Colon Leftbracket

Hmm... maybe I should pay more attention to game development teams. I'm pretty glued to this Amnesia Fortnight thing that Double Fine's doing and it has obviously brought up some positive thinking as far as game design goes. Though I did notice that I may have unconsciously found inspiration even from Autonomous, a prototype being developed for Amnesia Fortnight, where you are in a robot junk yard where you have to build robots to defend yourself. I didn't even think about Autonomous when I was brainstorming this idea for fun. Though there game is taking on an entirely different feel than what I described in mine. (Theirs is more like a TRON sandbox)

So with this whole Amnesia Fortnight thing going on at Double Fine, I've felt pretty inspired to muse over game design ideas myself. The developers at Double Fine came up with quite a few neat game design pitches, some were of course better than others. But watching this whole experience has been really inspiring! It brings me back to the days that I looked at games less cynically and I often liked to imagine how I'd make my own! I guess in the spirit of Amnesia Fortnight I've came up with my own mock game design pitch. I bring you... Junkyard Punk In the far future there is a massive junkyard, a graveyard for millions and millions of the obsolete and broken machines, mechs, spaceships, and robots. Its an ocean of scrap and rust, a hopeless wasteland for our old mechanical friends to fade away. ...but one lone bot won't go down, not without a fight! Junkyard Punk is an exploration, construction, 2D Platformer starring a lone robot. The mission? Escape the Junkyard! However escaping the junkyard is no easy feat. The walls of the scrapheap are far out of reach and the fabled Junk Guardian watches over the land. The game is like if you mixed the 2D worlds and exploration of Terraria, the challenge and repeat playthrough of Binding of Isaac, the escape and time pressure of Pikmin, and maybe a bit of Wall-e inspiration for good measure. Your goal is to survive long enough to build a spaceship capable of flying you out of the Junkyard and defeat the Junk Guardian which can be one of many endgame bosses of varying difficulty. A few game mechanics include a battery life system that you must find creative ways to keep at a good level, a gradual increasing difficulty as time goes on, an upgrade system where you can build more body armor, weapons, and gagets like jetpacks and grappling hooks for movement, also a weight system that comes into play as you keep adding to your character the more weight you gain, and a complex construction system to build base defenses, repair stations, energy generators, and of course the spaceship. The spaceship construction is also a complex system in itself. You must balance weight, firepower, armor, size, and thrust so you can fly your way out with as much ease as possible. The game is also made for replayablilty. After each playthrough you unlock more items to spawn in the junkyard as well as new enemies and bosses. Also multiple epilogue endings depending on how many playthoughs you have won or certain tasks you completed. Try to beat your best time and escape as quick as possible or stick around to find more secrets in the junkyard. Its a game meant to invoke both challenge and exploration as well as constructive creativity. --- Anyway that's the basic synopsis of a game idea I came up with and I'm actually kind of proud of it. That does sound like a pretty solid game that I'd enjoy. I do enjoy the 2D style exploration and platforming of Terraria, but I find the game kinda aimless. So I thought of the spaceship escape goal similar to that of Pikmin as well as the game getting harder as time goes on. I'm also fond of shorter but more difficult games so replayability would be a huge factor.

