#like the game is set 700+ years in the future. allow characters to be anything other than straight

[burger-goblin]

why is Tom Casiello still able to tweet in response to questions about Apex Legends characters if he left Respawn. like bro go away

#apex legends #like the game is set 700+ years in the future. allow characters to be anything other than straight #but that also includes ace. i agree with Tom on his opinion of Revenant cause he's.....a sexless robot 🙃

[scoutception]

Ys 1 & 2 review: the 22 year long journey to American computers

Falcom is one of the big underdogs of Japanese game developers, at least outside of Japan, a role pretty unfair for them considering they’re also one of the most important Japanese game developers to exist. Before names like Final Fantasy and even Dragon Quest were around, Falcom was pioneering action RPGs, JRPGs, and even innovating video game music as a whole. Dragon Slayer, the title that set the foundation for action RPGs, would eventually transform into the Legend of Heroes, better known as the Kiseki, or Trails, series, boasting some of the most detailed JRPGs out there, while the other big innovator, Ys, would remain true to its roots, while still taking steps to innovate as much as possible with every new title. Despite their games both being very influential and just plain great in of themselves, Falcom was basically unknown outside of Japan for decades due to very inconsistent localizations, and mostly being released on more niche consoles even when it did happen, like the Sega Master System or the TurboGrafx-16. The only Ys game to make it to American shores on the Genesis or SNES was Ys 3, which was barely recognizable as an Ys game in its original form, gameplay wise, and the first exposure America got to the Legend of Heroes was the Gagharv trilogy on the PSP, which recieved such awful localizations that they were actually released out of order, with the second game actually being released first, instead of the actual first, cause that certainly isn’t capable of causing problems. Thankfully, since 2010, XSEED has delivered fantastic localizations of many, many significant Falcom games released both before and after, giving fantastic games like Trails in the Sky exposure only dreamed of before. They’ve still got a ways to go, though, and so, it’s time for me to show my appreciation for these games by covering Ys 1 & 2, the games that refined the action RPG genre, farther than just starting it. The version I’m covering is Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles Plus on Steam and GOG, one of the most recent, and refined, versions available, and is based off the PSP version, which is based off the PC remakes. It’s a pretty crazy history for these games.

Ys 1: Ancient Ys Vanished: Omen

Story:

The story of Ys 1 is about the titular land of Ys (pronounced ees, like ease, or the middle part of geese), a mysterious floating island, which was, in ancient times, part of the island of Esteria. Ys was said to be watched over by twin goddesses and six great priests, named Tovah, Dabbie, Hadal, Mesa, Gemma, and Fact, until a mysterious evil forced them to raise Ys into the sky, with a few descendants of the priests and a gigantic crater being among the only remnants of Ys left in Esteria. 700 years later, odd things are happening in Esteria, with a wall of storms appearing to surround the island, cutting it off from the rest of the world. On the island itself, monsters have suddenly appeared as well, and something is stealing anything made of silver from the inhabitants, even resorting to assault. In the middle of this, the red haired swordsman Adol Christin, fueled partly by intense wanderlust, sets off to Esteria to investigate... only to predictably shipwreck against the Stormwall, washing up on the island and being rescued by the citizens of port Barbado, setting a fantastic standard for himself to repeat several times in future games. After setting out and reaching the town of Minea, Adol allies with the fortuneteller Sara, a descendant of priest Tovah, and sets off to collect the 6 Books of Ys, written by the priests, said to contain the secrets to the rise and fall of Ys, and the power to save Esteria, along the way meeting Feena, an amnesiac girl specifically imprisoned by the monsters, Reah, a troubadour with a silver harmonica, Luta Gemma, another descendant of the priests, and Adol’s future traveling companion Dogi, who has a hilariously small role considering his role in future games.

It’s definitely nothing too deep by today’s standards, not helped by the game’s short length, but having such an old game, we’re talking 1987, have an active focus on the story is pretty impressive, and to its credit, it does manage to make Ys genuinely mysterious, with an interesting explanation behind its fall, namely, the valuable metal of Ys, Cleria, caused the summoning of demons, and its discovery in Esteria, mistaken for silver, led to the island’s current troubles. While the characters as a whole aren’t anything special either, they have a likeable quality to them, and the main villain does have a fairly interesting twist to him; he’s also a descendant of one of the priests, Fact, out to collect the books for his own purposes. That said, the main strength of writing is just the general dialogue itself. For such an old game, the remakes added a lot of detail to the NPCs, giving everyone a name and a personality, and the translation gives a lot of life to them, making them pretty fun to talk to, turning what would otherwise be a lot of empty dialogue into amusing moments. They even gain new dialogue after certain points in the plot, which is another nice touch.

Overall, though, the biggest strength concerning the plot itself is the actual dedication put into it just relative to the time it was released. Touches like the Books of Ys being in a completely different language than what Adol knows, forcing him to find a way to translate them, and Luta Gemma’s mentions of guiding dreams, something that would become a much more common occurrence in the sequel. Speaking of which, this game was clearly betting on having a sequel with its plot, which is a pretty ballsy move even now. The deeper details to the downfall of Ys, the mysteries behind characters like Feena and Reah, and just what Ys itself is really like are left unanswered, with the game ending on an outright cliffhanger, with the books transporting Adol to Ys after saving Esteria, very likely one of the first video games to do so, at least in regards to following up on it. Overall, the writing side is still entertaining enough, and as long as it manages to be fun, that’s a success in my book.

Gameplay:

Here’s where stuff gets a bit, let’s say, contentious. Ys is played at a top down angle with you controlling Adol, and only Adol. Combat, compared to almost any other video game, even from the 80's, is rather unusual. You see, instead of using a dedicated attack button, Adol suffices with ramming into his enemies, swinging his sword and damaging them automatically on contact. This system, called the Bump system, may sound, well, dumb and overly simple, but it’s quite a bit more complicated than it may seem. Running directly into an enemy, rather sensibly, kills Adol dead in just a few hits, though he at least trades hits with them as well. In order to attack safely, you need to hit them at a vulnerable angle, such as to the side or behind them. Thankfully, you don’t need to pull hit and runs for every individual attack, as once you hit an enemy at a good angle, you can just keep moving forward and attacking, with them being unable to resist unless you choose to move away, or are knocked back by another enemy. While it can be difficult to put to use at first, it’s actually a fairly well designed system. It gives the game a fast and surprisingly intense pace, with enemies being able to kill you in just a few hits, and having telegraphed attacks of their own in addition to being able to hurt you just through collision. On the opposite side, being able to run into enemies and kill them in a second is pretty satisfying, and makes grinding for EXP and gold a lot less troublesome than usual in RPGs, considering you can just take things down on your way to something else. The game also takes mercy and allows you to automatically regenerate your HP on the overworld and in towns just by standing still for a few seconds, and considering enemies only respawn when you move the screen, it isn’t much of a risk to you either to just stop and take a breather.

Adol’s equipment consists of swords, shields, armor, and rings. The first three are pretty self explanatory, boosting his attack and defense, and acquired by buying them in shops, finding them in treasure chests, or even received from NPCs for free in a couple of cases, while the rings give effects like boosting attack or defense, slowing down enemies, or boosting health regeneration, either doubling it when Adol is outside, or allowing it in dungeons, where it is normally restricted, though unfortunately the rings do not work in boss battles. Adol also has a regular inventory, mostly containing key items, including a few equip able ones like a mask revealing secret passages, and a few other things like potions to restore health and wings to instantly transport him back to Minea. As this is an RPG, there’s also a leveling system, which gives Adol downright dramatic stat increases each time he gains a level. Problem is, these levels matter way more than equipment, and with the jump between each level, the early game consists of just grinding a few levels until you’re capable of taking on the next set of enemies somewhat safely, with several bosses in particular being outright immune to damage until you reach certain levels. At the least, you don’t have to do this many times, considering the level cap is only 10, which you need to reach to beat the third boss out of seven, after which you’re at the mercy of any equipment the game gives you to get any stronger. Speaking of which, bosses mix up the gameplay a bit by being vulnerable at any angle, meaning you just have to focus on getting to them in between their attacks. Unfortunately, most of the bosses aren’t exactly great, either being really easy, or really, really annoying, with special mentions going to the previously mentioned third boss, which spends most of its time as a swarm of bats capable of covering most of the screen, only being vulnerable when it reforms for the briefest of moments, and we’re talking barely a second. Sometimes it’ll reform almost immediately after transforming, but other times it’ll chase Adol much longer, and it stays as the bat swarm longer if you get hit. It doesn’t take much damage even when you do hit it, as a cherry on top, making for a very drawn out fight.

The 4 bosses after this one are a lot more fun, at least. From a giant mantis that constantly throws scythes at you, to a giant rock creature constantly firing projectiles at near bullet hell levels, to two giant floating heads bouncing around a room with barriers around them, forcing you to slip in between the barriers to hit while they swap between who is vulnerable, they’re legitimately intense, and a lot of fun, culminating with Dark Fact himself as the insane final boss, ping ponging around a room, firing near impossible to dodge projectiles, turning it into a game of rushing to meet him once you can predict his path and damaging him as much as you can, while he destroys parts of the floor for every hit he takes, killing you if you’re not on a different tile when he destroys it. It’s a nightmare attempting it at first, especially since you can’t even use your best equipment, as he is immune to any sword that isn’t the silver sword, and will kill you near instantly if you don’t use the silver armor and shield, and the instant death floor destruction is a cheap move, especially since you can outright get trapped if the right tiles get broken, nearly always forcing you to reload. Still, it’s actually pretty fun once you get the hang of it, and certainly lets the villain live up to the hype he built up. It should be mentioned there’s also a time attack mode that lets you go through a boss rush. It’s actually pretty fun, if let down by some of the roadblocks a few bosses present.

While at its core, Ys is an enjoyable time, there is one pretty difficult to ignore aspect to it: it is a very short game. There’s only three towns, a fairly small overworld, and three dungeons to go through. The first two dungeons, an old palace and a mine, are pretty decently lengthy, with quite a bit of stuff to find, but otherwise, it’s just a lot of backtracking and grinding. There’s not much in the way of puzzles, either, mostly only a few in the final dungeon. Once you’re forced into Darm Tower, with a full set of silver equipment and half of the books in your possession, you don’t think this last dungeon will be much. But that’s when the game throws you for a loop. Darm Tower is a behemoth of a dungeon, at a massive 25 floors you have to trudge through, with plenty of detours and backtracking. There’s new enemies every few floors, and 4 whole bosses are contained in this place. In the original versions, it easily took up half the game, and even in the newer versions, it’s a third of the game at minimum, if you spend enough goofing off. I have some mixed feelings towards this place. It’s miserably long and difficult, that mostly just has the same look to it in each floor, and even the music is the same until towards the end, not to mention once you go in, you’re stuck, and forced to keep on marching until you reach the top. On the other hand, I kinda like it just because of how unique it is. Darm Tower is hyped up even during the intro to the game, and plenty of NPCs say it to be an awful, fearsome place. If you’re savvy with RPGs, you might figure it won’t live up to that... but no, it lives up to all the hype it’s given. It’s utterly massive and exhausting, with tons of dangerous enemies that’ll hunt you down relentlessly. They’re even able to stick in plenty of plot and characters within, and seeing the day slowly turning to night as you make progress is quite a sight. In just living up to, and even surpassing, this hype, I kinda have to respect it. Overall, the gameplay of Ys works a lot better than you’d expect, successfully polished through over 20 years of remakes, but the short length alone could make it a difficult recommendation on its own.

Graphics:

Ys is actually a very pretty game to look at. The characters and regular enemies are in a sort of chibi style, which is pretty adorable, but not too detailed by themselves. The environments, on the other hand, look great, with lots of little details and allowing some fantastic views. While the enemy designs and locations aren’t anything too special, they still look quite good, especially the bosses, which are significantly bigger than normal enemies. Enemies also explode in a cloud of blood, bones, and body parts when defeated, which is both funny and satisfying, while not being anything too gruesome. You may have also noticed the border portrait in these screen shots, which I find quite nice to look at, if a bit restricting. You are allowed to go completely full screen, though, if it’s not to your tastes, but it doesn’t actually cut anything off.

