More AMVs

Photo on 9-8-14 at 11.56 AM

 

 

 

 

 

As you may remember in my AMV Making post, I enjoy making AMVs in my free time.

For an AMV Hell contest, I decided to upload a compilation of my videos. I named mine Operation: AMV Mindf—!

Warning: Language 

youtube.com/watch?v=oEJUWdI_J2Y

I got a lot of criticism for it. Many said it looked unprofessional. Fair point, probably. Many felt that some jokes had been done before. They’re probably right. Some complained it was too long. It was ten minutes, so fair point.

By far, the biggest criticism I got was my use of My Little Pony. Looking at it, they’re right. I did overdo the pony footage, and probably should have used the clips in another video.

A lot of people said they didn’t get most of the jokes, which is understandable. I aimed for the video to be random, but looking back, it would have been better if there was more of a theme

Needless to say, It didn’t win, but I’m still proud of what I’ve done. People did vote for me, and it’s got a few likes.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that there is always room for improvement. Everyone starts off somewhere, and you need to be able to see where you went wrong. However, you can’t be too negative about your work, as you should be proud of what you’ve accomplished and how you have improved.

Meet the Robinsons. Copyright Disney

Meet the Robinsons. Copyright Disney

Why the Disney Princess Franchise Needs Better Video Games

Photo on 9-8-14 at 11.56 AM

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/DisneyPrincessLineup2013.jpg

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/DisneyPrincessLineup2013.jpg

There’s no denying that the Disney Princess are one of Disney’s most profitable properties. The’ve appeared on merchandise everywhere…

princessthoughtsxo.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/08_walt-disney-studios-store-071.jpg

princessthoughtsxo.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/08_walt-disney-studios-store-071.jpg

… Like direct to video movies (That people wish didn’t exist)

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Disneyprincessenchantedtalescase.jpg

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Disneyprincessenchantedtalescase.jpg

…had video games…

static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enchantedjourney2_5971.jpg

static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enchantedjourney2_5971.jpg

… and even manga!

static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Princess_Kilala_2620.jpg

static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Princess_Kilala_2620.jpg

While I grew up with them, I wouldn’t say the Disney Princess are my favorite brand. When I was younger, it was easier to believe in love at first sight, and stuff like that. Now that I’m older however, I can look back and see where there might have been some flaws.

However, that’s not the point of this post. The point is that we need better video games for this franchise!

There seems to be a stereotype that the video games girls want to play are dress up games. Not games that will challenge them. I mean, there are puzzle games, but there aren’t a lot of good games for this franchise. It seems that the developers just thought, hey, it’s for little girls, we don’t have to put our best effort into making these games.

I know that’s often true for many video games based off of  children’s properties. However, there seems to be more of an effort put into boys games than girls games.

Take the game featured up above, Magical Journey. It gained negative reviews with mainstream critics, with many saying only little girls would like it – for a little bit. However, It got some love for having solid graphics, solid gameplay, and an interesting villain, who was a wicked Princess!

static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/disneyp_9518.png

static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/disneyp_9518.png

It later had a kind of sequel called My Fairytale Adventure.  It was less well received than Enchanted Journey.

This was probably due to having a much thinner plot, a lot more handholding during gameplay, less time with the actual princesses, and the lack of an actually villain. Not that a villain is necessary, mind you, but with the game’s plot being so simple it would have made it much more interesting. 

Most of the video games fore this franchise are like this. I, for one believe, anyone who likes Disney Princess deserve better.

Games developed for little girls should use this much handholding! I’m not expecting the game to be as complicated as many games geared towards adults, but kids can handle more than you expect!

 

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/DisneyVillainsRevenge.jpg

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/DisneyVillainsRevenge.jpg

Let’s compare to one of the Disney games geared towards boys. This is an older game, yes, but it’s still is a good example. This game is called Disney’s Villans’ Revenge. The plot is that several Disney villains have taken over the endings of their stories, and the player must defeat them and return the happy endings.

I wasn’t able to find any reviews for this game, but it certainly seems more interesting than many of the Disney Princess games.

Now the games for Disney Princess don’t have to be exactly like this game, but it would be very interesting.

