#lightning in a bottle

[askagamedev]

Lately I’ve noticed a bit of, let’s call it pushback, against the upcoming release of Baldurs Gate 3 and Larian Studios, by developers and studios alike. From your perspective as a game developer yourself what is this all about? Why are they calling BG3 an anomaly and making it sound like Larian hasn’t earned the praise they are getting? Why all the attempts at what sounds like trying to discredit their work?

The unfortunate truth of the matter is that the discussion I've seen from devs is subject to signal decay when in an environment where the most maddening and viral takes are the ones that get amplified over accuracy or educational takes. The various "hot takes" I've read were traced to the observations of [Xalavier Nelson Jr. about BG3] and I have to say - after reading his original thread, I am very much in agreement with him. Baldur's Gate 3's success is absolutely not a template that can be easily repeated and is very much an anomaly.

You can tell a lot about a game by the number of developers in the credits and the length of its dev cycle. If you multiply (number of devs) x (months of development) x ($10,000 per month per dev), you get a pretty good estimate of a game's overall budget. BG3 started development in 2017 and had a team of over 300 developers working on it. 300 devs x 72 months x $10,000 = approximately $216 million USD. "Step 1: Secure $200 million in funding to develop your game" is absolutely not a business plan that is feasible for 99.9% of indie developers.

This also goes for other circumstances beyond their control that managed to favor them. Larian was incredibly successful in raising funding during early access, but they are one of a tiny fraction that made it. Larian got incredible word-of-mouth promotion from their fans while thousands of amazing indie titles languish in obscurity on Steam. Larian managed to secure a major license that is extremely well-regarded - not exactly an easy feat to replicate. Each of these various circumstances ended up a win for them and every single one of them was necessary to obtain the success they did.

This isn't to say that Larian doesn't deserve praise for their success - they absolutely deserve all the praise and more. They managed to deliver a fantastic high quality game and I laud them for it. It is a tremendous accomplishment and I am happy for their success. What I will never agree to is saying that this is the path others should follow, because I believe that Larian managed to capture lightning in a bottle. All of the ducks had to line up just right for them to succeed like this, and any of the major factors in their success could have gone very very wrong for them through no fault of their own and sank the project partway through. Larian managed to win and they deserve huge amounts of praise for it, but it is in no way an easily-repeatable formula for success.

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#the business of video games #lightning in a bottle #baldur's gate 3 #game production #how things work

[xwpfan]

Guys, Lynda Carter in now on Tumblr, so you all better behave yourselves!

Now if you all excuse me, I have to go make sure I have not got any questionable posts on here...

#lynda carter #wonder woman #The New Original Wonder Woman #Hawkeye 1994 #Lightning In A Bottle #Supergirl #now for random tags #xena #xena warrior princess #arrowverse #arrow #flash #batwoman #legends of tomorrow #black lightning #carmilla webseries #marvel #black widow #captain america #iron man #hawkeye #lord of the rings #deadpool #wolverine #x-men #hulk

[ecoamerica]

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#ACLA24 #ACLA24Leaders #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental justice #environment protection #environmental health #Youtube

[thanotaphobia]

The first time she can remember seeing him pass her garden on the way to the village, he looks exhausted. There are deep, deep bags under his eyes, and bandages on his arms underneath the gloves, bulky. She raises a hand in passing greeting, dirt-stained and filthy, and he just barely looks her way. That’s alright.

He warms up to her eventually.

(or, Kristin and Phil. A background story, but nonetheless important.)

a little ficlet inspired by @wolfythewitch ‘s LIAB au! i couldn’t get these two out of my head so i sat down this morning with a cup of tea and a cat in my lap<3 and this was born. just a quiet little meet cute inspired by some amazing art :)

#dsmp fic #philza #mumza #mcyt fic #lightning in a bottle au #lightning in a bottle #magic ! #fantasy ! #fun ! #woohoo!

