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cosmos-dot-semicolon · 14 days

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As someone who loves Inscryption despite its flaws I GOTTA know: what are your thoughts on its faults? I've seen you vague post about it and I'm so curious (also, hi!)

hiiiii :3 Lovely to see you reach out after you seeing you always pop up in the tags :D

To be clear, I still like Inscryption despite its flaws. It’s *interesting* as a piece of art, and that’s way better than a game that just technically checks off all the boxes of being playable. Like, I’ve been able to write several thousand words’ worth of a video essay script on this game, covering both the good and bad. It’s that fascinating to me.

Since I don’t want to unload 40 minutes’ worth of text on you here, I’ll just say my main thesis is that the game brushes up against a ton of genuinely cool ideas, but the developer never seems to notice them because he’s too married to the way things were done in Pony Island, and what people who like Meta Games expect. And Inscryption keeps so much info in the dark that you only realise this at the end.

The genre shifts are the biggest sticking point for me. If you know the developer already (or have watched someone else play the game), you’re perfectly fine with them being there. But if you’re someone like me who played the demo and then jumped in blind, you’re going to be burned by the shift to act 2 (and to Luke), which is nothing you would expect from the wonderful aesthetic act 1 mostly relies on. Even though I *like* both act 1 and 2, I kind of have to like them for separate things (i.e. a beautifully haunting roguelike based off forest folklore vs a deckbuilder exploring the worst art-kid polycule divorce you’ve ever seen).

The culmination of this is Kaycee’s mod, which I love, but is an implicit admission that the creator didn’t actually know his own strengths. An endless mode to only one third of your game is not a common thing to add in after launch, especially if you’re not early-access.

Then in act 2, outside of its lore, the game’s theme becomes the idea of games as art. The Scrybes are both multi-faceted characters in their own right and proxies of game design philosophies.

Leshy is the visceral experience of being in another world, while his actual game is pretty janky. Grimora is pure fun (which is a great contrast against her death aesthetic). P03 is the very specific way some designers get obsessed with game mechanics above all else and produce the most mid games you’ve ever seen. Magnificus is spectacle to the point it’s stupidly hard to actually play his deck.

Throughout both takeovers, there are always items or mechanics from the other Scrybes popping up. The stand-alone campaigns are arguably better than act 2 because they’re much more focused, yet Leshy and P03 both still can’t escape the influence of their colleagues.

This is all extremely interesting characterisation and commentary on game design that all goes unsaid. And as much as I dislike Luke Carder’s plot, I’ve spoken before about how the themes his story touch on would be a fantastic fit for that meta-commentary.

All this is great, self-contained within act 2. But the way the finale (and arguably act 3’s more lore-based segments) are written afterwards implies that wasn’t intentional at all. The culmination of this game is that all the Scrybes get deleted and go out in a sudden bombastic finale like in Pony Island and then 😱 maybe this guy shouldn’t have looked for secrets… Because now he’s dead IRL…

And it’s like. Okay? Sure. That looked cool I think. But what is the point of the story then, exactly?

So much happens in so little time in the finale. The writing is basically speedrunning all 3 of the remaining Scrybes’ arcs, and then has to reveal the OLD_DATA affecting Luke, and then has to show him getting killed. And you still don’t know what’s going on.

Then you go looking online for secrets and read that actually the evil glitch thing that was mentioned maybe twice in act 2 was important, and was the entire motivation for the plot. Also everything’s technically linked to the dev’s other games.

And I just. Do not think that is interesting at all, compared to the more carefully designed, and more character and theme-driven stories.

Daniel Mullins' work is unique in how whole-heartedly he includes meta elements, and I just think it's a shame he didn't take the opportunity to explore further beyond his usual comfort zone, as you might've expected from how different Inscryption's aesthetic is to his other games.

It should also not have taken that long to get to the point if the main story was a straight-forward evil artefact plot. Which the creator has already done in a more concise game years ago.

I think Kaycee’s mod tackles a lot of Inscryption's main issues, and I’m loving its smaller plot and more consistent pacing more than whatever the fuck was going on with Luke. But objectively I think it’s a big ask to force people to go through like. Everything after act 1. So they can play a potentially better version of the game.

#'i'm not going to unload 40 minutes' worth of text on you' i said. starting to type for 40 minutes in the afternoon and another 40 at night #and this is the cut down version of my thoughts. help.#who'll read this? idk but nobody can stop me. so #this game is so fractally interesting because of its subject matter. you start writing about one thing and then you get 5 more ideas #all pinging between fandom brainrot and writing and game design and how they collide #asks #dots dots dots #not a snowman

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unleashthegoats · 6 months

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Hey y'all! Loved the new episode, and wanted to chip in on one of the later points - videogames, especially in relation to the "Grey" Jedi concept. Knights of the Old Republic II really did some irreversible damage in that regard, as much as I love the game (though I prefer the first one). Kreia is one of the most central characters in regard to shifting morality debates in Star Wars (in universe and from fans alike) imo, and I'd honestly be super interested in hearing you three cover either or both of the games in the podcast, although I understand that's highly unlikely since none of you have played them. But she is extremely relevant to this topic because she preaches about neutrality and that there's more than just ~dogmatic thinkings of light and dark~, and your relationship with her suffers if you are kind and altruistic and get too rooted in the light side and she's like...one of *the* characters that kind of gets credited with developing a "grey" philosophy in-universe? But people always bring her up as if she's this great point of sensible consideration and not actually, as it turns out, a master manipulator trying to purge the Force from the galaxy (or something like that at least? It's been a while since my last playthrough lol) that lies to you all the time to get you to do what she wants (because she was so crazy bananas both the Jedi and the Sith said "no thank u :)" - well, with a bit more nuance but you get the gist). Really, it's a bit like people falling for Palpatine's anti-Jedi points all over how they talk about her philosophic arguments without bringing that up. But yeah, I thought you might be interested in that. Also, I think KotOR might be what people meant with being able to unlock Dark Side powers as a Light sider but you are absolutely correct that it's a mechanics vs story issue (especially since some powers are indeed alignment-locked AND making dark side choices does impact the character (apart from story, ending and relationships to your party members). It's a bit of a simplistic gimmick, of course, but the further you get into the Dark Side on the alignment, the more it's visible - sickly skin colour, cracks in the skin and flesh, your eyes change...stuff like that. I don't think using Dark Side powers actually pushes you further down the alignment, but the intent is obviously not for Light Siders to mix and match however they like).

Anyway, I'm so sorry for rambling on for so long, but I thought you (or someone, at least :D ) might appreciate that additional info. Keep up the good podcasting! :)

OUR FIRST ASK! I'm so glad you're enjoying the podcast, thank-you so much for listening to us ramble on for an hour once a month!

This is all really interesting! I've read a few metas about the Star Wars video games and the characters within them which is partly why I chose to briefly include them in the episode (and also because I am familiar with Jedi: Survivor which has its own "dark side" mechanic for the main character that was relevant to the discussion). Aside from Jedi: Survivor, I wasn't necessarily referencing any one specific video game, I assume it's probably a thing that's come up more than once.

As far as my reaction to Kreia goes, just based on your description of her, the idea of there being "too much light" just isn't how Lucas's own worldbuilding worked. It's clearly trying to hit on the idea of "balance" being equal amounts of light and dark usage, as opposed to balance being acknowledging darkness EXISTS (in yourself and in the universe) in order to keep yourself from acting on it. There just isn't a way to be "too light" or something like that, there's never "too much" kindness and compassion and selflessness in the world. In this sense, the video games are just going to fall into the same category as the rest of legends and EU stuff, in that they often just do their own thing based on their own interpretations of Star Wars, but it doesn't mean it actually fits with what Lucas himself was trying to get across about the philosophy of the Force and the Jedi in his own stories, and that's primarily what we're using as a base to discuss Star Wars from.

If any of us ends up playing KOTOR, we can certainly try to bring it up more often. I don't think we have any plans of doing more video game stuff currently, but if the KOTOR remake ever comes to pass, maybe I will!

-Mod Sugar

#star wars #kotor #kreia #utg asks

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faelapis · 2 years

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White Diamond analysis: post-SU future

i've spoken about why i like white diamond before, but i want to update it. i've made a mediocre little video ages ago (i think its called "white diamonds cognitive journey" but i don't wanna link it here because while i stand by a lot of the conclusions, i was very bad at youtube and cringe at my editing)... but that's somewhat outdated now. because SU the movie and SU future happened.

so i will summarize my old thoughts, and add new ones.

i will say that i don't think white's arc, whatever you feel about it, is meant to read as "complete." i think that's where a lot of fandom cognitive dissonance comes from. i think it's meant to read as a continuous, breathing thing that could change more now that steven is gone. i wanna thank future for that, both problematizing white's current mindset and giving her a jumping-off point - along with jasper and the other diamonds - to keep changing.

so. what do i mean by this?

in CYM, white falls apart. then the movie, and future, are extensions of the mindset she gains at the end of CYM. people complain about an "offscreen" redemption but i don't think that's true. what i will explore is how white submits herself to what steven wants because she doesn't trust herself or her own judgement anymore if she's not perfect. the movie and future are just natural extensions of that.

let's start at CYM.

by the end of it, white finally questions herself, to perhaps an extreme degree because she'd built herself up around the idea of having to be perfect. to her, perfect means being wise, correct, unquestionable. she's kept watch over gemkind, she's always looking from afar. how its played, its ambiguous as to whether she could Literally see everything pink did, or if she just put herself in denial that of course pink was alive, of course this was all one of her games.

but if its the former, if she can Literally see all of gemkind through her divine light, i think the reason she can't predict steven is that he's half-human. she can't see him as clearly. she knew he was human from the get go, calling pink "hiding" and "embedded in that human child", so perhaps part of her obsession was not being able to see.

anyway, what others say they feel isn't that important, she knows what they "really" need and feel. she can see them, better than they can. she's their creator, their goddess "mother", after all.

and if she can, in a meta sense, see everything, she is the opposite of steven and the audience - they are subjective, and they know that. "we" can only see from steven's pov. white is a challenge to that, someone who represents the standard tv drama where an omniscent audience gets to see everything. we don't, we are limited to steven. because the point is that no one can truly be objective.

