So it's probably no surprise to anyone who's read up a little about me that I hail from Australia, a country devoid much like most of the other countries of the world of the United States' spooky spectacle that is Halloween. Corporations have been recently trying to push it here and I hope it does take off, because it's a great Celebration. One that I slept through because I'd been awake for two days. When I was little we had nothing on the Halloween scale, industries weren't even trying to push it here, which I suppose may have been fair since we didn't have a period of witchhunting (except when it comes to Sharks, and even that's only recent), we were made as a nation 100 years after the whole witchcraft academic, observed by the less shallow individual as women just being clever rather than any sort of arcane sorcery. Perhaps there were some psionic forces at work, in which case, fuck yeah... instead of killing them why didn't we just try to learn? Like come on who doesn't have fantasies of shooting lightning from your hands or summoning blazing infernos?
Probably just as well though, since given our modern day I can't imagine the world with a heavy influence on magick being any less dangerous. Though we've never needed magic to fuck shit up, just ask the Fathers of the atomic bomb about all that.
Besides, most fantasies these days can be answered with games, want to invoke a bloody rampage, well with a sword or gun that's easy, see god of war or MGR:R or any 90's FPS.
Want to fly? Yeah sure, there's no games that are built on that aspect. (See, there's actually truckloads, that was sarcastic, ofcourse) There's even games for people with corporate power fantasies like Cookie Cutter and Papers Please!
Recently I wanted to play a game which was about rumrunning, escaping the law to bring people goods, welp Mirror's Edge exists.
I don't know how anyone could conversely hate games, I can understand hating certain types of games or gamers, but games as a medium is so expressive and combines the best of interactive media with the likeness of a cartoon or movie. Anyone who would abstain the growth or distribution of this mediumhas to be basically insane or more accurately, senile.
Sure Granny, I guess I could go to school just to learn shit that this game can teach me in a fun and interesting way.
Hah! I bet you all thought this post was gonna be about Halloween and my spookventures? Well nah like i said I slept from 4 PM to 6 AM the next morning so I missed Halloween practically entirely.
What I can do is tell you of a few spooky sites that you should basically never visit because they are horrible, I'm not speaking of 4chan or tumblr or Twitter because they are often hilarious in their meta-implications and are dumb enough just to laugh at. I myself have visited 2 of those, Tumblr being the one I have chosen to avoid.
That's right, I'd rather go to 4chan than Tumblr.
Since I have lots of fun shit talking evil or malign people, what better to do than to bash their shitty and evil websites?
These sites are beyond the precipice of forgiveness or humor, they are sites so disgusting that they shouldn't exist, but they do. So obviously there's gonna be a fanatic religious group in here and I think this one deserves the bread here.
#1: Westboro Baptist Church
Everything that is bad about Christianity, amplified, dissented and then chopped into hacks... this... monstrosity is critized by Christians themselves. it makes the Anglo-saxon order look bad, it makes religion look bad, it makes Atheists look justified. I mean when I first heard of it I thought it was a joke-- facetious.
It isn't. I mean their main website has the url of www.godhatesfags.com, and ultimately because he hates fags he also hates all of America and therefore we are all doomed?
Tolerance is one of God's supposed strong suits, so I guess this kind of is actually just www.godlovesrednecks.com in reality, which is an accurate coining since most of the members of Westboro are senile old christians (mostly men) who have a problem with gay people and women having rights, that there still exists such a cancer is sure sign our world ain't changed all that much from the 1700's to now. Just such ideals are now strictly locked to this band of retards.
I mean I think these guys are pretty unfairly quoting the bible, did fag even exist as a word back when the bible was written? Did people genuinely think of that concept back then? Weren't we a bit busy murdering people to notice the two dudes feeling each other up?
That is the prime anecdote that defines different religious groups, the bible is interpreted differently because it was written by, well it was written over 2000 years ago now by some fellas who wanted to make a moral guide to life. So it's outdated, trying to apply it's principles to life today is idiotic. It's translations also haven't helped it any.
I mean if you read the first, the original testament, the one Catholic fellas still go by (I think Catholics are pretty cool, before you say anything, like they are hardcore, and I can respect that), paints god as this evil, misogynistic, pompous wizard who kills over a thousand times as many people as Satan does.
My point is that back in those days was REALLY different to the now, now we're in the information/digital age. It is an awesome age, though the invention age of 1970-2000 was also fucking amazing, we invented the Microwave, which was this unbelievable thing that could cook an object with NOTHING! Well, sans a couple hundred kilowatts. It was the future, today! We also invented the internet, which was pretty cool.
So yeah, my spiel about all this just goes to show that Westboro Baptist Church are the devout crusaders of today, a day that neither needs nor wants them. They are about 900 years out of date and 300 years out of touch with reality.
#2 Otaku
Host to the worst game journalist's the world knows,
reading anything on here is like taking a flu shot, but instead of
curing the flu you don't have, it makes you very angry and irritable and
also inserts a powerful desire to make others suffer.
It is pure poison.
There is no good that has EVER come from Otaku.
#3 Phil Fish
He doesn't actually have a website, so I'll just redirect you to his closed down Twitter account. Philippe Poisson (fitting last name) is a plague of the video games industry, who only seems capable of ripping an idea of and then getting really butthurt when people complain about it, being a games developer myself, I can tell you that being butthurt isn't a sign to hunt down and malignantly start fights with people, it's a sign you need to make better games. I imagine this guy is pretty insecure about his position, like Notch (or Markus Persson) and ultimately isn't very good at making games, only hyping them up, despite similar games doing what his so-called Blockbuster had done before and done better... I speak of Fez, unsuccessful successor of Gravity Rush (a much better game), he recently quit the games dev industry, so i feel vindicated in saying that he probably had no intention to develop games just because he loved doing it, because if he did sincerely love making games, he wouldn't quit making them.
He also wouldn't chuck a fit when given legitimate criticism, he's the Tom Preston of game developers, lazy, and basically had dollar signs in his eyes when he started.
That never was and never has been a factor to me, because I just love making games, I've made five for the general public and never asked a cent for them. Being given the chance to impress people with my skills is enough for me. Guess who supports him? oh, Notch, Otaku and other game devs who entered the industry for money, rather than because they saw the potential such a medium offers for showcasing their ideals and ideas.
There's probably some kind of "no shit really" clause to me saying this, but I do have ideals that I convey in my games, but in subtle ways that don't obstruct gameplay. I think Menagerie tried a bit hard in that aspect, which is why I'm remastering it (among other reasons you can see below in my post a month ago).
Intelligence: Fighting against Destruction
Hellcat: Damnation and Salvation... is there even a difference?
Menagerie: Searching for Place and Purpose, Fighting against the Machine, others. (like i said, too much of a clusterfuck)
Exile: Fighting for Freedom
Perseverance: Fighting for Self / Against Oppression
Each of these games has a message, and regardless of what you or I think of those Messages, it's pretty clear that excluding Menagerie they were presented in a fairly subtle manner that didn't obstruct gameplay. Games are what you make of them, and what you make of games ultimately decides what people make of you as a developer. Philippe Poisson very clearly saw games as a way to make a bunch of money off some dumb kids, and for the most part, he got what he wanted, until he realized people really hate him for that. I'm not a dumb kid, I never bought Fez, but I hate him for that. I don't think highly of kids, nor do I think it's entirely unjustified to make money off of stupid people, I mean Pewdiepie does that shit for a living, what I hate about it is that it implies gamers are stupid, when in fact, it's only a part of us that are, and it's not something that'll work when you yourself are stupid. Pewdiepie knows darn well what he's doing, and while it's... evil, what he does. I think it's cool that in person he's real about it. He's like 'when kids throw you money, exploit them for more money'. Ultimately, pewdiepie is watched by stupid people, anyone smart will use an adblocker, which means he doesn't get money. So hey, if you watch Pewdiepie because you find him funny or endearing, congratulations, you're about as credibly intellectual as a scientologist.
Back to Possion, I think it's awesome he was shown the door by his very own fans, it's a perfectly fitting gesture for a corporate-saddling pig.
Notch also quit recently for similar though more humble reasons, so good riddance.
#4 Sweetcred
A special thanks to Dave Strider for finding this one
first, and also saving me the assumed pain of having to look at it
myself. Basically some guy wants to sell candy and therefore stereotyped
kids in the most ludicrous manner imaginable, I don't think even senile
old people who think 'us "young whippersnappers" get it so easy' would believe this hogwash.
#5 Mspaintadventures.com
This is an odd thing for me to do, but it's not that this site is bad, in fact it's quite the opposite, it's a trap that will have you spamming F5 for the next update. I read this bible to absurdity back in late 2011, I can tell you it has next to no similarities to the bible.
1. It's coherent, and makes sense from start to finish.
2. It's twice as long in word count.
3. You want to read it more than once.
I've reread it once, but I know some who have reread it five times or more, and this is a webcomic with a word count that rivals the entirety of the 7 Harry Potter Books. It also has attractive flash animations and even miniature web-based games.
I say, don't do it... because if you're a creative designer like me, it'll inspire you, and you may find yourself unknowingly making references or using it's running gags without thinking. I've recently been able to kick its infection to the curb, but it took three sodding years to do so.
There's also absolutely no good to be had when referencing from Homestuck, most people turn their nose up when you make a reference and they know what it's from, while others will be clueless or share a small giggle at best, just rely on your own humor, MSPA's humor is very contained in its own Universe.
So, there you have it, my 2spooky list of sites you should never visit. I could have been a dick and thrown RMwebs in there, but really the site on it's own isn't bad, just some of it's members have a disgusting hubris and take themselves way too seriously, however I wouldn't condemn going there, I mean I'm 12timesbanned for christs sake it's funny just to look at the posts some of those wankers make and laugh.
Don't get me started on particular users like Victor Sant or Hirei, jesus just don't even make me go there.
Edit: Changed that ghastly font... christ it's irritating to spell check with that shit.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Friday, October 3, 2014
This was going to be a post.
But then it wasn't... not on the place I was originally going to link it, so here's me talking about my criticisms for my old game and the new enthusiasm I harbor for it's Remastered edition.
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I released a game back in late 2013 two years in development called Menagerie, and while the heart of a game was there, it fell short in a lot of aspects, delivery, storytelling and one of the most ventilated features, space exploration was cut down very rudely to get it in on time for a release date. Of which I believe severely hampered it.
Foreword and thoughts on the Classic.
I think it's safe to say that I really tried to do too much in one game, even with a development cycle of which it had. It tried to tackle the compulsion to linear-locked universes, strapped around the concepts of communism VS imperialism, utopia VS dystopia and freedom VS imprisonment, alongside pagan religion being invented by two huge trolls who are in fact demigods, and the ending only serving to ejaculate that Intelligence foreshadowed it, rather than trying to be it's own outcome.
The characters were by far an even weaker link, supported by not their mutual interest, but just to see the ending whatever it was, leading to the plot and characters feeling like automatons to a purpose which was predestined 400 years in the future.
I went whole hog with flying in the face of American endings of 'good guys win, all is well' but I fucked it up traumatically by not realizing that such can only work well if the departure of such characters is meaningful. I was watching some in depth reviews on the Zelda games recently, and despite the ending for twilight princess being sad, it was emotionally investing.
Menagerie broke more rules that it should and [i]shouldn't[/i] have, flying in the face of every archetype, system and design philosophy present in games to a certain degree, and homogenized key concepts it may have invented far beyond palpable exploration.
One big thing it touted was Rainbow Potions serving the same effect in the world they did in death, however, this was only done faithfully once or twice, and you'd think that the elves coulda been brought back too. This is never even gone into, because I saw an opportunity, implemented it, and never thought once of what may coincide with essentially the idea of characters, having no disadvantage to death.
This made the scene at the end where both Spooky and Tac were killed, seem utterly pointless, and since Zardari raised them back anyway-- it is reasonable to question if such a scene was even necessary at all. Especially since their fates after were just as stone-set, if less brutal and more of a choice on their part.
There was also significantly less satisfactory results for users with lower end systems, especially during the epic picture cutscenes, the blatant lineage with homestuck was also intrusive.
That's not even to mention the imbalanced accessory crafting, the lack of a difficulty curve and day one game-breakers forced on me by as deadline I should have discarded.
My biggest fuck up was giving myself a time window, rather than a Progress log. A deadline isn't an incentive for me, it's an impending Doom, and will only cause me to procrastinate until the time is nigh.
A progress log is rewarding for both myself and for the players. I only wish I'd discovered it earlier.
Overall, I feel like Menagerie was a very subpar product compared to the usual amount of effort I put into making stories and characters believable, and since the original ideas for it are really good, I'm gonna try fixing what is broke just once.