[crushermyheart]

Please, I've been on my knees, change the prophecy

#the prophecy #the tortured poets department #ttpd #the witcher #yennefer of vengerberg #tissaia de vries #the witcher netflix #witcher yennefer #witcher tissaia #please i've been on my knees change the prophecy #had this idea in my head and got very carried away #there were far too many parallels for me to ignore #lightning in a bottle #my edit #witcheredit

[psychangels]

Lightning in a Bottle

Peppermint is on a mission. One she's determined to see through to the very end. Accompanied by her mechanical cat, 808, she seeks out some help in getting it done, which leads her to summoning an electric demon named Chai that has some...interesting and rather musical powers. The three set off to Vandelay City to uncover the secrets she's seeking. As they learn more, they find themselves having no option but to take down the crooked city management. Along the way, they make some new(-ish) friends.

A retelling of Hi-Fi RUSH with fantasy elements and new world-building to go with them.

Chapter 1 The Summoning

read it on ao3

#hi fi rush #peppermint hi fi rush #808 hi fi rush #chai hi fi rush #angelwrites.txt #lightning in a bottle

[sanaart]

My completed piece for the “Lightning in a Bottle” Larxene fanzine, my personal version of Elrena <3 As of May 2, 2022, leftovers are still available, so check it out if you want a physical copy! --> https://larxine.tumblr.com/ [ portfolio ][ deviantart ][ twitter ][ artstation ]

#larxine #lightning in a bottle #elrena #larxene #kingdom hearts #fanart #video games #characters #citylife

[damienanddragons]

And it's not a cry you can hear at night

It's not somebody who's seen the light

It's a cold and it's a broken "Hallelujah"

art by the lovely @melura , of course

i don't think Volt is feeling very good right now :(

#volt #lightning in a bottle

[intermundia]

man i've been relistening to the balance arc for the first time in years and i'm getting to the finale and good old ditto mcelboy is fucking me up again

#how did he do this #lightning in a bottle #taz

[cowardstiel]

sorry to say but good omens/wwdits/ofmd will never be superwholock and that’s okay

#my post #it was the perfect storm #lightning in a bottle

[bctoastyyy]

finally able to share the finished page art i did for the Lighting in a Bottle: Larxene fanzine!

my artstyle has. changed a lot since this summer, i think fhdksksk, then again maybe i need to draw the queen larxene kingdom hearts again hehe

@larxine (if you wanna check out s'more :] )

#kingdom hearts #larxene #organization xiii #zine art #kh art #union x #lightning in a bottle #not dp related

[baba-the-yagaa]

lightning in a bottle au :D

fanart of the @wolfythewitch 's lightning in a bottle au! this exact scene isn't canon probably but the vibes are

i know the mirror doesn't glow but i wanted to experiment with light and i wanted to draw the boys

also i know these aren't their clothes in the art wolfy posted but i'd assume they got new clothes after will got out of the mirror because then fire and the clothes weren't in as good a shape

also will is in the mirror here, i just wanted to draw him like half there?

#lightning in a bottle #liab au #wolfythewitch #lightning in a bottle au #crimeboys #crimeboys fanart #fanart #art #tommyinnit fanart #grey's art #wilbur fanart #liab

[firethatgrewsolow]

This is such a cool shot to me. Captures the frenetic change that 73 ushered in. It was a year of firsts. I guess they all were in some regard, but in 73, there was a pretty seismic shift on so many levels. The crowds exploded, and records were shattered, the entourage grew by leaps and bounds (check out the side of the stage), they got their own jet, booked floors of hotels instead of just rooms. Robert had shed the last vestige of awkward innocence. The myth was cemented - they were gods. And they knew it. It was before the shadows began to set in, their hubris circling back to bite them. There was still a sense of wonder and - well, maybe not naïveté - but a curious fascination with the spectacle of it all. What a fucking ride it must have been.