but anyway - white styles herself as being objective. she's facts and logic, she doesn't care about feelings (tm). so yellow and blue's emotional pleas don't matter. what matters is if she can be logically proven wrong. if she SEES that steven isn't pink, then she is objectively wrong. that's something she can't handle. she can't justify it, so her worldview falls apart. she's not perfect.

the question then becomes how she responds to this. and the answer is, well, like someone whose world has fallen apart! someone who trusts her own judgement so little that she has to follow someone else. so she acts like most homeworld gems, at some point.

as we see at the end of CYM, and made more explicit in the movie and future... she starts following whatever steven wants. the era 3 diamond symbol is flipped on its head - steven is the "highest" diamond, and white sees herself as the "lowest."

i don't think white, personally, has reached a conclusion on how she feels about corrupted gems. i don't think she has anything but gut feelings - some base disgust (as drawn throughout CYM, there's a great shot about getting into the pool but looks conflicted, that i think someone in the crew described as her "hesitantly getting into a public pool", which can be read through several different lenses of prejudice.) , but also wanting to help because she feels bad enough about herself to do whatever someone else tells her is helpful.

and that someone else is steven. even if she herself is conflicted, she spends the end of CYM looking to him for approval. its only through his joy and acknowledgement of her that she allows herself to hesitantly, awkwardly smile. despite everything.

and then the movie shows this at its logical extreme. like white, yellow and blue are also following steven - they are almost obsessed with him. he's made things better, after all! he's a hero! he even guided them at their worst, the way white was supposed to do. he's surely worthy of worship as the superior diamond.

when steven understandably wants to leave, they beg for him to stay! they whine about how they've done everything he asked. they're clearly doing it for him. because of him. just let us worship adore you.

in a way, they are extremely childish. they're not really changed in the sense of a mature understanding of the world based on their own experiences and moral compass, but they know they are flawed. and they love and adore steven, so HE will tell them what to think. what to be. what to do.

we'll do it all. whatever you say. you know better than us!

then future happens.

our heroic, superior steven isnt the perfect golden child anymore. perhaps he never was. he's no longer able to hide it, at least, because now that the war is over, he's not able to focus on a life's purpose ("living up to rose quartz" first, "being a hero" later), so he is haunted by his PTSD. everything catches up to him. he even questions his own relationships - a lot of them having formed around him being that "good," helpful person. someone who needs to be needed. someone who doesn't know who he is when he isn't perfect.

are we really surprised he went to the diamonds, at his worst? of course he did. on some level, i think he hoped they could heal him... but failing that, maybe he would find a fellowship of flawed, broken people who had abused others high opinions of them. instead, he found them doing good things, being useful, being better than him, despite how he himself was still suffering. suffering because of them.

another huge reason steven was "set off" by white was by literally seeing himself in her body, right after shattering jasper and making a bunch of other mistakes. the fear of becoming like her, an ignorant or cruel person in an abusive chain. but the poison was already in him. and in trying to hurt white, he was literally hurting himself. trying to focus on destroying everything imperfect around you, you become incapable of accepting the imperfections within.

anyway. this is still about white!! i just wanted to "catch us up" on my interpretation of steven in future, and also lay some groundwork of the parallels between white and steven here. i think steven, in all of future, is a disharmonic, symbolic mix of white and pink.

anyway, now this messed up, openly broken steven has to meet the diamonds. and of course, when they fail to heal him, despite his pain being partially their fault, and seeing himself "as white", fearing being like her, deluded instead of a true hero... he doesn't take it well.

and that brings us back to white. while she's clearly scared in this scene, "i am my monster" clarifies that she doesn't hate him, and certainly doesn't blame him. she and the others still come to call, they still help him however they can. even if he doesn't love them (as spinel puts it, he never writes or calls), they still love him. he still helped them. he still made them better.

and i think that's a crucial bit of progress, because it shows them putting the pieces together. yes, steven isn't the perfect diamond they hoped would guide them, he isn't their holy "father" the way they tried to be authoritarian "mothers" to gemkind, but they don't turn on him for that reason. blue and yellow aren't disgusted with steven "turning pink" like white did. and white isn't even mad at him for trying to kill her. she knows why:

spinel: this is my fault!

white diamond spinel! don't be silly! everyone knows that all of this is because of me!

spinel: NO, it's because of ME! i tried to wipe his friends memories so he could die alone on a barren world!

white: but that was because you were angry with pink, and if pink hurt you, it was because i hurt her! like i hurt yellow, and blue, and steven, and everyone in the entire universe! *sobbing* this is all my fault!

and after that, of course, chad connie comes in and focuses their attention on the fact that yes, they did hurt him. but this pity party - this obsession with self-punishment - is just making it about themselves. like the way some parents respond to their children hurting with "where did i go wrong?!" instead of actually helping.

but what's crucial is that despite the diamonds following steven almost blindly, it wasn't completely blindly. they understand the concept of generational trauma: it wasn't just spinel, and it wasn't just pink. it was all of them. and white may in some ways be the "source", but connie still insists they all try to help anyway.

the diamonds are not fully "there yet" in terms of emotional development, but they did learn one thing - you can't abandon or destroy people because they are flawed. through steven, and through being there for each other, they have seen how even they, themselves, can help despite their own flaws... and so, they are forced to accept that part of steven too. that is something they're able to process and turn into practice by the end of future.

so then... steven leaves.

earlier, when he left homeworld, he told the diamonds the exact same thing he told jasper: don't follow me.

that can be interpreted literally, but also figuratively. with jasper, its explicitly about looking up to him: "find something better to do with your life." so that leaves them all - white diamond, yellow, blue, jasper... adrift. but now, with some morals and experiences to guide them. they're not children anymore, they can't rely on steven to tell them what to do. maybe they'll even have PTSD and existential crises of their own! we don't know, because we are bound to steven - someone who has decided that's not his business anymore. he has to heal himself, regardless of what everyone else does.

so the show prompts us to accept that no, we don't really know whether the diamonds (and jasper) will "fully" heal, what the world will look like to them in 10, 100, 1000 years. but it gives them all hope. it gives them a starting point, recognizing that their flaws are not the end of the world. jasper goes to little homeworld. the diamonds have each other. they just have to keep going without an authority to guide them... the same way all of gemkind must find a way to exist without the diamonds.

i'm not the first to say a lot of this. there’s been a lot of digital ink spilled to say the diamonds are only doing what steven wants, and that steven is "using" them... but that’s usually in the service of saying they're not “really” redeemed, end of story. because steven doesn’t like them, the show ITSELF must hate them and have no real desire to redeem them. it’s usually a reactionary stance to “defend” SU against “soft on crime” allegations lol.

but i don’t care about that kind of punitive bs, nor do i think that’s the shows intended message. they could’ve had steven actually shatter white, but it would’ve been at the cost of the societal goods of rehabilitation. this is a show where revenge and healing are contradictory - rehabilitation is necessary for true structural change (literal and figurative healing). people are flawed and they can change. they could’ve written revenge to be more important or equal, but no. steven doesn’t need to kill them, he needs therapy.

as i’ve hopefully shown, while the diamonds are far from perfect, they HAVE learned something. they accept steven despite his flaws, they’re well on their way to accepting the concept of flaws in general. they seem happy with their new powers to heal and find meaning in helping people. and in future, they continue to do good despite how steven never calls or visits. even humbling yourself and admitting you’re wrong is, i think, more than many of us could do.

#steven universe #white diamond #su theory #su analysis #gif /#steven #jasper #yellow diamond #blue diamond #spinel #the diamonds

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cosmonaughtt · 2 years

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I think, part of the reason I’m quite ecstatic about the Hermitcraft & Empires crossover (The Great Crossover Event) is that...

It was planned and followed through.

Also this ramble got long so there is a readmore LOL (￣ ‘i ￣;)

And this little ramble here isn’t a slight against any creator at all, but I first got re-involved with MCYT content with the DreamSMP. I think that using Minecraft as a medium for storytelling is super unique and underrated; there’s a bit of a juvenile energy to it as it’s a kids game, but also as a game with infinite possibilities and worlds it really has no bounds.

What DSMP did in 2020-2021 was amazing. I think that they had such great potential with storytelling and used it without even realizing what they were doing, especially in the early days. One of the reasons I fell out of it (as I’m sure everyone has) is that, for the most part, they aren’t really that organized as they maybe used to be.

And I get it. Life happens, and you lose inspiration for stories, and with COVID-19 NOT ENDING BUT EVERYONE THINKING IT IS OVER ENOUGH TO MOVE ONTO OTHER VENTURES, I’ve been there before. Well, maybe not the last part. I still wear mask everywhere I go.

I can’t help but say that the disappointment of ccs losing interest in the DSMP storyline doesn’t hurt in a way. Call me parasocial for it all you want; but if your favorite book series or movie trilogy never had that final movie come out, or your favorite TV show never had that last season to tie up all the loose ends, you’d be dissapointed too, right? Again, this isn’t a slight against the individual ccs, just at circumstances around it.

But in come Hermitcraft and Empires; Hermitcraft was a series on my radar for years but I’ve always been intimidated by the long episode counts (except for season 8 now lmao) to ever get invested into it, but when Empires S1 came out i was hooked. People using Minecraft to tell stories! And it’s good!!!!

There’s a sort of similar energy from early Empires episodes to early DSMP lore; none of it feels completely planned out. I can’t speak for creators of course, but it feels like both SMPs didn’t intend to get as story-based or lore-heavy as they ended up getting, but they got, eh, lost in ze sauce, as one of my friends would say. They embraced it, and it just so happened that Empires, because it was strictly MINECRAFT creators and not a mix of different types of streamers who also play Minecraft, it was able to keep that storyline to the end. And with Hermitcraft, while some people joke it’s got lore-phobic people on the server who just wanna play minecraft, after the ending of Season 8? Yeah, right, buddy.

