Male, 31 years old. (So I'm practically dead, as we speak.)
Likes (other than writing and roleplaying): I'm into all genres of music. I love to cook. I love the outdoors, and walking through the park near my house. (Yes, really.) I read a lot of thriller/mystery novels. And I usually watch seasonal anime. (Or cooking shows. Because Western Media provides even fewer things that are worth watching.)
But as for my many other neglected hobbies, I've played basically every sport. (Soccer and Bowling being my favorite of the bunch.) And I'm trying to play more video games. (Going through my never-ending Steam library.) Plus, I've dabbled in making electronic & metal music, and I used to play a number of instruments. (Guitar, French Horn, etc.)
>Knows his hardest boss is poorly designed and let's you skip it. (Even gives you a reward for not wasting your time.)
Thanks Axiom Verge's dev. You get it. Rated: It was fine. Concluded the story well enough. 6/10. (Probably better than Headlanders. If I had to put it somewhere on a list.)
Now for something entirely different.
While secretly hoping my friend gets Elden Ring for his PS5. <.<
I decided to randomly binge a reality show called "The Traitors". Basically combining 'Werewolf' and 'The Mole' poorly. But it's still entertaining to watch a social deduction game, so I gave it a shot.
My mistake was to watch the U.K version first. Where show seems expensive, overly-produced and has a ton of obnoxious pop music in it. And nearly every character is a walking stereotype, and/or an insufferable crybaby. (Or at least, all the actors and scripted events make them all behave like grown-up children in the show.) Apparently, the modern reality show's new trick is to put several "actors" in your cast. So you don't immediately realize it's all fake and scripted. (Like Netflix's The Mole.)
But it hasn't finished its season yet. So I decided to watch the original Aussie version. And my god, the U.K just ripped off everything, but still managed to do everything worse. Because this one is actually filled with a mostly likeable cast and a better host. (Even the challenges are better.) However, it does have two crippling flaws that make it not worth recommending to those bored enough to watch reality television. 1. The editing is baffling lousy. (It is doing 'contestant and their life story' introduction crap throughout the entire show.) And it STILL manages to forget and sideline someone who almost made it to the very end. 2. The winner is incredibly unsatisfying. Because it's one of those "got a special power/returned from elimination" kind of wins' that never work for me. So all the clever actions made by everyone else, became pointless in the end. Because the winner was mostly lucky and not compelling as a person.
Axiom Verge is a pleasant surprise. If only because I went in with some negative preconceptions. But to get one major thing out of the way; the visuals in this game are fine. There’s far more environmental changes and color variety than first impressions suggest. (And you travel to several locations fairly quickly.) Plus, there’s a variety of H.R. Giger robots, cutscenes and interesting visual changes. So yeah. It’s not actually an eyesore whatsoever. (For me)
And with that said, onto the pros and cons…
Positives
The story is non-intrusive and far more interesting than other “plot driven” metroidvanias. And the main character is a good and likable protagonist.
The upgrades are frequent and mostly useful.
It has tons of good ideas that you don’t get (and want) in other metroidvanias. It gives you the ability to glitch through walls, erase and create platforms, corrupt enemies into useful tools for yourself, a power drill that’s satisfying enough to use, a small attack drone that lets you venture through small gaps and scout through the levels. There’s genuinely so much freedom in that regard, that it easily makes up for other flaws that might kill a game like this.
Neutral
There’s a lot of weapon variety. But it’s difficult to argue that most of the options are useful.
The map is in desperate need of more markers, and the UI could use some polish.
A lot of enemies are obnoxious to deal with. Hidden in walls, lots of health, small and swarming, drains your health fast etc. (Probably to contrast the fact that you can break them.)
The soundtrack is decent in places. (And has little touches like matching your low HP warning to the beat of the backing track.) But it also has an Ender Lilies “looping vocal track” that I can’t fucking stand. Combining the worst “that one ‘worldly’ vocalist wailing AAAAAAH” in all terrible modern movies, and glitch stuttering that reminds me of a much better instrumental from The Glitch Mob. And it’s a level you find yourself trapped in.
Level design rewards curiosity and experimentation, but can often be confusing. (For reasons that are likely unintentional.) Especially at times when the game occasionally forces you down one path. But that correct path is beyond obscure.
Negatives
The bosses are easily exploitable health sponges. Both poorly designed and not very engaging to fight. (But this almost works in the game’s favor, when it has several fake-out bosses that serve its story instead.)
The backtracking takes quite a bit of time here. Between no fast travel, cluttered maps, two map markers, and multiple ways to unlock potential hidden passages. It’s likely you’ll grow frustrated with how much time you’ve wasted.