The best aspect of the visuals, though, is the character artwork used when talking to important characters. It looks absolutely beautiful, and is a good contrast against the otherwise lesser detailed sprites.

This version also goes above and beyond in this regard by giving you options regarding this character artwork, namely a choice between using the newer artwork made specifically for this version, Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles, and the older artwork originally used in Ys 1 & 2 Complete, the PC remakes that have served as the basis for almost every port of these games since their release. Which you use comes down to a matter of preference, and while I do find the Complete artwork to look a bit odd at times, overall both options are beautiful. (Chronicles artwork is used first in these comparisons, and Complete artwork is used second)

Sound:

Ys 1 has an absolutely fantastic soundtrack, courtesy of Yuzo Koshiro, also known for the soundtracks for The Revenge of Shinobi, Etrian Odyssey, and, probably most famously, Streets of Rage, setting a standard for Falcom games in general, and providing quite an influence on video game music as a whole. This version again gives options in regards to the soundtrack, giving three different versions to choose: the original soundtrack on the PC-88, which holds up well even today, the Complete soundtrack, which gives a refreshing and different take on several songs, even if it’s very blatant in being in MIDI at times, and a new soundtrack recorded specifically for this version yet again, which is amazingly metal. It, again, comes down to preference, though while I like all of them quite a bit, I easily like the Chronicles soundtrack best, though it’s telling when the original PC-88 version of the title screen theme, Feena, is just as pretty as the other versions. Speaking of which, when it comes to individual pieces, some big standouts to me are Feena, again, for the title screen, Palace of Destruction, the theme of the first dungeon, Fountain of Love, Minea’s theme, Tower of the Shadow of Death, the maddening theme of Darm Tower, and Dreaming, played during a memorable maze section of Darm Tower. It is, overall, among some of the best music I’ve heard in a game, and is worth looking up even if you otherwise have no interest in Ys.

Ys 2: Ancient Ys Vanished: The Final Chapter

Ys 1 and 2 are so tightly connected to each other that I could not go without giving both games a proper looking through. Most releases of them nowadays can’t either, with almost everything bundling them together, which makes the short length of both a lot more acceptable, especially if you look at them as two split up parts of one game, like the acclaimed TurboGrafx-16 version did.

Story:

Ys 2 picks up right where Ys 1 left off, with Adol being transported to Ys itself. Unfortunately, his journey is not too smooth, resulting in him ending up unconscious and losing everything except for the six Books of Ys, eventually being rescued by a girl named Lilia and taken to her home of Lance Village. At least it wasn’t a shipwreck this time. But yes, as it turns out, people still live on Ys, and lived so in peace, until the same events that caused monsters to appear on Esteria caused the demons that once devastated Ys to reemerge. After being told that returning each tome to the sanctuaries of each great priest would open the way to the Shrine of Solomon, the former temple of the twin goddesses, and the current base of locations of the leaders of the demons, Adol sets off once again, to restore peace to Ys once and for all.

There unfortunately isn’t that much more for me to say regarding the writing. It’s about the same quality as the original when it comes to plot and characters, but overall, it’s a good conclusion to this tale, and the general dialogue is as entertaining as ever. I will say, though, that the tone works quite well, carrying a somber feeling reflecting the misery of the people of Ys, and their wish to return to happier times. Additionally, using a certain spell in the game, Adol is able to talk to the demons on friendly terms, and every one of them has unique dialogue. Not every type of enemy, every enemy has unique dialogue. Some of it is informative, but others just seem to be Falcom and/or XSEED going out of their way to prove how dedicated they are to detail, and I for one love it. Another notable thing to me is the setting of Ys itself. Esteria was a fairly normal location, but for such a mythical place... Ys itself isn’t too much different. It has some more extreme environments, like an ice wall and lava filled caverns, but it’s remarkably normal otherwise. While this may come off as disappointing, it fits quite well, considering Ys was never meant to be so grand and mysterious, and is a relatively normal place forced into an abnormal situation. Overall, again, it is a solid conclusion and step forward.

Gameplay:

The gameplay of Ys 2 is more or less the same as Ys 1, for the most part, divisive bump system and all. It does, however, feature several improvements, mostly to the combat. Firstly, the bump system has been changed so that ramming an enemy while moving diagonally will always count as a safe hit for Adol, making combat a lot safer, and enemies generally don’t deal as much damage either. The level system has also been revamped, going from the paltry level cap of 10 to a level cap of 55, meaning you’ll be leveling up and improving till the end of the game. Conversely, individual levels don’t mean nearly as much, but not only are they easier to grind for when necessary, they also make equipment much more important. The biggest gameplay addition, however, is the magic system. Over the course of the game, Adol gains several spells, most notably a spell to shoot fireballs, which can be shot rapidly or charged for a stronger attack, but also includes a spell to temporarily stop time, freezing enemies in place and leaving them defenseless, a passive, yet constantly active spell that reveals secret passages, a spell that allows Adol to appear as a demon, allowing the previously mentioned interactions, and even a spell that can warp him between various towns and other important locations, something that proves extremely helpful. This system alone adds so much to the game, and is a great way of expanding upon the rather limited system of the first game. Accessories have also been overhauled, as rather than just rings with simple effects, they’re various objects with much more unique effects, such as yet another ring that occasionally allows Adol to parry an attack, and an idol that gives homing properties to his fireballs. All bosses except for the last two now require the use of the fireball spell to defeat, making them a lot more reliant on skill than just being at the right level, making them a lot more fun as well, while retaining the frantic feel.

Another addition is the ability to give items like flowers and apples to NPCs as gifts. A few of them will reward you with valuable information, or even items, but for the majority, all you get is some amusing dialogue, all of which is unique, once again proving how insane these writers and localizers can be. You can also choose to throw fireballs at them, causing them to shout some pretty funny comments, which often include references to other games like River City Ransom and Final Fantasy 6. Still, it’s not very practical considering it lowers their affection, requiring more gifts just to get back to neutral. While it doesn’t affect normal dialogue, this little system is worth messing around with, just to see what laughs you can get from it.

Otherwise, the game is more fleshed out, with a lot more places to go to. You’ve got a shrine and a mine combined into one general dungeon, a beautiful ice wall, volcanic caverns, and finally, the Shrine of Solomon. Compared to Darm Tower, the Shrine of Solomon isn’t quite as dominating, but it’s still huge, and sadly still requires a lot of backtracking. I’d wager it’s about a fourth of the game in of itself, possibly a third if you’re quick enough with the rest, and can still get pretty draining. Still, it’s a lot more enjoyable than Darm Tower, having more interesting environments, such as plenty of outdoor areas and a subterranean canal, and certainly lives up to the hype itself had built up. There’s no overworld, but considering how you were gated off by anything you weren’t a high enough level to take on in Ys 1, combined with how tiny and featureless said overworld was regardless, this linearity is preferable, giving a nice sense of progression. There’s also 4 towns spread out quite nicely, giving some much needed breathers after some of the more expansive parts of the game. The game is a decent bit longer than Ys 1, especially if you allow yourself to goof off and take in all the detail, like I did. Overall, Ys 2 has some much improved gameplay, and is a lot more fun than the already enjoyable first game.

Graphics:

The graphics of Ys 2 are about the same level as Ys 1, namely, it looks great, especially the character artwork. One noticeable improvement comes in the area and enemy design, looking a lot more distinct than in the first game, making it all look a lot better. There’s also a dumb, but cute option that lets you hang a “mascot” on the screen, which just amounts to the sprites of various characters and enemies, more characters unlocking at maximum affection. Otherwise, I could just copy and paste I said in this section for the first game. Still, very good.

Sound:

The music, again, is very similar in quality to the first Ys, and is still amazing. Personally, I find the Complete remixes are a bit weaker compared to the first game, but the Chronicles soundtrack still hold strong. Some stand out pieces to me include Too Full of Love, Lance Village’s theme, Ruins of Moondoria, Ice Ridge of Noltia, Palace of Solomon, Tender People, Ramia Village’s theme, and this game’s remix of Feena, which is even better than the version in Ys 1. Overall, still a fantastic followup.

Conclusion:

Overall, Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles gets a recommended from me. It’s short length, questionable combat system, and overall signs of age can certainly be enough to make one wary, but getting past that leaves you with two games full of charm and passion. More than anything, they feel rather comfortable and relaxed. The shorter length, the various options for graphics and music, the general charm of it, and even the goofy and often context-less achievements, these two games manage to be memorable experiences.

This collection is a great introduction to one of the grandfathers of RPGs, a grandfather that’s still going strong after more than 30 years. Till next time, and apologies to anyone who reads this for how horrendously long this ended up.

-Scout

#ys #falcom #JRPG #action rpg #game review #long post

[usagi-chan95]

So a few days ago I was on TV tropic looking up a few shows I like and of course I'm a huge Umineko Fan so I looked up the character and everybody who knows me just a little bit now I said I ship this one character with Black Hat. So why not list all hee traits that he would probably like about her. In the end I think the two would get along with each other.

Affably Evil: She is completely indifferent towards the suffering of everybody else, but she sure is polite.

All-Powerful Bystander: She has more than enough power to solve any problem in the setting or destroy everything in the blink of an eye if she wanted to. Fortunately, Featherine prefers to remain a spectator for the most part while she lets Bernkastel cause all the trouble she wants. The one time she does intervene in the plot during her "fight" with Lambdadelta we see that everything would have been lost with Featherine as an active enemy.

Always Someone Better: Bernkastel is regarded as the strongest Witch, but even she knows not to get on Featherine's bad side. Even Lambdadelta, who was more than holding her own against Bernkastel earlier, is terrified at the thought of having Featherine as an opponent. It makes sense when you realize Featherine is not just a Witch, but a Creator as well. She may just be a Witch in name only.

Ambiguously Evil: Both Bern and Lambda describe her as extremely nasty, and indeed she doesn't think much of humans, but she doesn't really have any Kick the Dog moments, and in the end she gives up on publicly revealing the contents of Eva's diary, thus preserving the catbox as Battler and Beato wished.

Curb-Stomp Battle: Delivers one to Lambdadelta in Episode 8. Special mention to the fact that Featherine didn't even have fight at all; she simply wrote down "I utterly defeated Lambdadelta and sliced her into pieces". And then poof, Lambda is completely dismembered.

The Dreaded: Anyone that can inspire genuine fear from Lambdadelta and even Bernkastel is definitely not to be trifled with.

Evil Mentor: Implied to have been Bernkastel's in the ???? of EP6.

The Fog of Ages: She has lived for so long that she needs a special horseshoe-shaped device around her head to keep her memories and avoid insanity.

God Is Evil: Averted, though just barely. She's not so much evil as she is uncaring of how she achieves her goals... though given the things she does do in the story (and apparently before it), you'd be forgiven for thinking it was played straight.

Greater-Scope Villain: Featherine is said to be a Witch thousands of times more powerful and evil than Bernkastel could ever be, but she never becomes a direct villain to the story and remains a bystander for the most part. However, she is indirectly responsible for all the problems from EP7 afterwards as she was the one who gave Bernkastel the power to keep messing with the game board because she wanted Bernkastel to rip the game apart for her and give her the answers to the mystery.

Insult Backfire: When Lambda pulls a You Monster! on her, she takes it as a compliment, which really makes you wonder what amount of chaos she caused in her distant past. It's fully possible that, being Bernkastel's mentor, she possess a trolling capacity far surpassing her miko Bern's... and considering Bern is the most malicious character in the story, that is a scary thought.

It Amused Me: The main reason she doesn't fit into God Is Evil instead. Physical Godliness and lack of a Freudian Excuse notwithstanding, she's still a Witch at heart and will do whatever it takes to keep herself entertained.

Lack of Empathy: Definitely, but better off than Bernkastel at least. Like any other Witch, Featherine sees human lives as nothing but means of entertainment, but she can show her respect to her opponents when it's due and at least now, doesn't seek to actively make others miserable for amusement's sake.

