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ikiprian · 3 months

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Barbara Gordon's Coding & Computer Cram School is a popular YouTube series. Tucker Foley is a star student.

Barbara Gordon's Cram School posts free online courses for both coding and computer engineering. Think Crash Course in terms of entertainment, but college lecture in terms of depth. Hundreds of thousands of viewers flock to it— students who missed a class, people looking to add new skills to a resume, even simple hobbyists. It’s a project Barbara’s proud of.

Sometimes, when she wants to relax, she’ll even hop in the comments and spend an afternoon troubleshooting a viewer’s project with them.

User “Fryer-Tuck” has especially interesting ones. Barbara finds herself seeking out his comments, checking in on whatever this crazy kid is making next. An app for collecting GPS pings and assembling them on a map in real-time, an algorithm that connects geographic points to predict something’s movement taking a hundred other variables into account, simplified versions of incredibly complex homemade programs so they can run on incredibly limited CPU’s.

(Barbara wants to buy the kid a PC. It seems he’s got natural talent, but he keeps making reference to a PDA. Talk about 90’s! This guy’s hardware probably predates his birth.)

She chats with him more and more, switching to less public PM threads, and eventually, he opens up. His latest project, though, is not something Barbara has personal experience with.

FT: so if you found, hypothetically, a mysterious glowing substance that affects tech in weird and wacky ways that could totally have potential but might be vaguely sentient/otherworldly…. what would you do and how would you experiment with it. safely, of course. and hypothetically

BG: I’d make sure all my tests were in disposable devices and quarantined programs to keep it from infecting my important stuff. Dare I ask… how weird and wacky is it?

FT: uhhh. theoretically, a person composed of this substance once used it to enter a video game. like physical body, into the computer, onto the screen? moving around and talking and fighting enemies within the game?

FT: its been experimented with before, but not on any tech with a brain. just basic shields and blasters and stuff, its an energy source. also was put in a car once

FT: i wanna see how it affects software, yk? bc i already know it can. mess around and see how far i can push it

BG: […]

FT: … barbara?

BG: Sorry, thinking. Would you mind sharing more details? You said “blasters?”

Honestly. Kid genius with access to some truly wacky materials and even wackier weapons, she needs to start a file on him before he full sends to either hero or villain.

[OR: Tucker is a self-taught hacker, but if he were to credit a teacher, he'd name Barbara Gordon's Coding & Computer Cram School! He's even caught the attention of Dr. Gordon herself. She's full of sage advice, and with how she preaches the value of a good VPN, he's sure she's not pro-government. Maybe she'll help him as he studies the many applications of ecto-tech!]

#she does end up sending tucker a PC lol #and after she learns he has experience supporting a superhero team maybe pushes his name forward to WEs outreach program for r&d potentials #picks him up by the scruff and says MY coding buddy #also fun fact she had a phd in library science at one point. i like that about her i think we should talk about it a little more #also tucker was making a ghost reporting & tracking app for amity parkers #dpxdc #dcxdp #barbara gordon #tucker foley #prompt #kipwrite

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simplyender · 4 months

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You previously mentioned that Johnathon probably had a less than ideal childhood. If you are still in the mood for headcanons, would you mind sharing your thoughts on his upbringing/childhood/adolscence? The good, the bad, whatever comes to your mind. Thank you! (I wonder if he was still roommates with Quentin Beck in the movieverse)

Thank you so much for asking!!!! Sorry about taking so long to respond, work has been exhausting for me, and I really want to give my best answer, hence why I stew over asks quite a bit, lol

ANYWAY,

• Apparently, The Spot from the comics is originally from Spokane. Yeah, I'll incorporate that one in to my personal beliefs.

• He reads to me as having come from an upper-middle-ish class family.

• Only child, but his parents were frequently busy with their jobs, and when they were around, they didn't exactly have or bother to make the time for him.

• Pretty judgemental parents in general.

• Despite that, he still spent a fair amount of time trying to prove himself worthy of their attention, a difficult task with...Mixed results, mostly leaning towards failure.

• One of my friends was once like "There was definitely a time where he wanted to show them something he made and got snapped at for bothering them.", and yeah I totally agree with that.

• Over time he became more reclusive, spent more time in his room than anywhere else. He preferred reading, learning to code, and working on his own little projects over socializing, something he wasn't all too skilled at. It wasn't like there was much to socialize with at home, anyways, considering he would either be ignored or treated like a nuisance a solid 90% of the time.