The Divide Between Worlds.
The plan with Menagerie: Remastered is to lay the ground rules, and stick by them, several things are going to only be alluded to through visual representation of a concept rather than dialogue. Here's one example... some of you may have noticed that Galaxia's planetary image is different now, why is that?
Over the course of Development... and after it, Galaxia has become incredibly well defined, so the odd looking catamari didn't really suit. The thing to remember is that Galaxia is gritty underneath, but tidy and awesome on the surface. It was important that Galaxia get the model it deserves, but staying true to the psychedelic tone of the original. We aren't going to enter gritty realism because while the undertones themselves are gritty, the planet in its base is not a gritty place to live.
Galaxia is essentially a Utopia where most are able to live out their dreams and ambitions, and are even encouraged by both corporations and cohorts to do so. It's a place established mostly by hedonism, that... while being awesome, can sometimes go too far. Most who live on Galaxia live out an incredibly happy, well-fulfilled existence. The rare few betrayed are those who question the system, their race and themselves. Galaxia is very much based on a formula that works until a defective emerges. Defectives like Tac, Spooky, Lyza and a few others often can't find comfort in their society doing what they are encouraged to do. However, some get through it longer than others, Tac didn't become effected by the defective state until her concern for extraterrestrials had a chance to unravel itself. Even in the court case, which is one of the best showings of Galaxia's dark undertones, the environment is spotless, crisp and clean. I feel this adds to the immersion of Galaxia... in fact it's possible I'm going to edit its tilesets a little to reflect how spotless a Utopia driven by a formula can be.
Nadine similarly, is in contrast a fantasy world where magic is thought of not as a gift, but is a part of everyday life as is nature itself. Several religious figures circulate the history of the world, even if two of them are just abusing it for kicks. Though all six demigods tie into it, it's all very subtle, and their influence on it is the same as it is in most worlds. Nadine's atmosphere from the start is one that is doomed, given by the meteors that are present as soon as you step outside in the game.
However, while NPC's are aware of this, they don't see a whole lot they can do about it, and so just live out life as happily as they can. Instead of the game shitting on you for having hope, M:R will let the player's faith be rewarded, while still being tragic.
I'd hate to spoil the ending for you if you are anticipating this game, so instead let me say what I'm aiming to do right in Menagerie: Remastered (M:R) in comparison to Menagerie.
Story and Character PlanMenagerie tried to focus intently on a lot of different things, while never seeming to have an end result which wrapped any of them up. After releasing Exile and it's critical acclaim as a return to a faithful developers direction, it was evident that I'd lost the original seed for Menagerie that had sprung up so long ago.
Menagerie is a story more than any I've done before, focused on feeling lost or homeless... the characters due to circumstances, never really have felt at home in their past, and still don't in their present. I'm going to go now into why each character possesses this attribute in a completely non-linear fashion. The quests you embark on, the missions you are tasked with, it's all in the interest of finding a place and purpose in the Universe.
Fatty is the leader of the group, and this is because he did have a home once, so he is capable of remembering. He's also the oldest mortal when the game begins, having a lot of worldly differentiated experience, mingling against his desires between dwarves to elves. Making him an outcast from his home, who would have loved to keep him around, but also feeling that while they are okay, Elves are not his true family. He is 20 by the time the game begins, giving him 5 years of experience in an alien world and 15 years of experience in a homely world helps to outline that each side is only evil in its individuals without pushing it in your face. Fatty's mother is sparsely mentioned, and while his Father actually makes appearances in flashbacks, he never again is able to directly speak to his father... this helps to cement that his home is forever lost, and that his purpose is beyond trying to feel comfort in the throes of kin, now.
Fatty's strength as a leader are his abilities to adapt in situations some find very hard to allow. For instance: Spooky's existence on Nadine for majority he regards as fairly loathsome, much like Fyori is very outside of her comfort zone once she leaves Evergrove. In fact in the beginning of the game while in Evergrove, she's very quick to tell Spooky when he's acting out of line, later though Fatty takes over this role, because Fyori has no idea how society works for Dwarves and also is now out of the security she was raised in.
Gerald... while having a home, never really felt like it was his. He wanted to help in a society of live or let live. The Goblin society is one powered entirely by wealth. Which family you are born into ultimately decides your starting niche in life. However, while Gerald was raised in a fairly successful family, his mother and father distanced themselves from him in favor of business, instead of doing what most Goblin's do, and introduce their young into the world of wealth and its hardships so that when they die, which happens for Goblin's faster than most... their protege can take up their legacy.
It's never explained why Gerald's parents don't do this, which I think help fuels his lack of a home to begin with. Unlike Fyori and Fatty who at least recall or regard fondly the custodians they had or thought they had, Gerald is usually fairly aloof when describing his parents, they are never much described and while Gerald does seem to find their death tragic, he never seems to lament it later. One thing that won't be changing is the ability to pick up the blood of Gerald's parents when he returns home to find them dead, what really is genius about that particular scene is that with the bodies removed, we have absolutely no indication of what Gerald's parents looked like. I feel that this really helps drive home the fact that Gerald is an adult and child in one. Having to basically find his own niche in life which ended up being completely out of the ordinary, but it was his true calling. His appearance not only solidifies the youthful wisdom Gerald may possess, but his facial composition as well as his garments, help distinguish him as an oddity towards his kin as well as put him down as both an elder and a youth.
The same goes for Fatty, his clothes are very much of a dwarven nature, but of an Elven palette, to further single him out, he is the only dwarf in the game, with atypical black dots for eyes. I think this helps elaborate that Fatty isn't really set to either faction. Elven eyes are very elegant, deep and are open fields of wonder, while Dwarven eyes are jolly, whimsical and shallow like their habits of both labor and enjoyment. Fatty's eyes were originally going to be bright green, much like Gerald's were going to be teal, as reflected by the dialogue following their name as spoken by them in text.
However, Fatty's eyes don't feel right as anything but derpy manipulable circles, they give him a much more animated air of life, which more defined green eyes wouldn't have been able to accomplish. If you watch the last part of an old remastering of [CS] 03 Four of a Kind and see Fatty's cut in with green eyes, you'll see that in comparison to the rest of the game, it doesn't look or feel right, which is why it was changed in later builds.
The same goes for Gerald, goblin eyes by default are glum looking, whilst still possessing the spark of life, but such eyes are ones that are always suspicious. Gerald's eyes are alike Fatty's, but in a different way. Firstly, they help to make him look younger, but he can also show far more expression with a far less complicated shape.
Sometimes in cutscenes, the highlights in Gerald's eyes will be teal to reflect the color he speaks in dialogue, Fatty is an exception, as his eye color is never shown in canon, and when it is, it always looks out of place.
Spooky is a whole new story, he began life at home, but never felt there... and Spooky's whole mission throughout the game doesn't really revolve around saving Nadine or even everything, his is a quest to feel like he's home, and the end scene of the game helps demonstrate best now, that he got what he wanted. Throughout a lot of the scenes, Spooky composes himself with multiple emotional blocks and psychological defense mechanisms so that he doesn't have to begin feeling attached to the heroes in case they succeed, which renders such a friendship mutual at best... and I think that his dialogue at the end best shows how he's grown as a character, this is to say, in the version I'm working on.
The characters are all being given an identity, an agenda to call their own. Fyori is one who is in constant search of the truth, about her origins and also a lot of other things, her curiosity into the Ominous Visitors probably don't do the Menagerie many favors. Where as Gerald wants to do the right thing and help out when a hero is in need. Fatty is into brawling and adventure, and it's implied that him blowing a tunnel in the Mines with his two friends probably wasn't anything he was supposed to be doing, but did anyway because it was a way to mine quicker and was fun because explosions are cool!
Spooky as you know, is the one who seeks home, and in the end of the story, all characters get their wishes. And the biggest change to how the story flows now is that Zardari is defeated... yet, he still boasts 12,000,000 HP... so, how do you chop that off without it taking forever or feeling cheap?
Throughout the game, especially in the later stages, the gods reveal themselves to be on your side, they are more than eager to assist with Zardari... whose agenda is very defective. Zardari is also the only character in the game motivated purely by spite. For Tac it's in the interest of a more moral universe, for Spooky it's a reunion and homecoming, for Fyori it's truth and discovery and for Fatty it's exploration and adventure.
Even bit time characters like Mayeena, Orsa or Adashi have a driving force, they're no more in the wrong from their point of view than you are, and Mayeena still seems to regard Tac with respect, her job is simply more important to her. Orsa has romantic feelings for Mayeena, and his annoyance with being unable to express them because it'll make him look soft to his peers drives him to be pretty angry all the time. Adashi is all about bounty hunting, which follows from the character in IJI which he was inspired from, down to taking his failures very seriously and even facing the heroes the second time on his own turf. Adashi isn't evil, though. He directly confronts Zardari and dies in defiance of the Archbishop's plans.
The Directors also have a purpose; to fuel their people with conquest and entertainment to keep their minds occupied and away from chaos. This is much more demanding than just being a bossy tyrant. If you thought governing a country was hard, try an entire world the citizens of which all have the power to kill you. Directors work similarly to roman emperors, you're only good until you fucked up enough to be killed, for what it's worth Slik and Vind did a pretty good job. Slik serving as a moral compass to Vind's, well... vindication! I think I mentioned this on it's page, but Slik's name is a play on slapstick, and the word slick (as in; smooth) while Vind is a play on his nature as well (i.e. vindictive).
There's a lot more show don't tell going on in this Remake, in fact I can confidently state that the amount of mandatory dialogue is cut by at least 50%, because of this and other factors.
For example, you only know something when you need to, exposition is more carefully woven into the narrative, and if you're confused, there's a recap at the end of each major act to sum up what just happened, these are entirely optional as they should be.
So, what are the features to look forward to?
-Menagerie is one of the only games on the RPG Maker scene as a whole to use picture events in order to orchestrate entire cutscenes, I'm sure someone must have done it before, but I've played several rpg maker games, and the concept has been abused only briefly... Menagerie makes this possible by using a quick to draw cel-shaded style that speaks for it's own well enough to be palpable. While syncing to music that goes well in both tone and rhythm. However, on lower end systems it wasn't rare for these intensive scenes to lag, and therefore feel sluggish and the music syncing rendered obsolete. In M:R all big cutscenes will come in the form of pre-rendered videos, whether I play the audio and video seperate to avoid the sound distortion ogv files suffer from or just let people put up with it is up for debate, but I'm pretty sure the first method will be most quality while not dampening the effect on lower end systems. This also means that background sound can fade somewhat dynamically if need be. The advantages to this system are multiple, because it's rendering a simple video rather than manipulating up to five images screensize or far larger, all sluggish behavior should cease, therefore keeping syncing intact. Another advantage is being able to disperse of most of the large image files saved in the pictures directory purely for cutscenes, since the video cutscenes are most of what use the high tier animations that simply must be pre-rendered, it comes as no surprise that even though some of these oggs are 20 megabytes in filesize, I'm already seeing a decrease in the games over all size, thus making it more accessible. Due to rendering the videos post recording, i can also add effects to them without having to do it in the game itself. The side effects to this system are that video quality isn't quite as good, but because of the way all the art is so crisp in the game, it's very easy still to see what's happening. The other issue, being a bit less minor, is that applications that record from an open GL window, such as fraps, will not be able to see the movies during recording, this is a technical limitation which has happened for most games that use opengl even slightly. in Diablo II if you tried recording the cinematics with fraps, you'd see no number, and any attempt at recording would simply record a black screen whilst the cinematic sound was playing. The same happens here, so if you want to do a let's play of this, get a capture program that has the ability to record standalone in it's own window, I recommend bandicam for this.
-Despite all the flak I give myself for not fully realizing the characters, Menagerie's prime fault was how easy it was to exploit the fusion system to become incredibly powerful before you were meant to. There were also several issues with game play, such as Fatty using magma tiger form maybe once, and several abilities never seeing use. In M:R switching forms is a free action, and as a bonus heelfox has been discarded and some of it's abilities have been rolled into magma tiger form now. Some of the other characters also got changes across the board to lend them more attractive abilities, each of which should see use at least once before you clear the game.
-Many of the boss fights have been improved to encourage strategic play early on so you can be ready for later in the game. Zardari's final fight is now so much more epic I don't think words can do it justice. There have also been two additional boss battles added to early game, one to foreshadow a bit about the Ominous Visitors, another to introduce you to the power surge mechanic, basically power surge is a stackable buff that gives it's target a 100% bonus to Muscle and Magick, this can stack up to 8 times, becoming very dangerous in certain fields, however the first boss trains you about it in a 'not in your face' way so you can be ready when it's used in full force.