Manipulative Bitch: In the past, she's used Bernkastel as her monkey wrench to unlock the mysteries of worlds and game boards alike, whether Bern wanted to do it or not. Worse yet, Bern was aware she was being used but couldn't do anything about it because Featherine was just that good. This does in fact happen in the story, where she makes Bern the Game Master to crack the mystery of Rokkenjima when the rest of the cast loses interest in it, using Bern's desire for revenge against the family as her motivation.

Offstage Villainy: Bernkastel, the cruelest example of a witch so far seen, finds her a hundred times more horrific than she could ever be. The evidence is suggested at, but never concretely shown. Within the series, Featherine never does anything nearly as horrible as the other witches. Of course, Bernkastel is no doubt very biased, seeing as how she came into existence because of Featherine's callousness and indifference. She probably has room to exaggerate.

The Older Immortal: By far the oldest witch in the series.

The Omnipotent: Without a doubt, the most powerful character in the setting. She's perfectly capable of pausing the plot when she wants a scene to play out a different way.

Outside-Context Problem: Needless to say Featherine is in a whole other league compared to the other witches Battler deals with in the story, which is really saying something. A single wave of her hand to make Bernkastel the Game Master is all she needed to do turn Battler's happy ending into a non-ending.

Physical God: One of the Creators described in Episode 4's TIPS.

The definitive example is that she's ultimately the one responsible for bringing Bernkastel as we know herinto existence. It's heavily implied that she was the one who abandoned Bern as a piece in the Unwinnable game (that she ended up winning anyway), and while it's never explained how she pieced together/recruited all the physically and emotionally destroyed Rika Furudes, it's made clear in the narration that Featherine was the one who taught what would eventually become her miko and the Cruelest Witch. And why? Because she was bored and wanted someone to help stave off future boredom.It's not so much that she meant harm by creating Bern, more that she doesn't care as long as she is entertained.

If you want a more "literal" example, she can use her power to rewrite the script of reality itself and have people do as she dictates. And you would never even know she's doing it.

Really 700 Years Old: She is said to be older than Bernkastel and Lambdadelta, both who are said to be centuries old. By the way it's alluded, Featherine might as well be a Time Abyss.

Retired Monster: Given what Bernkastel and Lambadelta say about (and to) her, this is heavily implied. Featherine herself personally thinks she's much worse.

Rewriting Reality: Her power as a Witch/Creator and as an Author Avatar. Featherine can literally rewrite the script of reality itself to make events go as however she likes. She doesn't even need to write how things go, she only needs to write the result.

Story-Breaker Power:

Literally. When Lambdadelta tries to attack her with magic, Featherine just says that she doesn't like the development of the story, stops time and begins editing the script of the story herself. Not willing to write a fight scene at the moment, she starts from the end of the fight where she dictates Lambdadelta was smashed into a bookshelf and had all her limbs severed. She doesn't even think about how she accomplished such a brutal attack, deciding to "figure it out later". When Featherine starts time again, Lambdadelta ends up just as she wrote, with "what the fuck just happened" being her last conscious thoughts before dying.

She couldn't comprehend the 'something' that Featherine had killed her with. However, that was only natural. After all, Featherine herself hadn't decided what the 'something' was. However, Lambdadelta did understand one thing. She was already dead.

You Cannot Grasp the True Form: The memory device around her head also preserves her form. At one point in the past it got damaged, abruptly changing her personality and appearance. Her witch power also allows her to weaponize this. Refer to the spoiler in Story-Breaker Power above.

#Black Hat x Featherine Augustus Aurora #My crazy ship #i don't care i ship it

[sethpeck]

An Interview with Ford Ivey

(note: I originally published this in September 2001, back when I ran a NERO fan site, no longer maintained.  I’ve kept the raw text and have provided here for perpetuity.  I publish it here today, March 21st 2021, the day after Ford Ivey passed away. I have edited it for spelling and censored the former name for the current NERO Gadabari race.)

Blast from the Past

An evening with Ford Ivey

Older players recognize the name, but for those of you just joining us, Ford Ivey is often attributed with being the grandfather of NERO.  Not twelve hours after releasing the first issue of NEROtics.com back in July, Ford offered me an interview in the future.  Like I was going to say no. Seth Peck, NEROtics.com: How are ya? Ford Ivey: [laugh] I'm fine--and in much better health than the old days. I have lost 256 pounds. I'm weighing in at 244, and don't have diabetes nor high blood pressure any more, and the heart is a LOT healthier. SP: Wow--that's quite a change. Any secrets you wish to divulge? FI: Yeah.....surgery! [grins] Seriously. I had a gastric bypass. I was gonna die if I didn't lose weight. That was a year ago on July 5th. SP: Well, it's good to hear that you are in good health. FI: Well, it's good to be in good health. SP: As NERO gets larger and more and more newbies join the game, I hear more and more people asking about the origins of the game and "stories from olden days". Being a relatively new player myself, compared to the life-span of NERO, I find myself wondering also. How did NERO get its start? FI: Wow...big question. It started way back in 1986. I heard about a game in New Hampshire called "Midrealms Adventures". I heard about it about six months before I could get up to play it...and imagined what it would be like when I did play it. When I finally did, it was not a lot like what I imagined. It was a module based game--a few hours and it was over, and a marshal had to be with you all the time. I wanted a game where the players could be free to do what they wanted. SP: So what did you do? FI: I ran my own. At the time, I had just started a group for Friday night table-top gaming at a Boy Scout explorer Post in Newton, Massachussets, and we had available to us a Boy Scout Camp--Nobscot by name--and we decided to run a game of our own there. I had a group of 7 or so guys helping me. We wrote it, cast it, and ran it. We invited a group of 6 or so friends of one of the guys to PC it. SP: Did this game have a name yet? FI: Nope, no name. We called it "Weekend Warriors" for the first year or so. I ran a bunch of different variations on the game. I wrote the plots, bought the props, paid for everything, and ran them myself. SP: So how did it go? FI: The first game was pretty bad, to be honest. SP: [laughs] Care to elaborate? FI: Yeah--it was bad because we had very few costumes or props, we basically told the PCs where to go. We had some major problems with the PCs not picking up on things. It was amazing to us how much stuff gets missed when you are doing it for real rather than around a table. We had one point [where] we had gone to great lengths to make sure they knew that the "Ranger" character they met on the trail was a good guy and they could trust him. Well, he had been captured and was going to be sacrificed. We drug him out, proceeded to sacrifice him, knowing the PCs were watching, expecting them to save the guy--they didn't. They just watched. Poor guy had to steal a dagger, and save himself. They got to him as he was breathing his last--one guy got to him, and he said: "Beware the Dark Lord! Seek the Man of the Mountain!" When the other players got there, they asked him what he had said. He replied, "He said something about a man and a rock." SP: [laughing] FI: But we kept trying things, getting closer to the vision I had. Then, in November of 1988, we ran a game called "Shandlin's Ferry". It was the immediate ancestor of NERO. SP: how long did first several events last? FI: We did set up on Saturday and started mid afternoon on Saturday. Then we ran until Sunday afternoon. The Shandlin's Ferry game started at noon on Saturday and ran 24 hours. It was notable for several reasons: first, it's the game where we figured out how to do the NERO style play--players running around with no marshals. It was also notable because the founders of the game came together for the first time--Craig and Debbie Walton, Mike Ventrella, Heidi Hooper, me, Bob King--all of us were there. We decided after the success of that game to try and run what turned into NERO. Craig Walton came up with the name. Shandlin's Ferry remained on the NERO map, and what happened at that game became part of the NERO world. We even had a Shandlin's Ferry campaign in the Massachusetts chapter a few years later. That gave me a lot of satisfaction. SP: Speaking of the creators: I did some checking on the other LARP games (Amtgard, Dragoncrest, Camarilla) that are still being played today, and with the exception of the SCA, none of them have been around longer (although IFGS was starting the same time you were). Did you consider yourselves innovators in RPGs? FI: Did we consider ourselves innovators? Not at the time, I don't think, though we finally started to realize what we had done a year or so later. In retrospect, it was quite an innovation. It was a break from the old-style module based game, which was started at Treasure Trap in England--that's what Middle Realms was based on. The IFGS is a module-based game. Treasure Trap and a bunch of English games have been running longer than us or IFGS. Also, the ILF (Interactive Fiction Society) has been around quite a while. SP: What was your experience with RPGs prior to all this? FI: Wow. I started playing Dungeons & Dragons way back in the 70's with my brother. I owned everything they put out, all the way back to the three little book set. I made a huge jump into role-playing when I started a store--The Gamemaster. It's really the home of NERO. We got everything started there after NERO was set up. SP: Tell me about your store. FI: It was a great store--we had everything. It was upstairs at 444 Massachusetts Ave in Arlington, MA. We had six or so tables for gaming in the store in the front. They were well-used. We had everything that had to do with roleplaying, and most stuff that had to do with miniatures. I used to have mini-conventions there every month. A guy named Brian Reddington-Wilde helped me run them. He's a game designer of some renown nowadays in miniatures rules--runs a business called "Goblin Tooth Enterprises" SP: I've heard of them. Do you no longer run the store? FI: Nope--NERO took over the store. We moved it twice, and the store part of it got smaller every time. Finally, we just dropped the store part and got an office. That was after Mike Ventrella wrote the article about NERO that made it into Dragon Magazine. After that article, we suddenly had, like, 5,000 members. There was no WAY we were ready to handle that many people. I'm afraid that customer service suffered a lot then. We used to have huge games. In 1992, we ran what is now known as the "Brood" weekend--the first game run by Rob Ciccolini. We had over 700 players there, including something like 150 NPCs. That was at Camp Wing, a really cool place with an old stockade and everything. SP: How many chapters were there when that happened? FI: Chapters? None. We were trying to get a couple started. The first was a New Jersey chapter, which later broke away from us and became LAIRE. Then Georgia--they later broke away and became SOLAR. The first chapter that remained was PRO, in Pennsylvania. Another Georgia chapter formed about then, too. All of this was about late 1992 and early 1993. We didn't have ANYTHING ready to support other chapters, though we got REAL anal about them conforming to our standards. A big mistake, in my opinion. SP: I've read the 3rd edition rulebook and know how much different the rules are today--and I've heard a few stories about some of the different classes and races and spells. Can you try to convince me that Stone Elves aren't Vulcans? [grinning] FI: Naw, I wouldn't even try to convince you of that. [laugh] Have you read about Metamorph and Obliterate It's true: Obliterate used to be a spell like any other. SP: What was Metamorph? FI: It was a spell that took a small representation of something--say a mouse--and allowed you to turn someone into one of them. It got, as you can imagine, severely abused. We even had a Truth spell--you'd be amazed how people remember the same event in very different ways. We had folks who sincerely thought they were telling the truth, and whose accounts of things just didn't match other people just as sincerely telling us about the same event. [It] makes you sympathize with the court system. Did you know I hate modules? SP: [laughing] What do you prefer? FI: Need them for the game, but I hate 'em. I've only been on maybe 3 in my entire career. I prefer the characters playing themselves, and getting into whatever because that's who they are. I don't know--I love the social aspect of the game, and the big problems that land in your lap, and having to deal with those. Modules are good because we have a chance to do special effects and marshalled calls that we can't do anywhere else, but--I don't know--it's the most artificial part of the game. SP: So do you like massive combat encounters at the edge of town? FI: Lord, no. I prefer hanging out in the Tavern, telling jokes with bad accents, being with friends, and being a hero when something visits. Combat encounters? I like them sometimes, but I'm not out there for the combat. But then, I'm not typical. I love the ceremonial stuff, the Tourneys, the Pomp and Circumstance, the armor, the look of the thing, the chance to make myself a part of a great movie moment. That's what I like, and that's what I tried to give to other players. Though I found over the years that those things are not as valuable for many of the other players as they are to me. SP: Some of the other races, while not unseen elsewhere in other forms, pique the interests of many new players. Where did Biata come from? FI: They were based on griffins. In the early days, we were still feeling our way as to what we could and could not do in a Live game. Heidi had a cool concept for them that included some mind powers that, so it turns out, just can't be included in this type of game. They became a group of Northmen/barbarians sort of Shaman-type people. Their mind powers got severely cut back. You live and learn. SP: I also heard an interesting story about the first formal component ever placed in a treasure count. FI: What first component was that? SP: I don't know what it was, but something about how no one else knew either and it got passed around for awhile until someone became formal-capable. FI: Oh, yes. We put out components for several events before people knew what they did. The early ones were tags taped to tongue depressors and then covered with plastic tape to help protect them from the weather. When they got used, the sticks were supposed to get broken. BOY, did I get sick of buying tongue depressors. SP: No matter how much things change--some things remain the same. FI: Yeah, that's true. The Formal Magic system was a fairly late addition to the game--probably in our third year or so. It was a good idea, but took years before it became even close to balanced. [grinning] SP: How come Sarr can't purchase Waylay? FI: Oh, Lord...well, that's a touchy one. Sarr were supposed to be all blood-lusty and like that--when they did damage, they wanted to see BLOOD, dammit! So, they were restricted to using weapons that were bladed, no blunts. And you [since] can't waylay someone with a blade... SP: Wow, was that ever an emotional reaction! FI: It was a silly thing. The designer of the race (Jade LeBlanc, I think) had one concept, and they guy who was in charge of approving it had another. Guess who won. Like I said--both touchy and silly. SP: Tell me about the Mystic Wood Elves. FI: Lorne Lehrer created them. Cool race, roleplaying intensive. I actually was sort of not paying attention to them as they were created--I came to an event and this guy showed up with these horns and ears. I had no idea who or what they were. I love Mystics--it took me a few years before I finally got a fair idea of their culture and stuff. SP: I guess the "bigness" of the game caught you up in that, especially with the increasing number of members and eventually chapters. How did you deal with that? FI: Slowly. It took us a while to get the game together enough to really be able to run a multi-chapter game. We really started to get it together in about 1994, by which time we had maybe 5 or six chapters. When we got our permanent site in Ware, Massachusetts in 1994, we really started to pull it together. The most useful thing was the annual symposium in September every year. Everyone got together for a weekend there, and we got a bunch of stuff done--not as much on the rules and stuff as we hoped we would, but mostly it was good to realize that we were all one game, and needed to work together. SP: When you were still in the development stages, did anything get left out that you wished could get in? FI: I guess you could say that. In retrospect, there were a lot of things that I wish we had done differently, or better. I wish there was a true economy, for instance, trading and getting the stuff to make the things you need to adventure. It gives so many more dimensions to a character--the closest NERO comes is the Formal Magic System and the components it takes to do the spells. But in general, no--we changed the bloody game ALL the time in the first few years. Heck, the first xp/bp ratio was: first level: 1 = 1; second level: 2 = 1, and so on. We made it a lot steeper, then had to make it steeper yet the next year. I think we needed to make it even steeper than that. The power scale is too steep, too--as in, the power of older players as compared to the power of a new, entering character. But now we're getting into game design, which would take forever. SP: (The current formula is (n^2 +5n)/2 xp/bp where n is your level.) Like Roddenberry and Gygax you've gone off to do other things. tell me briefly about your new project. FI: The Isles? Well, it's taking all the things I learned over the years and applying them to a new game. It's an attempt to solve the problems. I think it succeeds very well. Quiet combat, a real economy, and a bunch of skills that are very useful to the characters that are not combat related. SP: Do you have any other stories you wish to share? FI: A million or so. [grinning] I have been doing this a long time. I couldn't begin to cover the stories that it would take to do this justice. SP: I guessed. How about just one favorite? FI: How about, instead, I tell you why I do this? What "moment" do I do it for? It's those times--when I'm sitting in the Tavern, all the check-ins done, the cabin assignments finished, all of that stuff--the game is well underway, people involved in doing what their characters want to do, involved in the plot of the weekend, or on-going stuff with their group. All of them, standing around, weapons glinting dully in the candle light, talking low, in character, people gambling for gold in the back, [Gadabari] bellowing and laughing--all of it seems real. For a while, you're there. In that spot, in that reality, and it's those times I feel like what I did--what we did--really meant something. SP: Thank you for a most magical discussion! FI: Magical? [laugh] Well, you're welcome.