• This was a double edged sword, though, since he'd also been yelled at for "being in his room all the time" a few times.

• Was used as a scapegoat quite often.

• After a certain point he moved on to trying to get his validation through other means. High grades, impressive science projects, plans to become a scientist and making the biggest damn breakthrough ever seen, do something that will change the world forever. Because then nobody could ignore him or treat him like he's less if he managed that.

• But obviously they're not the worst in his mind because they helped pay for college, so,,,,,,

edit: actually thought about this some more and he probably got a scholarship. oops lol idk high academics.

• Saw the 1933 Invisible man at a young age and absolutely loved it, he spent a short period of time trying to figure out how to make himself invisible, and kind of wished that dr. Jack Griffin was his real dad and that also maybe he'd kill his parents, healthy and not worrying thoughts from a probably 8 year old. It's been around 25+ years since then, but he'd still get seriously embarrassed if somebody brought up his old attempts.

• Had a massive growth spurt in his early teenage years, which automatically put a target on his back for even more bullying.

• Started experimenting with his fashion and putting some more work in to his appearance close to the end of high school. Still sucked at keeping up with haircuts and remembering to shave, though.

• Was probably at his peak in college, honestly. Nicest place he's been in. Least bullying he's experienced. He even made a friend or two!

• IMO he was totally roommates with Quentin in this universe too, they were on different tracks, but all in all, they got along pretty well! John was happy to help him with with whatever he was working on, although, John mostly kept his personal stuff to himself (still appreciated the extra hand with carrying things...), or at least tried to. Whether he was listened to or not is another matter entirely. When they collaborated, they were a real dream team. Unfortunately, they kinda fell out of contact after college, so it was a pretty big surprise to John when Mysterio got caught and it was released that his old college roommate had become a supervillain.

....Which only further entrench him in the "I'm meant to be Spider-Man's nemesis" mindset, by the way.

#the spot #atsv #johnathon ohnn #across the spiderverse #spiderverse #headcanons #character analysis #i guess?#whenever i thought abt the growth spurt hc id hear those lyrics from 'danny dont you know'#'you had a growth spurt and you're suddenly 6'2“....#the girls are steering clear #you walk like a newborn deer....'#thats him #anyway im still open to asks just expect me to take along time coming up w an answer #oh right bruef mention of #quentin beck #yippee

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itlivesproject · 1 year

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hiii! your project is AMAZING and you're all so talented 😭😭 but i have a question if you feel comfortable with sharing. which apps/programs you guys used to recreate the game? I'm interested in developing my own games but have no idea where to start. can you give me some tips? 🙂 tysm anyway!

If you want to make a standalone visual novel, then the program we use, Ren'Py, is perfect! It's free and designed specifically to make visual novels easy to make for everyone, including beginners. I had literally zero understanding of programming when I started working on ILW and just figured it out through tutorials, asking questions on forums, and trial and error.

This is the Ren'Py link.

Because this is long, under the cut I'm sharing some things you'll need to think about if you want to make a visual novel:

Your team:

You don't have to have a team of people helping you with this. You can do it alone. However, I will say that ILW would not be what it is if I had just tried to go it alone. It is so much better than anything I could've dreamed of when I first got the idea. More people on a team = more ideas, more constructive criticism and feedback, and more heads going in together to make a better product. But if you want a team, you need to make sure you maintain an attitude and environment that is open to suggestions and contributions from others. Be ready and willing to throw out ideas you like if it no longer works or someone thinks of something better. Nothing kills the creative spirit faster than defensiveness and competitiveness, so to have a well-working team, open-minded members and sharing your ideas and criticism in a positive way is extremely important.

Art:

This is one of the first things you should really nail down, because if you start working on your game but never figure out the art, everything else will go to waste. For most VN creators, they usually hire out for art. For us, since this is a free fan project, our artists worked for free. We were also lucky to already have a bunch of backgrounds and assets from Choices that our artists could edit, so we didn't have to make dozens and dozens of entirely new backgrounds. If you're going to have to hire out, I'd try to really compress the amount of art you'll need - plan ahead and cut down unnecessary characters who'd need sprites, maybe use a silhouette for unnamed characters, and limit the amount of backgrounds you'll need, because backgrounds take up a lot of space, they take up a lot of time to make, and they're expensive.