-Several optional bosses and areas are planned, such as Heldath, Galvana, the Necropolis, PORT4L zones, (such as 2012 Year Earth and Galaxia 1610) a black hole, and possibly most awaited, The Equation Unsolved. I'm sure some of you have played Hellcat and seen it's well done RTP recolored tilesets, at least for the Hell areas, The Necropolis is going to be less vast and open in this game, but conversely more detailed, granted, you won't be able to see all of it, the Necropolis is huge and far exceeds the Central Garrison you explore in Intelligence. Back in those times I didn't have a huge understanding of how the Necropolis would be laid out or how it would look from an outside standpoint, I didn't want to blatantly rip off scourge in Warcraft, so the Necropolis I've been making is a Hovering plague city, but lambasted with gothic architectures while holding a very futuristic vibe. Most of it's color palette relies on greens, dark greys and black, with toxic pink and shadow purple added in betwixt for good measure. Heldath is very much of an alternate thought process on Hell, it has three biomes, The Deepfreeze, which is where Seradath's Citadel is hosted, The Bloodpits, where you enter as Hellcat, and the Lavawake. Amidst there's also intermittent areas of techie grey, techno red or techno blue. Galvana is a concept I've been eager to explore, as I don't want to cave to the generic rigmarole, Alas Galvana is actually for the most part, floating around in space, with holy platforms all around much like the ones you see in the Maphael fight. This has been the plan since day one, the only area of Galvana populated by clouds is around the Temple of Galdath as seen in Gerald's intermission. The shapes of scape represent the elements surrounded, if I could be bothered making a satellite image of Heldath, it'd look like a fireball crashing into an ice blast that was in such conflict spilling blood. Where as Galvana is host to a Sun being overlayed by a moon. The Necropolis from above looks like a shattered scytheblade, with rope connecting it loosely together... When you Zoom in it's a huge metropolis of black and green, and on the cracks the ropes presented are bridges and from the valleys green slime endlessly pours into. It's really a pretty fuckin' cool world and I cannot wait to show you it in its recent concept.
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I released a game back in late 2013 two years in development called Menagerie, and while the heart of a game was there, it fell short in a lot of aspects, delivery, storytelling and one of the most ventilated features, space exploration was cut down very rudely to get it in on time for a release date. Of which I believe severely hampered it.
Foreword and thoughts on the Classic.
I think it's safe to say that I really tried to do too much in one game, even with a development cycle of which it had. It tried to tackle the compulsion to linear-locked universes, strapped around the concepts of communism VS imperialism, utopia VS dystopia and freedom VS imprisonment, alongside pagan religion being invented by two huge trolls who are in fact demigods, and the ending only serving to ejaculate that Intelligence foreshadowed it, rather than trying to be it's own outcome.
The characters were by far an even weaker link, supported by not their mutual interest, but just to see the ending whatever it was, leading to the plot and characters feeling like automatons to a purpose which was predestined 400 years in the future.
I went whole hog with flying in the face of American endings of 'good guys win, all is well' but I fucked it up traumatically by not realizing that such can only work well if the departure of such characters is meaningful. I was watching some in depth reviews on the Zelda games recently, and despite the ending for twilight princess being sad, it was emotionally investing.
Menagerie broke more rules that it should and [i]shouldn't[/i] have, flying in the face of every archetype, system and design philosophy present in games to a certain degree, and homogenized key concepts it may have invented far beyond palpable exploration.
One big thing it touted was Rainbow Potions serving the same effect in the world they did in death, however, this was only done faithfully once or twice, and you'd think that the elves coulda been brought back too. This is never even gone into, because I saw an opportunity, implemented it, and never thought once of what may coincide with essentially the idea of characters, having no disadvantage to death.
This made the scene at the end where both Spooky and Tac were killed, seem utterly pointless, and since Zardari raised them back anyway-- it is reasonable to question if such a scene was even necessary at all. Especially since their fates after were just as stone-set, if less brutal and more of a choice on their part.
There was also significantly less satisfactory results for users with lower end systems, especially during the epic picture cutscenes, the blatant lineage with homestuck was also intrusive.
That's not even to mention the imbalanced accessory crafting, the lack of a difficulty curve and day one game-breakers forced on me by as deadline I should have discarded.
My biggest fuck up was giving myself a time window, rather than a Progress log. A deadline isn't an incentive for me, it's an impending Doom, and will only cause me to procrastinate until the time is nigh.
A progress log is rewarding for both myself and for the players. I only wish I'd discovered it earlier.
Overall, I feel like Menagerie was a very subpar product compared to the usual amount of effort I put into making stories and characters believable, and since the original ideas for it are really good, I'm gonna try fixing what is broke just once.
The Divide Between Worlds.
The plan with Menagerie: Remastered is to lay the ground rules, and stick by them, several things are going to only be alluded to through visual representation of a concept rather than dialogue. Here's one example... some of you may have noticed that Galaxia's planetary image is different now, why is that?
Over the course of Development... and after it, Galaxia has become incredibly well defined, so the odd looking catamari didn't really suit. The thing to remember is that Galaxia is gritty underneath, but tidy and awesome on the surface. It was important that Galaxia get the model it deserves, but staying true to the psychedelic tone of the original. We aren't going to enter gritty realism because while the undertones themselves are gritty, the planet in its base is not a gritty place to live.
Galaxia is essentially a Utopia where most are able to live out their dreams and ambitions, and are even encouraged by both corporations and cohorts to do so. It's a place established mostly by hedonism, that... while being awesome, can sometimes go too far. Most who live on Galaxia live out an incredibly happy, well-fulfilled existence. The rare few betrayed are those who question the system, their race and themselves. Galaxia is very much based on a formula that works until a defective emerges. Defectives like Tac, Spooky, Lyza and a few others often can't find comfort in their society doing what they are encouraged to do. However, some get through it longer than others, Tac didn't become effected by the defective state until her concern for extraterrestrials had a chance to unravel itself. Even in the court case, which is one of the best showings of Galaxia's dark undertones, the environment is spotless, crisp and clean. I feel this adds to the immersion of Galaxia... in fact it's possible I'm going to edit its tilesets a little to reflect how spotless a Utopia driven by a formula can be.
Nadine similarly, is in contrast a fantasy world where magic is thought of not as a gift, but is a part of everyday life as is nature itself. Several religious figures circulate the history of the world, even if two of them are just abusing it for kicks. Though all six demigods tie into it, it's all very subtle, and their influence on it is the same as it is in most worlds. Nadine's atmosphere from the start is one that is doomed, given by the meteors that are present as soon as you step outside in the game.
However, while NPC's are aware of this, they don't see a whole lot they can do about it, and so just live out life as happily as they can. Instead of the game shitting on you for having hope, M:R will let the player's faith be rewarded, while still being tragic.
I'd hate to spoil the ending for you if you are anticipating this game, so instead let me say what I'm aiming to do right in Menagerie: Remastered (M:R) in comparison to Menagerie.
Story and Character PlanMenagerie tried to focus intently on a lot of different things, while never seeming to have an end result which wrapped any of them up. After releasing Exile and it's critical acclaim as a return to a faithful developers direction, it was evident that I'd lost the original seed for Menagerie that had sprung up so long ago.
Menagerie is a story more than any I've done before, focused on feeling lost or homeless... the characters due to circumstances, never really have felt at home in their past, and still don't in their present. I'm going to go now into why each character possesses this attribute in a completely non-linear fashion. The quests you embark on, the missions you are tasked with, it's all in the interest of finding a place and purpose in the Universe.
Fatty is the leader of the group, and this is because he did have a home once, so he is capable of remembering. He's also the oldest mortal when the game begins, having a lot of worldly differentiated experience, mingling against his desires between dwarves to elves. Making him an outcast from his home, who would have loved to keep him around, but also feeling that while they are okay, Elves are not his true family. He is 20 by the time the game begins, giving him 5 years of experience in an alien world and 15 years of experience in a homely world helps to outline that each side is only evil in its individuals without pushing it in your face. Fatty's mother is sparsely mentioned, and while his Father actually makes appearances in flashbacks, he never again is able to directly speak to his father... this helps to cement that his home is forever lost, and that his purpose is beyond trying to feel comfort in the throes of kin, now.
Fatty's strength as a leader are his abilities to adapt in situations some find very hard to allow. For instance: Spooky's existence on Nadine for majority he regards as fairly loathsome, much like Fyori is very outside of her comfort zone once she leaves Evergrove. In fact in the beginning of the game while in Evergrove, she's very quick to tell Spooky when he's acting out of line, later though Fatty takes over this role, because Fyori has no idea how society works for Dwarves and also is now out of the security she was raised in.
Gerald... while having a home, never really felt like it was his. He wanted to help in a society of live or let live. The Goblin society is one powered entirely by wealth. Which family you are born into ultimately decides your starting niche in life. However, while Gerald was raised in a fairly successful family, his mother and father distanced themselves from him in favor of business, instead of doing what most Goblin's do, and introduce their young into the world of wealth and its hardships so that when they die, which happens for Goblin's faster than most... their protege can take up their legacy.
It's never explained why Gerald's parents don't do this, which I think help fuels his lack of a home to begin with. Unlike Fyori and Fatty who at least recall or regard fondly the custodians they had or thought they had, Gerald is usually fairly aloof when describing his parents, they are never much described and while Gerald does seem to find their death tragic, he never seems to lament it later. One thing that won't be changing is the ability to pick up the blood of Gerald's parents when he returns home to find them dead, what really is genius about that particular scene is that with the bodies removed, we have absolutely no indication of what Gerald's parents looked like. I feel that this really helps drive home the fact that Gerald is an adult and child in one. Having to basically find his own niche in life which ended up being completely out of the ordinary, but it was his true calling. His appearance not only solidifies the youthful wisdom Gerald may possess, but his facial composition as well as his garments, help distinguish him as an oddity towards his kin as well as put him down as both an elder and a youth.
The same goes for Fatty, his clothes are very much of a dwarven nature, but of an Elven palette, to further single him out, he is the only dwarf in the game, with atypical black dots for eyes. I think this helps elaborate that Fatty isn't really set to either faction. Elven eyes are very elegant, deep and are open fields of wonder, while Dwarven eyes are jolly, whimsical and shallow like their habits of both labor and enjoyment. Fatty's eyes were originally going to be bright green, much like Gerald's were going to be teal, as reflected by the dialogue following their name as spoken by them in text.
However, Fatty's eyes don't feel right as anything but derpy manipulable circles, they give him a much more animated air of life, which more defined green eyes wouldn't have been able to accomplish. If you watch the last part of an old remastering of [CS] 03 Four of a Kind and see Fatty's cut in with green eyes, you'll see that in comparison to the rest of the game, it doesn't look or feel right, which is why it was changed in later builds.
The same goes for Gerald, goblin eyes by default are glum looking, whilst still possessing the spark of life, but such eyes are ones that are always suspicious. Gerald's eyes are alike Fatty's, but in a different way. Firstly, they help to make him look younger, but he can also show far more expression with a far less complicated shape.
Sometimes in cutscenes, the highlights in Gerald's eyes will be teal to reflect the color he speaks in dialogue, Fatty is an exception, as his eye color is never shown in canon, and when it is, it always looks out of place.
Spooky is a whole new story, he began life at home, but never felt there... and Spooky's whole mission throughout the game doesn't really revolve around saving Nadine or even everything, his is a quest to feel like he's home, and the end scene of the game helps demonstrate best now, that he got what he wanted. Throughout a lot of the scenes, Spooky composes himself with multiple emotional blocks and psychological defense mechanisms so that he doesn't have to begin feeling attached to the heroes in case they succeed, which renders such a friendship mutual at best... and I think that his dialogue at the end best shows how he's grown as a character, this is to say, in the version I'm working on.
The characters are all being given an identity, an agenda to call their own. Fyori is one who is in constant search of the truth, about her origins and also a lot of other things, her curiosity into the Ominous Visitors probably don't do the Menagerie many favors. Where as Gerald wants to do the right thing and help out when a hero is in need. Fatty is into brawling and adventure, and it's implied that him blowing a tunnel in the Mines with his two friends probably wasn't anything he was supposed to be doing, but did anyway because it was a way to mine quicker and was fun because explosions are cool!
Spooky as you know, is the one who seeks home, and in the end of the story, all characters get their wishes. And the biggest change to how the story flows now is that Zardari is defeated... yet, he still boasts 12,000,000 HP... so, how do you chop that off without it taking forever or feeling cheap?
Throughout the game, especially in the later stages, the gods reveal themselves to be on your side, they are more than eager to assist with Zardari... whose agenda is very defective. Zardari is also the only character in the game motivated purely by spite. For Tac it's in the interest of a more moral universe, for Spooky it's a reunion and homecoming, for Fyori it's truth and discovery and for Fatty it's exploration and adventure.