#larp

[x-enter]

The life and rise of Tim Sweeney, the billionaire CEO and founder of the company behind 'Fortnite,' Epic Games

Tim Sweeney is the CEO and founder of Epic Games, the company that brought the world "Fortnite."

Despite having a net worth of $7 billion, Sweeney enjoys the simpler things in life like Diet Coke and fried chicken from Bojangles'.

Read on to learn about the life and rise of Sweeney as he changes the way the world thinks about video games. 

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. 

Tim Sweeney may seem like your average guy. He likes hiking, tinkering with technology, the occasional Diet Coke, and fried chicken from Bojangles'. 

However, he is anything but average. Sweeney is the CEO of Epic Games, the company behind "Fortnite" — the popular battle-royale-style video game that raked in over $2.5 billion in 2018. Epic Games also brought games like "Gears of War" into the mainstream.

Sweeney has a net worth of $7 billion, millions of which he has donated to forest conservation efforts. 

When it comes to tech execs, Sweeney is one who remains rather low-key. He's single, unmarried, and doesn't have any kids. And he's never been enticed by the flashy trappings of Silicon Valley: Epic Games is based out of Cary, North Carolina, just down the road from Raleigh. 

Sweeney's first-ever job is still his current job, though the responsibilities have changed since founding Epic Games in 1991. Overall, Sweeney describes his life as "simple." If he means a simple life that has also radically changed the way millions of people play video games online, then, sure — a simple life indeed. 

Here's everything you need to know about Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games.

SEE ALSO: The first video games and software programs famous tech CEOs made when they were young

DON'T MISS: These 7 tech CEOs and executives lost millions, along with the companies they helped build

Tim Sweeney, 48, was born in 1970 and raised in Potomac, Maryland, with two older brothers. His father was a cartographer for the US government and his mother took care of Sweeney and his brothers.

Source: Wall Street Journal

When Sweeney was a preteen, he visited his eldest brother in San Diego, California, at a startup he was working at, which had an IBM computer. His brother taught him how to program on it, and Sweeney spent the rest of the rather impressionable trip "just programming the computer, figuring things out."

Sources: Gamasutra, Kotaku

After turning 11, Sweeney spent hours on the Apple II Plus computer his brother gave him and used it to program video games. Sweeney told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that he spent more time "programming than I think I was sleeping or in school or doing any other one thing in the world."

Sources: CNBC, The Wall Street Journal

Sweeney would play Nintendo's "Super Mario Bros." when he was a child as a way to "discover what games were doing and how they were doing it," according to an interview with video game website Kotaku in 2011. Aside from gaming, the inquisitive future CEO would also take apart lawnmowers​, radios, and TVs to see how each gear functioned. He was also a big fan of arcades.

Source: Kotaku

Sweeney attended the ​University of Maryland as a mechanical-engineering major. During his second year of college, he decided to go all-in with gaming by creating his first full-fledged​ video game, "ZZT." He also founded his company, Potomac Computer Systems, which would later become Epic Games, to develop the "ZZT."

Source: Gamasutra, CNBC

Despite being a gifted young coder, Sweeney didn't initially know how to program graphics, like "actual characters and objects," into ZZT. Instead, he used symbols and smiley faces that would attack monsters and "run through levels." The hardware also functioned as an editor, so users could create their own games with it. He released the game in 1991.

Source: Engadget

Sweeney dropped out of University of Maryland just one credit shy of graduating and moved back in with his parents in Potomac when he was 20. He used the $4,000 in his savings and began working on what would later become Epic Games in his parents' garage. For quite some time, customers who were interested in buying a copy of "ZZT" sent checks to Sweeney's parents' house, and waited for a disk copy of the game to come in the mail.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, CNBC

Sweeney sold "several thousand" copies of "ZZT" while living with his parents. He rebranded his company as Epic Games, a name Sweeney said was "kind of a scam to make it look like we were a big company." With new orders coming in daily, Sweeney was able to move out of his parents' house in 1999 and quit his side-gig, mowing lawns.

Source: Gamasutra

Sweeney then moved Epic Games to Cary, North Carolina, where it still remains. At the start, Sweeney's primary role was still programming, until the release of "Unreal," the company's inaugural first-person shooter video game.

Source: CNBC

"Unreal," which was released in 1998, was a PC-based game that allowed users the ability to play together on separate computers. The 3D graphics technology behind the game was called the Unreal Engine "that has evolved to become the ubiquitous bedrock upon which Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and even iPhone and iPad blockbusters are built," according to Kotaku.

Sources: Business Insider, Kotaku

In 2006, Epic's "Gears of War" was released. It was built upon the Unreal Engine for Microsoft’s Xbox 360. The New York Times described the game as "a more deliberate, thoughtful sort of shooter [with] plenty of action and gore." The publication also called "Gears of War" one of the "best looking" games.

Sources: CNBC, The New York Times, The New York Times

By the release and subsequent success of "Gears of War," Sweeney was 30 years old and beginning to see success. According to an interview he gave to the Journal in 2019, he had a “Ferrari and Lamborghini in the parking lot of my apartment ... People who hadn’t met me thought I must be a drug dealer.” Sweeney has since gotten rid of his sports cars.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

The first "Gears of War" franchise, which included nearly a dozen titles, went on to sell over 22 million units, making over $1 billion in revenue. (Microsoft bought the "Gears of War" franchise in 2014 for an "undisclosed amount.")

Source: CNBC, Gamepedia, Engadget

Epic Games is also responsible for games like "Shadow Complex" and the "Infinity Blade" series, both role-playing fighting games set in past and futuristic time periods. In 2013, Chinese tech company Tencent invested $330 million into Epic Games for a 40% stake.

Sources: Business Insider, CNBC

In 2015, Epic Games announced that the Unreal Engine would be made free, making it easier for any aspiring game developer to start their next project. The technology behind the Unreal Engine is regarded as "one of the most widely used engines in existence." By making the Unreal Engine free to use, Epic Games gets a cut when game developers and publishers sell games made with it — a significant part of the way the company generates revenue.

Source: Business Insider

Epic had revealed a new game it was working on called "Fortnite" in 2011, a survival-style game that Epic pictured as a small, indie title. But Epic didn't start offering early access to the game — at that point, it was simply "Fortnite Save the World," a cooperative shooter — until mid-2017.

Source: Polygon, IGN

Everything changed for Sweeney and Epic Games in September 2017 with the release of "Fortnite Battle Royale" — a free-to-play battle-royale-style version of the game where users "collect resources, make tools and weapons, and try to stay alive as long as possible." The game found worldwide success just a few months after its release, amassing over 200 million players across seven different game platforms.

Source: NBC, Business Insider

Sweeney, however, does not like to take credit for the success of "Fortnite" — he credits it largely to the game developers on his team. The Journal reported, "the entrepreneur is adamant about one thing: He did not create 'Fortnite' — his employees did. He didn't design or program the game" — but he did create the company that did.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Even though "Fortnite" is free-to-play, Epic Games receives revenue from it "entirely from in-game purchases, even though the virtual goods give players no competitive advantage." Character costumes, called "skins," seasonal "battle passes," and accessories can cost up to $10 each. With over 250 million "Fortnite" players, the company made over $2.5 billion from the game in 2018 alone, and over $4 billion since its release.

Sources: Business Insider, Business Insider, Engadget, The New York Times

With the blockbuster success of "Fortnite," Sweeney skyrocketed onto Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index with a net worth of $7 billion. This puts him above other billionaires like George Lucas and George Soros, but well below tech giants Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. Epic Games currently employs more than 700 people.