Controls are the most damning flaw; in that they’re clunky and do not always work properly. For instance, the quick select button appears broken on the controller. The odd jump and slippery movement seems to make me miss jumps and fall off platforms constantly. The dash is hard to use smoothly, and can also be used accidentally. And the grapple is a pain in the ass to utilize. Among other things. That only heighten the tedious frustration the game’s backtracking provides.
Do I like it more than Grime? Eh. Grime's core gameplay is stronger. But I don't dislike Axiom Verge, and I hope it doesn't end as poorly as Ender Lilies or HAAK.
Because my friend likes to make me suffer through awful movies. He suggested we watch "Christmas Bloody Christmas". A dumb horror movie that has a 70% movie critic reception on Rotten Tomatoes, and yet IMDB is a whole lot of 1 star reviews. Which scares me more than a shitty movie about an evil Santa ever could...
So I decided to put on "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio". Even though I didn't think I was going to enjoy it...
Because social media claimed it was good and dark. And that worked so well with Lost Ollie.
But I admit, it has a lot of heart and was well executed (for the most part). And it grew on me and my roommate, while we watched it.
Though let's be clear about one thing first. It's "darkness" is vastly overstated, and nothing comes close to the donkey transformation shit in the original Disney version. No matter how many people you kill and blow up off-screen.
But there's some impressive stop motion and nice background shots in there. So once it got past the overly twee beginning. (Where the singing is a bit painful to listen to, and I straight up couldn't understand some of the kid's lines.) I do think it comes together in the end. Even if I wish it had a few less fairy tale-esque contrivances in its script. (I'll go with a 6/10.)
Darkside Detective can be occasionally amusing. But there's no challenge. Nor deduction. It's a typical bad kind of point-and-click adventure. Where solutions don't always make sense, and it actually keeps you from progressing through it for arbitrary reasons. There's more "bonus cases", and I can't say I'm even engaged enough to do them.
@TheNoCoKid For the sake of clarity. Since applications were supposed to be part of a selection process. The question was raised as to whether or not Pokemon should have their moves put in the CS. (And you had said, "Yes. But forgot to include it in the original CS.")
But it wasn't edited after. So there's a handful of sheets that don't include the move set, or leave the relationship page blank/have the unedited text in it. And I figured it be fair to let those people know, and add those details in post. (Because picking and choosing "best" character sheets will be complicated, if basic things weren't included.)
And I was going to raise this point earlier. (Because I was going to ask a follow-up question like, "Do we specifically need four moves, like the games. Or since stats don't seem to play a factor at all, can it be more like the shows where that limit is gone?") But I decided to wait until "the window" was closed to ask.
Because another question that was asked and might've been missed was,
I hope everyone is accepted! Oh, wait, are the GM and Co-GM characters automatically accepted? Does that mean there's only seven other characters that will be accepted? Or is it ten plus those three?
I assume the former. But since I'm already putting myself out there. (I know, no likes 'the questions guy'. But I ask, because I want things to be fair for everyone.) I hope (and politely suggest) whoever isn't originally selected, can still take part in the RP. If someone ghosts, or decides to drop out early. So the RP doesn't die.
And with that said, I hope everyone is able to take part as well.
Game (okay all) Journalism summed up with The Escapist article that I stumbled across.
Headline: "The Guy Who Disrupted The Game Awards Has Been Arrested!" Last Line: "Well looks like he won't be laughing now. Because he's been thrown in prison!" Smug smug Update in less than a day of publishing: "He has not been arrested."
Fucking embarrassing as always, guys.
And somehow, the second article might even be worse. (I.E "Good news fellow crybabies, it turns out that the kid is only a prankster. No shit. And said that he really likes the same people we like, to the very people who would and already did assume the very worst about him, if he didn't. So riots and pitchforks down folks. We have other children to actively root for their imprisonment instead.")
One day self-awareness will hit you, but that day is not today.
Violent Night is a cheesy B-movie to watch with friends. (Like I did.) But its modern movie-isms to please the critics are obnoxious. (To me.) And almost everything in this movie could be easily improved upon. So I'd be hard pressed to say that a repeated viewing would do this movie any favors. (5 out of 10)
For instance, the action is shot too dark. (A cheap way to cover its budget/CGI blood effects.) The plot is a complete fucking mess. (And the pacing is a bit all over the place too.) Most lines are cliché one-liners that you'd expect to hear—but they're not used in any clever ways. It's almost always trying to be funny—but not all the comedy works. And my biggest critique is that many of the actors can't act, and their stupid characters are either unlikable or half-baked perfect people. So it's hard to care, beyond the few laughs and over-the-top violence that keeps it watchable.