When there started to be little pieces & foreshadowing in episodes, I got really excited, but kept my expectations low. Maybe as a response to DSMP CCs, maybe as a I get too overexcited over little things and I don’t wanna over-hype myself, if it doesn’t happen I’ll just make fanfic for it lmao type of thought.

But they didn’t!

They actually went through with it! It’ll be a little mini-arc! They’d been planning it for more than four months, according to fWhip’s video. It’s one of the biggest crossover events in Minecraft history, and it is so cool to see these (grown-ass adults /affectionate) MCYT creators invest so heavily into storylines and “roleplay”. I think for a lot of popular storytellers, like directors or writers of different shows/movies/novels/etc, have become dissatisfied with how late capitalistic society has made “storytelling” synonymous with the dreaded word “content”; its so rare to find a unique work out there nowadays that isn’t just a remake of something else or relies on “meta” storytelling to be funny and original that it just oversells itself and becomes dull in the process (ahem Velma ahem).

But as silly as it is, these MCYTs are putting their all into roleplaying as lil’ block people in a fantasy world. Even less roleplay-heavy creators are finding their places in the storytelling, and idk I can’t help but be appreciative and awed at the fact that they planned something and it actually went through for once.

#hermitcraft #empires #empires smp #hermitcraft season 9 #The Great Crossover Event #dreamsmp #the stars speak #this whole crossover has just made me really happy yall

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twistedtummies2 · 2 months

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Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 17

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “I don’t believe a detective exists who likes to see his trenchcoat ruined…”

Number 17 is…Blacksad.

In my previous pick, I talked about Sam Spade – arguably the most quintessential of all noir-style detectives. Today, we’re discussing another noir-style detective, but a very…different one. Unlike Spade, this character is far more recent, and originates neither from novels nor the cinema…but instead from the world of comic books. I am referring to John Blacksad, the titular protagonist of the graphic novel crime series, “Blacksad.”

This series is the brainchild of two Spanish creators: writer Juan Diaz Canales, and artist Juanjo Guarnido. Canales has been a comic book author for many years, but never really made a big splash till “Blacksad.” Guarnido, however, is actually someone many more people will recognize: even if you haven’t heard his name, the chances are you’ve seen his work. From 1993 to 2004, he was an animator and layout artist for Disney! Among other things, he was one of the lead animators for two recognizable Disney Villains: Hades in Disney’s “Hercules,” and Sabor in “Tarzan.” His final project with the studio was a short cartoon called “Lorenzo.”

It was not long after Guarnido left Disney that he reconnected with Canales, whom he’d met many years before. The two decided to collaborate and create a graphic novel that paid homage to classic film noir crime stories and pulp magazines of the 1930s and 40s. This novel was entitled “Blacksad: Somewhere Within the Shadows.” The book was highly successful, earning several awards and being translated into various languages; the English translation, interestingly, was handled largely by comic book veteran Neal Adams. (May he rest in peace.) Since then, there have been three sequel tales, and a four-part tale called “They All Fall Down,” which has yet to be finished; only the first two parts are currently complete, if I’m not mistaken. There has also been a video game based on the series made, called “Under the Skin,” which tells a new story all its own; I have not played the game, but I have seen some video of it, and it does a good job capturing everything great about the comics. In the English version of the game, Blacksad is voiced by Barry Johnson.

As you can guess from the cover shown here, the conceit of “Blacksad” is that all of the characters are anthropomorphic animals. (And yeah, it’s easy to see Guarnido’s Disney background through his art in several places throughout the books…and I mean that in a VERY good way, because the art is AWESOME on so many levels.) However, this is not a kid-friendly or heavily satirical series. While there are moments here and there of meta humor, paying homage to and occasionally poking fun at various tropes of the noir genre, Blacksad takes itself seriously: it’s telling more or less dramatic noir-style crime stories, it’s just that the characters are covered in scales, fur, and feathers. Many have compared it to the somewhat controversial graphic novel “Maus,” where creator Art Spiegelman uses different animals to represent different kinds of people. This is SOMEWHAT similar, but I think it’s more appropriate to say Blacksad is what would happen if “Zootopia” had been Rated R. The fact these characters are animals is often part of the story and many details in it, rather than just a mask, so to speak. As a fan of film noir, it’s interesting to see how these stories play out, with legitimately surprising mysteries, dark secrets to be discovered, and many murders most foul.

As to the main character himself…Blacksad is a pretty typical noir detective, but for some reason he still manages to stand out from the crowd in a fun way. While he’s a cynical and sometimes grouchy guy, he’s also a charming ladies’ man, and has a sense of humor about himself as well as the rest of the world. One of my favorite elements of his character is how he seems to DELIBERATELY play up his own noir-esque elements: it’s as if he’s putting on this show for the rest of the world, in-universe, creating this very specific façade for others to notice. Out of universe, of course, it leads to some wonderful jokes, such as him getting peeved about his trenchcoat being ruined (a-la the quote I selected). The supporting cast around him is a lot of fun, too: most notable are his two best friends. First, there’s Smirnov, a German Shepherd police commissioner who has a long history with the tuxedo tabby. Second, there’s Weekly, a literal weasel of a journalist (with notoriously terrible B.O.) who essentially acts as Blacksad’s sidekick in some stories. Both are fun characters who adhere to classic tropes, while also being unique and interesting in their own right; again, much like Blacksad himself, and the series as a whole.

If you’re a fan of comics, a fan of detective stories and film noir, or a fan of seeing former Disney animators do very un-Disney things with topics like racism, the Red Scare, serial killing, and other unspeakable forms of nastiness…then definitely check out either the comics or the video game I mentioned earlier. They’re definitely worth your time.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 16!

CLUE: “We're smart people. So why do we always do things that make us look like we have the intelligence of beef jerky?”

#list #countdown #best #favorites #top 31 fictional detectives #gathering of the greatest gumshoes #number 17 #blacksad #john blacksad #comics #mystery #noir #video games

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istherewifiinhell · 2 years

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Reading progress: chapter 300 (what the fuck)

reading highlight: this time with. so so many probably inaccurately copied quotes. forgive me. i was trying to eat my own pen. and also notebook. and also arm.

Square brackets are. when not quoting text. my own meta reactions or clarifications

280 Cheok jungyeong tries to uplift the ppl and fight outer god. I do love him.

sword saint and kyrgios. battle couple

Indescribable Distance. great name for a (baby girl) unknowable horror.

281 kdj bullshit. commence.

[often i lose track of whose taking but in this section they were focusing on jhw] "I can't let you go! don't go alone again! please! Dokja-Hyung!"

swk (looks at) his friend ABFD (looks at) his adversary CJY (gives) furious yell

oh yjh baby

live and death companions is silent

yjh spoke in a trembling voice

282 txt revision yjh is fucked up and depressed

kdj told ysa the plan in ADVANCE

indescribable distance -> Oh like the pale? (DE)

■ final chapter OR eternity. inch resting

283 sprawling chaos

SP "I don't agree with your methods but I'm curious" the kdjc story

284 SP and wenny man ominous interlude

(bunch of constellations dying in front of him) kdj picking up video game items

"For a brief second I felt my heart stop. Scarred muscles could be seen through the torn sleeves of the coat. I looked at the trajectory of the sword against the ground and emotions filled my heart."

285 middle school kdj made a yjh whisperer chart

"Son of a bitch you have to let me talk to you" classic

kdj lack understanding to 2nd level orv (ugly crying meme)[on kdj side]

4th wall trying to fry yjh brain with the greatest hits comp

286 only person who can debuff yjh? yjh. regression depression [YOUD THINK THAT WOULDNT U]

the angels are just chilling with kdj?

"He will commit terrible destruction and shall destroy the mighty and holy people" gabriel girl what the fuck

kdj literally "you dont have all the facts" the facts being? "i love him..."

gabriel has seen uriels amvs and okays it

kdj aggravates regression depression. hold his hand and tell him happy moments. you know. to torment. him.

Ethics??

288 giant baby monster. skyscraper height

angel conversational interlude -> "they were fighting and holding each others by the collar a few hours ago". welcome to dokhyuk

kdj seemed to be stroking yjh head. -> excuse me?

gabriel comparing dokhyuk to her and uriel. HELLO?

kdj making yjh eat soil. ETHICS...

289 "bear like man lhs" i stay winning

↳ kdj are u gonna cry about seeing him

knw! hi!

290 this patient is allergic to animal related stories

HDH! hi!

this is a hospital and base of operations?

mjw!

hsy... did what kdj would have done. but without yjh.

hsy... two of them

291 hsy multiplicity moments (orv doesn't work)

ppl crowd yjh like an attraction

yjh eyes became hot and his heart stuffy -> crying? anger?

yjh remembers from 4th wall. uriel doll... like a child first learning to speak "uriel"

292 hankim. dressed the same. playing mind games. socratic

lhs gives piggy back to hsy

hsy power b/c nothing is truly original + TWOS is just that bad

Damnit. I had no choice but to agree. In order for this world to be complete, Yoo Joonghyuk... Han Sooyoung stared at me. She seemed to understand what i was thinking. "You know by now, I don't need him in this world." The plagiarist, who dreamt of a world beyond the original told me "I know how to kill YJH"

293 Hsy probability based arthritis

HSY grabbing YJH chin. pulling out a cig. howd you get so cool hsy...

294. 1863 lhs is still a sad dog boy huh

knw... kdj is giving girl advice?.... no never mind hes talking about how handsome yjh is.

1863 got to read orv... and it reg deps him

295 SP really wanted 1863 to die huh?

hsy to kill yjh by sealing the earth. an eternal sleep. no dreams no waking. (to die. to sleep. No more, and by a sleep to say we end the heartbreak and 1000 natural shocks that flesh is heir to)[the final chapter... or eternity]

"It is a deception" "Some call it salvation"

defiance to yjh sponsor... always

296 YJH ORV JFC

"I watched Yjh, I heard it clearly. I was still listening [I want to live]"

kdj would see the end with these ppl and find a way back

"The world that you showed me? Does it really exist"

297 "Does the world where you live really exist?" [its the emphasis change thats killing me here]

hsy "Is it cause of this guy? Did this guy do something to your spirit? Didn't you want to die so badly? Aren't you tired? Don't you want to stop preforming scenarios?"

yjh desperate for hope hsy begging for pragmatism kdj (deluded) faith in a only win scenario

yjh agreed to become enemy of the world, lost everything -> unites the world

yjh "does it (exist)?" kdj "I didn't know if saying would be comforting to yjh. I cried out with all my might [It exists]"

kdj ready to spend 3-5 years here to win both 1863 and then return to 3rd turn. yjh wont let him

"the dazzling light filled the air with ashes, revealing a pale reality. In it yjh was walking towards a world we didn't know."