Amnesia Fortnight 2012 Review So one of the coolest events in video game development is happening RIGHT NOW! And its called Double Fine's Amnesia Fortnight! Essentially what Amnesia Fortnight is is when the Double Fine (known for Monkey Island, Brutal Legend, and Psychonauts, headed by the legendary Tim Schafer) decides to take a break and drop whatever they are doing, go into a development AMNESIA one may say, and start working on new prototypes for a full two weeks, or a FORTNIGHT some may call it. And this year is the 5th annual Amnesia Fortnight, but the 1st to go totally public! Some neat games have come out of this unique process. Examples are Costume Quest, Stacker, Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster (formerly known as Happy Song), the upcoming free iOS game Middle Manager of Justice, and a newly released prototype from last year BRAZEN. If you are more interested in this process and want to get your hands on some of these two week prototypes including the 5 selected for this year being made RIGHT NOW! Check out the Humble Bundle fundraiser! http://www.humblebundle.com/double-fine (Also includes Live Streams of the development process) --- Before I can get into this year's pitches, winners, and misses I feel it makes sense to show some of the other products of this awesome development process! BRAZEN (Prototype) Pitched by Brian Muir, Project Lead on IRON BRIGADE BRAZEN Prototype Trailer Middle Manager of Justice (Coming Soon to iOS Devices) Pitched by Kee Chi, Programmer Middle Manager of Justice Trailer Middle Manager of Justice Amnesia Fortnight 2011 Initial Pitch --- The Amnesia Fortnight Initial Pitches Here's is a video containing all 23 of this year's pitches. The video will just play 30 second clips for each game telling you about it and perhaps showing some concept art or work already put into it. I would just link each video with each entry, but linking 23+ YouTube videos at once just has BAD IDEA written all over it! --- The Amnesia Fortnight 2012 Winners Yeah unfortunately I'm a little late to the party. It would probably have been more helpful if I could've written this review while the voting was still up. You viewers could have made a decision on which you liked and cast your vote to help with the process... yeah blame that one all on me! I was too slow! But anyway I suppose I might as well go through the winner's circle first. That way those who only care about the pitches that went through can get their fill first. 5th Place Black Lake Pitched by Levi Ryken, Senior Artist 4th Place Autonomous Pitched by Lee Petty, Art Director for Brutal Legend, Project Lead for Stacker and currently Double Fine Adventure 3rd Place The White Birch Pitched by Andy Wood, Art Director: The Cave (due out January 2013) 2nd Place Spacebase DF9 Pitched by JP LeBreton, Lead Designer: The Cave 1st Place Hack N' Slash Pitched by Brandon Dillion, Senior Programmer and "talks like a frog when he talks" --- The Runner-Ups So those 5 above are the chosen concepts to be protyped. For the most part I'm generally pleased with the results... really Double Fine will do... well doubly fine with really any of these concepts. But of course some concepts just didn't make the cut, some of them for good reason, some of them may seem to be missed opportunities, or maybe they'll just be kept as a secret weapon by Tim Schafer... I really would believe the latter... he's kinda a weird dude like that. Anyway without further ado, I shall review ALL the other concepts that didn't make it this year, and like those above, I'll give my opinion of what the game could have been, or what it may still be destined to be. The Knockover Pitched by Jeremy Natividad, Environmental Artist Milgrim Pitched by Joe Kowalski, User Interface Desinger Cloud Prix Pitched by John Swisshelm, Game Designer Zumbi Chained Pitched by Kjeld Pedersen, Senior Artist Bragging and Fighting Pitched by Matthew Franklin, Senior Gameplay Programmer Redbot's Reboot Pitched by Oliver Franzke, Senior Programmer Double Fine High Pitched by Panya Inversin, Visual Effects Artist Flopulous Pitched by Drew Skillman Bad Golf Pitched by Patrick Hackett, Senior Gameplay Programmer Battle Bros. Pitched by Geoff Soulis, Lead Artist: IRON BRIGADE Turk Pitched by Ben Peck, Gameplay Programmer Kaiju Piledriver Pitched by Brad Muir, Project Lead: IRON BRIGADE Shine Run Pitched by Brent Andrew Shinn, IT Manager Echelon Pitched by Brain Min, Studio Audio Director Primordial Slime Pitched by David Gardner, Senior Animator and "that guy who accosted Tim about adventure games being dead" Critterverse Pitched by Jeremy Mitchell, Technically Aritist Silent But Deadly Pitched by Duncan Boehle, Programmer ...but you guys knew I saved the best for last! The Flock Perfect Genius Video Game Concept Forged In The Fires Of Mt. Doom by Greg Rice, Producer: Double Fine Adventure, Absolute Sage, and 99.9% Duck --- Anyway that is ALL 23 concepts brought up in this year's Amnesia Fortnight and then some. Really I feel the best games won, since there's really only 5 (minus one game having to do with mallards) that deserved that top spot. I'll be really glad to see what the teams of Double Fine do with their prototypes in the next 2 weeks. Perhaps they have another masterpiece on their hands or perhaps just a few good ideas for the alternative market. Only time will tell. I'll make sure to get some money around so I can purchase the available Prototypes and get this year's batch when it all ends and tell you what I think of them. It'll be tons of hard work for these talented dev teams within these next 2 weeks, but I think they can really make something with these concepts. Hell they have me pretty inspired to come up with my own interesting game idea... but that's a story for another day. So what do you think about the concepts that were made during Double Fine's Amnesia Fortnight? Which concepts are your favorite? I think mine is that one having to do with Duck Dynasty... Which of the finalist are you cheering for? Me personally, after getting cheated out of my Quacksterpiece I've gotta side with that Hacking game.... It really could be something genius if it is done correctly, but we'll see!