Source: Business Insider

"Fortnite" has not only made Sweeney a richer man, but many "Fortnite" players as well, including Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, 28, who reportedly made $1 million a month playing the game and streaming it on Twitch (he has now switched to streaming platform Mixer). This past summer, Epic Games also hosted a "Fortnite World Cup" where players could win a piece of a $30 million prize.

Sources: CNBC, USA Today

Read more: This 28-year-old makes $500,000 every month playing 'Fortnite' — here's how he does it

Sweeney is a very casual guy. His workplace attire consists of t-shirts and cargo pants. When people go to an interview at Epic Games, they are advised not to wear a jacket and tie.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Despite having a sports car infatuation at the beginning of his career, Sweeney has since spent his millions on conservation efforts in North Carolina. He bought 193 acres in Alamance County for​ preservation and donated $15 million to protect 7,000 acres of forests in western North Carolina.

Source: Triad Business Journal

source https://www.businessinsider.com/fortnite-maker-epic-games-ceo-tim-sweeney-history-timeline-2019-10

#Entertainments

[chucksandjeans]

2018 in Review and Goals for 2019

It’s 8 days into the New Year and I finally set aside some time to reflect on the past year and also set goals for the upcoming 12 months. Disappointingly, I did do this retrospective in 2018, so I am unable to measure whether or not I did well. Broadly speaking, 2018 was a very busy year, but I remember a few years ago, I told myself “no excuses”. With that philosophy, shame on me for not prioritizing an hour or so to think about my own life.

 I read a blog this morning written by an individual who broke down his goals into the following pieces: Career, Personal and Hobbies, Home, Relationship, Friends & Community. I adapted this framework and modified the categories to fit my life. Let’s see how this works out:

 2018 at a glance

The first part of 2018 - before the wedding - was a blur. It was a whirlwind of moving into the house, launching Butter and setting up operations, going to Taiwan, Texas and North Carolina, attending several weddings, and getting things ready for our own wedding. These months were reactive, less-planned, and auto-piloted.

 The latter half of the year - post wedding - was also back-to-back with the mini-moon, Hong Kong and Singapore, post-wedding cleanup, getting the house into shape and then the holidays. Overall, I’d give myself a B+ for 2018. I am proud of myself and my wife for getting through these 12 months in one piece given the heightened intensity and complexity.

 And now, a bit more detail into each aspect:

Relationship

I married the love of my life. This woman complements my strengths and weaknesses and gives me a reason to wake up every morning. There have been times where I chose to be selfish and impatient and I will work on these shortcomings this year.

 As a couple, we went through big life moments, like the wedding, buying a home, getting into a car accident, and melting into one blob unit. It’s an exciting time in my life as I grow into the role of husband.

Family

The past year was characterized by events, parties, plans, schedules, money, accidents, and everything in between. Albeit more happy than sad events, everyone was stressed. It was a testament to what a family is, and finding the definition that works for us. I am happy that I was able to visit Hong Kong in 2018 and see family who I have not seen in a decade. It’s been too long and it was my fault that I prioritized traveling and new experiences over going home in the last 10 years.

Friends

The events of 2018 brought my social circle. From traveling to Taiwan with the boys to bachelor parties to weddings galore, I think this is one aspect of 2018 that I was able to excel in.

Career

I grew a lot professionally and personally. The lines have blurred between work and life as colleagues became friends and vice versa. The skills that I learned in 2018 have been invaluable to my growth, and I am happy to say that I have rounded out my skill set to include product, development and general management in addition to my quantitative background.Some highlights from the year include building and leading a high-performing team to launch a new product in the digital space, presenting in front of 700+ people at TechTO, seeing our product featured on Product Hunt, closing deals with big-name partners, learning basic web development, and winning an award recognizing me as an emerging leader. It’s amazing that it’s still possible to learn something new after a decade being out of school. I use to think that learning meant keeping up with the latest trends in a particular industry and reading the current state of X standards. In reality, it can be so much more than that.

Personal

My early 30s is another chance to redefine my life and character. It happens every 10 years or so, in my mind: at age 0, age 10, age 20, and now, age 30-ish. Life changes quickly but the most pivotal moments occur at the decade marks where I change along with everyone and everything around me. I don’t want to watch life go by and have it spin out of control. I want to take the reins and define for myself who I want to be.

 2018 was so busy that I didn’t sit down and think about life. From a broad-level identity perspective, I can do better. I did do well from a life-skills perspective though. In early 2018, I was uncomfortable drilling holes at home and freaked out over what are now seemingly small tasks. Now I am able to use my toolkit to diagnose, install and fix basic elements around the house. Handyman, not yet, but not an idiot either.

Travel

I flew a lot in 2018: Taiwan for Duncan’s bachelor party, Texas for my bachelor party, Raleigh for work, Mexico for our mini-moon, and Florida for the holidays. To be honest, I lost direction in traveling once I hit my “50 countries before 30 years old” milestone goal. That North Star was what drove me to be creative, bold and adventurous to seek out new places and commit to culture shock. Now, I have no goal and feel directionless, which may or may not be a good thing. On one side, it allows me to seeing things I really want to see, regardless of whether I’ve been to the place before. On the other hand, I don’t have a fire under my butt. Whatever the goal happens to be, I will set one.

Health

I can’t say that it’s been a great year for my mind and body. Stressing out over the many events of 2018, making excuses for not running, spending only 45 minutes at the gym vs. 60 in the past, and indulging in fatty foods more often, this year was bit out of the ordinary. But staying too long in out of the ordinary becomes ordinary, so the fix has to be made immediately. I did switch to meal prepping with the help of my wife which has been great, so kudos to her for that.

Finance

We did well given the wedding and house. Buying the home, procuring the first bit of furniture and supplies, paying vendors, trips here and there, unexpected expenses and daily living costs – these all made it exceptionally hard to balance the books. Cash was tight and we lived through one of the most financially difficult years of our lives to date. It did force us to be on top of our finances though which has given us a great set of skills and dialogue for what life has in store for us.

2019 and Stretch Goals

Relationship

I will continue to support my wife in her endeavors, and challenge her to be better every day. I will be a role model, make healthy and well-balanced choices that help us succeed as a couple, and be less critical. In tough situations, I will control my emotions and focus on the bigger picture, which means taking a step back more often. I will recognize events in our lives and celebrate those because life is too short to have no special moments!

Stretch: I will create and capture more memories outside of Instagram, through writing, photos or videos.

Family

Goal: I will work on being more present in the family and fostering a harmonious balance where possible. Striking a medium is important and I will take initiative on being the family man that I strive to be, which includes my immediate family, my parents, my in-laws and my extended family overseas.

Stretch: talk to at least 1 overseas family member once a month

Friends

Preamble: as the years go by, I am more appreciative of friends who stay in touch. Life gets busy and all around me, people are getting married, buying homes, having kids and moving up in their careers. All these things require constant re-prioritization of time and focus.

I will build on strong social bonds by reaching out, staying in touch, physically going to see friends, and recognizing special moments. This will be a challenge without the aid of weddings and bachelor parties but I am confident. At a more granular level, I will proactively reach out to friends on a more consistent basis either weekly or monthly, seek out those who I have not connected with in a while, and hang out with at least 1 friend once a month.

Stretch: hang out with 2 friends once a month

Career

I will think about my career more critically and plan out my path. Although it’s not possible to predict the future, it’s definitely possible to set goals and have criteria. The opportunity cost of making the wrong career choice is too big now, especially in my early 30s. It will be a blink of an eye before I am in my mid-30s, so from here to there…these need to be fruitful years. The role that I am in must provide me with new skills development, learning and intellectual stimulation, a strong team and network, upward mobility, reasonable compensation and good people. I will not settle for anything less. I will not let 2019 be a year that sails by as I sit idly staring off into the distance – 2019 will be a defining year.

Stretch: meet at least 2 new people every month who can help me in my career or gives me new ideas and add an international aspect to my experiences

Personal

Preamble: identities cannot be created or concluded definitively. It takes time. In my 20s, I don’t think I had a plan but I felt confident in my direction. I have to find that in my 30s.

I want to ignite that flame and give myself opportunities to find enlightenment, for lack of better word. What this practically means: I know who I am, I know what I am doing, and this is where my ship is headed. I will put time into soul searching, mind-exploration exercises, and philosophical debates to have a clearer answer by the end of 2019. I will also learn how to do more things around the house, like gardening (maybe) and doing basic electric (and plumbing?) work. I will read expand and relax my mind, which can span from reading to watching TV to playing video games. I’m not going to rub off video games and TV. I will do these things in moderation and be cognizant that it’s for relaxing the mind. I will write things down in my journal 1x a month and read 3 books this year. And lastly, I will be more organized. I will ask myself “does this make me happy” before buying things.

Stretch: write in journal at least 2x a month and read 6 books this year.

Travel

Preamble: April is the first trip of the year: Chile. It’s been 5+ years since I’ve been back to South America and I’ve always wanted to go to Patagonia so this trip checks multiple boxes. Additionally, the Andean air may give me that jolt and inspiration to LOVE travel again. I still love travel but I want to find that flame…to hit 50 countries…but now a new goal. Is it to try all the cultural flavours of the world? Is it to climb the peaks of the world? Whatever it is, I hope Chile will spark and awaken. Later in the year, the plan is to go to a wedding in Italy and then jet off somewhere nearby afterwards. I have yet to figure that one out. Lastly, there’s a brimming desire to add more of an international flavour to my career. I wonder what life has in store.

Find a new goal that revolves around travel and cultural exploration. I want to love travel immensely again.

Stretch: Eat a weird animal.

Health

Preamble: I am a proponent of making small decisions that eventually lead to bigger ones, which become habits and those then define lifestyle and character. In 2018, I did not make the best decisions and 2019 will mark my climb back to the top. I saw a picture of myself from 5 years ago and I looked great. Age is obviously a contributor to looking different but that’s no excuse to not live a healthy lifestyle.

I will continue to meal prep, choose more vegetables and fish over red meats, push back to 60 minute of gym, and drink more water. And yes, drink at least 2L of water daily. I will hit 158lbs by end of the summer and run an organized 5km run.

Stretch: drink 3L of water daily, 160lbs by end of summer and run an organized 7km run or two 5km runs.

Finance

I will go back to the way I use to plan finances, and have a more holistic and long-term view on how to grow the family net worth. This will mean a dedicated savings plan, an investment portfolio, perhaps a way to make money on the side, and a way to control costs such that we have enough to live and enjoy.

This post took over 3 hours from ideation to planning to writing. It was mentally exhausting but I managed to get it all down. I feel good. And now, time for execution. Let’s go!

[aidorobot]

15 Small Robots That Will Invade Your Home Sooner Than You Think

From social robots and kitchen assistants to smart toys and companions for the elderly, these small robots are set to invade our homes in the not too distant future.

Many of us grew up watching the incredible potential of robots in movies and television. Robots showed us the brightest of the future.

However, we haven’t really seen the true potential of robotic technology being unleashed. While the popular TV cartoon show, Jetsons from the 60’s showed us the infinite possibilities of humans and robots co-existing, movies like the Terminator or Wall-E scared us by showing the prospective dark side of Artificial Intelligence and technology.

But the age where robots finally coexist with human beings is not really far. Here we look at the 15 small robots that will probably invade your home sooner than you think.

 1.     Jibo: The Social Robot with a Witty Sense of Humour

Jibo is a cute little social robot with a ‘personality’ which can easily become a family’s best friend. It is packed with a witty sense of humor, cheerful animations and a body that swivels and dances, making it the perfect companion robot.

It is crowdfunded and created by Boston based start-up by the same name. The design elements used allows it to easily and naturally connect with its human owners.

The camera and microphones allow it to learn the voices and faces of up to 16 people. And it specifically recognizes the voices of family members talking to it and responds to the call of “Hey Jibo”.

It can perform a number of handy tasks from setting an alarm, taking pictures, telling you the weather and even answering your quirky questions. It is also compatible with IFTTT triggers and can turn Philips hue lights on or off and adjust your Nest Thermostat.

Jibo currently sells in the market for around $900.