298 "Yjh escaped from being a character"

lhs beautiful bear like idiot. knew hsy was tricking them. went with it anyway

yjh "wanted to write a new story in a very sincere manner. that's the condition for the author trait"

TWOS written by? large baby?

299 yjh dead "It's no longer a novel" 4th wall activated

oh no (checks notes) Jophiel dont sacrifice yourself

J: I don't believe in you (kdj) but i have something to ask.... bruh

"Someone was left and someone was leaving. No matter what was chosen, everyone would eventually reach their end." (Someone has to leave first. This is a very old story. There is no other version of this story.)

lhs continues to imprint on kdj

"Even without me the 3rd round would be fine for a lone time" "How can you be so sure?" HSY stared at me suspiciously. "You are there" -> WHAT THE FUCK AFFECTIONATE KDJ HANKIM MOMENT

rotating: okay. okay. alright. where to even fucking start. small. start small. kdjs friends have even cottoned on pretty well to his bullshit. jhw in particular doesnt want him to do things alone. shouldnt you give people the choice to stand (and die) with you. than leave and die and force them to keep living alone. this is a secret tool that will help us later

im considering. the weight put on endings. ■■. the closer it is to meaning, truly, an end. the more... auspicious? and is an end a finite or infinite thing. final chapter or eternity. death or endless sleep. life or forever regression

im considering. stories. and ownership. and what does it mean to end one. rewrite one. does it change you. does it change the original story. are they gone forever. could they every truly stay. the moment you reread the story. isnt it different. kdj cant let go of 1863 by his own volition (always... volition). it meant everything to him. from middle school to 28 years of age. TWOS yjh saved him. HSY, who, in so many ways is kdj, and in so many was, is not. has no loyalty to yjh. she can make this world without him, she can write beyond it. she will put this world to bed and she will create something else. 1863 yjh has nothing. no companions, no hope, just loss. and 4th tells him the story of our 3rd turn. OF. ORV. and this is what he needs. to live and die. to leave. to try again. to person himself once more, to act and not react. possibly. killing himself, killing this story, is an act of creation too

and. speaking of yjh and being a person. we. i gotta talk about this. and im gonna try and make sense and use sentences but. i have. just. why did they have kdj caress yjh and put him in a highly suggestible state by whispering sweet (tormenting) nothings to him. what... what what what. do you think they meant by that (they meant to torment me....). With making him follow kdj very command. With making him incapable of acting *without* the command. He's an attack dog. Bodyguard. Instrument for violence. Kdj also makes him eat dirt. Kdj also tells him to go to bed (and then to sleep. He needed to be told to *sleep*). The people in the 1863 base crowd around him. They gawk. The world's enemy and most dangerous person. Docile. A toy? Hsy grabs him by the chin, inspects him. He's a thing. Kdj. In knowing everything about him. With tenderness. In an act of terrible love. To avoid having to kill him. Unmakes his person. What the ever living fuck am I supposed to do with that.

#some shit #orv blogging #got frazzled cause bus issues... have at...

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kylesmediamunchies · 9 months

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My Thoughts On: CrossCode

As Steam’s 2023 Summer Sale rolled around, I was itching to grab at least one game before the sale came to a close. I had heard of CrossCode from a YouTube video a while ago and kept it in the back of my mind until a sale rolled around. After weighing up any other potential games I’d like to grab instead, I settled on CrossCode. Lo and behold, I was beyond pleasantly surprised with my experience and enjoyed it more than I imagined I would. I wouldn’t hesitate to call it one of my favourite games I’ve played this year, which says a lot considering I had just spent an ungodly amount of hours in Tears of the Kingdom just a couple of months ago.

Crosscode is an Action RPG developed by Radical Fish Games. Originally a hobby project, CrossCode was successfully funded on IndieGogo and fully released in 2018, following a 3-year tenure in early access. In 2021, the game would receive a paid DLC, adding a significant amount of post-game content. This lengthy development time has resulted in an extremely polished product that has clearly had so much love, dedication and care put into it. I’ve tried to keep this little write-up extremely light on spoilers in case a wandering soul finds their way here and decides to play the game themselves.

CrossCode is set in a sort of faux-MMO. Games about games aren’t rare nowadays but CrossCode’s take is well executed. The setting can be difficult to explain in summary, and is easier to get the jist of when playing the game yourself, but I’ll try my hand. CrossCode takes place in CrossWorlds, an MMO that exists in the far future. Instead of traditional MMOs as we understand them, CrossWorlds is not in fact virtual. CrossWorlds itself takes place on a terraformed moon and players don headgear, much like virtual reality headsets that we know today, allowing them to control their characters, called avatars. A great deal of effort was put into maintaining the illusion of a highly populated MMO world. The protagonist, Lea, is a player logged into this game herself. Your party members are in-universe players and behave as such. You’ll see other players running about the world and chatting about the game and the experiences they’ve had within it. This MMO-based world allows the game to toy around with genre convention, engage in meta humour, subvert player expectations and tell a story that is entirely unique to the setting.

CrossCode’s visuals are a clear homage to the art found in SNES classics. Player and party sprites are cute and charming, but appropriately readable. Effects for powerful abilities are striking and flashy, while sprites for large and dangerous boss monsters ooze with menacing detail. Spritework for the game’s numerous locales is delightfully vibrant, a particular favourite of mine being Sapphire Ridge. Pictured below is Autumn’s Rise, the game’s first major area.

I heavily enjoyed CrossCode’s soundtrack, composed by Deniz Akbulut. Battle themes are upbeat and electric, matching the pace and energy of the game’s combat. Dungeon themes on the opposite end, are moody, thought-provoking tracks, acting as appropriate backdrops to the game’s unrelenting puzzles. Tense story beats have appropriate tracks that set the mood wonderfully. Particular favourites of mine are Autumn’s Rise and Lea!. Autumn’s Rise is the track for the game’s introductory area of the same name. It is welcoming and upbeat, with a palpable air of discovery and excitement, serving as the perfect introduction to CrossCode’s journey. Lea!, as its name implies, is the protagonist's main theme. A calming and pleasant track that finds its motif used in several other places in the game’s OST. Keep a keen ear out!

CrossCode’s moment-to-moment gameplay is extremely polished, with Lea being incredibly responsive and easy to control. Lea's base arsenal consists of a chargeable, bouncing projectile and a melee combo, as well as a dodge and guard. The depth of this combat system can be found in the game’s skill tree and element system. Its skill tree allows players to upgrade certain attributes and unlock stronger forms of Lea’s four base abilities named combat arts. These combat arts make use of an ‘SP’ meter, with stronger arts requiring more SP to use. SP slowly restores on its own, but does so even faster when dealing damage to enemies. This motivates the player to stay active in combat, always building up SP in order to continually throw out powerful offensive or defensive abilities. Elemental modes allow Lea to swap between a number of elements on the fly, altering her current stats and damage type. Each element offers an entirely new set of combat arts, resulting in a large amount of options at Lea’s disposal at any moment during a fight. This also makes unlocking each of the game’s elements exciting, as each element introduces further variety in both combat and puzzle solving. Combat itself is fast and frenetic, requiring quick thinking and understanding of both enemy attacks and weaknesses to come out on top. Enemy encounters specifically were a highlight, with each enemy type having unique behaviours and their own individual strategies in order to take them down. This ranges from attacking them during an indicated phase of vulnerability, attacking a specific part of their body or building up a stagger meter by attacking with an element the enemy is weak to (and many more!). CrossCode also offers numerous pieces of equipment that offer certain modifiers to Lea’s skillset that allows the player to further specialise and build to their tastes. However, seeking out specific pieces of gear can require some extended material grinding. I generally ignored extensive trading and only picked up gear that I already had the materials for regardless, but after finishing the main story and picking out select pieces of gear I wanted to craft in order to tackle some post-game content, I did have to spend some time running around to grind out the necessary materials.

CrossCode's dungeons wear the game’s 2D Zelda inspiration on its sleeve, with large, labyrinthine structures, featuring puzzles, enemies, locked doors and a final 'boss' key the player must collect to face the temple's last challenge. CrossCode does a phenomenal job at introducing a temple's major mechanics and continuously building on them as the temple progresses. What goes from a single, simple interaction will eventually become an entire web of puzzle elements that weave together to create a challenging, but satisfying experience. Many puzzles will require tight and consistent execution beyond figuring out the solution. A temple's primary puzzle mechanics will also be used in enemy rooms, as well as the temple's boss, wrapping the experience up with a nice little bow. The amount of unique and varied interactions present in CrossCode’s dungeons is staggering, especially considering that Lea’s primary method of solving puzzles is solely through the use of her bouncing, ranged projectile. Admittedly, while I feel CrossCode's temples are very well executed in terms of their design, I did find myself fatigued at times. Dungeons are long and involved, and the ever-increasing complexity of a dungeon's puzzles often left me tired. Although I may be partly to blame since I was playing such large bursts, I’d probably feel different had I taken the game slower! Still, I never felt the puzzles themselves to be poorly designed. CrossCode has a certain ‘language’ to its puzzle design that made it easy for me to get the idea of what a room was asking of me. This didn’t mean I solved each puzzle with any semblance of swiftness, but upon entering a room and getting past the initial shock of, “Wow that’s a lot of things”, scanning the room and the puzzle elements it contains made my brain begin churning with various ideas. Following this, I enjoyed experimenting with what was available in a room, slowly putting together what the puzzle’s final solution may be. This concludes with solving the puzzle itself, which as mentioned previously, is an execution test, requiring me to put my potential solution to work with well-timed and precisely-aimed projectiles. I fell into this engaging loop of ‘scan’, ‘experiment’ and then ‘solve’, feeling very satisfied after each room I cleared. Besides the puzzles themselves, the developers included visual aids like floor markings to be a subtle guiding hand for a player. I’ve only done a single playthrough, but I look forward to running the dungeons once more with the experience I’ve now garnered. Related to puzzles, CrossCode offers accessibility options that allow the player to tune puzzle speed to their liking. While I never found myself making use of this feature, it is appreciated for players that have difficulty with or aren’t interested in its puzzle gameplay.