So a while back I was told about a fresh new interesting Kickstarter called the LA Game Space. I wasn't quite sure exactly what it was, so I had to take a look into it. And what I saw looks FANTASTIC! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lagamespace/la-game-space-a-place-for-re-imagining-video-games Essentially the Kickstarter for LA Game Space is to help fund a huge video gaming project. Its a place, in LA of course, where developers of various Indie Games can come together and talk about game development and work on projects. Not only that, but regular non-developing folk can also see what's going on in the space like if it was a huge Indie Game Development Museum! Best part is that you don't even have to be in LA since they are going to bring as much as possible to everybody on the space's website! This project is AWESOME for those who really like Indie Game development! Its like a big get together for all sorts of amazing developers... some you probably don't even know of yet! Of course there are rewards for supporting the Kickstarter including getting a HUGE pack of games being developed to be showcased at the site! 30+ games for $15! What games exactly? Well little is known about these titles yet aside from who is working on it. The big names include Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy) + Adam Saltsman (Canabalt) are working on a game, Cactus (Hotline Miami), and even Pen Ward (maker of the Cartoon Network show Adventure Time!) is working with Bennett Foddy (that guy who made QWOP) on a game! I'm not sure how much viewers here care, but I really care for the Indie Market. The Indie Market is always filled with bright and fresh new ideas, usually for a low cost. I'm interested to see a hub set up where a bunch of these guys can get together and just make games. I'm not saying you have to help fund the Kickstarter (though I'm worried it might not make its goal), but I just want to see what people think of this project. What do you think of this central hub for Indie Game Development?

I'm a member of far too many fandoms! haha Obviously a member of the Brony fandom. Though I also take part in the Whovian fandom, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, Mother/Earthbound, Furry, and am slowly getting into the Homestuck fandom. I just like a lot of things and just love the fellow fans of the internet who also love them too!

So like many people I am a HUGE fan of a Japanese animation studio named Studio Ghibli! Studio Ghibli is best known for their movies such as My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away Though for the longest time I haven't seen a large chunk of the Studio Ghibli library, so I'm correcting that today by watching a bunch of Ghibli animations that I haven't watched! I figured since I'm doing this I might as well take a break to write a few mini-reviews on the movies, spoiler free of course! --- "Romantic Depression" Up Upon Poppy Hill So I thought I'd start on the one that most people haven't seen... as in the newest one. Up Upon Poppy Hill is set to have an English dub and international release next Spring, but I thought I'd get an early start at it through the original Japanese version. To describe the movie, its a very simple movie. Unlike some of the other Ghibli films, this one doesn't have any monsters or spirits, but just people. Its a simple slice of life movie. And actually I rather like this. The movie was pretty cute actually. It stars a young woman who works hard for her family and then she meets a peculiar young man who is the obvious love interest. On top of that, at their school there is an old club house that is threatened with demolition and the students try to save it. Its a really basic plot really... until the romance arc takes a few turns... Well the romance arc is pretty much half the movie and a plot of its own and although at first its adorable... it has a VERY odd twist to it... a very Japanese twist to it... Still even with a questionable twist, the movie still feels like a heart warming slice of life movie. Its nothing too flashy, but it still manages to entertain me. Grave of Fireflies So I decided to go from a nice heart warming romantic slice of life movie to... well... pretty much the polar opposite! Grave of Fireflies is also a movie that doesn't have any supernatural qualities to it... actually its a historical piece. Its also probably the most depressing movie I've seen in my life! It takes place in Japan during World War II... and aside from maybe the infamous concentration camps, Japan may have been one of the worst places to be during World War II. Mostly because the constant bombings and people starving to death. It is by all means NOT a pleasant movie to watch. That's not to say its bad, but to put it bluntly, you'll feel like shit afterwards. The basic plot is a young boy and his little sister try to survive World War II.. and that's basically it. The movie is kinda nice enough to spoil the ending a bit at the very first moment of the film. From the very first piece of dialogue you know that there is no happy ending and you just have to sit and watch things get worse! Not for the faint of heart.

Well I saw Earthbound/Mother crossover in the title and just HAD to take a look at it! Unfortunately, its getting rather late and I'm so tired, so I'll read it first thing in the morning. Guess I'll give it a proper "review" sometime tomorrow!

@, Alright I'll give you that character wise Babs Seed is a better character than Gilda. Gilda was also a very generic bully and really the only thing that made her memorable was that she was a Griffon. Babs at least had a redeeming quality to her and she changed to good making her a more dynamic character. Still kinda generic in my opinion, but the CMC expansion might be something to look forward to.

Hmm... this really reminds me of a quote that I saw a long time ago. I'm not sure if any particular person said it or if it was just some random tumblr user, but oh well its still useful no matter who said it. "These aren't men's clothes or women's clothes, they are MY clothes because I bought them!" I guess when you think of it THIS way there is no such thing as Crossdressing, but just well... dressing! Kinda a comforting thought when you think about it.