(Though it's directed by the dude who made Hansel & Gretel. And has some of the Sonic 2 writers. So this does not surprise me in the least.)
Appearance: Lawrence lacked any jewelry, piercings, or tattoos on his slender and fit body. Yet he was often mistaken for a spoiled rich kid anyway, whenever he put on the elaborate and paint-stained clothing that his auntie had sewn for him. Rarely not wearing the various bright and bold colors that helped him stand out in a crowd at 5 foot 9. But unlike certain poisonous creatures that did the exact same thing; his soft golden eyes and carefree smile made him look harmless enough to approach.
Usually spotted while running alongside his motley crew, in and out of restricted areas and dead-end alleyways. Not-so-stealthy carrying around some of his art equipment, in the same leather bag that held onto his Pokeballs and other travel provisions. Thus, it seemed like Law was always on the move, and enjoying whatever he was up to…
Personality: Lawrence had always been adventurous and high-spirited enough to make up for being an only child. But he was cursed with a boundless creativity, and teenage compulsion to rebel against authority figures in his life. Having the tendency to be disruptive towards others in pursuit of his own goals and interests. Law tends to be too freethinking and intuitive for his own good; which can cause him to behave like a toxic person. Having no issue with badmouthing and lying to those he opposes, and outright stealing from adults who have wronged him.
So it wasn’t out of the ordinary for Law to be by his lonesome. Developing a variety of skills for his relatively young age. Yet the runaway remained optimistic and ambitious to a fault. Even when most of his relationships couldn’t be any more strained. Since he had a genuine appreciation and care for his second family—his Pokemon team and the aunt who was incredibly tolerant of their collective shenanigans.
Giving him reasons to work on his flaws of insecurity and lack of trust toward strangers. So he could become the greatest trainer, artist and coin collector in the whole Paldea region. Though Law still had a long journey ahead of him—and even now—he can’t seem to help but encourage his troublemaking companions. After all, “Chaos is the aftermath of true artistry”, or so he says…
Backstory: Lawrence was adopted into the Goode family at a very young age. Now having a last name that had garnered a certain negative reputation over the years. In that most of them were thought to be a bunch of cheats, charlatans and legal crooks. Considered cursed to be the fresh apple of such a rotten family tree, that had a whole forest's worth of stories written about them in the papers. But whether he liked them or not; Lawrence learned plenty about his parent’s previous generations and their poisonous deeds. Perhaps more so than many kids knew about their own closest relatives. But even worse still, he’d be told absolutely nothing about his real birth parents, or the details of his adoption, until the day that he had already decided to run away from their house somewhere in the Paldea Region.
Though when his parents had already moved at least a half dozen times in his first twelve years; Lawrence never really had a permanent place that he called ‘home’. Meaning that he had barely any good memories worth reciting in those days. Instead, growing up around a wide assortment of Pokémon and professional liars. Helping his father manage his surprisingly successful traveling Pokémon circus business. With the staff members teaching young Lawrence how to work, use tools, paint sets, cook food, and clean up after himself. Spending his early childhood without much strict parental guidance from his actual legal guardians. Often learning to do most things himself, and playing with the Pokémon performers whenever he wanted attention.
Not that his mother didn’t try to spoil Lawrence with hugs and kisses—or by singing at his bedside until he fell asleep. She just happened to be busy running her “timeshare cruise line”, and preferred being the one who always said “yes” to Lawrence’s wants. In contrast to his stricter father, who had someone in the family homeschool him—an aunt who'd do it for free—because he ironically had zero trust in the public school system. However, this ill-advised freedom of his, had eventually led Lawrence to befriending a small group of street hooligans in his preteens. Soon getting himself into frequent trouble with them and committing petty crimes; like stealing something without getting caught. A particular rite of passage in his so-called circle of fellow delinquents.
His first instance being the very Pokéball that he used to capture his Toxel with. A chance encounter, turned kindred spirit, who seemed to like everything about him. Happening to be the one to discover her on his way back from the crime; where he’d find her sneaking into his father’s circus tent, in order to search for some food. Lucky enough to avoid any serious consequences in the meantime. But his continued poor decisions had escalated into many more fights with his disapproving father. To the point where he threatened to release and confiscate the Toxel for his business. Finally provoking Lawrence to become a runaway at the ripe old age of fourteen. With nothing but his Toxel, and whatever else he could fit into his backpack.