 

 

khwiki.com/images/4/49/Princesses_of_Heart.png

khwiki.com/images/4/49/Princesses_of_Heart.png

Personally, I’d like a game like Kingdom Hearts. The game is an RPG that merges Disney with the Final Fantasy video gameseries.

In the series, the Disney Princesses are Princess of Heart, the only beings with completely pure hearts.

Here are two commercials for the original Kingdom Hearts:

(Although the second one smacks of 2002)

youtube.com/watch?v=QNvTWohCFjI

youtube.com/watch?v=7uMMKDd1Fr0

One thing to note is that neither of the commercials bring attention to the Princesses

Why can’t we have a game like that? It would be a kid friendly RPG, where the princesses are the main characters, saving the princes? It would be the most awesome thing ever! Girls would love that!

What I’m just saying is, the developers can make better games than what is coming out right now. Just because it’s for little girls doesn’t mean that it should be half-assed.

In defense of Frozen

 

Photo on 9-8-14 at 11.56 AM

While surfing the internet, I found this curious article:

Mayim Bialik: Why My Sons and I Hate the Movie “Frozen”

static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frozen_french_poster_2847.jpg

static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frozen_french_poster_2847.jpg

The article slams the movie Frozen, and Mayim Bialik explains why she hates it.

I don’t think she’s wrong to not like the film. That’s an opinion. I just want to offer my own counterpoint to her points.

Her first point was that the film’s plot was not feminist at all. She states that the main goal of the film was another romance, like most Disney films.

My argument to that is that, no, the romance is not the main point of the film. In fact, it’s a subplot in the film!

Frozen is actually about the sisters love for each other. It is not a true love’s kiss that saves the day, but an act of sisterly love.

 

Disney_s_Frozen_Ending_Good_QualityDisney_s_Frozen_Ending_Good_Quality-2

Both gifs made by me

And even with the romance, there’s no marriage at the end. The couple  ends up seemingly dating. And until the day comes that Disney makes a princess movie with no love interest or a same sex love interest, I think a realistic portrayal of dating is a step in the right direction.

Her second point is that it promotes man bashing.

Now before I offer my counterpoint, this below should warn you if you haven’t seen the movie.

 

img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131110022936/disney/images/6/6f/HANS2.png

img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131110022936/disney/images/6/6f/HANS2.png

Now in the movie, Anna, the main character, has been locked away all her life. So when she finally meets other people, she instantly falls in love with the first man she sees, which is Prince Hans.Hans and Anna decide to get married, which everyone else in the movie calls them out for. It looks like Disney is poking fun at itself with this.

Even with that, Hans, at first, seems to be a really awesome guy. He helps Anna, watches the kingdom while she’s off trying to find her sister, and tries to bring the sister back herself after Anna doesn’t return.

After Anna’s heart has been struck with ice, it’s stated the only an act of true love can save her. The characters assume that means true love’s kiss. Anna returns to Hans, hoping to share true love’s kiss with him.

And then this scene happens:

 

Copyright Disney

img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140310203723/disney/images/5/53/Hanskillselsa.jpg

img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140310203723/disney/images/5/53/Hanskillselsa.jpg

That’s right, Hans is EVIL. He’s a manipulative, back-stabbing, son of a bitch. He pretended to love her so that he could get the throne.

Mayim Bialik was annoyed at this plot twist because it implied that  men can’t be trusted, and that it was too confusing for kids.

That is where I disagree.

Hans is an example of what can happen if you try the whole “love at first sight” thing in real life. People like Hans exist. Instead of promoting something that could hurt them, like many early Disney Princess films, why don’t we show that love takes time?

 

http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20141127202932/disneyprincess/images/b/b5/Anna3.png

img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20141127202932/disneyprincess/images/b/b5/Anna3.png

Mayim Bialik’s final point was, admittedly, a fair one. She complains about how the female characters are stylized. She complains about how they have huge eyes, tiny noses, thin waits, etc. She says they look like dolls.

And true, most media do tend to portray females like that, and there is room for improvement.

However, the characters are stylized.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Anime_eye.svg

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Anime_eye.svg

Huge eyes? Has this lady seen anime?