The rest of CrossCode’s gameplay is found in exploring its vast locales. Areas consist of many rooms filled to the brim with enemies and collectibles. Players can blast away flora for materials and hop across terrain. The game offers many chests which contain valuables outside the player's reach that require platforming across an area’s geography to reach higher up ledges. Also littered across these areas are numerous mini-puzzles. While not as substantial as their dungeon counterparts, they offer a distraction from combat and platforming, often leading the way to chests and opening up shortcuts to make navigation simpler. One of my few qualms with CrossCode is found here. The game’s isometric perspective means judging heights and distance for jumps can be unintuitive. By the latter half, I found myself ignoring some of the more deviously placed chests because I just didn’t have the patience to seek out one specific ledge I needed to climb up and then fall off three times on the way to the chest by misjudging my jumps.

Much like any RPG, CrossCode features a bevy of sidequests alongside its main content. RPGs regularly fall subject to menial and tedious sidequests and I was happy to find that CrossCode’s were generally enjoyable. This isn’t to say the game is free from the usual affair of “Bring me 7 yum-yum apples”, but several sidequests offer entirely unique content and interesting spins on existing mechanics, especially further into the game. They’re still rather inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but I found them worth playing through for the extra dialogue involving Lea and her current party, on top of the extra bits of gameplay they provide.

CrossCode's protagonist, Lea, is subject to much praise. Silent protagonists are not at all uncommon in games, especially RPGs, characterised by, of course, their silence. Usually, the intent is for the silent protagonist to act as a sort of vessel for the player to interact with the game and make what they will of their experience with its world and characters. This does not mean silent protagonists are entirely devoid of character, there'll usually be some tidbits of information and personality that the player can come to learn. For the most part, though, the silent protagonist’s fellow party members will usually do the heavy-lifting in terms of dialogue. CrossCode's Lea approaches the trope differently in that her silence is an important aspect of her character and underpins many of the interactions she has with those around her. Upon awakening, Lea learns that she is incapable of speaking due to her avatar's speech control module malfunctioning. Exceptions lie in a few ‘hard-coded’ words she has available to her, like the simple and iconic, “Hi!”. While she may not have much in the way of words, she is extremely expressive, owing to the game’s numerous, vibrant portrait sprites, each beaming with personality and charm. The game is rather dialogue heavy, and Lea will be meeting and starting up conversation with many characters on her journey. She is incredibly reactive and will regularly make her thoughts known through body language and expression. For example, exasperation when tasked to do something trivial, joy when greeting a friend and a palpable smugness when she succeeds. She is motivated, friendly and competitive, with a slight ego and an occasional knack for tomfoolery. Furthermore, Lea’s limited vocabulary results in her needing to be creative in the way she uses the words she has available to her. As a whole, Lea is a phenomenal protagonist that makes CrossCode all the more memorable and compelling.

As for the game’s other characters, CrossCode is an a unique position in that your traditional RPG party members are other players within CrossCode’s MMO setting. This results in party interaction that is intended to mimic that of banter between friends during an online play session. While travelling around the game world, party members will comment on the design of an area you’ve found yourselves in, the absurdity of the enemies you’re fighting and much more. To further cement the online party experience, party members, of course, lead real lives outside of the game and will mention goings-on in their days. Some may even need to log-out of the game after a long play session, leaving Lea to her own devices. Much like Lea, there are an abundance of portrait sprites for each party member, with an equivalent amount of care and detail put into each. In combat, party members are AI controlled, running about and fighting enemies independently. This lack of control and the way in which the AI for party members functions holds up the illusion of party members being players themselves. I enjoyed that as Lea’s skillset grows ever-larger, her party members will follow suit, choosing upgrades for themselves and purchasing their own new equipment. The party system and the way characters interact during exploration are effective in evoking that feeling of forging connections through online gaming and running through vast virtual words with newfound friends.

I’d prefer to keep thoughts on the game’s narrative to a minimum but as mentioned earlier. It is rather slow to start, but uses this time to get the player accustomed to its unorthodox setting and allow time for Lea to come into her own and forge bonds with others. I found myself eager and excited for major story beats, which the game certainly delivers. There is a particularly stellar extended story sequence that has still stuck with me weeks after completing the game. I did find the game to have some pacing issues, more particularly in a section with minimal story content and three large dungeons back-to-back. The player is able to complete side-quests and the like between these dungeons, but it is a rather long stretch and I did find myself yearning for a more substantial reprieve from the barrage of puzzles. However, this section of the game followed rather heavy and extensive story content so it is effective in allowing the player, and Lea, to decompress.

I would recommend CrossCode to anyone that enjoys smooth, fast-paced top-down combat and tough, execution-based puzzles on top of an intriguing narrative with fun characters and exciting story beats. It saddens me that it has fallen off the wayside in the wider indie gaming sphere. I feel it truly does deserve to be heralded in the same light as its more well-known indie contemporaries. CrossCode is a phenomenal first outing for Radical Fish Games and I’m looking forward to their next title, currently in development under the name of Project Terra.

#crosscode #review #rpg #chrono

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otakween · 1 year

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Digimon World: Digital Card Battle (1999) - 6 hours in

Back to the PSX for another Japan-only game! I'm already in love with this one. Not only do I get to revisit the super charming Digimon World 1 world, but this time around the gameplay isn't batshit and the writing is coherent. Hurray! So far, the Japanese has been pretty easy and the card game was easy to pickup, so I'm feeling optimistic about getting through this one without much difficulty.

This is definitely going to take me longer than the v-pet style games I've been playing, but I'm actually kind of relieved to have one game I can stick with for awhile. Learning a new game's mechanics every week can get tiring.

Notes:

-That opening CG was pretty rough looking not gonna lie. Greymon looked okay, but they had not perfected furry characters yet in 1999

-Very confusing how this game fits into Digimon World 1. This time we get Babamon instead of Jijimon, but Mameo's still the protagonist. I like to think this is an alternate, wholesome timeline where everything's the same but there's no violence, just card games lol. It's kind of a cool extension of the other game because in DW1 you could buy trading cards (I had to collect them all to get a medal), but they didn't really serve a purpose other than maybe to sell them.

-Babamon's intro was weirdly meta. She asks you for your IRL name and then is like "well, no matter what you really look like, you're gonna be piloting this anime boy for awhile." And then you name Mameo. Like wut? Is my real name every going to be used?? Oh well...

-I picked the "balanced" starter deck, mostly because I didn't really understand the descriptions for the other ones lol. I think one was good at offense and the other was good at defense? Reminded me of Kingdom Hearts when they ask you to choose between magic, defense, and attack power.

-I love the visual novel-esque style of this game! Mameo's character portrait is very expressive and the digimon all have a lot of personality. It's similar to Animal Crossing where they have unique speech styles based on their species. It's super cute. I like how the child-levels are child-like (have messy handwriting, don't understand big concepts etc.).

-Very cool to revisit this setting in Japanese and in a stress-free way! I don't have to worry about my digimon pooping on the ground or being ambushed by a digimon that's too strong. Without these worries I can focus on appreciating the background art and music. I also really like that I have an overworld map now instead of having to walk everywhere (normally I like that kind of exploration, but not when I'm stressed about my digimon's needs).

-I am not an experienced TCG player at all. In fact, I think this is my first legit TCG-based video game. The Betamon tutorial was very gentle and well done which totally alleviated my worries. I like how simplistic the rules are and the card game has a good balance between luck and skill. Also, if you lose, the game doesn't penalize you much.

-I will say that battles last a very long time. I don't mind this, because they're fun, but I only really have stamina for two a day because of this. I think if I did any more than that I'd get burned out by the repetitiveness. I do like that some locations don't trigger any battles at all, so there's visual novel-like bits in-between to give you a break while still progressing.

-I can't find it on YouTube but the soundtrack that plays when the Goburimon bros show up was great, awesome comedic relief.

-Ran into some pretty obscure Japanese slang with the Goburimon telling me to "wash my ass" lol. Apparently it comes from the expression "wash your neck and wait" which insinuates "you better prepare your neck cuz I'm gonna decapitate you." So I guess "wash your ass" means like "prepare your ass cuz I'm about to beat it!" That's some creative smack talk there.

-From what I can tell, the plot is basically the same so far. The digimon are acting strange/have lost their memories due to "bug cards." The new thing is that I have to go find 7 "leaders" who have special cards that act as keys to Infinity Mountain. It sounds like those leaders are all familiar faces from DW1, so that's fun.

