable to those who normally wouldn’t have… uh… how do I say, affiliations with it at all.

For example, Nintendo is starting to slowly introduce a more romantic tone in their Zelda series. With modern audiences expecting more from media concerning human ‘relationships’ there is a growing trend of our time for more emotional depth and strong character ties between each other. So more media is starting to say, “How do we enhance, expand, and keep our series going?” which then brings up the topic, “Should we introduce stronger emotions into our concept ideas?” it’s a good starting point, but it may take years to actually start happening. (When the older generations leave the industry/medium/field, then our generation can step up and give us what we’ve been wanting and waiting for lol)

As for Sonamy, it’s not “technically” a defined, two-way couple just yet. It IS, however, canon in that–yes, these two are advertised and associated with each other as a romantic pairing. The creators support the couple, and its officially stated that Amy is Sonic’s love interest (It’s literally the reason why she was created, they needed to bring in a love interest) because back then, damsels were a popular, growing trend that was demanded in media.

So nowadays, the growing trends are self-sustaining, intelligence, strong/fighting back characters. This also means that romance isn’t necessarily seen as ‘self-sustaining’ much like in Frozen 2, Elsa never finds a romantic partner, but instead, discovers herself and her own power.

There is a trend, however, that love sells really well. Like I stated before, the people are demanding stronger ties. Elsa and Anna are a strong ‘sister’ bond. Zelda and Link are a strong, central bond to the series. I wouldn’t be surprised if more games had couples appearing in them, and more dynamic couples that express more on the screen too.

Ex. Kingdom Hearts tries to build off this trend by being modern in the fact that it’s entire premises is based off of ‘bonds of the heart’ and relationship dynamics.

However, this trend isn’t necessarily a big deal in Japan. It’s mostly an American thing.

So do I think cute moments will happen with Sonic and Amy in the future? They most certainly can! But it depends on who’s running the “show”, so to speak. Not literal “Show” but who has the say in it and who will bring it up for discussion.

I feel there is a line that isn’t willing to be crossed with these two, currently, but there is plenty of support to show that Amy is starting to grow in popularity as a character. I think most of that has to do with the ‘self-sustaining, intelligent, strong character’ trend that the fans start building Amy into something more than her canon life has given her. Due to this, there is more demand for Amy and other ‘oftentimes obscured’ characters to have a limelight, because we are a generation that cares more about those bonds and puts more weight on their ‘happily ever afters’ or ‘endings’.

Due to all this, I can say that more will come, but probably not something as big as we’re all hoping for… it’s baby steps. I can say this though…

If a big tycoon industry suddenly starts doing well with a key-couple premise in their media? Other medias will rival that in hopes of similar success.

My hope… is that if more couples are being shown, than that can influence SEGA to think about evolving Sonic and Amy’s dynamic further. Even just Amy on an adventure with Sonic, just the two of them, so we can see how they interact and have cute or funny moments together where we see they BOTH care about the other would be enough to satisfy the current and on-going demand. We want more, but most companies don’t like to venture out and ‘test the waters’ because they try and find a way to have little to no risk in their ventures. (money, money, money…)

So will there be affectionate moments? I hope so! I think it’s a good possibility since many officials and fans seem to support it but do the people wielding the power want it? Do those who actually can make changes happen go for it? We’ll have to wait a see.

But I always have a lot of faith. I’m waiting right there in that band wagon. I’m sad to say they’ve digressed a bit since I was a kid but hopefully, more Sonamy will come in the future with popular, money-making, trends… it’s sad to say that, but remember that these characters are controlled by corporates and not always just wondefully creative minds, you know?

Still support them though! It’s definitely possible :)b

#cutegirlmayra ask #ask cutegirlmayra #sonamy #sonicxamy #Idontworkforsega ask #ask Idontworkforsega #Idontworkforsega

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