Programming:

Obviously, programming is a big thing. If you have enough motivation, you should be able to figure out a lot of this on your own. If you use Ren'Py, be sure to read the documentation, watch a lot of basic tutorials, and just get into the engine and start getting your hands dirty! It seems like a lot at first, but once you get the feel of it, it's actually not too complicated. When it comes to programming, I recommend simplifying everything as much as possible. When I first started ILW, I didn't simplify things much (because I was figuring things out) so what I used to do in three lines of code I now do in one. Limiting the amount of code you ultimately end up writing GREATLY diminishes possibility of errors and bugs. Also, try to get as organized as possible. Make as many folders, subfolders, and text files as you need. Don't try to put the whole script in one file, don't put all the images in the same folder. Good organization goes a long way to making everything a lot easier to keep track of.

Game structure:

Piecing together a branching game is honestly quite a puzzle. Before going into working on your game, you should sit down and figure out game mechanics. What points do you want to include? Personality? Relationship? Romance? Skills? Some kind of narrative scale akin to blood vs shadow? Figure out what points systems you want to include and then figure out how that's going to impact the story and where. When creating love interests, don't just create a character and assume they'll fit themselves into the narrative. Focus on the character as a character first, meaning determine how they fit into the story's narrative, and then think about them as a love interest second. If you do this, it will make them a better character and a more satisfying love interest. Finally, start the game knowing how much variation you want. Do you want something with immense, diverging endings? How much variation do you want within one scene? Because interactive fiction is so determinant on player choices and there can be so many routes, it's not a good idea to just go with the flow and see what happens, because otherwise you won't be able to reconcile all the different routes you likely created. So figure out the overall structure for your story in terms of mechanics before you really start on planning.

Planning and writing:

Once you have the previous stuff figured out, then you can start actually planning the story and eventually, writing it. Again, I'd recommend you figure out the previous stuff first because if you start planning and writing immediately, but then it turns out you can't solve the programming, or can't get art, then all this work will have been for naught. My advice on planning: do NOT skimp out! Additionally, to make the love interests feel more important to the story as a whole, I would recommend the technique of arc outlining, which is essentially when you take each love interest separate from each other and plan out scenes that tie into the story to further their individual character arcs. Doing this makes it easy to figure out where tender relationship and intimate moments can go, and those moments will be more interesting because they're connected to an actual plot point instead of just being like "it's sexy time!" Once you have your plans, you can start writing. Depending on how long your story is, writing can be really difficult. It takes a lot of time and thought, and burnout is real.

Music:

You'll want to figure out how you'll get music for your game. Again, creators usually hire out for this. On the Ren'Py forums, there's actually a specific topic for music that helps you network with composers who are looking for jobs. For us, again, since we're a fan project that's not making money, we could use 1) Choices music 2) tracks from a music library I have a deal with and 3) as a composer myself, I wrote some original tracks. Also, if you're looking for free sound effects, freesound.org is actually perfect for that. It's where I got the siren, forest, and ghost voice SFX!

Distribution

Distribution can be tricky! For ILW, we originally wanted it to be playable online, but we eventually removed that option because 1) saving online was complicated 2) the quality wasn't as good and it couldn't run smoothly and 3) we didn't want people who could download it, play online and have a bad experience instead of downloading it. If you offer an online option, most people will take it. For indie games, I think using something like Steam or itch.io is the way to go. Unfortunately, that will make it so it's not available on Apple products, but to get it on Apple you have to package it specifically for Apple which is difficult, and you have to pay $100/year to be allowed to have it up on the app store in the first place.

Hopefully this helps! This is really just scratching the surface, but here are some things to think about if you're interested in making your own visual novel.

#ask #anon #mod win #writing tips #visual novel #visual novel tips #renpy

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just-a-carrot · 4 months

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Helloooo!!! I was looking for inspo for my own visual novel a little while back, it's set in a ballroom so eventually the keywords lead me to discovering save the last dance (and itch.io in general im a total noob to this lmao) i dont know what it was but it just like took a vice grip around me INSTANTLYY.

So I downloaded the main game today and I am actually silently cursing you because I got nothing done all day I was just like transfixed. The artstyle grew on me alot, and oh godd the character designs... God I love the designs, espcially Genzhou's. There's just so much love (even in every gruesome death scene lol) put into this it's almost difficult not to get obssesed...