#digimon world digital card battle #digimon #PSX #gaming #digimon world #video games

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lucky-clover-gazette · 2 years

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not gonna lie, the amount of hype surrounding windwaker compared to like. playing it. is not what i expected (i'm halfway through hd)

it just feels kind of empty? and i really really REALLY dislike what happens to tetra. it's genuinely hard carrying on with the adventure and just leaving her in the castle. there's never been another time in a zelda game where i've thought "god i wish i wasn't playing as link right now," which sucks? and the king of red lions is such a waste of a companion character. i like FI more, somehow. the combat is kind of oversimplified with the onscreen commands for "parrying" so victories feel unearned. the great sea is nothing compared to botw hyrule and some of the sfx, especially link's noises, grates on me.

i sit down to play windwaker and always end up wanting to play botw instead, which is the weird part of coming at the series without nostalgia goggles. i played botw first. playing twilight princess was fantastic bc it's SUCH a unique experience compared to botw and felt more compelling and streamlined than the controls and story in ocarina of time. skyward sword hd was good to me partially bc my expectations were abysmally low. i had pretty high expectations for windwaker and honestly so far i can find things to love (link's expressions and the art style, dragon roost island music) but in general it just feels a lot more hollow than a lot of video essayists express.

and yeah i know the story is special to a lot of people and a meta commentary on the success of the franchise or whatever but just like with skyward sword, i find it still pretty basic despite it being unique compared to the other games? again i'm guessing it's a nostalgia thing, but it's not like i had nostalgia for twilight princess, which ironically has my favorite story and makes its subversions in really subtle self-aware ways, and seems to really CARE about each and every character. god, i hate what they did to tetra in windwaker lol.

i also think i can kinda pinpoint why the open world in windwaker feels like a repetitive chore and i've spent like 1500 hours in the botw open world, storytelling is so much more possible and encouraged in botw. it's about the journey more than the destination. windwaker has repetitive locations that almost always have things to help link on his quest. botw world is just like, yeah there's a shrine, but just EXPLORE for the hell of it! learn about the world, tell your story! find 900 koroks and in that process become intimately familiar with every inch of the map! you don't need a fish to fill out your chart and tell you about the one (1) Thing to Do in the area. the game teaches you how to observe, how to innovate based on what you know of nature and the physics engine, and doesn't make 95% of what you're doing NECESSARY, which imo makes it all the more special to do.

link's character in botw has this profound feeling of wonder and experiences healing through nature after trauma. he grapples with identity and purpose in a way other links haven't, even if that's up to the player to observe in flashbacks and realize with the kind of gameplay that's encouraged. windwaker link is more of a coming of age story and just feels less meaningful so far to me personally, and it's even more annoying bc the main female character is both sidelined (and whitewashed which what the FUCK needs to mentioned more bc that's bullshit) in favor of link's story. maybe the second half of the game will change my mind, i hope so!

#windwaker hd #windwaker

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tubwe · 12 days

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AI Animation Generation Tools

Bring your AI art to life in minutes with simple animation techniques

Have you ever created an amazing MidJourney image and wished you could bring it to life? As a friend who loves experimenting with AI art, let me show you some incredibly easy ways to animate your creations for free.

AI Animation Generator

Whether you want to make immersive 3D scenes, add depth and motion to a still image, or even have your AI characters speak, I’ve got you covered. These 7 tools open up a whole new world of possibilities, allowing you to take your art from static to dynamic with just a few clicks.

The best part? Each of these techniques takes mere minutes, and some just seconds. You don’t need any prior experience or technical skills. And it doesn’t even have to be MidJourney art — you can animate images from any generator or even photos. Let’s dive in!

1. Make Mesmerizing Depth Animations with LeiaPix

LeiaPix is the quickest way to add that wow-factor to your images. Simply go to convert.leopics.com, upload your image, and voila — you’ve got an immersive depth animation. It’s almost magical.

AI Voice Generator

There are sliders to customize the animation speed and style. You can even access advanced editing features to get really creative. Just export in your preferred format and you’re good to go.

I’m obsessed with how these turn out. The subtle motion is captivating. LeiaPix makes any image, from fantastical AI art to family photos, feel alive.

2. Give Your Art the Viral 3D Zoom Effect

You’ve likely seen this effect all over social media — a seamless zoomed-in 3D animation. It may be trendy, but it’s trendy for a reason — it looks awesome!

The best part is you can create it in seconds with CapCut. Simply download the free phone app if you don’t have it already. Start a new project, upload your image, select a 3D Zoom style, and boom — viral video ready.

It breathes new life into AI art. And it works great on real photos too. Just use it selectively on the right images for maximum impact.

3. Animate Drawings into Full 3D Scenes with IlluminAI

Recently released Instaverse from IlluminAI lets you turn a 2D image into an explorable 3D world. It’s almost unbelievable that this can be generated from a single static image.

After uploading your image, you’ll need to add a depth map. The quickest way is to run it through LeiaPix to extract one. Bring that back into Instaverse along with your original image.

Now you can move around what was once a flat picture. It’s like stepping into the world you imagined. Amazing for bringing AI scenes to life.

The team at IlluminAI is doing groundbreaking work in AI-generated 3D worlds. This tool is just a taste of what’s to come.

4. Animate AI Characters with Meta’s Rea

Rea is a whimsical animation tool from Meta’s AI research group. While designed for doodles, it works great for AI-generated characters too.

Simply isolate your character on a white background and upload it. Rea will automatically detect limbs and let you customize joints. Then choose from a variety of fun motions and watch your creation come to life!

It’s delightful for putting your AI art in motion. The generated animations are smooth and expressive. Rea is a glimpse at the massive potential for AI-assisted animation.

5. Direct Your Own AI Films with Genmo

Genmo makes directing AI animations as easy as describing a scene. Their new Chat feature allows you to literally chat with your images.

Simply upload a picture and start giving it direction like “make the cat walk across the room.” Genmo will generate an animation based on your prompts. Keep iterating until you get it just right.

You can also click Animate and manually set parameters like length and dynamism. This gives you more control over the final product.

Either way, Genmo delivers professional-grade animation with minimal effort. It’s a game-changer for creating AI films and shorts.

6. Make Your AI Art Speak with Did, Hey.Gen, and SAL

Nothing brings a character to life like speech. Several tools now make it easy to puppet AI faces.

Sites like D-ID and Hey.Gen let you animate a portrait by uploading a voice clip or typing a script. The realistic lip sync takes your art from static to talking in seconds.

For a free option, try SAL on Hugging Face. You bring your own voiceover and the results are surprisingly convincing. However, it’s slower and more hands-on to use.

Breathing speech into an AI face used to be hard. But these tools make it trivial — perfect for memes, videos, and more.

7. Unleash Your Creativity with RunwayML

RunwayML gives you incredible creative freedom for animating still images. Describe any scene and let this AI director bring it to life.

Start with your image, leave the prompt blank, and explain what you want to happen. Choose a style like oil painting or hand drawn to render it in.

Then watch as RunwayML generates an animation before your eyes. You can tweak settings like camera movement to get just what you imagined.

While not free, Runway unlocks animation possibilities you won’t find anywhere else. If you want to push the boundaries of AI creativity, this is the tool.

#ai tools #artificial intelligence #aianimataiongenerator #animationgenerator #animation #animated #2d animation #animated gif #short animation #hand drawn animation

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adamwatchesmovies · 1 month

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The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

In its defense, The Matrix Revolutions did say that we might one day see Neo again so The Matrix Resurrections doesn’t come out of nowhere. It even introduces some interesting ideas in its first half - only to abandon them in favor of familiar territory.

Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is the creator of a video game series called The Matrix. Upon release, it revolutionized the gaming world and now, Warner Bros. wants another chapter. Having based many of the characters in the game on his real life, Tom worries revisiting the world will cause his past mental health issues to return in force. How could they not when his partner at the company, Smith (Jonathan Groff), irritates him, he keeps running into the woman that inspired Trinity (Tiffany, played by Carrie-Anne Moss) and events from the adventures in Zion creep into his psyche despite repeated sessions with his therapist (played by Neil Patrick Harris)?

I like what this film does in the beginning. What is this? Another layer of the Matrix in which Neo has been tricked into believing he’s just an ordinary person who dreamed up the war between humans and machines? Is this the next version of the chosen one after something went wrong and Zion was destroyed? Could it be something different altogether? The original trilogy defined the early 2000s action genre. It feels strange to see Keanu Reeves reprise his role in a world that’s so much like it was back then but also… not. People are glued to their cellphones and the originality of The Matrix is being turned into a soulless franchise by the corporate machine. It’s meta in a way that feels smart and seeing Tom in endless meetings where people insist this new Matrix can’t be just “another reboot, retread, regurgitated” while they provide no innovative ideas is an even more hellish prison than the cubicles we saw Neo escape from. The way the colour blue is so clearly present in each therapy session, combined with the parallels between the ordinary people and the icons from the trilogy of films (shown through archival footage) make you wonder what’s happening. Or at least, they would if the movie didn’t give it all away in a scene that introduces a bunch of new characters, played by Jessica Henwick and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

It’s pretty obvious that we are, indeed, seeing Neo and Trinity in some new digital prison. That’s not necessarily bad but it does show that director Lana Wachowski (more likely, the studio) didn’t have much confidence in the audience. Once Neo catches up to us, details about the world prove things have changed since we last saw these characters… but only superficially. By the time the second hour begins, we’re just seeing the same things we saw before: Neo and Trinity fighting against the Matrix, Agent Smith causing trouble and the artificial prison trying to keep everyone in check. I would’ve much rather seen some of the events mentioned in passing play out, like a machine v machine war for energy, a great purge within the Matrix that saw many familiar faces deleted (though not all; there are some eye-rolling cameos), or the rebuilding of the human civilization. What we get instead, I’m sorry to say, feels an awfully lot like “another reboot, retread, regurgitated”.

The action scenes are fine. There are a couple of new tricks brought up but nothing compares to the excitement we saw in the first three movies. The special effects are solid but again, they don’t dazzle the way they did back in the day. Everything feels nerfed because we know Thomas Anderson is just a cage Neo is trying to break out of, and the mystery comes to us half-solved. Say what you will about the Matrix sequels. Maybe not all of it made sense, maybe they weren’t as deep as they thought they were but they were memorable. You have vivid memories of that highway chase with the twins, of that endless wave of sentinels rushing towards those mech suits, etc. Resurrections does not feel like an uncompromised idea; it feels like another piece of an IP.