Even bit time characters like Mayeena, Orsa or Adashi have a driving force, they're no more in the wrong from their point of view than you are, and Mayeena still seems to regard Tac with respect, her job is simply more important to her. Orsa has romantic feelings for Mayeena, and his annoyance with being unable to express them because it'll make him look soft to his peers drives him to be pretty angry all the time. Adashi is all about bounty hunting, which follows from the character in IJI which he was inspired from, down to taking his failures very seriously and even facing the heroes the second time on his own turf. Adashi isn't evil, though. He directly confronts Zardari and dies in defiance of the Archbishop's plans.
The Directors also have a purpose; to fuel their people with conquest and entertainment to keep their minds occupied and away from chaos. This is much more demanding than just being a bossy tyrant. If you thought governing a country was hard, try an entire world the citizens of which all have the power to kill you. Directors work similarly to roman emperors, you're only good until you fucked up enough to be killed, for what it's worth Slik and Vind did a pretty good job. Slik serving as a moral compass to Vind's, well... vindication! I think I mentioned this on it's page, but Slik's name is a play on slapstick, and the word slick (as in; smooth) while Vind is a play on his nature as well (i.e. vindictive).
There's a lot more show don't tell going on in this Remake, in fact I can confidently state that the amount of mandatory dialogue is cut by at least 50%, because of this and other factors.
For example, you only know something when you need to, exposition is more carefully woven into the narrative, and if you're confused, there's a recap at the end of each major act to sum up what just happened, these are entirely optional as they should be.
So, what are the features to look forward to?
-Menagerie is one of the only games on the RPG Maker scene as a whole to use picture events in order to orchestrate entire cutscenes, I'm sure someone must have done it before, but I've played several rpg maker games, and the concept has been abused only briefly... Menagerie makes this possible by using a quick to draw cel-shaded style that speaks for it's own well enough to be palpable. While syncing to music that goes well in both tone and rhythm. However, on lower end systems it wasn't rare for these intensive scenes to lag, and therefore feel sluggish and the music syncing rendered obsolete. In M:R all big cutscenes will come in the form of pre-rendered videos, whether I play the audio and video seperate to avoid the sound distortion ogv files suffer from or just let people put up with it is up for debate, but I'm pretty sure the first method will be most quality while not dampening the effect on lower end systems. This also means that background sound can fade somewhat dynamically if need be. The advantages to this system are multiple, because it's rendering a simple video rather than manipulating up to five images screensize or far larger, all sluggish behavior should cease, therefore keeping syncing intact. Another advantage is being able to disperse of most of the large image files saved in the pictures directory purely for cutscenes, since the video cutscenes are most of what use the high tier animations that simply must be pre-rendered, it comes as no surprise that even though some of these oggs are 20 megabytes in filesize, I'm already seeing a decrease in the games over all size, thus making it more accessible. Due to rendering the videos post recording, i can also add effects to them without having to do it in the game itself. The side effects to this system are that video quality isn't quite as good, but because of the way all the art is so crisp in the game, it's very easy still to see what's happening. The other issue, being a bit less minor, is that applications that record from an open GL window, such as fraps, will not be able to see the movies during recording, this is a technical limitation which has happened for most games that use opengl even slightly. in Diablo II if you tried recording the cinematics with fraps, you'd see no number, and any attempt at recording would simply record a black screen whilst the cinematic sound was playing. The same happens here, so if you want to do a let's play of this, get a capture program that has the ability to record standalone in it's own window, I recommend bandicam for this.
-Despite all the flak I give myself for not fully realizing the characters, Menagerie's prime fault was how easy it was to exploit the fusion system to become incredibly powerful before you were meant to. There were also several issues with game play, such as Fatty using magma tiger form maybe once, and several abilities never seeing use. In M:R switching forms is a free action, and as a bonus heelfox has been discarded and some of it's abilities have been rolled into magma tiger form now. Some of the other characters also got changes across the board to lend them more attractive abilities, each of which should see use at least once before you clear the game.
-Many of the boss fights have been improved to encourage strategic play early on so you can be ready for later in the game. Zardari's final fight is now so much more epic I don't think words can do it justice. There have also been two additional boss battles added to early game, one to foreshadow a bit about the Ominous Visitors, another to introduce you to the power surge mechanic, basically power surge is a stackable buff that gives it's target a 100% bonus to Muscle and Magick, this can stack up to 8 times, becoming very dangerous in certain fields, however the first boss trains you about it in a 'not in your face' way so you can be ready when it's used in full force.
-Several optional bosses and areas are planned, such as Heldath, Galvana, the Necropolis, PORT4L zones, (such as 2012 Year Earth and Galaxia 1610) a black hole, and possibly most awaited, The Equation Unsolved. I'm sure some of you have played Hellcat and seen it's well done RTP recolored tilesets, at least for the Hell areas, The Necropolis is going to be less vast and open in this game, but conversely more detailed, granted, you won't be able to see all of it, the Necropolis is huge and far exceeds the Central Garrison you explore in Intelligence. Back in those times I didn't have a huge understanding of how the Necropolis would be laid out or how it would look from an outside standpoint, I didn't want to blatantly rip off scourge in Warcraft, so the Necropolis I've been making is a Hovering plague city, but lambasted with gothic architectures while holding a very futuristic vibe. Most of it's color palette relies on greens, dark greys and black, with toxic pink and shadow purple added in betwixt for good measure. Heldath is very much of an alternate thought process on Hell, it has three biomes, The Deepfreeze, which is where Seradath's Citadel is hosted, The Bloodpits, where you enter as Hellcat, and the Lavawake. Amidst there's also intermittent areas of techie grey, techno red or techno blue. Galvana is a concept I've been eager to explore, as I don't want to cave to the generic rigmarole, Alas Galvana is actually for the most part, floating around in space, with holy platforms all around much like the ones you see in the Maphael fight. This has been the plan since day one, the only area of Galvana populated by clouds is around the Temple of Galdath as seen in Gerald's intermission. The shapes of scape represent the elements surrounded, if I could be bothered making a satellite image of Heldath, it'd look like a fireball crashing into an ice blast that was in such conflict spilling blood. Where as Galvana is host to a Sun being overlayed by a moon. The Necropolis from above looks like a shattered scytheblade, with rope connecting it loosely together... When you Zoom in it's a huge metropolis of black and green, and on the cracks the ropes presented are bridges and from the valleys green slime endlessly pours into. It's really a pretty fuckin' cool world and I cannot wait to show you it in its recent concept.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
The trans-pacific Partnership Treaties threaten democracy in it's entirety, I call upon the people to drive this bill to the grave as SOPA and PIPA were.
I've been told a lot recently that my ugly opinions on the world are sort of... ugly, yo! I can't say that I argue against it, I do have some ugly opinions, see my last post, but then those people are now trying to achieve the end of democracy so there's also that.
If you've been living in denial or like the majority, don't knowabout it, allow me to fill you in on the TPP and TTiP, trade treaties that are being talked about in top secret, and Obama is supporting these things, I am torn now.
I used to think Obama was cool, and he stood up against both PIPA and SOPA, but I've learned that he seems to be in cooperating standards with these bills. These bills are by far the scariest we've seen, and are being kept a secret from as many as possible, but it is up to us as a people to find out and rectify this corporate powergrab.
For some information, Wikileaks again has us covered, both treaties are incredibly scary. If these pass democracy in the majority of the world is over, and we will be run by evil corporations whose sole desire is to obtain currency and destroy their competitors, whilst silencing or ignoring those who may be harmed by their evil. This act will allot big corporations their own individual courts to which will make them judgeless by law. Essentially they will be able to do whatever they want, which is not only conceited, but dangerous... I never thought I'd see the day democracy would die, let's fight to keep it that way.
So, what can you do to help? Spread the word, share this link... and do whatever you can to prevent this filth from remaining hidden.
Yes, I have donated to the link above, I am happy to pay the price for freedom, however, you are not require to donate if you don't want to, spreading the word to those who can and anyone else is the plan here.
I'm hoping that by word getting out, the vigilante groups like anonymous and others will act as they did back when SOPA and PIPA threatened internet democracy. I'm tired of these corporate asshats acting like they have the right to run us. It's time to say no, this is not our fate, it is not our destiny to be slaves to corporate hegemony, it is not their fate to be granted freedom from prosecution, let's make this shit final. The time has come for the corporate whores to realize we will not falter, even when they go to each and every effort to hide from us their plots. We must sow them the seeds of assuredness, we won't back down, not as people, nor as a democracy.
To explain why these bills are bad.
-Corporations who can afford it will have free reign, and can prosecute anyone who fails to abide to what they say to do.
-They can instantly eliminate upcoming competition, either by prosecuting the heads in charge or buying them out.
-Anything they do to wrong consumers they can get away with, by virtue of having their own courts and senate.
-The internet will be changed forever, any content that infringes on American Laws of Copyright (which are both out of date and retarded) are in danger of prosecution, by an exorbitant fine or worse. This can include anything from Fan art to Fan videos. Even benign things like Anime Music Videos are in danger.
-The corporations with free reign can steal Intellectual property, and be in full control of it. If this law passes, I recommend globally Cease & Desisting everything you have on the Internet. All your original characters, your ideas... they are all at risk.
And that's only what I can think of right now. Please guys, do not let this be a thing.
If you've been living in denial or like the majority, don't knowabout it, allow me to fill you in on the TPP and TTiP, trade treaties that are being talked about in top secret, and Obama is supporting these things, I am torn now.
I used to think Obama was cool, and he stood up against both PIPA and SOPA, but I've learned that he seems to be in cooperating standards with these bills. These bills are by far the scariest we've seen, and are being kept a secret from as many as possible, but it is up to us as a people to find out and rectify this corporate powergrab.
For some information, Wikileaks again has us covered, both treaties are incredibly scary. If these pass democracy in the majority of the world is over, and we will be run by evil corporations whose sole desire is to obtain currency and destroy their competitors, whilst silencing or ignoring those who may be harmed by their evil. This act will allot big corporations their own individual courts to which will make them judgeless by law. Essentially they will be able to do whatever they want, which is not only conceited, but dangerous... I never thought I'd see the day democracy would die, let's fight to keep it that way.
So, what can you do to help? Spread the word, share this link... and do whatever you can to prevent this filth from remaining hidden.
Yes, I have donated to the link above, I am happy to pay the price for freedom, however, you are not require to donate if you don't want to, spreading the word to those who can and anyone else is the plan here.
I'm hoping that by word getting out, the vigilante groups like anonymous and others will act as they did back when SOPA and PIPA threatened internet democracy. I'm tired of these corporate asshats acting like they have the right to run us. It's time to say no, this is not our fate, it is not our destiny to be slaves to corporate hegemony, it is not their fate to be granted freedom from prosecution, let's make this shit final. The time has come for the corporate whores to realize we will not falter, even when they go to each and every effort to hide from us their plots. We must sow them the seeds of assuredness, we won't back down, not as people, nor as a democracy.
To explain why these bills are bad.
-Corporations who can afford it will have free reign, and can prosecute anyone who fails to abide to what they say to do.
-They can instantly eliminate upcoming competition, either by prosecuting the heads in charge or buying them out.
-Anything they do to wrong consumers they can get away with, by virtue of having their own courts and senate.
-The internet will be changed forever, any content that infringes on American Laws of Copyright (which are both out of date and retarded) are in danger of prosecution, by an exorbitant fine or worse. This can include anything from Fan art to Fan videos. Even benign things like Anime Music Videos are in danger.
-The corporations with free reign can steal Intellectual property, and be in full control of it. If this law passes, I recommend globally Cease & Desisting everything you have on the Internet. All your original characters, your ideas... they are all at risk.
And that's only what I can think of right now. Please guys, do not let this be a thing.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Calamari Courtesy, belated but brilliant!
I was eating some deep fried Calamari rings earlier today and began to think what a thoughtful lot they are! First off, they blindly enter out fishing nets without any care for how we cook them, then they go for hours on end without oxygen to then be bred in tanks with shitty chlorinated water, and then to further their generosity, they happily let us chop them up and use their rubbery flagella for us to line our stomachs. They do so much to uphold their ringed deep fried legacy and then some of us won't even eat them, bunch of cocks with picky eating manners we are... but not me. It is my choice to reward their salted devotion with a sound and splendid devouring, if anyone does not, they are a surly disgrace to culinary delights and society.
In other news, I've been looking at Tea party Republicans a lot recently due to me being a sponsor of activism against their idiocy, and I never realized just how fucking ugly some of these people are, it really goes well with their personalities.