 To get about more info click here : Ingen Dynamics

2. Mykie: The Kitchen Assistant Robot

‘My Kitchen Elf’ or Mykie is a concept personal kitchen assistant from Bosch which could invade your home soon. It works on the similar grounds such as Alexa from Amazon or Google Home.

But this robotic sous-chef comes with a bit of a culinary pedigree. Whether you are an experienced cook or just a beginner, Mykie can be a handy companion to have at the kitchen counter.

It can plan your meal by connecting to a network of home appliances. For example, it helps you find recipes with just the ingredients available in the fridge.

Also, the built-in projector helps project recipes right into the walls of the kitchen or even show videos by simply using the voice activation or the touchscreen. It makes cooking an interactive affair by connecting with your family and friends worldwide through an integrated camera.

 3. Professor Einstein: The Miniature Robot Genius

This tongue-in-cheek version of miniature Einstein offers a familiar face in the companion robot category. This home robot is also just as smart and can be a great teacher as well as a companion.

It uses the company’s cloud-based database to answer various questions while connected to the internet. The ‘Genius’ robot can more than keep a conversation going by maintaining eye contact and over 50 facial expressions to offer.

Users can also learn science and play “brain games” by connecting to the Stein-O- Matic app. This Einstein could easily be a part of your home for a price of around $200.

 Click here to get about more info : Aido Social Robot

4. Leka: A smart Toy for Children with Developmental Disorders

Sharing an uncanny resemblance with BB-8 from the Star Wars, Leka is a spherical smart toy from the French start-up of the same name. A lot of the techs of today are more often than not just gimmicks that fail to serve a purpose.

But, Leka stands out from the crowd and offers the first robotic interactive smart toy designed specifically for children with special needs. In short, Autism is like an imaginary wall between a child and the outside world which makes simple daily interactions and tasks difficult.

Leka acts as a mediator which motivates the child to play with the parents or the teacher. It was specifically designed to stimulate the child’s senses and develop their motor skills by moving around, making sounds and vibrating.Basically, it is an interaction aid which can function as a toy as well. This small robot is not available currently and should retail around $700-800 upon release.

 5. Aeolus: The 2018 Version of Rosie the Robot

Imagine a robot on wheels that can grab a can of coke from the fridge on command, Aeolus Robotics has come up with a working prototype household robot which can do just that for you. ‘Aeolus’ is a modern version of Rosie the Robot from the classic Jetsons.

This home assistant is designed to make your life easier by doing your chores while you are asleep or even serving you a drink after a long day at work. It is powered by an AI and uses machine learning to recognize items from various angles and distances.

It uses 2D and 3D camera sensors inside to map out the room and map out what it needs to do. So it can perform cleaning tasks like vacuuming, sweeping, mopping or even just tidying up. It even remembers where household items should be and helps put them back in their place.

Though it is still a prototype, the company cryptically revealed that the price would be less than an overseas vacation for a family and could be a possibility by the year-end.

 Visit here, To get more info about Aido Robot

6. Kuri: A Security Robot with a Personality

An adorable small robot that looks much like a Pixar character, Kuri is a home robot that can watch over your kids like a nanny and even watch your place while you are away. Not to be mistaken for a vacuum cleaner like a Roomba, its features are a basic mix of companionship, entertainment, and utility.

Mayfield Robotics, a start-up based in San Francisco envisioned creating an adorable home robot that could add a spark to your home life. Though it can’t perform household tasks, it can easily watch over your kids or house through the 1080p camera.

It plays music, podcast or read e-books or it can remind you to turn off the oven while conveying cute and adorable expressions at the same time.

Kuri is up for pre-order on their website for a price of $899.

 7. Olly: The Robot with Feelings

Emotech calls it the ‘Robot with a Feeling.’ Olly is the first robot assistant which is said to have an evolving personality.

This home assistant learns all your habits and preferences, likes and dislikes and responds according to a user’s personality. The machine learning allows Olly to pick up information from normal day to day interactions which helps create a better understanding of the user.

It is also proactive, meaning it anticipates your needs and then offers suggestions based on that. It also knows where you are in the room, so it is able to perfectly direct audio to your best liking.

And they say that two Olly’s are not the same because the AI system and character engine creates a unique personality for every Olly. It is available for pre-order on IndieGoGo for $549.

 8. Aido: A Smart Home Robot

You could easily confuse Aido for Wall-E’s girlfriend Eve and it’s not just perfect for kids but everyone in the household. Aido is a unique mobile robot which balances itself on a ball that can maneuver around complex spaces like furniture and other minor obstacles in the house.

This family robot was also designed to make its interaction with human beings as natural and intuitive as possible. It can perform tasks like performing household tasks, playing with kids, keeping your home safe and even handling your schedule.

Ingen Dynamic Inc.’s Aido is on IndieGoGo for a pre-order amount of $499.

 9. ElliQ: An Active Aging Companion

ElliQ is a proactive social robot that’s built and designed by Intuition Robotics for older adults. It tries to overcome the digital divide that exists for the older generations.

The connected picture frame makes connecting with families an easy task and even messaging, sharing pictures and video chatting. It helps older people get value from the internet without mastering the tools whether proactively or reactively.

It also helps them remain independent longer by scheduling events like reminders for medication or share wellness information with families. ElliQ comprises two elements, a connected picture frame which is a tablet that is removable and a swiveling head which lights up and moves and actuates in a ‘humanesque’ manner.

The pricing information is not available yet, but it should be launched later in the year.

 10. Buddy: A Companion Robot for the Family

Buddy is an open source robot powered by Unity 3D and Android software, but it is also a free range robot that can move around your house. This social robot/home assistant from Blue Frog Robotics can be a great companion for the whole family.

It can recognize you, remind you of things and patrol your house with a beaming smile across its face. Buddy’s security route is pretty advanced because you can have it stand in one spot and watch a location.

Or, you can make him go from waypoint to waypoint to look out for something out of the ordinary. It also claims to connect, protect and interact with each member of the family.

And, with its array of sensors and autonomous maneuverability, Buddy is able to do anything from detecting fire and burglars to playing hide and seek.

It is also available for a pre-order price of $699.

 11. Pico: A Desktop Companion Robot from Panasonic

Panasonic’s Pico is an evolution of AI and an adorable robot helper that will live in the homes of the future. It is an intelligent desktop robotic assistant that can perform tasks like voice control and interaction, independently move around the desktop and even project movies.

It includes a series of infrared sensors that can detect ledges and obstacles. The AI behind Pico can handle natural language processing and can communicate with devices in other locations as well.

It is said to have human-like movements and skills and is equipped with WiFi to access cloud data. It also comes with a wireless charging station, but the model is still a concept and could soon be a part of your office or desktop.

 12. Zenbo: A Smart Little Companion

Zenbo, the robotic personal assistant developed by Asus is as large as a vacuum cleaner with a LED display head and complete with a lifelike face. The smart home robot is able to move independently and can respond to voice commands which allow you to even strike up conversations with it.

The robotic home assistant performs the usual functions including setting reminders, playing music and even making calls. But Asus calls Zenbo as much more of a companion which can read stories with an interactive display to young children and help them sleep at night.

It can even provide company to the elderly, reminding them about medications and notifying families in cases of emergencies. The company intends to release at a price of $599 soon.

 13. Pillo: A Robot that Cares for Your Health

Pills have become a part of everyone’s life today, both young and old whether it is for allergies, long-term medication or just health supplements and vitamins for staying healthy. But remembering when to take these pills can be a painful task.

That is where Pillo comes in. Pillo is a health-based home robot that dispenses your pills and also offers medical advice. It uses facial recognition to identify various individuals in the household and dispense proper pills for each member at the correct time.

It can connect with your doctor or pair with your smartphones and tablets to set-up reminders and answer your health queries. The pill-pooping robot could be available for an expected retail price of $599.

 14. Aibo: A Man’s Best Robot Friend

Sony is ready to unleash man’s best robot friend again, the super-cute Aibo robot dog. The previous version of the Aibo robot dog was launched nearly 18 years ago but discontinued in 2006.

ROBOTICS

Sony Has Resurrected Its Iconic Robotic Pet Dog Aibo

The old dog has since learned new tricks and the new model reacts to your voice commands and responds to petting. It can also play with toys like the special bone, and to complement its cuteness, it has blinking OLED eyes.

There is an app that helps it learn new tricks and where you can access photos taken by the dog as well. The cameras and built-in sensors also help the dog learn locations and map out rooms.

It has AI which develops a unique personality over time by collecting data on an owner’s reaction, so no two Aibo’s are the same. It sells in Japan for a price of 198,000 Yen and should sell in the US for roughly $1800.

 15. CX-1: A Robot Luggage that Never Loses Your Sight

No one wants to ever lose their luggage, but what if you have a luggage that won’t lose you. The CX-1 is a self-driving luggage which has camera sensors on it to follow your every step and go where ever you go.

The self-driving technology is able to track the owner through the camera, but if you go out of range, it can still find you with the help of a connected wristband. The camera also has facial recognition which prevents it from following someone else.

And, the four wheel drive moves around at a maximum speed of nearly 7 mph. This carry-on luggage is made by a Chinese company called ForwardX Robotics.

The version shown at the CES is just a demo and company should make the robot available sometime this year.

#15 Small Robots That Will Invade Your Home Sooner Than You Think

[topicprinter]

