Animal Crossing
Tag: Video Games
Animal Crossing
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Animal Crossing
This design is based on a dress that I made IRL.
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Hatoful Boyfriend
One of my most favoritest video games of all time is Hatoful Boyfriend, which is a categorized as a ‘dating simulator.’
Plot twist: You play as a human girl in a post-apocalyptic world that is dominated by hyper-intelligent birds. The puns are egregious.
And it gets weirder from there.
I know, I’m a strange person for loving the heck out of this game.
Which reminds me that I wanted to make a “Hatoful Boyfriend” shirt for myself…
Anyway, this game is what got me thinking that it would be a lot of fun to write a visual novel, especially because decent portions of it are spent reading events as they happen, rather than any per se ‘playing.’
I’m getting pretty excited over the idea of turning The Scion Suit into an interactive visual novel. I’m not planning on doing any art, at the moment, but exploring all of the ‘what ifs’ is … AWESOME.
And honestly, it’s a relief to be back in the realm of fantasy/sci fi writing. I missed it.
I also need to give Hatoful Boyfriend another play through, lol.
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Animal Crossing
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Animal Crossing
There’s an utterly hilarious story behind this one.
*wink*
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Animal Crossing
Thank you for sharing my work!
Quarantine Life
After a weekend of rampant indulgence, it’s back to the grindstone . . .
So, the world is what it is. Duh.
When the internet started throwing around the phrase, ‘Social Distancing,’ I was the sort who said, “Lol, what’s the difference?” I’m pretty much a certified homebody, I avoid crowds, and it’s not like I have any friends that I hang out with anyway. I’ve been practicing “social distancing” for the last ten years, though I prefer call it things like, “introversion,” “homesteading,” and “homeschooling.”
As it would turn out, there is a difference.
My plans to pickle beets were totally dashed when all the nearby grocery stores sold out of white vinegar. Bummer.
And I take a great deal of comfort in the fact that we have a healthy supply of fabric diaper wipes, in case our package of toilet paper runs out before the stores get restocked. Not that we’ve been fanatically checking, but should the need arise . . .
Positively speaking, I actually do appreciate that it’s gotten harder to slip into laziness — I feel obligated to make my own brownies, instead of using the “Meh, I’m tired,” excuse to buy chemically-laden, GMO-ridden, food substitutes that are vaguely chocolate flavored. I tend to do that too much.
Anyway.
I felt an irrational sense of umbrage when I saw a news article talking about how the latest Animal Crossing game is making a good distraction during the quarantine. I’ve been a huge fan of the series ever since the game first came out on the N64 clear back in 2001, and I’ve spent ages and ages counting down to the release date of New Horizons. Heck, I pre-ordered the game before this whole pandemic thing began. I am not some simple boredom buster — I AM A HARDCORE FAN.
And I feel like my nerdiness is going to get lost underneath the masses of people who can’t figure out how to have hobbies on their own.
Seriously.
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Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released today.
So you’ll probably never hear from me again.
.
.
.
LOL JK!
But dang, I sure could use some time relaxing after how this last week turned out.
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Bloodstained
I will be discussing spoilers in this post. Consider yourself warned.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with video game culture, there was a series that started clear back in the 80’s called Castlevania. Many people consider the 1997 release, Symphony of the Night, to be the best game in the series (phew, exposition).
I confess that I have never played Symphony of the Night. All I know is that Alucard is the ultimate gothic pretty boy vampire character.
Anywho, the creator of Castlevania got fed up with video game companies, struck out on his own with Kickstarter, and developed Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night as a spiritual successor.
We played Bloodstained because I was in the mood for something gothic, lol. I’d rate it 4/5.
All right, now here are the spoilers: your character wakes up after a ten year long nap, and discovers that her bff is the villain. He is later revealed as being mind-controlled by a demon, and the excessively helpful blonde woman is outed as being the one who is actually evil. She summons the ultimate demon that you have to fight and kill as the final boss of the game.
And, well, I thought that the story line was the weakest part of the game. It was too obvious and predictable, but teased just enough that I kept hoping it would try something new. It didn’t.
The mind control shtick has passed its sell-by date, in my opinion. Whenever characters act like, “You used to be sooo good, but now you want to kill everyone. What’s going on?” you can bet that it’s because of MIND CONTROL.
I dunno, maybe they were abused and damaged beyond what they could handle. Maybe they realized that society is irredeemably corrupt. Maybe, just maybe, something happened that made them change their mind. Characters are allowed to evolve, and it doesn’t always have to be for the better. Even good characters can have a dark night of the soul.
And the main character… she’s allowed to change too; she doesn’t have to statically believe in black and white forever and ever. Wouldn’t it be wild if, halfway through the game, the main character has an epiphany about pursuing the wrong goals, and forms an alliance with the antagonist? No one would see it coming!
It feels like there’s a big, gaping hole in the middle of storytelling that no one acknowledges, ideas that are never explored because we’re too accustomed to stereotypes.
In this day and age where indie is becoming more and more accessible, what are we afraid of?
By Autumn Rain 