 

And to be truthful, the characters could be much worse. Be thankful that Anna and Elsa weren’t designed by someone like Rob Liefeld.

https://40.media.tumblr.com/5569b0ca1c2789609b9fb68096e5205a/tumblr_mgqr67ODdc1r3ppg5o1_400.jpg

https://40.media.tumblr.com/5569b0ca1c2789609b9fb68096e5205a/tumblr_mgqr67ODdc1r3ppg5o1_400.jpg

…shudder…

Again, I don’t think Mayim Bialik is wrong to not like the film. That’s her opinion. However, as a feminist, I feel like we should engage in calm, rational argument. I just wanted to offer a counterpoint.

Real Women CAN Wear Dresses (But They Don’t Have to if They Don’t Want to)

 

Photo on 9-8-14 at 11.56 AM

There seems to be a stigma that badass female characters can’t do anything traditionally feminine. This is a trope called Real Women Don’t Wear Dresses.

DIsney has gotten a lot of flak for this, especially with their princess line. To many people, it expresses many of the negative stereotypes of femininity. The video below puts it pretty well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAXEQswcv44

youtube.com/watch?v=jAXEQswcv44

While I must find I agree with some of the points raised in the video, it still reminds me of a pet peeve I have. One of my pet peeves is when someone tells me that strong females characters have to act a certain way.

I feel that being feminism is about equality. I want to be treated equal. It should be up to a women what kind of clothes she wears, what she likes, etc. A women can be a badass fighter who still likes pink and dressing up.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Tangled_poster.jpg

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Tangled_poster.jpg

On the topic of Disney, let’s talk about Rapunzel of Tangled.

On first glance, she seems like a stereotypical girly girl. Long flowing blonde hair, pink dress, loves to paint, etc. Many who believe that femininity portrays a weak character.

But it doesn’t.

Rapunzel is never portrayed by just how she appears. She’s energetic, upbeat, strong-willed, and determined. It’s isn’t a big deal whether she’s feminine or not.

And she really knows how to use that frying pan.

Tangled_Frying_Pan

GIF made by me

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/96/Brave_Poster.jpg

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/96/Brave_Poster.jpg

Let’s compare and contrast that to Merida from Brave.

Merida is portrayed like a tomboy. She’d rather be doing more traditionally masculine things like mountain climbing and archery to traditional feminine things. If it weren’t for the fact that Brave is set in historical Scotland, she probably would’t be in a dress.

 brave

GIF made by me

But that’s not the main point of Merida’s story.

Brave is about the relationship between Merida and her mother, who is much more traditionally feminine. Neither one really tries to understand one another. This leads to Merida making a extremely unwise decision. She goes to a witch, hoping to have her change her mother so that she would except her point of view. This ends up changing her mother into a bear.

…I wish I was kidding…   yeah.

Anyway, the point of the film is that they both need to understand one another and make compromises to return the mother to normal. Both of their views are valid, but they both have flaws. Neither being a tomboy or a girly girl is better or worse. They have to understand each other.

As you can see, Disney and Pixar definitely  portray femininity and being a tomboy in different ways. However, many hate these movies no matter what they do. They seem to always find something wrong.

But in my opinion, neither being feminine or a tomboy is better or worse. I grew up with Disney Princess films, The Lion King, the Aladdin TV series, Barbie, Star Wars, Powerpuff Girls, among others. As a kid, I was more a girly girl, yes, but I also had more tomboyish desires. But that’s not the case for everyone.

People of both genders should have the option of being who they want to be.

Real Women Don’t Wear Dresses?

Nah.

Real women CAN wear dresses (But they don’t have to if they don’t want to)

Disney and the Bechdel Test

Photo on 9-8-14 at 11.56 AM

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bf/Dykes_to_Watch_Out_For_%28Bechdel_test_origin%29.jpg

The Bechdel test was originally coined in the comic strip Dykes to Look Out For in 1985. The test can be for any media.

The test states:

1. It has to have at least two [named] women in it.

2. Who talk to each other.

3. About something besides a man.

The majority of films released in Hollywood fail the test. In fact, here is a video I made showing only a few of the many films fail the test.

It must be stressed that the test does not say whether the media is actually feminist. If in a film, two named females were to talk about dresses and make up, the film would technically pass the test. However that doesn’t mean that the film is actually feminist.