Also sidenote I found it kind of encouraging almost to see that you're (self-proclaimed) older, I found that really inspirational lol. There's something that just makes me want to create and actually sit down and learn when I play your games. I guess I've always had this feeling of having all the time in the world but recently I've been feeling almost like it's too late to learn new skills (which is kind if ridicolius since I'm like smack dab in the middle of gen z). Regardless I guess your work made me realize the artistry in visual novels, I could keep going but I tend to ramble lol

ahhhhhhhh this is so sweet!! i got very weepy reading this, especially as i'm already feeling quite soft today as it was a bit of an anxious one... 😭💕

that's fascinating that you found StLD first searching for ballroom stuff!! i am always curious how people first find out about any of my games. i'm happy you enjoyed it, especially enough to go play the main game sob. i'm incredibly touched

and i'm even more touched that you've been enjoying the main game so much 😭💕💕💕 especially all the kind words about the art!! i've grown more confident in my art more recently but especially in the beginning stages of the game i was incredibly self-conscious and worried about it because it was rather odd-looking and didn't match any other typical VN styles. so that's really sweet of you to say. this game certainly has had a lot of love put into it (and blood, sweat, tears, my entire life... etc.). it is very much a big passion project and my eyes were perhaps too big when i got started, but because it dug itself so deep into my psyche and i also made some good decisions like releasing in parts, etc., i've been able to keep working on it until the end despite it taking me like 2.5+ years so far. i'm not even sure i can put into words what this game and chars have done for me and my life and the many journeys and discoveries i've made along the way

dkjfalsdkf yes... i am a millenial, i will say that much. though i don't often feel like one. except for the fact that i often have no idea what people are talking about or referencing and tend to be awkward and confused most of the time LOL this is also why my characters are all older, as well. i sometimes feel a bit strange since i feel much older than many of the others in the VN dev sphere (well, perhaps in age only, not really in mental maturity maybe LKDJAFLKDS). if this can give inspiration to others that are also a bit older though, then i am glad 🤣 i have spent much of my life going from thing to thing and never really knowing exactly what i want to do. case in point my current job has nothing to do with my master's degree. though the one constant has always been creation of some kind, whether it's drawing or writing (and now with games, doing both of those on top of scripting and coding and a bajillion other things lol). i don't think you should ever feel "too old" to do something. or to get started doing something. or to feel like you "haven't done enough" etc. i say this so strongly because i also try to reassure myself sometimes perhaps LOL it's also ok if you don't know what you want to do so you're just trying out different ideas that you're passionate about. so many of us just wanna find something that makes us feel fulfilled and passionate, that makes our hearts ache, that fills us with joy and motivation. so if you can find something that does that for you, no matter how old you are, grab it and don't ever let go lkdajfalskd

at any rate, i'm glad i could also help you discover more about VNs in general. i hope it will be helpful as you work on your own games!!! 💕

#ask: ow #ask: vn dev

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allyanaleizel · 1 month

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Hello, internet!

I have a confession to make. I find Instagram too overwhelming now with all the reels and the algorithm. Twitter (now named X) feels like a graveyard. I feel a bit uncomfortable to put my life on TikTok. I don’t think I have the following to start a newsletter. I know I’m not eloquent enough to write amazing things on Medium or Substack. So, where do I go?

Here I am, in the platform where I basically started and learned how to express my creativity. The good ‘ol Tumblr blog. A lot of things have definitely changed and there’s a bit of learning curve into navigating the interface again. I do, however, find some comfort in feeling like I’m just talking to myself. No number of real-time views, no algorithm, and not a single care whether or not I gain followers.

It’s been almost a decade since I last used Tumblr seriously. I know it’s dramatic to say, but this place is truly where I discovered my skills and passion. There was a time when doodles were a thing and I became that girl in high school who would just doodle during math class. I would get scolded by my teachers but it never really bothered me. I also remember getting into coding my own Tumblr themes, that’s why until now some basic CSS/HTML is ingrained into my brain. I learned how to use Photoshop, Paint Tool SAI, etc. I got into digital photography because everyone else on my feed was doing it. Even though I had the most beginner friendly DSLR, I treasured it the most up until college. Basically, I was a sponge. Anything that piques my creative interest, I would always try my best to learn something about it.

10 years later.

Sometimes when we look at our current self and where we are now, we tend to overlook the progress we’ve made throughout the years. Writing this somehow makes me smile. Because even though I know deep down that I’m not a hundred percent satisfied with who I am at the moment, I know that the person I described in my last paragraph is extremely proud of our progress. I wish I could tell her that we graduated at our dream university with flying colors and best solo thesis award. I wish I could tell her about the projects we’ve done and that we have a published children’s book locally. Lastly, I wish I could tell her that the things that made her feel “weird” in high school is now her part of her career that funds her bills, little travels, and dates with self & friends.