Ugly on the inside as much as the outside, and it's stunning how unwise they look in comparison to political figures who aren't, well... evil! Let's look at Wayne Swan or Kevin Rudd of the Australian Liberal party, they are both old geyzers but they don't look bad, they look wise, they are wizards but without beards... look at these dudes!
Now, compared them to a hegemonic money-hungry asshole like Rupert Murdoch whose only feat for society has been overtaking newspapers like The Sunday Telegraph and multiple others for the purpose of lying to Australian citizens to get an Apeman in the hot seat of Parliment, this guy is again, as ugly on the Exterior as the interior.
What a fucking dag. Also why the hell is he wearing shades when it's over cast, does he honestly think he looks cool with them complimenting his horrid receding hairline or his turkey chin, or perhaps they were to cover his glowing red demonic eyes.
This may seem shallow but it's not like any of these people are studs, Rupert should give you a bad vibe, and the two old folks above him shouldn't. Also Tony Abbot doesn't look too bad, actually he's pretty damn good lookin'... not that I wanna start picking out curtains or anything!
This also is common place with the republican party. Let me show you. From least revolting to most revolting.
#6: She is certainly the least ugly, but she still gives an awfully evil vibe, from her mouth emanates deceit and she must actually believe she looks good since she's in the media so much, but I think it's more likely that they just don't have any anyone who is honestly prettier in that office. She also represents them well, fat, stupid and ignorant.
#5: Choosing between this guy and the next two was notoriously difficult, look at this indignant self-righteous fuckwit, his visage is horrifying, to duly match the horrifying shit he honestly believes in. No words.
#4: Christ... again, very hard to choose between the above and below, this guy embodies evil, from the folded self-assured hands, to the ugly potty mouth and his wrinkled gaze which you can tell right now, sees everything but himself as filth, looking down at others from his glasses.
#3: Holy horrorscourge, this guy is just as evil on the outside as on the inside, this is the same prick who is responsible for a large part of America's Financial debt and he is being rewarded for that, his face and soul makes a Glukkon look respectable.
#2: Not sure if he's actually in office or only a supporter, but people of such appalling appearance should not be in public, there should be a law against anyone having to see this hambeast, like seriously, shades as well as a cap endorsing conservatives? Turkey neck, receding hairli... wait...
HOLY SHIT ITS A FAT BLONDE RUPERT MURDOCH... THE NIGHTMARE BEGINS.
1# But this disgusting New jersey Skank wins the gold, you can see her face and think Devilspawn, squinted eyeliner-lambasted eyes, a filthy mouth with horrendously puckered lips that look inhuman, tattered unconditioned blonde hair to match all the blonde things she says... she looks like she could breath poison.
Anyone who stops this whore from being seen anywhere would be doing all of society a solid service.
So yes, there's the top 6 republican fuglys. Thank you for your time.
In other news, I've been looking at Tea party Republicans a lot recently due to me being a sponsor of activism against their idiocy, and I never realized just how fucking ugly some of these people are, it really goes well with their personalities.
Ugly on the inside as much as the outside, and it's stunning how unwise they look in comparison to political figures who aren't, well... evil! Let's look at Wayne Swan or Kevin Rudd of the Australian Liberal party, they are both old geyzers but they don't look bad, they look wise, they are wizards but without beards... look at these dudes!
Kevin Rudd
Wayne Swan
Now, compared them to a hegemonic money-hungry asshole like Rupert Murdoch whose only feat for society has been overtaking newspapers like The Sunday Telegraph and multiple others for the purpose of lying to Australian citizens to get an Apeman in the hot seat of Parliment, this guy is again, as ugly on the Exterior as the interior.
Rupert Murdoch
What a fucking dag. Also why the hell is he wearing shades when it's over cast, does he honestly think he looks cool with them complimenting his horrid receding hairline or his turkey chin, or perhaps they were to cover his glowing red demonic eyes.
This may seem shallow but it's not like any of these people are studs, Rupert should give you a bad vibe, and the two old folks above him shouldn't. Also Tony Abbot doesn't look too bad, actually he's pretty damn good lookin'... not that I wanna start picking out curtains or anything!
This also is common place with the republican party. Let me show you. From least revolting to most revolting.
#6: She is certainly the least ugly, but she still gives an awfully evil vibe, from her mouth emanates deceit and she must actually believe she looks good since she's in the media so much, but I think it's more likely that they just don't have any anyone who is honestly prettier in that office. She also represents them well, fat, stupid and ignorant.
#5: Choosing between this guy and the next two was notoriously difficult, look at this indignant self-righteous fuckwit, his visage is horrifying, to duly match the horrifying shit he honestly believes in. No words.
#4: Christ... again, very hard to choose between the above and below, this guy embodies evil, from the folded self-assured hands, to the ugly potty mouth and his wrinkled gaze which you can tell right now, sees everything but himself as filth, looking down at others from his glasses.
#3: Holy horrorscourge, this guy is just as evil on the outside as on the inside, this is the same prick who is responsible for a large part of America's Financial debt and he is being rewarded for that, his face and soul makes a Glukkon look respectable.
HOLY SHIT ITS A FAT BLONDE RUPERT MURDOCH... THE NIGHTMARE BEGINS.
Anyone who stops this whore from being seen anywhere would be doing all of society a solid service.
So yes, there's the top 6 republican fuglys. Thank you for your time.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Poetry of Piddling Pariahs, the Piss Perfect Edition.
Contrary to the titles convoluted matrix of urine euphemisms, these poems are entirely harmless and don't have any NSFW content unless you count being ceremoniously twee as NSFW.
Painstaking extracted from the long forgotten archives of the VX.net forum, I bring you a quaternary of literary limbos by the Whimsical Prophet and Acclaimed Developer, me.
The Destroyer Returns:
Ideal background music.
Today was destined to be sad, a myriad of weak excuses shall leave the mouth of the learned.
On this day none shall ever again shed a tear of joy, for the Destroyer has returned...
In his wake the fire turned to lime, his carapace pitch, skin lost in the process of martyrdom.
Oh to see the spectacle of his return would be to know fear no man ever dare fathom.
He wakes, and as the veridian fire spreads across the cyberverse, a fearsome plot is heard...
"I'll burn these disreputable gnats and bury all their stupid garbage into the god damn earth."
Woe is his word, and true is his plot. Nary a remark would go unanswered, nor a question unregarded.
His fearsome devilbeast visage engulfed the cyberscape in digital fear, not one would survive the rise of the despot without shedding a tear.
The Best Birthday Game Ever:
Ideal background music.
"A birthday?" He piqued. A birthday indeed! he replied. "Such a game I will make, but your assistance I will need!"
And so craftsmanship between the two friends mustered, as they forged the project to make everyone flustered.
"I'll do the art!" said one, "I'll do the draft!" said the other, adventuring together to bring it into being part by part.
On the fateful day, that the Birthday Girl would feel dismay, is also the day that Final Fantasy Music would play!
No detail too sparse, no time too short, but at long last, their efforts were not for naught.
A tad belated, it's humor a little dated. The effort put in more than most appreciated.
The Best Birthday Game Ever, oh it's got to be the best Birthday Game Ever!
We'll shorten it to T.B.B.G.E, that's a concern not for you to be!
Now shake my hand, hold the glass, call the band and max out the brass.
It's all mirth and cheer, to you this year!
Postmartian Nights:
Ideal background music.
Oh I come from a land, from a faraway planet... where the extra-terrestrial freely roam.
Where you'll lose your hip if you don't watch your step, it's dangerous but hey it's home!
Where the structures are immense and the cold is intense, but it's reach is as far as nigh.
So come on through, take a tour of our technological furor, it's a Postmartian Night!
Postmartian Nights, like Postmartian Days, have no when or temporal zen. It's all up in the air!
Postmartian Nights, like Postmartian Moons, they don't exist, like a thing of myth, there's only one way of being fair!
Like a Blade with no edge, like a parcel with no pledge, there's never a dull moment here!
It's always in the works, moving on the slightest jerks, nothing is ever linear.
Postmartian Nights, like Postmartian time, is always quite right, though never in sight, it's all quite a sight.
The Origin of Origin
Ideal background music.
I woke to see God's Forge in fire, it's hearth was enraged. And as the flames swooned to the sky so too did the verdancy it held above...
In this scape the crafter slept, his garb white as bedsheets, his mind as steady as iron... forgotten in the fire.
I witnessed the creation of a Universe that would live a year 314 billionfold, in slumber we his servants would toil to shape the paragon that is the Origin Galaxy, in the center of this Galaxy lied a sanguine star to which God's home would forever be.
Countless universes had spawned before this one, and there would be an endless amount more to come. Each having it's own variables and twists. The Alpha of our timeline was as much a god as a guardian, ever watching with his omniscience unto the realms of mortality and beyond.
That's all I have for now.
Painstaking extracted from the long forgotten archives of the VX.net forum, I bring you a quaternary of literary limbos by the Whimsical Prophet and Acclaimed Developer, me.
The Destroyer Returns:
Ideal background music.
Today was destined to be sad, a myriad of weak excuses shall leave the mouth of the learned.
On this day none shall ever again shed a tear of joy, for the Destroyer has returned...
In his wake the fire turned to lime, his carapace pitch, skin lost in the process of martyrdom.
Oh to see the spectacle of his return would be to know fear no man ever dare fathom.
He wakes, and as the veridian fire spreads across the cyberverse, a fearsome plot is heard...
"I'll burn these disreputable gnats and bury all their stupid garbage into the god damn earth."
Woe is his word, and true is his plot. Nary a remark would go unanswered, nor a question unregarded.
His fearsome devilbeast visage engulfed the cyberscape in digital fear, not one would survive the rise of the despot without shedding a tear.
The Best Birthday Game Ever:
Ideal background music.
"A birthday?" He piqued. A birthday indeed! he replied. "Such a game I will make, but your assistance I will need!"
And so craftsmanship between the two friends mustered, as they forged the project to make everyone flustered.
"I'll do the art!" said one, "I'll do the draft!" said the other, adventuring together to bring it into being part by part.
On the fateful day, that the Birthday Girl would feel dismay, is also the day that Final Fantasy Music would play!
No detail too sparse, no time too short, but at long last, their efforts were not for naught.
A tad belated, it's humor a little dated. The effort put in more than most appreciated.
The Best Birthday Game Ever, oh it's got to be the best Birthday Game Ever!
We'll shorten it to T.B.B.G.E, that's a concern not for you to be!
Now shake my hand, hold the glass, call the band and max out the brass.
It's all mirth and cheer, to you this year!
Postmartian Nights:
Ideal background music.
Oh I come from a land, from a faraway planet... where the extra-terrestrial freely roam.
Where you'll lose your hip if you don't watch your step, it's dangerous but hey it's home!
Where the structures are immense and the cold is intense, but it's reach is as far as nigh.
So come on through, take a tour of our technological furor, it's a Postmartian Night!
Postmartian Nights, like Postmartian Days, have no when or temporal zen. It's all up in the air!
Postmartian Nights, like Postmartian Moons, they don't exist, like a thing of myth, there's only one way of being fair!
Like a Blade with no edge, like a parcel with no pledge, there's never a dull moment here!
It's always in the works, moving on the slightest jerks, nothing is ever linear.
Postmartian Nights, like Postmartian time, is always quite right, though never in sight, it's all quite a sight.
The Origin of Origin
Ideal background music.
I woke to see God's Forge in fire, it's hearth was enraged. And as the flames swooned to the sky so too did the verdancy it held above...
In this scape the crafter slept, his garb white as bedsheets, his mind as steady as iron... forgotten in the fire.
I witnessed the creation of a Universe that would live a year 314 billionfold, in slumber we his servants would toil to shape the paragon that is the Origin Galaxy, in the center of this Galaxy lied a sanguine star to which God's home would forever be.
Countless universes had spawned before this one, and there would be an endless amount more to come. Each having it's own variables and twists. The Alpha of our timeline was as much a god as a guardian, ever watching with his omniscience unto the realms of mortality and beyond.
That's all I have for now.
I really, really hate cheese now.
I used to love cheese, it was always pleasant. But I've tried it again recently after a huge hiatus of having it only in things, and holy hell it tastes like... well it doesn't taste like food, it tastes like it's off.... OH WAIT.
Eating it straight now feels like I'm eating a schlong packed chock full of vaneerial diseases, even in those stringers it has become detestable.
Whether by Aging (geddit?) or by the filth it manifests, I no longer feel I can stomach cheese.
And the more I deviate from cheese, the more I can appreciate cheesy films, how is this relevant? I don't know.
Probably in association, I don't mind though... honestly cheese is one thing I have no qualms with going off of, it's fatty greasy garbage and the only appeal it had (being tasty) is now lost.