#shit i ponder #led zeppelin #lightning in a bottle #best band ever

[writer-rider-flirty-thirties]

It's their wedding day! 15/101 of Fanfic Wars (2022)

#Fanfic Wars 2022 #Lukanette #Wedding fic #Lightning in a Bottle #endgame Lukanette #Bre's Fics

[one-winged-dreams]

Obviously Angeal and Terra have been my fixation for a while and it's still going strong

but Raiden's chilling out in the corner as my fun little sidepiece for some reason?

#my mg insert is one of my favorites based on the concept alone but i never fucking talk about him #lightning in a bottle

[aradiamegido]

thinking about volt being resurrected and losing her powers in the process... what kind of grief does that look like? does she eventually demand that loki fix it since he's the one who brought her back? does she seek out magic on her own? does she make a deal with something to get them back?

#volt #my ocs #lightning in a bottle

[psychangels]

AU Masterpost

This is a post detailing all of my HFR AUs, for ease of access!

Escapism

SPECTRA!Chai AU; canon diverges at the very beginning of the Kale fight. Instead of fighting 808, he has Chai deal with her. Everything goes downhill from there.

Now working for Vandelay Technologies as the ambassador for Project Armstrong, Chai lives a tightly scheduled life. Not only does he do marketing-related things, he's essentially a jack of all trades, doing numerous different tasks all over the island. And thanks to SPECTRA, he never forgets a single one—though that's unbeknownst to him.

Kale hired new department heads; Nori and xer assistant GNGR (production), Sunny Kist (R&D), Star (security), Vesper (marketing), and Allium Piper (finances).

The gang is in for a rough ride in their mission to get Chai back, and put a stop to Kale and SPECTRA once and for all.

This AU is a good bit darker than standard HFR. It has death, gore, abusive relationships, and brainwashing.

You can read the fic series for this AU here! There's also two playlists for it; one features all of the songs that appear in the fics, and the other is just a vibes playlist.

The CNMN Effect

An off-shoot of Escapism; diverges during chapter 4 of The End of the Rockstar. CNMN does his CNManiac special attack from the game, knocking Chai and Sunny out. This enables Macaron and him to take Chai and book it back to the hideout.

Started as more of a joke concept from a comment made by @/deadly-glamourtail, and then became a Proper AU.

Currently, there isn't a fic for this, but I do plan on writing one eventually. Probably won't happen for quite a while, though.

Lightning in a Bottle

Fantasy AU; retains the sci-fi elements from regular HFR, just adding on fantasy world-building and elements. The story is a fair bit different from HFR, but at it's core it's essentially the same and follows a similar structure. Features gore, death, and darker elements, but still retains the whimsy.

Vandelay Technologies is Vandelay City, and Roxanne is the founder. She used to run the city, before her son took over one day seemingly out of the blue. He replaced the entire city council shortly after.

Peppermint, upon finding out about this, attempts to get into the city to figure out what's going on, only to be thwarted by its new gatekeeper, GK-1MIL. Unable to get in and investigate, she sets off to figure out what to do.

After exhausting all other options she can think of, she decides to summon a demon to help her out. Said demon is Chai. He agrees to help her—not that he really has much choice—and the two set off to figure out what happened to Roxanne.

You can read the fic for this AU here!

Red Eternity

Time loop AU; Korsica is stuck in a loop that begins with her waking up in the dark L.I.F.T tunnels, and ends with Kale winning when the gang eventually reaches him. How he wins is different each time, and some other parts of the loop change as well. In order to break free from the loop, Korsica has to figure out how to make the canon ending of HFR happen.

This AU features gore and death. It still has the silliness of HFR, but it is a fair bit darker.

Currently, there isn't a finished fic for this AU that you can read, but I have started working on the first chapter. It probably won't be done for quite a while, but keep an eye out!

#hi fi rush #escapism au #the cnmn effect #lightning in a bottle #red eternity #angeltalks.txt