Hey - Pat from Starter Story again.Today's interview is with Jonas Forth, who runs Moomin.com.TLDR:His company sells products based on a popular, existing brand.His business is content-first - focused on blogging and SEO to drive trafficThe business turns over €75,000 per monthHello! Who are you and what are you working on?I’m Jonas Forth, managing director at All Things Commerce Helsinki Ltd. Our aim is to help Nordic brands based in art, literature and design reach a global audience through e-commerce and relevant content.Our main product is moomin.com - through which we sell licensed products based on the popular brand Moomin and tell fans about its rich fascinating history.Our most popular products are perhaps our ceramic Moomin mugs, a phenomenon that started in the early 1990s. But, we also have a wide array of over 700 items, ranging from lamps to toys and t-shirts.On average, we have a monthly turnover of 75.000€ with annual growth of 20%, shipping to more than 50 countries every month. We are now looking at taking on more brands and expanding our operations with an on-demand model.All Things Commerce Helsinki Ltd is now owned by the parent company Moomin Characters, to which it was sold to in early 2015.What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?My background is in journalism and online content production, but I have also worked extensively with different companies on developing digital products. This has always given me a good understanding of the combination of content and technology.My previous experience certainly helped when we originally conceptualized the site and online store. But it has certainly been a learning process as the e-commerce field is quickly growing and practices change.We came up with the idea of ATC after seeing similar brands struggle with their online presence and decided to see if we could develop it into a service, combining content with commerce.Nowadays, we mainly work with the global brand Moomin, and after four years with the brand, we have been able to test out different sales models and processes.In practice, we work as Moomin’s official communications channel, ranging from creating high-level content in-house and managing all marketing efforts.We’re hoping to be able to serve other brands with a similar content structure, perhaps with a stronger focus on the commercial side.Describe the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing the product.Starting out, we spent approximately 100.000 € on the site, shop and logistics.Half of that went into developing the site and shop, one quarter to initial salaries and one quarter into the setup of our logistics.For a global webstore, 100.000€ is far from enough, but it got us started. We initially went with a custom platform called Spree but we have since progressed to Shopify.When people talk about scaling your business, some forget that flaws in your business scale as well but in a negative way. So make sure that all aspects of the business are working before trying to scale it up.We also used another 100.000€ to buy inventory, but very little on marketing as we rely on our own content production.Thinking back, I probably would have chosen a more scalable platform solution early on, as switching systems later requires more work and money.We now buy items from over 70 different manufacturers, with the one thing in common that they all use the Moomin brand.Describe the process of launching the online store/business.We didn’t do a traditional launch, we sort of put it out there and let people find it on their own.We did, however, focus on creating a lot of interesting content such as searchable and shareable posts, and we aimed for a high percentage of automatic turnover.It took us about six months until we started seeing relevant traffic, and we did quite a lot of competitions, sales and hustling during the first months to get that going. Moomin Characters only had a Flash based site up until 2014 without any data analytics connected to it so we started out blind in terms of what people were searching for and what kinds of posts interested people. We only knew that we would have 50% commercial and 50% non-commercial material to strike a balance, and that is something we stick to to this day.This is something that I recommend to all brands that I talk to, as so many are putting their emphasis on social media. Your social media accounts can be shut down at any moment leaving you with nothing after years of working on them so make sure that you control your own base.As the months went by, we analysed our data but also looked at all other existing Moomin sites to see what they had written about. We also did some link and story sharing with the other sites to get the SEO going. It certainly helped that we put out lots and lots of unique content, specifically product information, in three languages at the same time. Google loves structured data and Wordpress with the plugin Yoast helps us do it fairly automatically.Four years later, we receive some 75% of our turnover from organic search, direct traffic and automatic messaging through follow-up emails and social media retargeting, allowing us to focus on keeping up the positive loop. For social media, we use a low cost tool called AdEspresso, which allows us to set up hundreds of campaigns at once and then up the budgets or turn off campaigns based on how they are performing.Since launch, what has worked to attract new customers?Our main focus is on creating content that focuses on the brand and that provides value to virtually anyone to whom the brand Moomin is still unknown.All our content is SEO optimized, from alt texts, to image naming and search term specification. That has allowed us to rely on traffic from organic search and we believe that it will grow significantly once the brand becomes better known.If you would like to learn more about SEO, I would start with Moz and the top posts from the SEO subreddit, install Google Analytics on your site and just start measuring the results.It’s very much a long play game and it takes months for you to see results, even with consistent work. Here’s some marketing tips from my experience:We’re very much landing page driven and we use our official site (moomin.com) and shop (shop.moomin.com) as our spine in all other operations. There are two reasons for this - we can only really convert to sales on our site and we want to build and own our media. This is something that I recommend to all brands that I talk to, as so many are putting their emphasis on social media. Your social media accounts can be shut down at any moment leaving you with nothing after years of working on them so make sure that you control your own base.Treat paid advertising as something that’s one-off, so once you pay for the views, clicks or conversions, it’s over. This means that you should try to get everything you can out of the paid traffic like Facebook or Google retargeting, email signups or people sharing you content.Map out what your traffic sources are and what your funnel looks like - where does your traffic come, where should it go and what should happen once it gets there? When it comes to e-commerce, three things matter - the amount of traffic you can generate, the percentage of that you convert, and the value of the conversion.We’re heavy on building our own media - both on the site but also through emails list and partners who are willing to trade traffic. We post on social media but since it converts poorly for us, we rarely put emphasis on it. We have automatic ads though running 24/7.How is everything going nowadays, and what are your plans for the future?Things are going well, we’re into our fifth year of growth now and we’re looking at opening up a completely new business doing only on-demand items for other brands similar to Moomin.Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?When people talk about scaling your business, some forget that flaws in your business scale as well but in a negative way. So make sure that all aspects of the business are working before trying to scale it up. We messed up when we tried to open up a similar business in another country without the proper foundation in place for it.Focus on building a team that’s self driving and automate as much redundant tasks as you can. That gives you more time to focus on the important things.What platform/tools do you use for your business?Platform: ShopifyEmail Communication: ConversioNewsletters: MailchimpPublishing: WordpressSocial Media Marketing - AdEspressoWhat have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur is great for planning out your business.I often listen to Shopify’s podcasts as well.Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?Focus is most often the thing that companies fail to do and it’s even harder while growing the company.Get a mentor if you can - once crud starts hitting the fan, it’s good to have someone bring you back on track.Where can we go to learn more?moomin.comMoomin ShopFacebookInstagramTwitter

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

[buildercar]

New Post has been published on http://www.buildercar.com/whats-new-in-racing-games-from-e3-2017/

What’s New in Racing Games from E3 2017

For gearheads drowning in crossover SUVs, kiddie haulers, rising debt, and the relentless push toward an eco-friendly future hostile to internal combustion, realistic racing simulators and high-octane racing games have remained a reliable frustration outlet.

The genre expands every year, filling in the gaps made by new systems, processing power advancements, and virtual reality. It’s hard to keep up with the new releases, so we went to E3 2017 to take stock of what’s new in the racing genre.

Forza Motorsports 7

If we had to pick a headliner, it’d be Forza Motorsports 7. Ever since the launch of the Forza Horizon franchise back in 2012, Forza has split its name between the simulation, race circuit focus of Motorsport and the free roaming, arcade-y Horizon nameplate. Following Forza Motorsport 6 (FM6) from late 2015, FM7 is the newest race sim powerhouse from Turn 10 Studios.

It’s what you would expect from a FM evolution – more cars, better graphics, sharper AI, more weather effects. We spent some time with the E3 demo, and we’re pleased report it’s as pretty to look at as previous installments.

Three race options were offered in the demo – a stint in the new, unreleased 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS, some time in a racing semi-truck, and some laps in a Nissan GT-R GT3 car. We skipped the Nissan, but made sure to cut a few laps in the Porsche and semi-truck.

The Porsche GT2 RS was placed in a field of like-minded supercars, and took place on a fabricated circuit located in the sand-swept outskirts of Dubai. The sun was bright, casting a harsh light on the rocky environment, while sand intruded on the track in wispy clouds, obscuring our view for brief moments.

Dynamically, fans who have progressed through previous FM titles will feel right at home. I used my regular difficulty settings and was impressed at how the mechanics felt historically similar to other Forza titles while showing improvements to car control finesse and the dreaded wobble recovery.

The 700-strong car selection looks as varied as ever, especially from behind the wheel of the aforementioned racing semi-truck. The game engine did a wonderful job of making the truck feel every bit as big as it is, requiring a great deal more steering effort than the mercurial Porsche.

So, the news is good, Forza faithful. Clear your schedule for October 3rd of this year, when Forza Motorsport 7 drops for the Xbox One, Windows 10, and the all-new Xbox One X.

Gran Turismo Sport

The next installment in the popular Gran Turismo franchise will land in fall of this year. Gran Turismo Sport has received a large share of attention following the title’s announcement in late 2015, when series creator Kazunori Yamauchi categorized Sport as the first title to be considered in the second generation of the Gran Turismo series.

Like the earlier GT “prologue” titles, this might not be considered by some to be a full title release, but developer Polyphony Digital promises Sport will have more content than previous stopgap GT games.

Following the standard racing game formula, Sport offers different game modes, the three in this case being “Campaign,” “Sports,” and “Arcade.” Along with regular online racing, Polyphony Digital worked with the FIA to certify top-level GT drivers, allowing certain parameters of GT gametime to count toward a real racing license.

Our time was limited to one lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife in a McLaren 675LT, but unlike Forza, I had access to a full fixed racing wheel and pedal setup. On-track, the McLaren displayed the same realistic handling dynamics that GT has long considered its hallmark.

The 675LT turned out to be the perfect blend of performance and usability for our limited seat time. Coming from a background filled with hours invested into Forza, the learning curve for GTS wasn’t so drastically different, especially when you compare Gran Turismo 5 and Forza Motorsports 4, the last time I extensively played a GT title.

Like FM7, visuals take the center stage. The line between crappy live footage and in-game footage continues to blur, especially with minutia detail inside and out each car. Sound is much improved over past games as well and, for the first time in GT history, Porsche joins the long roster of cars available.

Gran Turismo Sport launches later this year for the Playstation 4.

Project Cars 2

Much to the chagrin of Forza and GT fans alike, Project Cars from Developer Bandai Namco is well on its way to establishing itself as one of the more serious racing sims available. The second release, Project Cars 2, only increases the visibility of the new franchise.

Like the other two titles, PC2 puts the player behind the wheel of some of the fastest and most desirable cars imaginable. Realism is at a forefront of the game’s list of goals, and to some effect, it’s as realistic as GT could ever hope to be. The game incorporates VR support and night/day transitions, which separates it from titles that have moved away from time-lapse scenarios.

McLaren is one of the title sponsors for PC2, so the demos on-hand put us in the driver’s seat of a new McLaren 720S. Compared to GT Sport and FM7, the learning curve was much, much higher and I found myself bashing into walls with much greater frequency. Inputs through the steering wheel and pedal set-up were much more immediate than the other games and recovery after unsettling the car was harder than anything I experienced before.

Don’t think of this as a bad thing – there’s a place in the market for hardcore simulators that still manage to be glossy and graphically sharp. We’ve got high hopes for the Project Cars franchise, and the sequel looks as though it picks up right where the first one left off.

Get in line for the Project Cars 2 release on September 22.

F1 2017

Like Madden, the NBA 2K series, and FIFA, developer Codemaster’s F1 2017 is this year’s episode of the F1 series. New for 2017 is the team management feature, allowing players to determine the direction of their Formula 1 team, including ordering parts, car upgrades, and improving pit stop times.

Alongside this, expect better graphics, classic Formula 1 cars, a handful of new tracks, and revised driving mechanics.

Look for the release of F1 2017 on August 25.

Need for Speed Payback

Following the reboot of the Need for Speed series in 2015 with the eponymous release, a grittier, more pop-culture-focused NFS moves into 2017 with Payback. Like the previous game, Payback focuses on a character driven story over driving realism, taking place on public roads and putting the player inside heavily modified cars in place of race cars. According to Creative Director William Ho, the new NFS will be a “playable action movie.”

Going by the trailer, this NFS looks more story driven than ever, allowing the player to participate in heists, desert chases, and police pursuits.

Need for Speed Payback hits retail shelves on November 10 later this year.

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[theonyxpath]

Yep, we’re back this week after having held a couple of meetings since last we talked. The Onyx Path gang and I talked about a bunch of things, like you’d expect, and here are our top topics:

1- Our ongoing Monarchies of Mau Kickstarter. It’s rolling through the slower section of the typical Kickstarter pattern, but Eddy and I have a few more interviews on tap before it wraps up in 10 days, so we’re hoping to get the word out a bit more. We also talked about letting folks know that there are still some of the rewards that let you get your cat or dog illustrated – so see below in the BLURBS! where I mention that!

So far though, we’ve been really happy with the response and are ultra interested in looking at it and Pugmire side by side once the KS is done.

Also, just to mention this here like I did on the KS page: Monarchies of Mau and Pugmire are totally compatible and designed so you can play cat and dog adventuring parties.

    Thousand Years of Night illustration by Pat McEvoy

    2- I pitched a bunch of projects to the new White Wolf last week, both for the 20th Anniversary line and for Chronicles of Darkness. That led, naturally to our team coming up with eleventy-billion ideas of what we could do, if the projects are approved. In fact, most of our meeting today was that brainstorming, he said teasingly.

3- Of course, because we are two months away from it (and how did we get to June so fast????), we touched base on our GenCon plans. Mirthful Mike is slamming through our GenCon graphics all this month, including this year’s brochure, the StoryPath brochure for this year that explains the system – but this time with a focus on the Trinity Continuum – as well as a new backdrop for our booth, and slews of buttons that we’ll be giving away during the con.

4- Just like the the Monarchies of Mau KS, Fast Eddy Webb has a deadline coming up next week: right after the KS is over, he gets on a plane to start his new adventure living in Ireland. We had a great chat in our traditional Monday Lunch Meeting today talking about the future of the world of Pugmire, how to find useful work to do when you are waiting for a huge life change, and several unannounced projects we’ll be talking about working on together in the future. More about Eddy and his importance to Onyx Path next week.

5- We went over where we are with our fiction ebooks with two “waves” of six books each already up on Amazon, and now appearing in the B&N Nook store. This is really just our toehold into those venues and what more we can do includes more venues like them (Apple Store?), or moving to another level by adding in game books. More info on that below in the BLURBS!, and please, if you buy any of the books from those venues, we would really greatly appreciate you leaving some kind of review. Stars or written reviews, anything helps spread the word!