I actually watched the film twice to cement how I felt about it and enjoyed it more the second time. I still feel that we didn’t need another Matrix and that what it brings could’ve been used better elsewhere. At one point, Tiffany asks “How do you know if you want something or if your upbringing programmed you to want it?” and the picture touches upon this idea that when you become successful, fans will analyze something to death, finding all sorts of meanings in things that probably didn’t have any in the first place. Those are great ideas that don’t pay off. If you choose to watch The Matrix Resurrections anyway, do yourself a favor and skip the scene at the end of the credits. It’s one of the worst I’ve seen in I don’t know how long. (March 2nd & 3rd, 2022)

#the matrix resurrections #the matrix #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Lana Wachowski #David Mitchell #Aleksandar Hemon #Keanu Reeves #Carrie-Anne Moss #Yahya Abdul-Mateen II #Jessica Henwick #Jonathan Groff #Neil Patrick harris #Priyanka Chopra Jonas #Jada Pinkett Smith #2021 movies #2021 films

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0thsense · 2 months

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3/6/2024

Interestingly it's been less than a month since I last posted. I'm watching a Docker tutorial right now. It's really really boring, and I'm worried im not gonna retain anything from it. I thought it'd been longer since I last posted, part of the reason I came to post today was guilt at not posting sooner.

One of the main challenges I'm facing right now other than the obvious job search is finding a way to keep my oxytocin high. I'm alone in the house for this whole month and I'm trying to survive I guess. I'm already doing better than last time when I was cooked after living alone for like only four days. I'm trying all sorts of things to increase oxytocin, like heavily committing to seeing people like driving up to SF for brandon's bday party. I met a cute girl there and mordekaiser ulted her, and it was kinda awkward. I've forgotten how to 1v1 people and ask interesting questions. I also try to watch content and be parasocial for oxytocin because I'm pretty sure it works.

Random tangent - a useful product/potential startup idea would be a chemical reaction based air conditioner that maintains a steady temperature in a room, and is fueled by the ingredients for the chemical reaction.

I have one recruiter and two tech interviews coming up. It's about what I expected I guess going in. If I fail these im cooked probably. I haven't been great at applying myself to applications/prep. This docker video is really putting me off. My energy is split between leetcode, system design, and personal projects.

Going meta here, I dislike that I'm mostly just being expository in these posts. I wanted this diary to be more of my random personal thoughts. But because I'm writing out of guilt and not out of a burst of mental energy, I don't have those thoughts on hand. I definitely had something worth writing yesterday but I've forgotten it.

I cried listening to Theme of Love from FF4 distant worlds yesterday. I've recently started listening to music in the car which seems to help unlock my emotions. I think about how beautiful the heart and soul put into games like FF are, and I cry thinking about how I feel like I can never create something with that much heart and soul put in. Surely my cope to maximize these mental chemicals will lead me to the goal right?

Currently I'm leaning towards the position that my life isn't worth living, but it's not bad enough that I can justify ending it. For the sake of my family I have to live. I thought about a video game character who ends up with a kid as his reason to live, and realized now that that is like the most cliche character ever.

I remembered what I thought about yesterday. People hate nepotism and always complain about how networking and adjacent things are so important. But for most jobs it makes sense because knowing someone is a really strong signal compared to seeing their resume and a couple interviews. People always say to network but never really explain (at least not to me) why networking is so important from a fundamental level, and why the capitalist economy has agreed that networking plays a massive role in finding jobs/opportunities. I'd like to compile some of these truths you can find just by thinking a little bit about into a book.

Another thing I've been thinking about is that truly everybody is different. It would be easier to reason about things if you could abstract people better, but if you abstract all the way, the commonalities you find between people are pretty scant. You pretty much get things at the base level like maslow's heirarchy of needs. Another way of framing it is obtaining the pleasure chemicals in the brain. But the ways those needs manifest and the methods to satisfy those needs varies so much across person to person. That's why sciences like exercise, nutrition, and psychology and so fragmented and contradictory is because there's so much variance in these. And that's also why parents are so important for development and teaching because genetics mean their advice/experience will be so much more applicable.

I've noticed that I basically hear nothing about the upcoming election. Especially compared to the last time trump was the republican candidate. I guess the novelty has worn off, and I wonder if that's good or bad for trump's chances.

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kicksaddictny · 5 months

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Video: RUMBLE Feat Steve Aoki (Official Music Video) | Teamfight Tactics

Riot Games revealed the cinematic trailer for Teamfight Tactics’ biggest update yet, and with it its latest in Riot’s real-world musical artist collaborators - Steve Aoki. Teamfight Tactics: Remix Rumble leans on music in a big way, from its remixed meta to its innovative soundtrack, where player decisions affect the audio in real-time. The animated trailer highlights a who’s who of Riot’s in-house bands, including K/DA, Pentakill, True Damage, and more – and features music remixed by acclaimed DJ/producer Steve Aoki.

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“The way we worked with Steve on the music for this video piece was pretty interesting,” says Kole Hicks, composer at Riot Games. “Initially I sent over stems for two songs in four of our different styles; Classical, Jazz, Metal, and Hip Hop. From that, Steve picked a few elements that resonated with him and he built the remix, which was based on the overall concept of having those different musical styles weave together, but still also sound great as a standalone remix track. Then from that remix I took Steve's stems and built, edited, and added a few additional elements to create a custom music track that would work with our video. So, specifically for the cinematic, Steve's remix utilizes our in-game music as a core through-line and then I used Steve's remix as a foundation for our video." Kole Hicks, Composer - League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics.

The trailer is a celebration of music and its power to bring people together. In this case, however, the cast of Champions aren’t just there to watch the show. Prominent characters including Jhin, Yorick, and Jinx get their time on stage and off – including a mosh pit that may or may not include a motorcycle. In game, each character represents a corresponding musical genre, and placing them on the battlefield adds surprising new elements to the ever-evolving soundtrack. Players can recruit Champions within a single genre, creating the jazz, metal, emo, disco, country, or other supergroup of their dreams – with gameplay synergies to match. Or they can recruit their favorite rosters and experiment genre-bending mixes that pull from a variety of disparate genres.

Aoki has also collaborated with the Teamfight Tactics art team on the design for two unique cosmetics; Scratch the Little Legend, and a “Get Caked” Boom, which flings a delicious (and humiliating) cake at opponents – complete with sprinkles. Scratch enters the Convergence as a serious-looking squirrel slash DJ perfectly suited to the Remix Rumble. Aoki was involved throughout the process of the creation of both of these cosmetics, including early brainstorming sessions and creative feedback throughout the iteration process.

Teamfight Tactics: Remix Rumble is available now on PC and mobile, with complete cross-play and cross-progression. Similar to the base game and past Sets, players can jump into the action at no cost. Remix Rumble also includes a UX refresh on mobile, providing a visual and UI upgrade to better match the PC experience and officially launching tablet support.

#steveaoki #kicksaddict #video #clothing #remixrumble #Youtube

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fancoloredglasses · 6 months

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A Better World (A kinder gentler tyranny)

[All images are owned by DC Comics and Warner Bros Discovery. I hope I’m too small-fry to sue...]

One of the classic tropes is the “evil” universe, where Our Heroes become Our Villains. Star Trek did it with Mirror Mirror (featuring Spock with a van dyke beard) and DC Comics did with Earth-3 (featuring the world’s lone super hero Lex Luthor)

However, what if Our Heroes are actually Our Heroes and decide to take things a bit too far “for your own good”? This was done in the Injustice video games (and companion comics/animated film) and is the basis for this week’s review. If you would like to watch it, it’s available on Max or behind your favorite paywall.

(All videos in part 1 are courtesy of paulmr1983)

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Roll the intro!

We return to the Watchtower, where J’onn is overseeing a team of people keeping an eye on the planet. Meanwhile, the President of the United States and Superman are having a discussion about allowing the election to happen.

Superman doesn’t think it’s a great idea (considering the last guy before the current one, I don’t think I blame him…not that I agree with him), so I guess no elections this year.

J’onn then hears a report of a protest in Smallville. Hawkgirl and John offer to go break it up (despite the police being on the scene). J’onn allows them to go, and…

The pair arrive as the police and protestors begin to escalate. Their presence causes the protestors to flee in panic.

Meanwhile, Superman has a dinner date with Lois Lane, and it’s definitely not all sunshine and roses with them.

Lois doesn’t approve of Superman’s “better world”. However, their quarrel is interrupted by Batman, who summons the whole team (The Justice Lords) to the Batcave.

Batman has found the “Prime” dimension (Oh c’mon, you knew this wasn’t the one we all know and love!) and has found a way to breach the barrier between their dimension and “ours”. The Justice Lords decide to journey to the Prime universe to help The Justice League defeat the evil plaguing their Earth (who says they’ll want your “help”?)

Back in the Prime universe, the League is battling Lex Luthor…

…who has a device capable of temporarily nullifying a being’s powers (how does that even work? I mean, DC canon says a number of super-powered beings have something called a “meta gene” that, when activated due to outside stressors, gives them superpowers based on the stressor. However, Superman Hawkgirl, and J’onn are aliens, Wonder Woman’s a demigod, John gets his powers from his ring, and Batman has no powers. That means the only one with a meta gene (and therefore the only one Luthor's device should affect) is the Flash)

Not that it matters, as the Flash takes it apart within a second and Wonder Woman lassos Luthor. As Flash cleans up the mess from the battle at super speed…

Lord J’onn (IMDb lists the members of the Justice Lords as “Lord XX”, so I’ll be using that designation, otherwise things will get confusing fast; additionally, I’m gonna start calling their universe the Lord-verse) steps through the portal and comes up with a bullshit reason for the Justice League to come to the Lord-verse.

Once across the portal, Lord J’onn traps the League in a cell…

…with electrified walls! However, Hawkgirl (likely due to her Thanagarian stubbornness) manages to hit the wall with her mace enough to breach it. However…

…John zaps her back down.

Back in the Prime-verse, a meteor crashes, and inside…

Oh SHIT!

Meet Doomsday, a creature who debuted in DC Comics in the early 90s in a storyline that decimated the Justice League (granted, this was at the tail end of the comedy era of the team) and he and Superman killed each other! (of course, this being comics, they both eventually came back)

Doomsday makes his way to Metropolis.

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The press is all over the Justice Lords, believing them to be the League. Lois seems to be the only one who has issues with Superman’s heat vision lobotomy. When asked about their new attitude and outfits…

However, Lois isn’t the only one who sees through the Justice Lords’ bullshit.