Oh, except for this particular type of cheese, I still like it because it's racist. I can never be mad at racist things.
OH SHIT, THIS JUST IN: CONGRESS IS TRYING TO BAN DOGE.
PFFFFTAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Wow, this is so dumb. Jesus, my groin how it twitches.
I simply cant deal with this amount of poppycock. Suddenly I have something hilarious to talk about!
So yeah... no idea if some dude in congress just got sick of being compared to shibe or had a bunch of derogatory images of him as doge drawn with some statements validating the unfortunate reality that he is a butt-blasted faggot, but I think that this is by far, the least stupid thing congress has done in years, even if Doge is impossible to ban due to how martyrdom on the internet works, this is still highly entertaining!
It's certainly the most benign thing they've done. I can't feel anything, my humor gland has made any other instinct numb. (including my brain and perception, it seems)
Thank heavens, here I was worried I was gonna have to make a whole wall of text about cheese and racism by cheese. But thanks to Congress my day is awesome, just once they haven't found a way to make me wonder why they are still in office.
Eating it straight now feels like I'm eating a schlong packed chock full of vaneerial diseases, even in those stringers it has become detestable.
Whether by Aging (geddit?) or by the filth it manifests, I no longer feel I can stomach cheese.
And the more I deviate from cheese, the more I can appreciate cheesy films, how is this relevant? I don't know.
Probably in association, I don't mind though... honestly cheese is one thing I have no qualms with going off of, it's fatty greasy garbage and the only appeal it had (being tasty) is now lost.
Oh, except for this particular type of cheese, I still like it because it's racist. I can never be mad at racist things.
OH SHIT, THIS JUST IN: CONGRESS IS TRYING TO BAN DOGE.
PFFFFTAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Wow, this is so dumb. Jesus, my groin how it twitches.
I simply cant deal with this amount of poppycock. Suddenly I have something hilarious to talk about!
So yeah... no idea if some dude in congress just got sick of being compared to shibe or had a bunch of derogatory images of him as doge drawn with some statements validating the unfortunate reality that he is a butt-blasted faggot, but I think that this is by far, the least stupid thing congress has done in years, even if Doge is impossible to ban due to how martyrdom on the internet works, this is still highly entertaining!
It's certainly the most benign thing they've done. I can't feel anything, my humor gland has made any other instinct numb. (including my brain and perception, it seems)
Thank heavens, here I was worried I was gonna have to make a whole wall of text about cheese and racism by cheese. But thanks to Congress my day is awesome, just once they haven't found a way to make me wonder why they are still in office.
The Bizarre Bingelord of Backstory
While I'd love to say that I made this post purely for the purpose of revertion back to this blog as a wall for my whimsical wallowing, anyone who knows me or reads this with any frequency (good joke) will know that me making a short supple post is as likely as AIDS being a relevant target of medical importance again.
I only did it once, and that was only because youtube did most of the work for me and all I had to do was laugh a lot to point out the hilarity.
So in this post, I'll go a bit into my backstory to celebrate 5 years of Bizarre Monkey and for me, Internet Access.
Act 1: I am to meet the internet!
Back in 2006, after I'd played Diablo II solidly for three years and had done jack all else with my time, I decided that I'd actually try making a generic tabletop RPG, this was when I first really got serious about being a developer, or not serious but, it wasn't just... graphs and ideas on paper anymore. I made my very first Tabletop RPG called Future Fantasy, which was heavily geared towards making your own scenarios, it was more of an "Engine" than a game, but making scenarios with its rule-set was super simple. The thing was that as soon as I'd done a few it got boring because I had only me and my bro to play with. I was a very antisocial person but I didn't know of any other ways, I had no idea there was an "internet" or how it worked. For the following four years I would make game manual after game manual uselessly wasting several hundreds of dollars in paper and ink to produce manuals only two people in the world would see. However, the growth in my writing in these ventures coupled with the ideas generated by a wellspring of time, toys and boredom would cultivate the interest as well as teaching me how to MSpaint... I only started getting really good with MSpaint in the last couple of years, I started back in 2006, and I'd been drawing on paper with pencil throughout most of my childhood.
Growing up my interests always seemed to stem from creativity, I at one point liked making cardboard models, then sewing soft toys, then oven bake clay figurine sculpting until at long last the true prospect of this talent came into view.
It wasn't to merely paint or to play with toys... my purpose was far more broad, it was to create a Universe, and there was no better way than through the medium of games.
The idea of making games was something I always wanted to do, in fact Hellcat: The Nightmare Begins stems from a very clumsy load of drawings I did before I even hit my teens. I was only 11 when I had the idea for "Hellcat", back then it was basically an idea for a first person shooter, with a clever emphasis on cat-themed powerups and having '9 Lives', however I had no idea at that age how I would generate such a world, for several years I would discuss it with my Bro, but neither of us had an idea of how to go about it.
Chapter 2: Neverwinter could never bring winter
It would be in 2008 that I would discover the Neverwinter Nights game by bioware, I was uninterested in it's campaign, but it had a toolset! I caught on instantly how to use it, and as time went by I made a game, though looking back, i would have been nuts to release it.
In 2009 I would join the Bioware forums under the name of "Bizarre Monkey", this was my first real encounter with the internet. Prior to Bizarre Monkey I had gone through several company names, Blackmatter, Darkmatter Corporation, HardGore, Eye of Evil, Exodus Enterprises, Singing Potato, before eventually resting on Bizarre Monkey.
My computer would fry later that year, and all progress on the NWN project lost... this is probably just as well. In early 2010 my Bro suggested a fabled google search to find something that'll let me make RPG's, this is where I at long last found RPG Maker. VX had recently been released and I fell in love with the program.
Chapter 3: Gracious, thy name is Bizarre Monkey
I would make two games before I got anywhere, first was Planet's Cry, an appalling fangame that only ever gets a mention because of how dumb it was.
Then Terra, while not horrible, it wasn't great and again, borrowed too much from fan inspiration to get anywhere, it was after that derelict piece of shit failed that I decided to take a break and think about this, maybe game development wasn't my thing? Maybe i had some other calling.
However, I was proven wrong... my dreams would be the arbitor of my arise.
I slept and saw a mouth of frost, its teeth jagged, it's visage all to witness possible.
It spoke a plea of villainy, it said to me that I was to make it a villain in the next game that I would make. And after his mawed message was mouthed he coalesced into vapor, forgotten in the fire. I woke up to a new idea, and renewed vigor.
So, I had a villain, he was determined to be a villain, and quite a villain he became, that visage i encountered would later become Maw, the antagonist for Intelligence, the first game of which I would be given reason to celebrate.
I hastily began work on a game, I didn't know what it would be called yet! All I knew was that this visage was the villain, and that it was to be set in a version of earth where mammals had taken over, the villains name was not spoken in the dream, I had to come up with it, there were several that went by, "Visage", "Frosty", "Noth", "Frigis" before I came to Maw.
For the protagonists, I didn' want to do four people, so I did a trio, two characters that already existed in my Universe, Rolly the Green Dog first appearing in a Bytepets Manual nobody saw, and Pep, a Red schizophrenic cat with an unhealthy addiction to Red Cordial who had several appearances throughout my uncharted paperverse. Tristy was a character I made on the spot, since I decided that I'd use Australia for the games setting I figured it'd be best if I used a mammal exclusive to Australia that could look feminine, after being charmed by Sheila the Kangaroo in Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon I decided a Kangaroo was definitely the best bet.
I began unplanned construction on a demo which would serve as a barebones framework for a deeper plot that I had no idea existed at the time. This time I decided I would learn from my previous mistakes and release a demo before bashing out a full game.
The name for the game was actually decided only a couple days before it's demo release, it would be called Intelligence, and it's first demo would see the public on the 14th of March in 2011.
The response was overwhelming, from a dude no one knew or gave a fuck about to a dude who made something pretty interesting, I got 7/10 scores across the board, it may not have been much for some people, but for me it was a huge improvement, damn it! In late 2011 it was nominated for Game of the Year, but lost to Noobslice.
Patches and events later, I myself nominated it for Game of the Year 2012, it succeeded by troves, the lead it had was staggering.
It was in Early 2012 that I began planning the next big thing.
Chapter 4: Accosted by Uncharitable Anuses
In Early 2012 a great rift shattered VX.net, my homesite of residence and forced me to search for a new host, upon finding the new host, it would be before I'd even released a beta that I would be exiled.
I hung out with just those few i'd met on skype and decided to give forums the finger until the Beta for Menagerie was in sight.
The Canalethians who had been my friends for two years, decided in late November of 2012 that my time with them was up, leaving me devastated... I turned to the only place I knew I had friends, Omega-dev.net... they were a quiet not-attention-seeking group, but at the time that is all I wanted, a shoulder to lean on, a friend to talk to... the internet had made me reliant on people and compassion. However, I was welcomed back with anticipation, despite leaving them cold, absence isn't uncommon for them, they see it as a thing that happens. I was welcomed back with open arms and for the first time in over a year, felt truly at home away from home.
Then came Skye...
The one they call the betrayer, the enemy of Omega-dev... one whose seemingly sole purpose was to cause grief for those who had exiled her.
The chance had come to prove my worth! Skye's return had given me a chance to do what I did best, be a psychotic insulting asshole... I helped the Omegadevians during their time of need and then beside my new allies, led a warpath to the enemies territory, where my true talents were witnessed... being exiled from many places had forced me to do things that most would consider scandalous. But this was war and during the generous training Canaleth had inadvertently given, I found ways around bans of all sorts... the warpath ceased when the forum breathed its last gasp of air.
An ancient enemy had been defeated, the Omegadevians praised my tactics, dealing with their old enemy lent me not only their respect, but their obedience. I decided that we would make a Skype group for easy communication and calculation on future events.
I was given the title 'Teen Drama instigator' and was elected the Omega-dev attack dog. At last I had found a place and purpose, on March 14th, 2013... The Crazy Chimp Collective was formed and with our combined efforts we would create a game that would then shake the very foundations of RPG Maker...
Menagerie.
Late in 2012, I was sent an invitation by GrandmaDeb to return to VX.net, in return I would post the resources I had made during my stay at Omega-dev
Ofcourse, I was more than happy to accept a return, after all... I had been exiled from anywhere else relevant, and so I returned, making my first topic in over a year.
I then went and nominated my two games for Game of the Year and Demo of the Year... I won both.
Feeling like I had gotten what I had long wanted, I decided to repay VX.net
Chapter 5: The Breath of Life that is Biz
For their heartfelt welcome and nursery, I looked at VX.net and saw a wasteland of barren activity and said 'No. This will not do." and thus begun my rise to power and the resurgence of VX.net, I did all within my power to keep the community afloat and in time my efforts would be visible. The very admins looked at me with a twisted expression of awe and amusement, while it would never be the pinnacle it once was, it had been rejuvenated... due to this debt I payed, it began to raise some questions...
Was my aid purely for my benefit, it would be a fair observation, I had become the lifeblood of the forum, and thus I had essentially granted myself immunity from exile by way of doing things the admins could not. I was only a member, but I was doing the sort of thing admins are supposed too. I however was entirely unaware of this until this thread came about.
I had become the Crutch for this forums instability... inadvertently I had become an autocrat. At first I was proud of this responsibility, I felt like for once people depended on me.
However it became evident that if I ever left, this site would fall to shambles. The Admins did not have the Drive to keep it going and while I am now no longer dependent of it, I still like it and will keep it afloat so long as it remains awesome.
Chapter 6: The Uncertain Future...
Following Menagerie's release on December Twelve 2013, it has gotten ratings of huge variety, most being in the 9s or 10s, Gamejolt rates it 4.5/5 (or 9/10), it has been widely praised for it's innovative picture cutscenes, intense ABS battles and its bizarre sense of humor, among the typical brilliant storytelling, charming characters and strategically challenging events.
I could not have asked for a better end to my legacy with RPG Maker.
Menagerie is my last game with RPG Maker, I am now working with Game Maker and as such, the future is very uncertain. However, I will forever follow my passions and do what I love doing. But there was a point to this backstory.
The point is that, I got to where I am by being me, doing things my way and following my dreams.
It was a long road travelled, it took nearly 15 Years to have the resources to make the game I had first imagined. (Hellcat)
But I did it and I'll only get better. Late in the first chapter I said that it was my destiny to "build a universe", that Universe is now on display, or a part of it. I have many ideas, and within the scope of an entire universe, given time all can be made manifest.
I only did it once, and that was only because youtube did most of the work for me and all I had to do was laugh a lot to point out the hilarity.