I decided to take several different disney films and see whether they passed or failed the test.

Snow_White_1937_poster

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/Snow_White_1937_poster.png

 Snow White and the Seven Dwarves:

The first full length animated film released in America.

In this film there are two named females. These are Snow White and The Evil Queen. They have only one conversation, which is at the end of the film. There is some debate about the conversation, as the ‘little men’ (the dwarves), are mentioned in passing, but the conversation is more about the poisoned apple.

This film passes the test (though it’s dubious).

abTy6ariL

clipartbest.com/cliparts/abT/y6a/abTy6ariL.png

——————————————————————————————————————————

Lady-and-tramp-1955-poster

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/39/Lady-and-tramp-1955-poster.jpg

Lady and the Tramp:

There are multiple named females, such as Lady, Peg, Darling, and the Siamese cats who are assumed to be female based on their voice actor.

In one scene which takes place in a pound, two named females, Peg and Lady, talk to each other about Lady’s license, and how it’s Lady’s key to getting out of there.

This film passes the test.

abTy6ariL

clipartbest.com/cliparts/abT/y6a/abTy6ariL.png

 ——————————————————————————————————————————

Sleeping_beauty_disney

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/43/Sleeping_beauty_disney.jpg

Sleeping Beauty:

The majority of the film’s cast are female.

The good fairies talk about about things other than men most of the time, like hiding Princess Aurora from the female villain Maleficent.

In fact, this film fails a reverse Bechdel test. the males always are talking about the females.

This film passes the test.

abTy6ariL

clipartbest.com/cliparts/abT/y6a/abTy6ariL.png

——————————————————————————————————————————

Mousedetectposter

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Mousedetectposter.jpg

The Great Mouse Detective:

There are four named females, two of whom (Olivia Flaversham and Queen Mousetoria) are important to the story. However, none of them ever have a real, back and forth conversation with each other.

This fim fails the test.

dc7eRGpc9

clipartbest.com/cliparts/dc7/eRG/dc7eRGpc9.png

——————————————————————————————————————————

Aladdinposter

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/58/Aladdinposter.jpg

Aladdin:

There is only one named female character, Princess Jasmine, in the entire film.

This film utterly fails the test.

dc7eRGpc9

 clipartbest.com/cliparts/dc7/eRG/dc7eRGpc9.png

——————————————————————————————————————————

The_nightmare_before_christmas_poster

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9a/The_nightmare_before_christmas_poster.jpg

The Nightmare Before Christmas:

Yes, this is technically Disney.

There are two named females, Sally and Shock. However, they never speak to one another.

This film fails the test.

dc7eRGpc9

 clipartbest.com/cliparts/dc7/eRG/dc7eRGpc9.png

——————————————————————————————————————————

frozen_french_poster_2847

static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frozen_french_poster_2847.jpg

Frozen:

This film sure is popular lately.

There are two named females, Anna and Elsa. They have multiple conversations about things other than men.

For example, the first conversation in the movie is about them making a snowmen. That doesn’t count as actual men.

This film passes the test.

abTy6ariL

clipartbest.com/cliparts/abT/y6a/abTy6ariL.png

——————————————————————————————————————————

As must be stressed, the Bechdel test is not meant to indicate whether a film is feminist or not. It’s just the lowest bar possible for women representation. As you can see, Disney is pretty hit or miss with passing in test

Again, the majority of films from Hollywood fail the test. This could be pretty damming of how far we still ned to go for better gender representation.

AMV Making

Photo on 9-8-14 at 11.56 AM

When I have free time, I sometimes go on iMovie and start making short AMVs (Anime Music Video). Despite the name, the sources used aren’t always anime. They are inspired by AMV Hell. AMV Hell is a series in which AMVs are shot and sweet. They are usually under a minute, and are often played for comedy. In fact, it inspired a lot of AMVs. Often, when AMVs do the short, parody style, they are often called “AMV Hell Style.”

For example of one of the official videos, watch this below. Beware of some cursing and dark comedy.

http://vimeo.com/57100017

 MadevilAMV Hell The Best of AMV Minis.” Online video clip. Vimeo. n. d. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.