Thus ends part one (most Justice League stories were two-part episodes) If you would like to see part two, just hit “next episode" on whatever service you’re watching (you may need to breach the paywall again)

(All videos in part 2 are courtesy of Blue Kryptonite)

We open on an island prison in Gotham with the League restrained in cells designed (no doubt by Lord Batman) to hold them.

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Let’s see…sick criminals in Gotham…

Ah…right. The Justice League prepares to deal with the worst criminal scum the Lord-verse has to offer.

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(Yes, that was Mark Hamill as a perfectly sane Joker. I checked.)

Meanwhile, at the Lord Batcave, Batman has arrived and is preparing to…I’m not entirely sure what he’s planning on doing with the dimensional portal. Not that it matters, since…

…Lord Batman is waiting. The two square off and are (obviously) evenly matched, so they attempt to out-philosophize each other.

Meanwhile, the rest of the League has their hands full with the Lord Superman robots.

Outside, Flash has to contend with the gardener, who is not happy he’s been picking flowers…

…Poison Ivy! Fortunately, she’s given up her eco-terrorist ways since Superman lobotomized her. Then a robot Lord Superman’s head lands at their feet and Flash realizes the time for subtlety is over.

Back at the Lord Batcave, the War of Words continues…

Ouch! That hit close to home!

…oh crap. Cue commercial!

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Meanwhile, on the Watchtower, Lord J’onn receives word that Luthor has escaped (given he’s bribing the guards with SUVs, is anyone surprised?) Lord Superman is prepared to deal with him the same way he did with his Luthor. However…

Still, someone has to deal with him, so…

Lord Superman demands Luthor’s surrender. However…

Yep, “Luthor” was J’onn in disguise. With the Lords assembled, the League springs their trap.

However, just like before, Lord Hawkgirl, breaches the wall. Unlike before, John hesitates, allowing her time to destroy the device electrifying the cell before John finally knocks her out.

With the Justice Lords free, they go on the attack and pair off against their opposite numbers.

(That leaves the Flash and Batman free to help double team as needed, right?)

However, the League has another ace (no, not that one) up their sleeve.

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With Luthor being given a clean slate. Where does he do now? I mean, you know he’ll eventually go back to trying to kill Superman, but in the meantime?

…oh crap.

#dc comics #dini verse #justice league #lex luthor #Fan Colored Glasses

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marketingprofitmedia · 6 months

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7 Winning Strategies for Dominating the Digital Marketing Game Changing

Today’s marketing is ever-changing due to the dynamic nature of the digital marketplace. To succeed in today’s competitive industry, you need more than simply marketing expertise; you need a strategic advantage. This blog will help you succeed in digital marketing regardless of your experience level. The seven techniques we’re going to explore will help you not just survive, but thrive, in the competitive world of digital marketing. Everything you need to know about your target audience, SEO, email marketing, and paid advertising is right here. Put on your safety gear, and prepare to make digital marketing history with me.

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Table of Contents

Understanding Your Target Audience

Creating Killer Content

Leveraging the Power of SEO

Social Media Mastery

Email Marketing Excellence

Paid Advertising Precision

Analytics and Optimization

1. Understanding Your Target Audience

Know Thy Audience

Before you embark on any marketing campaign, it’s crucial to understand your audience inside and out. This involves researching demographics, psychographics, and behavioral patterns. You need to know who your customers are, what problems they face, and how your product or service can solve those problems.

Data-Driven Persona Building

Create detailed buyer personas based on real data. Understand what motivates your audience, their pain points, and their online behavior. Develop content and campaigns that speak directly to these personas for maximum impact.

Segmentation Strategies

Segmentation is key to delivering relevant content. Divide your audience into smaller, more manageable groups and tailor your marketing efforts to each. This personalization approach can significantly improve engagement and conversion rates.

The Art of Customer Journey Mapping

Mapping your customer’s journey from awareness to conversion can help identify touchpoints where you can influence decisions. Utilize this map to create content and strategies that guide them through the buying process seamlessly.

2. Creating Killer Content

Content that Connects

The heart of digital marketing is compelling content. Your content should resonate with your audience, tell a story, and provide value. It’s not about what you sell but how you make your customers feel.

Quality Over Quantity

Don’t flood your audience with content. Focus on creating high-quality pieces that solve problems, answer questions, or entertain. A single piece of valuable content can outperform a dozen mediocre ones.

Visual Storytelling

Images and videos capture attention better than text alone. Incorporate visual storytelling into your content strategy to make it more engaging and shareable.

Content Distribution Secrets

Producing great content isn’t enough; you must also distribute it effectively. Use email marketing, social media, and SEO to ensure your content reaches its intended audience.

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3. Leveraging the Power of SEO

Mastering On-Page SEO

Optimize your website for search engines by using relevant keywords, optimizing meta tags, and ensuring fast page load times. A well-structured site can improve user experience and search engine rankings.

Off-Page SEO Strategies

Backlinks are vital for SEO. Develop a backlink strategy that includes guest posting, influencer outreach, and partnerships to increase your site’s authority.

The Voice Search Revolution

With the rise of voice-activated devices, optimizing for voice search is essential. Tailor your content to match voice search queries, which tend to be longer and more conversational.

Ranking Factors Demystified

Stay up-to-date with Google’s ever-evolving ranking factors. Factors like mobile-friendliness, page speed, and user experience all play a role in determining your website’s position in search results.

4. Social Media Mastery

Choosing the Right Platforms

Don’t spread yourself too thin. Focus on the social media platforms that align with your target audience. For example, B2B businesses may find more success on LinkedIn, while visually-driven companies could excel on Instagram.

Content That Goes Viral

Creating shareable content is an art. Use storytelling, humor, and current trends to create content that resonates with your audience and encourages them to share it with their networks.

Advertising on Social Media

Paid social media advertising allows you to target specific demographics and interests. It’s a cost-effective way to expand your reach and engage with potential customers.

Engaging with Your Audience

Building relationships with your followers is essential. Respond to comments, participate in discussions, and show your audience that you value their input. Social media is a two-way street.

5. Email Marketing Excellence

Building a Solid Subscriber List

Your email list is a goldmine. Encourage visitors to subscribe through enticing offers and provide valuable content consistently to keep them engaged.

Segmentation and Personalization

Segment your email list based on behavior and preferences. Personalize your emails to deliver content that’s highly relevant to each subscriber.

Crafting Irresistible Emails

Write compelling subject lines and engaging content. Use A/B testing to refine your email campaigns and increase open and click-through rates.

Automation for Efficiency

Utilize email marketing automation tools to send targeted emails at the right time, based on user behavior. This saves time and ensures your subscribers receive timely and relevant content.

6. Paid Advertising Precision

PPC Strategies that Work

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising can deliver fast results. Focus on keyword research, compelling ad copy, and optimized landing pages to get the most out of your budget.

Display Advertising Best Practices

Create visually appealing display ads that tell a story or solve a problem. A well-crafted display ad can capture attention and drive clicks.

Remarketing Magic

Remarketing allows you to re-engage visitors who didn’t convert on their first visit. Craft targeted ads that remind them of your value and encourage them to return.

Budget Management Tips

Effective budget management is crucial. Set clear objectives, monitor spending, and adjust your strategy based on performance data to maximize ROI.

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7. Analytics and Optimization

Measuring What Matters

Focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your business goals. Whether it’s conversion rates, click-through rates, or customer acquisition cost, data-driven decisions are your guide.

Conversion Rate Optimization

Tweak your website and landing pages to boost conversion rates. Even small improvements can have a significant impact on your bottom line.

A/B Testing Insights

A/B testing allows you to compare two versions of a webpage or campaign to determine which performs better. Use these insights to continually refine your strategies.

Adapting to Algorithm Changes

Digital marketing is constantly evolving. Stay updated on industry trends and search engine algorithm changes. Be ready to adapt and pivot when necessary to maintain your competitive edge.

Conclusion

As we wrap up our exploration of these seven winning strategies, remember that digital marketing is a journey, not a destination. The dynamic nature of the digital realm demands constant adaptability and creativity. By understanding your audience, creating compelling content, harnessing the power of SEO, excelling on social media, leveraging email marketing, mastering paid advertising, and analyzing your data, you’re equipped with the tools to not just survive but thrive in the digital marketing game. Keep evolving, keep experimenting, and keep your audience at the heart of your strategies. Your digital marketing success story is just beginning.

FAQs

Q1: How long does it take to see results with these strategies?

The timeline for seeing results can vary based on factors like your industry, competition, and the specific strategies you implement. Some strategies, like PPC advertising, can yield quick results, while SEO and content marketing might take several months to show significant impact.

Q2: Are there any free tools for keyword research and SEO optimization?

Yes, there are free tools like Google Keyword Planner, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console that provide valuable insights for keyword research and SEO optimization. These tools can be a great starting point for businesses with limited budgets.

Q3: What’s the role of storytelling in digital marketing?

Storytelling is a powerful tool in digital marketing as it helps create an emotional connection with your audience. It can make your brand more relatable and memorable. Sharing stories about your brand’s journey, customers, or products can engage and captivate your audience.

Q4: How can I stay updated on changing digital marketing trends and algorithms?

To stay updated, follow industry blogs, attend webinars, and participate in digital marketing forums. Additionally, subscribe to newsletters from reputable sources, and consider taking online courses or certifications in digital marketing.

Q5: What’s the best way to measure the ROI of digital marketing campaigns?

To measure ROI, track the key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your campaign goals. Calculate the revenue generated from the campaign and subtract the cost to determine your return on investment. Various analytics tools can help with this process.

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Affiliate Disclaimer :

This article Contain may be affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission at NO ADDITIONAL cost to you if you decide to purchase something. While we receive affiliate compensation for reviews / promotions on this article, we always offer honest opinions, users experiences and real views related to the product or service itself. Our goal is to help readers make the best purchasing decisions, however, the testimonies and opinions expressed are ours only. As always you should do your own thoughts to verify any claims, results and stats before making any kind of purchase. Clicking links or purchasing products recommended in this article may generate income for this product from affiliate commissions and you should assume we are compensated for any purchases you make. We review products and services you might find interesting. If you purchase them, we might get a share of the commission from the sale from our partners. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended.

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