One Bad Apple? More like One Bad Episode! Okay, okay, I kid! I guess Pinkie Pie got me in the mood to make some bad puns! But I guess I'm not all that impressed with the new episode. Its not really bad, but rather its generic. Normally I'm okay with MLP:FiM picking up these really generic plot structures because they usually have a pretty original spin on it, but it really doesn't pay off this time in my opinion. It has the usual CMC episode adorableness, so if you are looking for just that I suppose you get what you wish for, but along with most CMC episodes they can be either amazing or just boring. I guess this episode did depend a lot on how they handled this new character, Bab Seed. Without spoiling much she just really comes off as a generic bully. Which is a real shame because MLP;FiM has done bullies before, and they've actually done them well to the point where they even scare me a bit (see Ponyville Confidential), but Bab Seed really doesn't bring anything all to amazing to really stand out from the other bullies. Call me picky, but I just wasn't impressed with this episode. Generic plot, generic antagonist, hell it even ends off pretty generically. Even the musical number in it seems pretty dang generic! I really don't like to bash MLP:FiM episodes, but this one is just one I don't like much at all. Next week's episode looks to be a big one though! So I guess there's something to look forward to!

haha I guess we share a similar issue there. I don't like referring to people as 'it' either. I mean if that's what they prefer than whatever, but it still makes me feel a tad iffy. I wouldn't want to be referred to as 'it' either. I'd just go as male 'he' and maybe "she" depending on the situation.

lol these are also issues I have for the most part. Especially that third one considering that I've grown into a rather big boned masculine frame. I'm sure I'll probably fear the mirror whenever I actually get around to CDing! And yeah I've been talking with a few people who just look AMAZING and I'm so jealous! haha

Alright fair enough. If a Crossdresser is wearing too revealing clothes in public I'd frown upon it just about as much as any woman wearing the same clothes. And as far as inappropriate acts go, well I guess that'd vary from person to person. But inappropriate acts are inappropriate acts not matter what the person's gender or sexual identity. I'd prefer a world where people can wear what they want in public and not have to hide in clubs and such. But of course the real world isn't that simple or tolerant. But yeah going out into public one would probably be called a freak by many people!

Lately, I've seen myself picking up new interests and discovering new things about myself. Over the last year I've been searching for answers on my own identity whether it be sexuality, gender, or otherwise. This long search has lead me to a few odd places and one of them now being Crossdressing. Now I haven't been able to Crossdress myself due to lack of... well many things, privacy, money, and women's clothing, but its something that doesn't just seem very appealing to me but actually feels like something that's been missing from my life. I've been talking to a few other like minded Crossdressers from various corners of the Internet and they say it seems to help them feel more comfortable with themselves. I've always found myself a bit uncomfortable having to assume the masculine role in life when the feminine things seem more appealing, so I guess its something I'd like to try to see if it helps me feel more comfortable in my own skin. --- But of course such a thing comes at a price. The world is actually not very tolerant of Crossdressers, probably more so than you think. Similar to issue with the whole Brony phenomenon, the world is pretty obstinate to give up its idea of black and white, masculine and feminine ideals. A man wanting to wear a skirt is something that society REALLY frowns upon, which is sad because its just a piece of cloth that that man wants to wear to help himself feel more comfortable with whatever gender identity issue he is going through. So I was curious to see what the opinion of my fellow forum goers is on Crossdressing. If you saw a man walking through your town wearing a dress, what would you think? Don't be afraid to leave your honest opinions down below. But do remember to please stay civil. I don't want this to become one of THOSE threads that needs to be locked down before we even start a discussion.

Wait I voted No to this? Man, why did I do that? I'm the only person that I even trust these days so of course I'd love myself! And even better genderswapped because its me... in a dress.... ...how could would that be! ME in a dress!

I read the first 3 acts of Homestuck and I liked what I read so far. It really seems to be a really promising story! Though seeing how long it is something in me just feels like after a while the comic will feel stretched out and unnecessarily long. Just something in me just feels that no well written, comprehensive story can go on for as long as Homestuck has! Its like when your watching a good anime and then about 100 episodes in the plot just seems to get weird and totally unrelated to what got you sucked in in the first place. The comic though so far for me is REALLY good! I can see why Homestuck has the fanbase it has. And hell, maybe I'm wrong and Homestuck actually does stay pretty consistent throughout. I don't know, guess I better keep reading.

I saw Wreck-It Ralph the other day! I TOTALLY recommend it if you love animated movies! Double recommended if you enjoy video games! Personally I feel its one of my all time favorite Disney animated films. I feel it actually might be better than most Pixar animations which is HUGE for Disney's own in house animation team!

Its been quite a while since I've played any Elder Scrolls game. I mostly enjoy going around as either Orcs or Kajiits. But specifically in Skyrim, I don't remember the race I chose for my main. But I did pick up an odd play style. My method was that the best Defense is a good Offense. I specialized in Shielding and Healing Magic. I went through pretty much the whole game beating things to death with my shield and it was a load of fun!