I was also inspired by AMV Hell. Like I said earlier, during my free time, I often use iMovie to make AMV Hell like videos. Actually, I considered submitting some of these for the official AMV Hell, but the submission deadline had passed.

I've made a lot of video.

I’ve made a lot of videos. I used my computer to take a screenshot.

I will show you some of them below.

The first is one of my favorites. The visual is from the video game Kingdom Hearts, and the audio is from both Kingdom Hearts and the web show Atop the Fourth Wall. It’s not perfect, like with lip sync. However, whenever I show it to people, they seem to find it pretty funny.

 

The next one is pretty good, but I think it could use some work. The timing feels a bit off. however, I find it pretty clever and funny. The visuals are from the film Spirited Away, and the audio is the Nintendo Gamecube boot up screen. I called it simply “Fall”

 

Next up is one that I think fails. I tried to make it funny, but I don’t give the context about it, so anyone who doesn’t know what it’s talking about will be lost. The visuals are from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and the audio is a text to speech program reading the poem from Shrek, and proclaiming it bullshit. Also, the lip sync is off. Though, there are worse than this.

 

Next up is another Pony AMV. The audio it uses both Pony and a text to speech program an However, it works better because what I’m making fun off can be seen in the video itself, with how Applejack’s freckles seem to disappear when she runs. Warning, some cursing in the video.

 

With the next Pony video, I tried to be more random. I feel like it didn’t work as it tried to be too random and not funny. the audio is from both Pony and Super Smash Bros Melee.

 

The next one I believe balances out randomness with being funny. The visuals are from Sailor Moon, and the audio is all from dialogue I typed out and had a text to speech program read. To add to the hilarity, I used a picture of Kyon from Haruhi Suzimia face palming, with a fail logo placed over it, and a buzzer sound.

 

The next video was more of a test for lip sync The visuals are again from Sailor Moon, and the audio is from The Stanley Parable. I feel like it turned out pretty funny.  There’s just something about seeing the main character’s mentor get fed up with her stupidity.

 

Here’s one that isn’t trying to be AMV hell, and more of a music video. I tried to do one that wasn’t trying to be funny, but, again, more of a music video. It was also a lip sync test. I really need to work to my lip sync. It’s not perfect and it may go on too long. The visuals are from Winx Club and the audio is the song Lost Carol from Silent Hill 3.

 

Finally, another one that isn’t trying to be AMV hell, and is more of a music video. I liked this one more than the other one. Sometimes I felt like it wasn’t entirely matching up, but that wasn’t common. I didn’t even try with lip sync this time. (Except in some places) The visuals are from Winx Club again and the audio is the song H.T. from the anime Trigun.

 

As you can see, I really like making these videos. I’ve made a ton of these, and I’ll likely make many more.

Katherine Plays The Stanley Parable

Photo on 9-8-14 at 11.56 AM

I did a let’s play of the game The Stanley Parable. I love watching these on youtube, and I wanted to try my and at one of them.  It’s down below. Beware of some cursing.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

When I recorded it, I used the application Photo Booth for recording me, and I used Quick time player to record the screen. I had to mute the video of me, as when I put the two videos together, there was a noticeable echo with both of them playing.

I also had trouble keeping my eyes at the camera. During the video, I am clearly looking down at the computer screen. I also should have used a mouse, as my clicking on the finger pad can clearly be heard in the video.

Also, it was nearly impossible to line up the footage of me with the footage of the game. Just when I thought I had it, another audio glitch came up. I decided to just uploaded the play-through with the game footage, since it already had my voice. Many other let’s Plays just have the audio of the player.

I also had to  find a way to post it on the blog. The video was 20 minutes, and was too big for the site. I tried splitting it in half, and it was still too big. I had to put into multiple parts so that I could put it up on the site.

I then considered doing another play-through with only text and pictures. I took screenshots of the game as I went along. It worked out pretty well.

I call the following Katherine Duncan and the Confusion Ending.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.27.22 PM Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.27.38 PM

The game begins.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.30.20 PM

My boring office. My job is just pushing buttons. I’m not kidding.

Worst. Job. Ever.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.30.25 PM

Where is everybody?

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.30.29 PM

I just asked where my coworkers were, narrator. Shut up.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.30.59 PM

This workplace is boring without everyone missing!