I am, by no means, saying that I am successful by society’s standard. There are boxes in my artist career checklist written 5 years ago that I no longer what to pursue. I am the kind of person who believes that success is defined by one’s self, and it’s not only limited to career but your life as a whole.

The shift.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you might’ve read a couple of stories I’ve shared about struggling with burnout and finding motivation to create personal art again. At first I was convinced that it was just a creative burnout. But, a burnout can’t possibly last for years, right? 😅 My second theory is that maybe deep down I wanted to just prioritize having a creative day job, since it brings in money to pay the bills. My last theory is how I feel like I’ve associated my creativity to my emotions, and that I could only create when I’m really going through something. (Like a heartbreak or during the peak of the panini.) And since I’m at my happiest state, I no longer feel the need to escape through art.

Whether it’s a burnout or something else, I do believe that I’m just taking my time. Quoting Ursula from Kiki’s Delivery Service, "Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at scenery. Doze off at noon. Don’t even think about flying. And then, pretty soon, you’ll be flying again.”

I don’t want to put myself in a box.

When you have a lot of interests, it’s kind of difficult to find an outlet for all the things that you want do. The internet advice always seem to tell you to “find a niche and stick with it.” But…what if I don’t want to? I really thought my dream was to become an independent illustrator, but somehow I found myself enjoying design too. As I described earlier, I am the kind of person who likes to explore anything that piques her creative interest — and this took me a while to fully embrace. Throughout the years, I also learned that I have non-creative skills that can thrive in a workplace such as team & project management. So why put myself in a box when there’s so much more out there that I can try out?

I still have a lot to figure out, but I’m slowly trying to get back to things I enjoy doing. I’m just really calm and happy right now being the most basic adult with her day job on weekdays and doing her silly little chores on weekends.

Whew, this is one lengthy post. Maybe I am a yapper, after all. Haha! But I do hope to share more of my life and thoughts here. If you’re still reading this, thank you and I hope you have a great rest of your day!

All love and sunshine,

Allyana

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itsbenedict · 1 year

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I feel good.

I'm sitting in my house by myself, drawing something kind of indeterminate for an art game. It's due tomorrow, I'm not confident in the design, I'm worried the way I've done it might come off as too salacious, and the coloring's being a pain in the neck- but I feel good.

This morning I spent a few hours banging my head against the technical limitations of the third-party API we're relying on to implement a project for a client, a nuclear power plant who needs us to handle their training system. It's kind of high-stakes stuff, and it's looking like we might not be able to deliver, but I feel good.

I ordered a standing desk recently, and yesterday I put it together but it's going to be such a headache migrating my current desk to the new desk, the speakers don't quite reach to the standing height, I've gotta buy like, extension cables or find something solid to mount my computer on top of to reach, but... I feel good.

I spent a couple hours reading a study guide for an AWS certification that my career advancement is kind of locked behind, and there's so many finicky details in these practice tests that I'm sure I'm going to forget immediately and be lost on for the practice exam- and studying this stuff is like walking a tightrope between learning practical skills and falling for Amazon propaganda. But I feel good.

I've impulsively started coding a game engine for a side project I hadn't scheduled time for. I've got Ludum Dare coming up this weekend. I've got a stomachache. I've got to prepare a dungeon crawl for my little brothers by Thursday. I've got to log my hours for the month. Fridge is almost empty, I've got to make a grocery run. I'm lonely.

But I feel good?

Not entirely sure how that's happening. Maybe something about having my own place, being at a comfortable temperature, having nice music playing, making steady progress, sitting in a comfy chair... I dunno. There's a lot going on, but it's not overwhelming me. Weird.

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chaoticrobotics · 2 years

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Idea 1: Vanessa quits her job

This idea is based on my interpretation that the Vanessa we see in Security Breach isn't really her; it's Vanny controlling her. Vanessa's consciousness is there, but all that she can do is just watch, like viewing your own life through an old television.

So after the 3-star ending, Vanessa would be left with a job that requires skills that "she" technically never had. She can't just pull up Vannys memories (which i have her being able to do because extra pain :D) because there are no memories of how to do that job, a final "f*ck you :D" to Vanessa from Vanny before she left.