So in this post, I'll go a bit into my backstory to celebrate 5 years of Bizarre Monkey and for me, Internet Access.
Act 1: I am to meet the internet!
Back in 2006, after I'd played Diablo II solidly for three years and had done jack all else with my time, I decided that I'd actually try making a generic tabletop RPG, this was when I first really got serious about being a developer, or not serious but, it wasn't just... graphs and ideas on paper anymore. I made my very first Tabletop RPG called Future Fantasy, which was heavily geared towards making your own scenarios, it was more of an "Engine" than a game, but making scenarios with its rule-set was super simple. The thing was that as soon as I'd done a few it got boring because I had only me and my bro to play with. I was a very antisocial person but I didn't know of any other ways, I had no idea there was an "internet" or how it worked. For the following four years I would make game manual after game manual uselessly wasting several hundreds of dollars in paper and ink to produce manuals only two people in the world would see. However, the growth in my writing in these ventures coupled with the ideas generated by a wellspring of time, toys and boredom would cultivate the interest as well as teaching me how to MSpaint... I only started getting really good with MSpaint in the last couple of years, I started back in 2006, and I'd been drawing on paper with pencil throughout most of my childhood.
Growing up my interests always seemed to stem from creativity, I at one point liked making cardboard models, then sewing soft toys, then oven bake clay figurine sculpting until at long last the true prospect of this talent came into view.
It wasn't to merely paint or to play with toys... my purpose was far more broad, it was to create a Universe, and there was no better way than through the medium of games.
The idea of making games was something I always wanted to do, in fact Hellcat: The Nightmare Begins stems from a very clumsy load of drawings I did before I even hit my teens. I was only 11 when I had the idea for "Hellcat", back then it was basically an idea for a first person shooter, with a clever emphasis on cat-themed powerups and having '9 Lives', however I had no idea at that age how I would generate such a world, for several years I would discuss it with my Bro, but neither of us had an idea of how to go about it.
Chapter 2: Neverwinter could never bring winter
It would be in 2008 that I would discover the Neverwinter Nights game by bioware, I was uninterested in it's campaign, but it had a toolset! I caught on instantly how to use it, and as time went by I made a game, though looking back, i would have been nuts to release it.
In 2009 I would join the Bioware forums under the name of "Bizarre Monkey", this was my first real encounter with the internet. Prior to Bizarre Monkey I had gone through several company names, Blackmatter, Darkmatter Corporation, HardGore, Eye of Evil, Exodus Enterprises, Singing Potato, before eventually resting on Bizarre Monkey.
My computer would fry later that year, and all progress on the NWN project lost... this is probably just as well. In early 2010 my Bro suggested a fabled google search to find something that'll let me make RPG's, this is where I at long last found RPG Maker. VX had recently been released and I fell in love with the program.
Chapter 3: Gracious, thy name is Bizarre Monkey
I would make two games before I got anywhere, first was Planet's Cry, an appalling fangame that only ever gets a mention because of how dumb it was.
Then Terra, while not horrible, it wasn't great and again, borrowed too much from fan inspiration to get anywhere, it was after that derelict piece of shit failed that I decided to take a break and think about this, maybe game development wasn't my thing? Maybe i had some other calling.
However, I was proven wrong... my dreams would be the arbitor of my arise.
I slept and saw a mouth of frost, its teeth jagged, it's visage all to witness possible.
It spoke a plea of villainy, it said to me that I was to make it a villain in the next game that I would make. And after his mawed message was mouthed he coalesced into vapor, forgotten in the fire. I woke up to a new idea, and renewed vigor.
So, I had a villain, he was determined to be a villain, and quite a villain he became, that visage i encountered would later become Maw, the antagonist for Intelligence, the first game of which I would be given reason to celebrate.
I hastily began work on a game, I didn't know what it would be called yet! All I knew was that this visage was the villain, and that it was to be set in a version of earth where mammals had taken over, the villains name was not spoken in the dream, I had to come up with it, there were several that went by, "Visage", "Frosty", "Noth", "Frigis" before I came to Maw.
For the protagonists, I didn' want to do four people, so I did a trio, two characters that already existed in my Universe, Rolly the Green Dog first appearing in a Bytepets Manual nobody saw, and Pep, a Red schizophrenic cat with an unhealthy addiction to Red Cordial who had several appearances throughout my uncharted paperverse. Tristy was a character I made on the spot, since I decided that I'd use Australia for the games setting I figured it'd be best if I used a mammal exclusive to Australia that could look feminine, after being charmed by Sheila the Kangaroo in Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon I decided a Kangaroo was definitely the best bet.
I began unplanned construction on a demo which would serve as a barebones framework for a deeper plot that I had no idea existed at the time. This time I decided I would learn from my previous mistakes and release a demo before bashing out a full game.
The name for the game was actually decided only a couple days before it's demo release, it would be called Intelligence, and it's first demo would see the public on the 14th of March in 2011.
The response was overwhelming, from a dude no one knew or gave a fuck about to a dude who made something pretty interesting, I got 7/10 scores across the board, it may not have been much for some people, but for me it was a huge improvement, damn it! In late 2011 it was nominated for Game of the Year, but lost to Noobslice.
Patches and events later, I myself nominated it for Game of the Year 2012, it succeeded by troves, the lead it had was staggering.
It was in Early 2012 that I began planning the next big thing.
Chapter 4: Accosted by Uncharitable Anuses
In Early 2012 a great rift shattered VX.net, my homesite of residence and forced me to search for a new host, upon finding the new host, it would be before I'd even released a beta that I would be exiled.
I hung out with just those few i'd met on skype and decided to give forums the finger until the Beta for Menagerie was in sight.
The Canalethians who had been my friends for two years, decided in late November of 2012 that my time with them was up, leaving me devastated... I turned to the only place I knew I had friends, Omega-dev.net... they were a quiet not-attention-seeking group, but at the time that is all I wanted, a shoulder to lean on, a friend to talk to... the internet had made me reliant on people and compassion. However, I was welcomed back with anticipation, despite leaving them cold, absence isn't uncommon for them, they see it as a thing that happens. I was welcomed back with open arms and for the first time in over a year, felt truly at home away from home.
Then came Skye...
The one they call the betrayer, the enemy of Omega-dev... one whose seemingly sole purpose was to cause grief for those who had exiled her.
The chance had come to prove my worth! Skye's return had given me a chance to do what I did best, be a psychotic insulting asshole... I helped the Omegadevians during their time of need and then beside my new allies, led a warpath to the enemies territory, where my true talents were witnessed... being exiled from many places had forced me to do things that most would consider scandalous. But this was war and during the generous training Canaleth had inadvertently given, I found ways around bans of all sorts... the warpath ceased when the forum breathed its last gasp of air.
An ancient enemy had been defeated, the Omegadevians praised my tactics, dealing with their old enemy lent me not only their respect, but their obedience. I decided that we would make a Skype group for easy communication and calculation on future events.
I was given the title 'Teen Drama instigator' and was elected the Omega-dev attack dog. At last I had found a place and purpose, on March 14th, 2013... The Crazy Chimp Collective was formed and with our combined efforts we would create a game that would then shake the very foundations of RPG Maker...
Menagerie.
Late in 2012, I was sent an invitation by GrandmaDeb to return to VX.net, in return I would post the resources I had made during my stay at Omega-dev
Ofcourse, I was more than happy to accept a return, after all... I had been exiled from anywhere else relevant, and so I returned, making my first topic in over a year.
I then went and nominated my two games for Game of the Year and Demo of the Year... I won both.
Feeling like I had gotten what I had long wanted, I decided to repay VX.net
Chapter 5: The Breath of Life that is Biz
For their heartfelt welcome and nursery, I looked at VX.net and saw a wasteland of barren activity and said 'No. This will not do." and thus begun my rise to power and the resurgence of VX.net, I did all within my power to keep the community afloat and in time my efforts would be visible. The very admins looked at me with a twisted expression of awe and amusement, while it would never be the pinnacle it once was, it had been rejuvenated... due to this debt I payed, it began to raise some questions...
Was my aid purely for my benefit, it would be a fair observation, I had become the lifeblood of the forum, and thus I had essentially granted myself immunity from exile by way of doing things the admins could not. I was only a member, but I was doing the sort of thing admins are supposed too. I however was entirely unaware of this until this thread came about.
I had become the Crutch for this forums instability... inadvertently I had become an autocrat. At first I was proud of this responsibility, I felt like for once people depended on me.
However it became evident that if I ever left, this site would fall to shambles. The Admins did not have the Drive to keep it going and while I am now no longer dependent of it, I still like it and will keep it afloat so long as it remains awesome.
Chapter 6: The Uncertain Future...
Following Menagerie's release on December Twelve 2013, it has gotten ratings of huge variety, most being in the 9s or 10s, Gamejolt rates it 4.5/5 (or 9/10), it has been widely praised for it's innovative picture cutscenes, intense ABS battles and its bizarre sense of humor, among the typical brilliant storytelling, charming characters and strategically challenging events.
I could not have asked for a better end to my legacy with RPG Maker.
Menagerie is my last game with RPG Maker, I am now working with Game Maker and as such, the future is very uncertain. However, I will forever follow my passions and do what I love doing. But there was a point to this backstory.
The point is that, I got to where I am by being me, doing things my way and following my dreams.
It was a long road travelled, it took nearly 15 Years to have the resources to make the game I had first imagined. (Hellcat)
But I did it and I'll only get better. Late in the first chapter I said that it was my destiny to "build a universe", that Universe is now on display, or a part of it. I have many ideas, and within the scope of an entire universe, given time all can be made manifest.
Menagerie is released!
Actually, it has been for almost a whole month, but I forgot this load of shit some call a blog existed and no one ever looks at it anyway.
Anyway, Menagerie is on every site RPG Maker site that matters and it's been released on Gamejolt and Desura now as well so your first course of action should probably be to download it if you haven't already.
Since I never use this blog to talk about matters related to my company I'll probably change it back to the old Bizarre Monkey forest and use it as i always have, as a venting zone for my bored opinions.
Anyway, here's a trailer for Menagerie if you're interested.
Anyway, Menagerie is on every site RPG Maker site that matters and it's been released on Gamejolt and Desura now as well so your first course of action should probably be to download it if you haven't already.
Since I never use this blog to talk about matters related to my company I'll probably change it back to the old Bizarre Monkey forest and use it as i always have, as a venting zone for my bored opinions.
Anyway, here's a trailer for Menagerie if you're interested.
The Venture of Vanity
Recently I got inspired to do some self-indulgent wonderblogging, so I decided that I will do just that.
Chapter 1: In this town of which I live.
Lismore, 20 minutes from the beach of the Australian East coast, this city stands among all others a pinnacle of druggie dystopia. In this town, don't we blaze it now, all manner of illegal distrubition can be observed, from heroin addicts, crack crimelords, to just a bunch of damn pot-smoking hippies doing no harm, this city is manifest of why 'cops are a lazy excuse for justice'. In this city we have over 70% of inhabitants hooked on some form of substance that is illegal. If you are in Lismore and know only straight people, you aren't doing it right.
It should be noted that of this towns majority, I am one of the exceptional minority, the only addiction I've ever had is to iced coffee, which I'm pretty sure is legal! It may not be though, and if the bean-bouncers come to my house you can blame them for their not being another article, those nefarious Nescafe naysayers will be to blame.
I am glad to say that unlike the other two people I live with, I have never attempted drugs of any sort, not because I am scared of them, but because I like being different. My indifference with the majority has always been a contributing part of my psyche profile, it has nearly come to an extent of autism. It's not that I even try to be different, and I sure as hell am not different because I act to be or choose to be, I just am. It's not like I'm some hipster who thinks I'm better than everyone because I choose not to partake in an activity that the majority of people choose to actively partake in, I'm just very rebellious. This is likely due to my Dad's side of the family, the Byrnes', which dates back to Joe Byrne, the cousin of Ned Kelly, one of the only Vigilante's Australia has had.
The 'S' was added by the family name after the prosecution of Ned Kelly to avoid hassle from various agencies, but one of my relatives has been gracious enough to look into it and it turns out that I am indeed a pedigree, cool that.
It's also possibly because I think society is a load of flabbergasted horseshit, which may explain why I chose to live in solitude for 8 years after dropping out of school, I'm very much a man who can live with my own company, and this begins this briefly alluded to "Venture of Vanity".
I've been exposed time and time again to the amount of pain and stress people will go to for the sake of their vanity, women have this in spades, but guys also tend to get tied up in trying to look like they are cool to veil the unfortunate reality that they are a goofy clown underneath.