But his troubles were only just beginning at that point…
Pokemon:
Pokémon: Toxtricity Nickname: Melodic ♀ Personality: Loud and proud of it. Melodic's behavior is very dependent on whether she likes you or not. Showing off two sides that might give others tonal whiplash, with how swiftly and aggressively her mood can swing. Though she's also a creature of habit and tends to react predictably in most circumstances. Charmed by the docile tones of rock and metal, and easily irritated when you try to discourage her incredible musical talent. (Personal Theme) Ability: Punk Rock (Boosts power of sound-based moves and reduces sound-based damage.) Moves:
Overdrive
Screech
Poison Jab
Payback
Pokémon: Haunter Nickname: Smiles ♂ Personality: Smiles might be the friendliest spirit that you'll ever meet. If you can handle a few lighthearted pranks and scares at your expense, that is. Enjoying humor and others laughter, and always having a good time with his trainer. He is the easiest to get along with, and least likely to mean you any real harm. Just don't get on his bad side and remind him that he's a ghost... (Personal Theme) Ability: Levitate (Ground-type moves have no effect.) Moves:
Acid Spray
Curse
Hypnosis
Confuse Ray
Pokémon: Salandit Nickname: Cherub ♂ Personality: Cherub is anything but an angel. More like a little firebrand, who is full of energy and has a penchant for taking other people's shiny things. Though you couldn't accuse him of going after easy targets. For he is fearless and eager to fight much bigger foes—even if he still won't play fair to win. Since he was burdensome enough to be abandoned once by another human already. It was a miracle that he seemed to grow fond of his trainer and big siblings as quickly as he did. Perhaps, it was all the tasty food that warmed his tiny gluttonous heart. Certainly beats living in the dumpster he was found in...(Personal Theme) Ability: Corrosion (Able to poison any type.) Moves:
Ember
Poison Fang
Sweet Scent
Thief
Quirks:
Enjoys every genre of music. Yes, even those ones.
Prefers the taste of sweet and salty foods.
His interest in coin collection was actually started last year by Cherub offering him gifts.
His father and him aren't on speaking terms. But he'll call his Mom every now and then.
He's ambidextrous. Favoring his right and left hand for different circumstances.
[h3][u]My Very Brief Bio[/u][/h3]
Male, 31 years old. ([s]So I'm practically dead, as we speak.[/s])
Likes (other than writing and roleplaying): I'm into all genres of music. I love to cook. [url=https://imgur.com/a/Mvb1A5r]I love the outdoors[/url], and walking through the park near my house. (Yes, really.) I read a lot of thriller/mystery novels. And I [i]usually[/i] watch seasonal anime. (Or cooking shows. [i]Because Western Media provides even fewer things that are worth watching.[/i])
But as for my many other neglected hobbies, I've played basically every sport. (Soccer and Bowling being my favorite of the bunch.) And I'm trying to play more video games. (Going through my never-ending Steam library.) Plus, I've dabbled in making electronic & metal music, and I used to play a number of instruments. (Guitar, French Horn, etc.)
My 1X1 Interest Check: [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/175576-sleepingsilences-tavern-want-1x1-rps-please-come-in/ooc]SleepingSilence's Tavern (Want 1x1 RP's? Please come in.)[/url]
[hr]
Hope you have a wonderful day!
[img]https://i.imgur.com/Vhh9p3I.png[/img]
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class="bb-h3"><span class="bb-u">My Very Brief Bio</span></div><br>Male, 31 years old. (<span class="bb-s">So I'm practically dead, as we speak.</span>)<br><br>Likes (other than writing and roleplaying): I'm into all genres of music. I love to cook. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://imgur.com/a/Mvb1A5r">I love the outdoors</a>, and walking through the park near my house. (Yes, really.) I read a lot of thriller/mystery novels. And I <span class="bb-i">usually</span> watch seasonal anime. (Or cooking shows. <span class="bb-i">Because Western Media provides even fewer things that are worth watching.</span>) <br><br>But as for my many other neglected hobbies, I've played basically every sport. (Soccer and Bowling being my favorite of the bunch.) And I'm trying to play more video games. (Going through my never-ending Steam library.) Plus, I've dabbled in making electronic & metal music, and I used to play a number of instruments. (Guitar, French Horn, etc.) <br><br>My 1X1 Interest Check: <a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/175576-sleepingsilences-tavern-want-1x1-rps-please-come-in/ooc">SleepingSilence's Tavern (Want 1x1 RP's? Please come in.)</a><br><hr class="bb-hr"><br>Hope you have a wonderful day!<br><br><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Vhh9p3I.png" /></div>
Member
Alisdragon911
Deadlyrose9641
GreenGrenade
nightmare medx
Kaithe Dame
wintersoldier
Shadow Daedalus
foxfated
Pen Name