(I feel this needs a bit more of an explanation. Vanny had an instinctive knowledge of how to use any electronic device, courtesy of Glitchtrap/Afton. This meant that she never had to read any instructions for any of the surveilance equipment that she used on the job. She also never looked down at keyboards when she typed the passwords needed to access the security computers sinceVanny had all the passwords to herself. All this means is that when Vanessa looks back at these memories, they are effectively useless.)

So now all Vanessa has left are her own memories of watching herself push random buttons that do random things. It would be like trying to learn how to fly a plane solely by watching someone else do it.

Vanessa also realizes that she'd have to still assist lost children after hours, a thought that truly scares her. It's not because she doesn't like children, no. In fact, I believe Vanessa used to work really well with children due to her former position as a video game tester/coder. This might not make much sense, but is elaborated upon in idea 2.

It is also stated in the game in one of the logs that you can find that she was not recommended for a position as a security guard, so it just makes sense for her to leave afer being freed.

So she would put in her 2 weeks notice, but not before working out some special deal with the plex that allows her and Greg the gremlin of chaos to visit the pizzaplex whenever they want and for any length of time.

As for what job she would try to go back to? It would be her old job of beta testing and coding. She was evidently very good at it based on those cut AR emails. It might sound like tempting fate, but I think that Vanessa would be a heck of a lot more careful this time if she was put back on the VR project. That assumes that the project is still even active.

That way she can make sure that what happened to her, never happens to anyone again.

[Those are some pretty neat ideas! I feel like Vanessa would struggle a bit trying to make things seem like they are normal, maybe try to access muscle memory for passwords, but in the end fail and just be causing herself way more stress by staying at a job that is more than she can handle.

Also her fear that Vanny could still be in her, or that she herself would have the capability to hurt children, is a pretty realistic take that I do like a lot. I have a similar idea that Vanessa, once cured, would definitely be a lot more careful of children in the fear that she might one day reactivate Vanny or have those sick thoughts to kill a kid herself.

I don’t know if, in this situation, she would be comfortable with Gregory tagging along with her. Unless you meant that she just got Gregory access and he’s going to go off and do his own thing. I can see her doing that, using her knowledge of what really happened as leverage against the company that always wants to sweep things under the rug. She would have to be careful though because they could just throw her under the bus, but I feel like Fazbear Entertainment would just let her and Gregory visit the Pizzaplex for free if that is what she is asking for. It’s better than paying a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

As for the job situation, I don’t think she would ever go back to being a beta tester. She might swear off most technology, at least video/videogame wise for a while because of her experiences. She might do something more in tuned with nature and animals, maybe a nature guide or something like that. I just can’t see her, with all her trauma and the mental pain that Vanny caused, ever even given a sliver of a chance for that to happen again. I doubt Vanessa knows the whole story about the Afton Virus, what caused it, how it truly spreads, so she would just swear off video games and videos entirely, at least for a few years before being forced to re-enter the digital space because of how our society deems being online as important.]

#security breach #chaostalks #chaosthinks #othideas #noart #asks

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straight-to-the-pain · 2 years

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I know there’s been a lot of commentary on this and I’m putting together ideas I’ve seen from various sources but I want to talk about how often gay coded pairings are overlooked in fanfic.

And don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of m/m fanfic sure, but it’s never about the older guys who are implied to be ‘more than friends’. Maybe it’s not explicitly stated in the narrative, and maybe that’s because those characters wouldn’t explicitly state it in universe, but I think we’ve all seen the two guys who definitely seem to be a little closer than work buds.

Under the cut for length and some vague Spooks (show) spoilers:

I’m gonna use Spooks as an example because it’s what I’ve been watching so SPOILERS AHEAD (though I doubt anyone truly cares since it’s been a while since it came out). But the relationship between Colin and Malcolm: I absolutely see it as queer coded. Malcolm is distraught after Colin’s murder, likening it to Adam losing his wife and calling Colin his ‘best friend’ with a lot of passion, and he plans to read Walt Whitman at Colin’s funeral. Tell me that’s straight behaviour.

But I went to look for fics on ao3 and found more fic shipping the two male leads than Malcolm and Colin. And I get it, they’re side characters, maybe people just weren’t that invested in them, and maybe there just wasn’t enough for those authors to explore (although there’s a whole lot I would have loved to write if I had the ability to write fanfic).

But it feels to me like when we get m/m ships in fanfic, it’s often not really the gay rep that I personally find fulfilling and satisfying? In fact, I think a lot of it isn’t really… rep in the way that we might think it is. Consider the standard cookie cutter relationship seen over and over in any fandom. Important male main characters who get shipped together, even when they have arguably more interesting and engaging relationships with women in canon.