So what drives us, what is the meat we must manifest to mature in our own malformed rise to manliness? I can't speak for Women since I am not one and have no real desire to be (though I'm sure a bunch of my friends may have you think otherwise) but what I can do is be a voice of reason and questioning for men who seek to be the beefcake they want to be.
I myself have never had dreams of being strong, I like being unimposing so people don't feel intimidated. However I have certainly wanted to feel badass in the past. I recently put together an outfit to show that I can be badass in appearance... but it's not me. It isn't suiting, also woolen scarfs are itchy motherfuckers and having one of those around my mouth like that dude in Soul Reaver gets irritating pretty fast.
So to drive this venture on its way, our pursuit in our external appearance is a desire to appease others, to impress those with what we "can" be rather than what we are, what we are is human, flawed... different and for the majority, obnoxious. I talk to about 40 different people each day, only a minority of those people impress me, and those are typically the people who don't hide behind a facade.. the more people hide the more I know I can't trust them, they cant trust themselves, they are hiding what they are because they don't trust their own form, how can i trust someone when they don't even trust themselves? That'd be like asking a new employee who'd only done remixes of songs to compose a full soundtrack and rely on them to do that.
The facade thing will fool some, but I have a psychological profile, I can easily peel away the fabricated layers people use to cloak their insecurities, it's one thing I'm very good at.
Chapter 2: Our greatest enemy is our fear of being an enemy.
Contrary to popular fiction, people will avoid confrontation at all costs, people want it to be easy and avoid hardships whenever possible. So therefore vanity becomes a primary drive so you look 'representable' as you can without flaunting yourself around to get on other peoples nerves, I am guilty of this myself. When I Attended University earlier this year, I dressed much more respectably than I do typically and I never got into a fight, though that's also partly because I didn't go out of my way to make friends and was focused on getting my study on, and i got a distinction so i guess I came out of that well. The point to this is that if I had gone to University wearing what I am now it's likely people would have judged me in their head as more filthy than I would have been whilst wearing my blue striped polo-shirt and suit pants that you can see me wearing here.
So Vanity for us is also like a feeling of security, a shield to the seething eyes of conflict. We want to make others impressed so we do not achieve the opposite, which is for them to be appalled, no one likes feeling as if they are appalling.
However, there are sometimes when Vanity pisses me off, and there are certainly many at fault for this...
Chapter 3: The Media and their market on maturing masculinity.
I absolutely loathe the media for this reason, the magazines they print have littered on the front page either a sex symbol of some kind or a dog, in the case of a dog, turn to back.
What I'm saying is that in our modern world women and men (but particularly women) are brought into the world thinking they have to be strong, smart and stunningly attractive, which is not only unrealistic, but a gross tactic for marketing toys to growing young females like Barbie and Bratz, in this day and age women of all ages are being taught the wrong things by the media, no one will like you if you are a brat, if you think that your deluded or fucking stupid.
Because of magazines and the iconic "supermodels" all growing girls of our generation are groomed with a constant sense of insecurity about how they look, most Women I've spoken to are very self-conscious and for the most part, this isn't their fault. This is firstly the media for raising the bar to near impossible standards, but also for shallow men thinking that Women like that are 'natural'.
Supermodels are as deviant from our organic composition as you get, plastic surgery, implants and silicon, you may as well just say they are cyborgs, the majority of them even have the deadpan personality and flawed unresponsive intellect to match.
Any dude who thinks that such a girl is the only sort good enough for him is destined to be one of those old codgers who are constantly grumpy in old age because they never got any, and it would be their fault for being shallow. Justice if there ever was.
Chapter 4: Fighting the Oppression
So now you've been told by some unromantic Aussie sage in his mid 20's why girls are self-conscious, why vanity is a vex of mortality and why we do what we do, what will your actions be?
For 90% of you, you'll continue to do what you've always done and for you I could care less about how it works out for you. For the 10% of you that care, it's incredibly easy to fight it if your open to yourself psychologically.
If you're like me, (Asexual) you'll likely find that you aren't even really in need of a wife, but just a good friend or two, however since those of Asexual inclination are fairly rare, I'll make this quick: Go out and find friends, find interesting people, by either going to an event which interests you (where you'll have a high chance of finding people who have similar interests to yours) or by starting a learning degree somewhere, though since College for anyone in the U.S has a habit of being expensive, the first option is more viable. The second works better for me due to my locale.
As for the bi-sexual, heterosexual or homosexual, here's an important tip if you want to try to find an interesting relationship or just want to get past your vanity problems.
First, if someone rejects you because of your appearance, this should make you stronger... for that person who did reject you is a shallow tool, and you likely would have found him unbearable to live with anyway!
Second, I'm not saying to discard vanity, there is a reason we have it, however, don't make it a commitment, make it a pleasure. Life is to be enjoyed and instead of thinking how gay this V-neck makes you look or how ridiculously daggy these pants are, you should be looking at the positives, for example, say you are hetero-sexual but are stuck with a V-neck, improvise! The image i linked above with my soul reaver scarf is with me wearing a V-neck, so i covered it with a badass scarf and look damned well awesome, instead of like I just woke up from a night out with some rigid sternly gentlemen bums.
Thirdly, no matter what you wear, the best thing to be is yourself. Contrary to your brain's incessant prattling, you are quite interesting, everyone is! When people put forth a facade is when they are most boring, because they are presenting one mindset, when an average individual has several for each circumstance they may encounter.
There you go, one venture of vanity complete. Cheers.
Chapter 1: In this town of which I live.
Lismore, 20 minutes from the beach of the Australian East coast, this city stands among all others a pinnacle of druggie dystopia. In this town, don't we blaze it now, all manner of illegal distrubition can be observed, from heroin addicts, crack crimelords, to just a bunch of damn pot-smoking hippies doing no harm, this city is manifest of why 'cops are a lazy excuse for justice'. In this city we have over 70% of inhabitants hooked on some form of substance that is illegal. If you are in Lismore and know only straight people, you aren't doing it right.
It should be noted that of this towns majority, I am one of the exceptional minority, the only addiction I've ever had is to iced coffee, which I'm pretty sure is legal! It may not be though, and if the bean-bouncers come to my house you can blame them for their not being another article, those nefarious Nescafe naysayers will be to blame.
I am glad to say that unlike the other two people I live with, I have never attempted drugs of any sort, not because I am scared of them, but because I like being different. My indifference with the majority has always been a contributing part of my psyche profile, it has nearly come to an extent of autism. It's not that I even try to be different, and I sure as hell am not different because I act to be or choose to be, I just am. It's not like I'm some hipster who thinks I'm better than everyone because I choose not to partake in an activity that the majority of people choose to actively partake in, I'm just very rebellious. This is likely due to my Dad's side of the family, the Byrnes', which dates back to Joe Byrne, the cousin of Ned Kelly, one of the only Vigilante's Australia has had.
The 'S' was added by the family name after the prosecution of Ned Kelly to avoid hassle from various agencies, but one of my relatives has been gracious enough to look into it and it turns out that I am indeed a pedigree, cool that.
It's also possibly because I think society is a load of flabbergasted horseshit, which may explain why I chose to live in solitude for 8 years after dropping out of school, I'm very much a man who can live with my own company, and this begins this briefly alluded to "Venture of Vanity".
I've been exposed time and time again to the amount of pain and stress people will go to for the sake of their vanity, women have this in spades, but guys also tend to get tied up in trying to look like they are cool to veil the unfortunate reality that they are a goofy clown underneath.
So what drives us, what is the meat we must manifest to mature in our own malformed rise to manliness? I can't speak for Women since I am not one and have no real desire to be (though I'm sure a bunch of my friends may have you think otherwise) but what I can do is be a voice of reason and questioning for men who seek to be the beefcake they want to be.
I myself have never had dreams of being strong, I like being unimposing so people don't feel intimidated. However I have certainly wanted to feel badass in the past. I recently put together an outfit to show that I can be badass in appearance... but it's not me. It isn't suiting, also woolen scarfs are itchy motherfuckers and having one of those around my mouth like that dude in Soul Reaver gets irritating pretty fast.
So to drive this venture on its way, our pursuit in our external appearance is a desire to appease others, to impress those with what we "can" be rather than what we are, what we are is human, flawed... different and for the majority, obnoxious. I talk to about 40 different people each day, only a minority of those people impress me, and those are typically the people who don't hide behind a facade.. the more people hide the more I know I can't trust them, they cant trust themselves, they are hiding what they are because they don't trust their own form, how can i trust someone when they don't even trust themselves? That'd be like asking a new employee who'd only done remixes of songs to compose a full soundtrack and rely on them to do that.
The facade thing will fool some, but I have a psychological profile, I can easily peel away the fabricated layers people use to cloak their insecurities, it's one thing I'm very good at.
Chapter 2: Our greatest enemy is our fear of being an enemy.
Contrary to popular fiction, people will avoid confrontation at all costs, people want it to be easy and avoid hardships whenever possible. So therefore vanity becomes a primary drive so you look 'representable' as you can without flaunting yourself around to get on other peoples nerves, I am guilty of this myself. When I Attended University earlier this year, I dressed much more respectably than I do typically and I never got into a fight, though that's also partly because I didn't go out of my way to make friends and was focused on getting my study on, and i got a distinction so i guess I came out of that well. The point to this is that if I had gone to University wearing what I am now it's likely people would have judged me in their head as more filthy than I would have been whilst wearing my blue striped polo-shirt and suit pants that you can see me wearing here.
So Vanity for us is also like a feeling of security, a shield to the seething eyes of conflict. We want to make others impressed so we do not achieve the opposite, which is for them to be appalled, no one likes feeling as if they are appalling.
However, there are sometimes when Vanity pisses me off, and there are certainly many at fault for this...
Chapter 3: The Media and their market on maturing masculinity.
I absolutely loathe the media for this reason, the magazines they print have littered on the front page either a sex symbol of some kind or a dog, in the case of a dog, turn to back.
What I'm saying is that in our modern world women and men (but particularly women) are brought into the world thinking they have to be strong, smart and stunningly attractive, which is not only unrealistic, but a gross tactic for marketing toys to growing young females like Barbie and Bratz, in this day and age women of all ages are being taught the wrong things by the media, no one will like you if you are a brat, if you think that your deluded or fucking stupid.
Because of magazines and the iconic "supermodels" all growing girls of our generation are groomed with a constant sense of insecurity about how they look, most Women I've spoken to are very self-conscious and for the most part, this isn't their fault. This is firstly the media for raising the bar to near impossible standards, but also for shallow men thinking that Women like that are 'natural'.
Supermodels are as deviant from our organic composition as you get, plastic surgery, implants and silicon, you may as well just say they are cyborgs, the majority of them even have the deadpan personality and flawed unresponsive intellect to match.
Any dude who thinks that such a girl is the only sort good enough for him is destined to be one of those old codgers who are constantly grumpy in old age because they never got any, and it would be their fault for being shallow. Justice if there ever was.
Chapter 4: Fighting the Oppression
So now you've been told by some unromantic Aussie sage in his mid 20's why girls are self-conscious, why vanity is a vex of mortality and why we do what we do, what will your actions be?
For 90% of you, you'll continue to do what you've always done and for you I could care less about how it works out for you. For the 10% of you that care, it's incredibly easy to fight it if your open to yourself psychologically.
If you're like me, (Asexual) you'll likely find that you aren't even really in need of a wife, but just a good friend or two, however since those of Asexual inclination are fairly rare, I'll make this quick: Go out and find friends, find interesting people, by either going to an event which interests you (where you'll have a high chance of finding people who have similar interests to yours) or by starting a learning degree somewhere, though since College for anyone in the U.S has a habit of being expensive, the first option is more viable. The second works better for me due to my locale.
As for the bi-sexual, heterosexual or homosexual, here's an important tip if you want to try to find an interesting relationship or just want to get past your vanity problems.
First, if someone rejects you because of your appearance, this should make you stronger... for that person who did reject you is a shallow tool, and you likely would have found him unbearable to live with anyway!
Second, I'm not saying to discard vanity, there is a reason we have it, however, don't make it a commitment, make it a pleasure. Life is to be enjoyed and instead of thinking how gay this V-neck makes you look or how ridiculously daggy these pants are, you should be looking at the positives, for example, say you are hetero-sexual but are stuck with a V-neck, improvise! The image i linked above with my soul reaver scarf is with me wearing a V-neck, so i covered it with a badass scarf and look damned well awesome, instead of like I just woke up from a night out with some rigid sternly gentlemen bums.
Thirdly, no matter what you wear, the best thing to be is yourself. Contrary to your brain's incessant prattling, you are quite interesting, everyone is! When people put forth a facade is when they are most boring, because they are presenting one mindset, when an average individual has several for each circumstance they may encounter.
There you go, one venture of vanity complete. Cheers.
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