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.31.14 PM

Observed room 417 to annoy the narrator. It worked. He’s pretty easy to annoy.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.31.35 PM

 

So I’m supposed to go through the left door?

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.31.42 PM

 

Let’s go through the right door, everybody!

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.31.47 PM

Of course, the narrator is not amused. Sure, I wanted to go to the employee lounge.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.32.00 PM

The lounge is marvelous!

*two hours later*

Okay, the narrator has made it clear that I need to get out of the lounge or else.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.32.10 PM

Now, the narrator wants me to go in the left door. I don’t want to make him angry, so I’ll listen to him this time.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.32.15 PM

 

He wants me to go straight.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.32.20 PM

 

Hey wait, It’s an elevator!

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.32.26 PM

Let’s ride it!

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.32.38 PM

 

I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.32.46 PM

The narrator is not happy, and we are probably lost.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.32.50 PM

So where do we go now?

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.32.58 PM

Okay, the left. Should have known.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.33.03 PM

 

Really?

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.33.07 PM

Okay, right it is.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.33.11 PM

GAH! Make up your mind!

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.33.37 PM

Please be the way…

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.33.41 PM

 

It seems we are on track!

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.33.45 PM

It’s pretty creepy in here…

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.33.50 PM

 

What’s that room up ahead?

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.33.59 PM

 

A spoiler? Really?

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.22.50 PM

Well, this isn’t good.

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.22.59 PM

Wait, restart?

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.23.10 PM

Oh my god, he restarted!

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.24.03 PM

Well, that isn’t normal. He’s going to restart, isn’t he?

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.23.10 PM

Of course.

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.26.36 PM

Well, that didn’t help at all!

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.27.05 PM

Wandering doesn’t seem to help either.

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.27.17 PM

I don’t even think this place is part of the story!

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.27.39 PM

Yay! I win!

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.27.49 PM

 

Really? Jerk.

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.23.10 PM

Will this even help?

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 4.28.19 PM

 

So, this will keep us on track, right?

Screen Shot 2014-10-24 at 9.46.29 PM

It’s doing fine so far.

Screen Shot 2014-10-24 at 9.47.00 PM

That’s a bit unusual.

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Okay, what the f**…

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This adventure line is more trouble than it’s worth.

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And it led us right back here.

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This is getting old.

So, the narrator decided to create his own story without the adventure line.

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It tried to come back, but we ignored it.

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F888k you, adventure line.

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Oh my god. My mind just exploded. The narrator refused to do any more.

Maybe we’re free.

We can do-

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Shit.

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Well, it seems everything is back to normal.

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OH GOD IT’S THE ADVENTURE LINE!

*Besides that one scare, it seems that everything is bad to normal, and the narrator remembers none of this. The End*

So that was my text playthrough.

So which was better? The text or the video? I personally liked the video better.

 

My old writings

Photo on 9-8-14 at 11.56 AM

While I was going through my computer, I decided to go through some of my old writings. I was not impressed. Most of my writings were done for high school. Each quarter, we were required to write a portfolio. We would write it, edit it, and create multiple drafts until the english teacher decided we were done. I decided to read through two of them to see if the were still good.

One of them I read was an early work. It was done in 2008. It was called The Queen of the Underworld. Looking back, it was poorly written, with a confusing story, things just happening at random, an a dues ex machima ending. I also spoil the story in the opening paragraph!

It’s not the worst (One only needs to look at the abomination that is the story about the sand-witch, which was my first story), but it’s by no means good.

I used a text-to-speech program to read the story, and turned it into a mp3 file.

As you can see, it’s pretty bad. It’s also made a bit silly with the different voices for dialogue. I also, in hindsight, should have used a female voice for the narrator, since the protagonist is female.

To show my reaction to this story, I made a picture that I made by editing pictures together.

Reaction

I meant it to be a brief recap of the story, showing the villain, her monsters, and the heroine, represented by Fluttershy of My Little Pony. It also shows anyone remotely normal’s reaction to it. It turned out pretty good, if a little cluttered. However, I do believe that it shows the reaction well.