Even though many fic writers are women (although many absolutely aren’t either), we rarely see m/f or even f/f relationships in fanfic, and when we do they’re usually women who are considered attractive and main characters. People argue that there just aren’t enough developed female characters in canon to write them in fic, but then they go and give male characters entire backstories and emotional arcs that were never present in canon.

It’s not that there aren’t interesting m/f or f/f pairings to explore in fandom, it’s that people tend to ignore them and go for the standard m/m pairings. Which in themselves, aren’t really good gay rep either, because they often fit into the same repeated patterns and stereotypes, and they don’t really explore queer issues. They’re projections of personal desire onto attractive male characters, and that’s not inherently a bad thing, but it gets tiring when that’s the only gay rep and it’s considered progressive.

I don’t want to attack anyone in fandom and I really respect fanfic writers, because it’s a skill I don’t have - taking existing characters and getting into their heads and exploring their thoughts and feelings. But as a queer person, I would honestly prefer a complex and well developed straight relationship, that furthers the characters, than a cookie cutter m/m ship which adds nothing to my understanding or interpretation of the narrative. I’m not trying to be sexist, not trying to be homophobic, but there’s absolutely certain things I wish we had more of in fanfic.

#fandom discussion #s talks #not whump actually for once #also I haven’t slept in a while so my comments may not be the most coherent #it’s just something I’ve noticed and wanted to get insight from others on #I know you could just say well write what you want to see but I’m not good at writing fanfic okay #and I’m not judging I’m just pointing out some general issues I’ve seen that’s all

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spikeinthepunch · 11 months

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Penrose: Dawning- the dev blog

Okay well my game has been up for a few days now, and the Jam is over so yeah, why not give a massive blog about it and the development and characters and feelings etc.

again this was quite a feat for me, so to say. as small as the game is. ive been struggling a ton for years and years, so the process and experience has stuck with me for the last month.

The personal

If you have followed and read some of my posts from the last month youd probably seen me talking about having seen a neurophysiologist-- my appointments for that were happening for quite a while before this month but this month was the end of it. Aside from it clearly being a huge stressor in general, it was also a huge eye opener to my problems. Which yeah, include my ability to Make Things. Not art- but everything else. The listening & reading comprehension, math and memory I tested on being really really bad. And it was great to understand that now! but having decided to take on the Jam was a lot and well, even though on one hand i felt good that I knew my issues.... it didn't mean i solved my issues. Now i was just way more away of them.

So, I tried my hardest I think because I knew I'd always give up on this stuff. And well, my mood meds were still kinda helping. I think there was a different kind of determination despite the upset that some of those tests caused me. Still, I faced a lot of anxiety, frusteration, and upsetting feelings in the process because of how hard it was for me to learn even the smallest things. I won't go super hard on that-- I just want to appreciate the small community of Narrat for being able to help and clarify my confusion even if I'd often say to myself "ugh, that was such a simple thing! i shouldnt need to get it clarified two times over!" etc etc.

still despite the variety of emotions i faced i came out of this really thinking 'wow i actually made something' because literally all these years i have never realized a larger project due to my issues. so for that i can be happy.

The development

the process of making this game was interesting because obvious i had never put my assumptions about the best way to develop to the test. i could think all the while "ill do this first, this second etc" but until you start making it you may realize you gotta do something else!

the fact this was only a month long didnt really give me much time to figure out better ways to develop, it i was already a ways into it. so i came out realizing what i could do diffferent. one thing for sure is i know i couldnt start with art. its just not possible in general to predict the art i would need clearly, because even if i were to write a lot, i felt that making dialog branches was much easier while i was coding because i never knew how far i would want them to go.

but also, in terms of writing- i already write a lot and i kinda have my mental process. getting that to work with the game was tough, and while i liked how i wrote for this game, i feel like it faltered in the sense that writing so many bits of it entirely away from each other had my struggling to make sure i felt connected. like, writing on one huge document allows me to easily refer back and having it all together makes it flow well in my head. but having them scattered around code was hard for me to track and i was never sure if it all felt like it connected up well. i also think in general if i wrote most of the important chunks- stuff not incredibly reliant on branches/choices- that i probably would have written waaaay more too. its just a format of writing that is natural.

there isnt too much as i did in the game coding wise so i dont have too many comments on development process. but i know i would like to make games in narrat that use the typical features found in games like DE (as the engine was inspired by), like stats/skills and maybe inventory depending on the thing.