    M20 Book of Shadows art by Steve Ellis

    6- We mentioned this in last week’s meeting, but I think it is worth bringing up to you folks: if you haven’t seen the Fiction Friday posts, they are well worth checking out as each Friday we excerpt some of the astounding and evocative fiction from both our novels and anthologies, and also from our game books. A really simple way to get a taste of game lines, and specific books.

7- We went over the set-up and possible developers for Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras 2. Thanks to all of our many backers who contributed ideas for possible new Dark Eras! We think we have figured out how we’re going to start the book and frame further chapters for when we do the Kickstarter – which will be the next one we do!

We think we learned a great deal from CofD: DE‘s Kickstarter, and follow-through, and are using that to pull together DE2 a little differently. We want to keep the main book a good sized book, but not the mammoth tome we eventually published for the original Dark Eras.

    Exalted 3rd art by Gunship Revolution

    8- And then, as we always do, we moved into the project updates phase where Rollickin’ Rose and Mirthful Mike go through where our active projects are. Pretty much the end result of which you read every week below in the Project Status Updates. Rose is still helping several dev teams across all our game lines, we’re expecting to send the Deviant outline over to the new White Wolf any day now, our new Exalted 3rd devs are really starting to get the hang of what we need them to do, and Mirthful Mike had a cold all weekend.

There ya go!

  BLURBS!

  KICKSTARTER!

10 days to go, and are at that stage where we’re doing a lot of talking to bloggers and games sites while pledging slows awaiting the big 48 hour push next week! Please help us out by talking Monarchies of Mau up on social media and to your friends, especially your cat-loving friends. Don’t be shy, every mention helps!

We’ve already shot past Stretch Goals for an exclusive t-shirt, an Intro adventure, the first three Mau stories in a fiction anthology, a book of character write-ups featuring the characters submitted by backers, and our second adventure goal – this time by Dennis Detwiller. Now we’re looking at more short stories, including one by our very good friend the amazing Joe Carriker, with plenty more to come! If you get a chance, here’s the link: http://ift.tt/2rmHhAG

SPECIAL ALERT: Right now, as I write this, a Gorgeous Kitty reward tier spot has opened up and allows you to get your cat pictured as a character in one of the beautiful illustrations going into a Monarchies of Mau book! These kinds of reward tiers get snapped up fast!

Also, there are five Conspicuous Canine reward tier spots still open which don’t just get your dog into an illustration, but created as an NPC in the world of Pugmire! Since one of our Stretch Goal rewards is the Roll of Good Dogs and Excellent Cats, they may even show up illustrated and statted-up in there! If you missed this in the Pugmire KS, now’s your chance!

  ON SALE!

ON AMAZON:

  We’re delighted to announce the opening of our ebook store on Amazon! You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle. Our initial selection includes these fiction anthologies: Vampire: the Masquerade‘s Endless Ages, Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage 2, Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition‘s Truth Beyond Paradox, Chronicles of Darkness‘ God Machine Chronicle, Mummy: The Curse‘s Curse of the Blue Nile, and Beast: The Primordial‘s The Primordial Feast!

And now you can get these books in the Barnes and Noble Nook store too!

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II

Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox

Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology

Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile

Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology

  And this week, we’re releasing another six fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology

      Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://ift.tt/1ZlTT6z

You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages! And Screens…so many Screens!

    ON DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: Three Kingdoms of Darkness (Changeling and Geist China 220-280). Famine weakens the empire, and war splits it apart. It is an age of ambition and strife, where the hungry dead walk the earth in great numbers, and the Lost must rely on their own kingdoms. Warlords and commoners, ghost-speakers and orphans — who truly serves the Mandate of Heaven?

On sale in PDF and physical copy PoD versions Wednesday on DTRPG!

From the massive Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras main book, we have pulled this single chapter, Dark Eras: The Wolf and the Raven (Werewolf and Geist Vikings 700-1100). The Viking expansion across Europe comes at a pivotal time in history, as new faiths rose to challenge the old and new ways threatened to sweep ancient tradition aside. The Forsaken sail with raiders and explorers, seeking new lands to claim and new spirits to conquer, while Sin-Eaters walk the battlefields bringing the honored dead to their final rewards. The world grows larger and more dangerous by the day, but there are great rewards for those brave enough to fight for them.

On sale in PDF and physical copy PoD versions Wednesday on DTRPG!

      Curated by Matthew McFarland, developer of Changeling: the Dreaming Twentieth Anniversary Edition and featuring authors such as Myranda Kalis, Wren Handman, and Peter Woodworth, this C20 Anthology of Dreams is on sale in electronic/PDF and physical copy PoD formats on DTRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2snBT0X

We dream, and we tell stories. We dream of love and the sort of person who might complete us. We dream of horror and wake breathless. We dream of magic, of flying through the air, or breathing underwater. We dream of fantastic vistas and amazing monsters.

We dream, and then we wake, and we tell stories. Our dreams create the Kithain, the changelings. Our stories are sustenance.

    Now on DTRPG, the EX3 Tomb of Dreams Jumpstart PDF/PoD jumps up for sale!

http://ift.tt/2qdriZU

Once, in the time before the gods forgot their names, when the world was flat and floated on a sea of chaos, there was an age of gleaming cities, untamed wilderness, enlightened devils, greedy spirits, and mighty heroes. This was the age of the Exalted, champions empowered by the highest of gods.

Tomb of Dreams will jumpstart your group’s Exalted game—all you need to start playing Exalted Third Edition is this book, pencils, and 10-sided dice. Included here are the game’s core rules, five pregenerated characters, and a self-contained scenario that can start a new campaign or that Storytellers can use in an ongoing chronicle. And for groups that already have the Exalted Third Edition main rulebook, Tomb of Dreams will serve as an introduction for new players and a quick reference during play—anyone intimidated by that prodigious volume need only read Part 1 of this book to get started.

What legends will they tell of your deeds?

        Sailing out of the dark, the V20 Dark Ages Companion Advance PDF is now on sale on DriveThruRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2pX42dq

Travel the long roads and deep seas in search of power and experience danger, or tackle the wilderness to hunt monsters and face death. Settlements large and small dot the black expanse with the promise of sanctuary, life, and community. These bastions of civilization present cold comfort, when playing host to vampire warlords and sadistic Cainite faiths. Whether led by a Prince, a coordinated belief, or hounded by monsters from without and within — no domain is truly the same as another.

Dark Ages Companion includes:

• Domains scattered across the world, from small fiefdoms to massive cities. Bath, Bjarkarey, Constantinople, Rome, Mogadishu, and Mangaluru each receive coverage.

• Apocrypha including plot hooks, new Paths, and mysteries to explore in your games.

• A how-to guide on building a domain within your chronicle, including events and servants necessary to make a domain as functional or dysfunctional as you wish.

• A study on warfare in the Dark Ages period, so combat in your chronicles can gain authenticity and lethality.

        Bill Bridge’s new W20 novel, The Song of Unmaking, is on sale in PDF/ePub/PoD versions on DriveThruRPG.com: http://ift.tt/2qXQH9f and in ebook form on Amazon: http://ift.tt/2qpQM2V !

The fabric of reality is cracking. Fissures appear in thin air, glowing with balefire. Something is scratching on the other side, pressing, beginning to break through….

The Wyrm’s corruption finds its way into the hearts of humans and Garou alike. Even an ultra-rational techno-cratic scientist can fall sway to its lies. Channeling his hate and resentment through the most sophisticated machine ever created, Basil Czajka has turned a tool designed to peer deep into the heart of the quantum universe into a nursery for the hatching of a horror — a creature whose birth cry is destined to unmake Gaia’s Song of Creation.

The only ones standing in his way are One-Song, a broken-down old Theurge, and Lord Albrecht, whose heed-less anger might be the very weapon the enemy needs to crack the egg and free the Unmaker.

    The Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras Companion has arrived in PDF and PoD physical book versions at DriveThruRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2pygIL7

The Dark Eras Companion presents eleven new Eras for the Chronicles of Darkness. Stretching from Ancient Rome and Egypt through the Black Death, the Thirty Years War, the Reconstruction, and the Russian Revolution, the Companion showcases even more of the secret history of this eldritch world. Included in each era are “snapshots” of the various supernatural creatures, including vampires, changelings, mummies, and demons. Also included are lists of inspirational media to help you put these Eras in context for your troupe.

Open the Dark Eras Companion and take another look back in time.

    V20 Lore of the Bloodlines awaits in PDF and physical book PoD versions on DriveThruRPG.com!

http://ift.tt/2pj8UuA

Lore of the Bloodlines is a single volume (created via Kickstarter) that revisits some of the bloodlines in Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, providing story hooks, character concepts, history, and bloodline-specific rules. The secrets of the Baali, Daughters of Cacophony, Gargoyles, Harbingers of Skulls, Kiasyd, Salubri, Samedi, and True Brujah are now yours.

Lore of the Bloodlines includes:

• The history, lore, and nightly practices of nine bloodlines, told from the perspective of the Kindred themselves.

• New combo Disciplines, powers, Merits, Flaws, and other rules specific to each bloodline.

• Revisions and updates of more classic Vampire: The Masquerade material to V20.

      Night Horrors: Conquering Heroes for Beast: the Primordial, PoD and PDF versions is now on sale on DTRPG.com!

http://ift.tt/2j7p7lO

This book includes: 

An in-depth look at how Heroes hunt and what makes a Hero, with eleven new Heroes to drop into any chronicle.

A brief look at why Beasts may antagonize one another, with seven new Beasts to drop into any chronicle.

Rules for Insatiables, ancient creatures born of the Primordial Dream intent on hunting down Beasts to fill a hunger without end, featuring six examples ready to use in any chronicle.

      CONVENTIONS!Discussing GenCon plans. August 17th – 20th, Indianapolis. Every chance the booth will actually be 20? x 30? this year that we’ll be sharing with friends. We’re looking at new displays this year, like a back drop and magazine racks for the brochure(s).

In November, we’ll be at Game Hole Con in Madison, WI. More news as we have it, and here’s their website: http://ift.tt/RIm6qP

      And now, the new project status updates!

    DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)

C20 Ready Made Characters (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

  Redlines

Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

DtD Night Horrors: Enemy Action (Demon: the Descent)

  Second Draft

V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Scion: Origins (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

  Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)

M20 Cookbook (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Pugmire Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)

  WW Manuscript Approval:

BtP Beast Player’s Guide (Beast: the Primordial)

VtR Half-Damned (Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition)

    Editing:

Wraith: the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition

Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Book of Freeholds (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

  Post-Editing Development:

      Indexing:

    ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Beckett’s Jyhad Diary 

W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook

Cavaliers of Mars

Wraith 20

W20Changing Ways

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Storypath Brochure

VDA Jumpstart

Scion Origins

C20 Jumpstart – AD’d and Contracted

Ring of Spiragos

Ex 3 Arms of the Chosen – AD’d & Contracted

  Marketing Stuff

  In Layout

M20 Art Book – In progress…

Prince’s Gambit – New Cards out for playtesting

Gen Con Stuff

Proofing

CtL Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology

M20 Book of Secrets – Hyperlinking and wrapping things up. Once all that is done, we will send it to WW for approvals.

VTR: Thousand Years of Night

  At Press

Beckett Screen – Shipped to shipper.

Dark Eras: To the Strongest – PoD proof on the way.

C20 – Getting that over for indexing this week.

Pugmire – Printing.

Pugmire Screen – Printing.

Pugmire Cards & Dice – Printing/manufacturing.

Wise and the Wicked PF & 5e – At Press… signed off on the proofs on Friday.

Dark Eras: The Wolf & Raven– Going on sale on Wednesday!

Dark Eras: Three Kingdoms of Darkness – Going on sale on Wednesday!

Dagger of Spiragos (5e) – Out to backers.

Dagger of Spiragos (PF) – Out to backers.

V20 Dark Ages Companion – Inputting errata.

BtP Building a Legend – Errata should be wrapping up.

Monarchies of Mau Early Access

      TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: In Ireland, today is June Bank Day Holiday! Which has got to be given props as the most generic holiday name ever! Slainte!

#Onyx Path Publishing