The other writing I read was from 2010. It’s clearly a lot better. It’s called The Eternal Element War. The storyline is much clearer. It’s more of poem. I wrote a lot of them. I wrote so many of them that the teacher told me to not write as much poems. She also tried to get me to write more nonfiction, because I tend to focus on writing fiction. It didn’t really work.

The story’s not perfect. It’s a bit rushed, there isn’t really a lot of characterization, and it comes off a bit preachy. Unlike the other one, however, I’m not embarrassed by it.

Like with the other writing, I used a text-to-speech program to read the story, and turned it into a mp3 file.

Again, it’s not perfect, but it’s mush more tolerable. Also helping is that it’s not as silly as the other one because there’s no dialogue, and thus it only has one voice.

Like with the other story, I made a picture. Like with a previous post, I used a dress up game. The game can be found on this website.

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As you can see, all of the elements are clearly female. The game I used only allows you to create female elements. Since in the story Fire and Air are male, I tried to hide the fact that they were clearly female in the game.

I ended up liking this one less than the other one because it’s simply them standing there and it’s kinda boring. The other one was slightly played for humor. Secondly, even with the futile task of making Fire and Air look male, it was pretty simple to create the picture. With the other one, I had to find the picture and edit them together in GIMP.

In the end, I guess what I’m trying to say through all this rambling is that even if you think you totally failed at being a writer, with practice and time you will improve. It also helps if you can make fun of your bad works, like making a picture of it.

Conjuration 2014!

Photo on 9-8-14 at 11.56 AM

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During the weekend, my family and I headed out to Conjuration. It was a first time fantasy convention in Atlanta. It’s major fandoms were Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles Of Narnia. If course, there were many other fandoms represented as well. My parents were helping with registration.

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There were quite a few people. That’s pretty good for the first year of a convention. Though by sunday, there were quite a few people staying at the hotel. Also, there were a lot of families on Friday, though that’s probably because it was Halloween.

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Also there was a surprising  number of people who told my parents at the registration that this was their first con. There were a lot of parents taking the kids to the convention because the kid is a fan of one of the fandoms  shown at the convention.

Since it was the first year of the convention, so there were some problems. The dealers room, essentially the community shopping center, was pretty weak. It was mostly artists and writers.

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Also, there weren’t any people checking badges, which struck me as odd. I would think that at a convention, to prevent people from getting in without paying, there would be those.

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Aside from that, it was a pretty good con. Despite there being a few problems, I could totally see this con happening again next year. The fundamentals are in place, and if the people running the convention tweak things a little bit, it will only get better.

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I didn’t actually go to many panels. Since it was the Con’s first year, there weren’t that many panels that I was truly interested in. Also, my family wasn’t staying at the hotel, and it took us a hour to get there. Thus, I wasn’t able to go to later panels. A lot of the more interesting panels were later at night.

The panels I did go to were interesting. One, for example, featured an improv group. It was called “On the Next Episode of.” They watched a episode of the cartoon Dungeons & Dragons, and then acted out what they thought would happen on the next episode. It was really funny.

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Of the things I did, my favorite was the Deatheaters game. It is essentially Mafia or Are You a Werewolf, but with a Harry Potter theme. There was also eight special characters. I know that sounds like a lot, but we had 30 or 40 people in that panel. We didn’t even finish the game, because it was their first time trying the game out and everyone was loud.

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I actually, on Saturday, decided to cosplay as a generic anime girl with a katana. I wore a wig I got at Party City, a school outfit, and wielded my plastic sword that I got when I took karate. Unfortunately, my outfit included a skirt and a shirt with short sleeves on a day that was very cold. I was inside for most of the time, but I was still cold.

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As you can see, I had an interesting weekend at Conjuration.

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Pacthesis Retrospective

Photo on 9-8-14 at 11.56 AM

If you haven’t heard of Pacthesis, allow me to enlighten you. She has a account on Deviantart.com. She can be found here. She creates art and video games. Her video games are mostly Sim dates. They are also really good.

In this part, I will talk about her sim dates:

  •  Anime Date series.

 

anime

 

I’m grouping these three together because they’re very similar. An Interesting thing to note is that Anime Sim Dat 1.0 is the only game in Pacthesis’s sim date series in which you play a guy trying to form a relationship with a girl. In the other games it’s the opposite.