The story & design

i dont plan to explain the story in detail here (a lot of secret context it on my discord) and i have talked loads about trying to write the themes its tackled.

the main thing about it is just that i have never properly realized Penrose and well. I was facing a creative block this last month which caused more struggles. But it was harder with art- mostly design. coming up with a design is harder in a block than reading a thing that says "draw a series of houses". thinking up something new is not easy. and my head also gets very stuck up in "if you design this and draw it, you can never change it".

Eden was pulled from my old unused RP character, Eden Creature, and so i was able to base her off something already. even so making anything at all was hard- even for Mick who already existed. I really didnt want her and Eden to revert back into my old style because its just no me anymore but at the same time i do want to get something unique for this story. Dawning does not reflect what I want exactly. I like what i managed to do esp in working with my time constraints. but, its not something i want to keep doing going forward.

the story was WAY more condensed than i thought it would be and its because i didnt really realize how quickly approaching the deadline was compared to my work. but at the same time i am glad it was? i was quite ambitious with how big i wanted this "proof of concept" to be, to where i definitely probably would have gotten farther in the plot and realized i had no clue exactly what I wanted.

because i do have a general idea of this story but not like. enough. and so shortening the story hugely for this demo was actually a good thing because i would have had to write a lot more and also probably wouldnt have been able to explain lore well enough because of how little i understood my own world. and when youre creative blocked its incredibly hard trying to development of that world too.

conclusion

i mentioned it breifly in a blog post but tbh the most scary part is having it hit that i am nervous has to how people will take my characters. not in a criticism kinda way but just the idea that people just wont really 'get' them. and even just the idea that my OCs have been "presented to the world" in some sense. i do stuff in my own little space all the time and never think about what it would really be like to put a game on itch.io or even like publish a proper animation on youtube or publish a book or something. its different and its weird because i have always thought to myself that i want people to see my OCs! but then i put it up in a place where it likely will be seen and I am afraid of that.

its probably for it being a first time. and also i need to learn confidence in this kind of work i was so into thinking i could never truly make because of my issues. this was still like, very very hard to do mentally etc and i feel very exhausted. but i really dont want this to be the first and last time i try and make something.

#penrose #dev blog

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cakeslildumpster · 2 years

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Here is part 1 of my mad ramblings. This one actually relates back to a previous ask of mine, the one about Vanessa getting a new job.

My idea is based on my interpretation that the Vanessa we see in Security breach isn't really her, it's Vanny controlling her. Vanessa's consciousness is there, but all that she can do is just watch, like viewing your own life through an old television.

So after the 3 star "I want more animations of this" ending, Vanessa would be left with a job that requires skills that "she" technically never had. She can't just pull up Vannys memories (which i have her being able to do because extra pain:D) because the memories of how to do that job are suspiciously gone, almost as if they were taken by Vanny just before she "left" as a final "fuck you" to Vanessa.

So now all Vanessa has left are her own memories of watching herself push random buttons that do random things. It would be like trying to learn how to fly a plane solely by watching someone else do it.

Vanessa also realizes that she'd have to still assist lost children after hours, a thought that truly scares her. It's not because she doesn't like children, no. In fact I believe Vanessa used to work really well with children due to her old position as a video game tester/coder.

So she would put in her 2 weeks notice, but not before working out some special deal with the plex that allows her and Greg the gremlin of chaos to visit the pizzaplex whenever they want and for any length of time.

As for what job she would try and go back to? Beta testing and coding. She was evidently very good at it based on those cut AR emails. It might sound like tempting fate, but I think that Vanessa would be a heck of a lot more careful this time if she was put back on the vr project. That assumes that the project is still even active.

Ooooh~ alr yeah i like this one alot. Interesting to think that it was Vanny throughout the whole thing, even if it was the security guard role. Can also maybe explain Gregory's distrust in her a tad bit

Also damn, Vanny really do be fuking up Vanessa's life XD

That is a huge middle finger to her

But I like the outcome of it. And the idea of them visiting the plex, but not for work. Its to visiting Freddy right? Either way love the concept

And he going back into what she does best, also really cool. And yeah, obviously she would have to be more carful now, but that also makes it that she can make sure another Vanny situation is never caused again

#ask box #dumpster asks #followers au dump #fnaf #fnaf sb #fnaf au #fnaf sb au #fnaf security breach #security breach #fnaf vanessa

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raeloganthesonic06fangirl · 2 years