Looking back, they aren’t the best of the series, but they’re not bad. The writing’s kinda stiff, and it’s well, sorta dull. The art is obviously done in Flash.

However, in these three games alone you can see improvement. In 2.5, the boys start to have more of a personalty, and there are more endings.

  •  Festival Days
Used my computer to take a screenshot

Used my computer to take a screenshot

This game has many firsts. It was the first game to be titled “Something Days”, which became the standard theme of the names from this sim date on.

Secondly, It was the first game that truly had a story. While Anime Sim Date 2.5 took strides to do this, Festival Days has multiple story lines. Other characters are introduced, and it wasn’t just about trying to get into a relationship.

Finally, the art is much improved. It’s clearly still one of her earlier works, but it’s visually appealing.

  • Wonderland Days
Pacthesis. Wonderland Days Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. June 1, 2013. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

Pacthesis. Wonderland Days Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

Ah, Wonderland Days. This was the first game of Pacthesis’ that I played. I have fond memories of this game. This is still one of my favorite games created by her.

This game is perfect for a new player. It’s the first game that has different dialogue for your choices, instead of having everyone say the same dialogue for when you say the right thing or not. The art is wonderful. There is proper shading, and everything looks more professional.

I also love the music used, even though it’s stock music.

Pacthesis also photoshopped the image below. I’d totally buy these if they were real.

Wonderland Days figures. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

Pacthesis. Wonderland Days figures. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

  • Idol Days
Idol_Days_Promo_Poster_by_Pacthesis.png

Pacthesis. Idol Days Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

This one I do like, but it’s not one of my favorites. The characters are nice. The music theme works. It plays pretty similar to Wonderland Days, but you have to also work on your music playing.

One thing I liked was how the main character had a lot of personality. In the previous games, the main character was a little bland. In this game, however, she expresses a lot of her personality.

I also liked how this game lacks a true bad ending. There are good endings, mind you, but just because you somehow don’t hook up with one of the boys doesn’t mean you fail at the game.

  • Kingdom Days
Pacthesis. Kingdom Days Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

Pacthesis. Kingdom Days Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

I’ll be frank. Kingdom Days is my least favorite of the series. It’s not bad. I’ve grown to like the game more with time.

This being my least favorite game might be the bad first experience I had with it. When I first played the game, I felt confused. One example was the magic system. It was clunky, and poorly made. I also felt that the story was a bit, confusing. I could clearly tell she was experimenting with the format, but some of the ideas don’t work.

To be fair, the characters are nice, but the only one who stood out for me was Ferris.

  • Chrono Days
Pacthesis. Chrono Days Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

Pacthesis. Chrono Days Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

For a long time, this was my favorite. It’s not anymore, but it’s still held in high regard.

This is where Pacthesis really hits her stride. Every character is written well. For the first time, cutscenes are played, which is a treat. It’s also cool to see the main character on screen during gameplay, instead of rare occasions. This is also the first game in which there is a female love interest. It’s really cool.

If I have one complaint, it’s the endings. In this game, if you don’t get enough relationship with someone, you get no ending. You’re just told to play the game again and do better. It feels kinda cheap not to have a bad ending.

  • Lunar Days

 

Pacthesis. Lunar Days Sim Date Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

Pacthesis. Lunar Days Sim Date Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

This feels like what Kingdom Days should have been. For the first time, the stories are intertwined. Instead of briefly cameoing  in other story lines, several characters stories are intertwined.

The setting and story are all fascinating. It’s one of the more complex ones, though it does have this scene….

DOWN THE HATCH! Taken while I was playing the game.

DOWN THE HATCH!
Taken while I was playing the game.

The characters are really well written, and I ended up playing the game multiple times to see what each path had to offer.

  • Memory Days
Pacthesis. Memory Days Sim Date Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

Pacthesis. Memory Days Sim Date Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

This game is unique. It’s a remake of the Anime Sim Dates. It surpasses them easily. The art is beautiful, the characters are fantastic, and the game is very nice.

It definitely expands on the originals. There is much more chemistry between the characters. It also helps that the main character is much more well developed than in the original.

The game is also formatted very nice, taking place over the course of a school year

  • Number Days
Pacthesis. Number Days Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

Pacthesis. Number Days Promo Poster. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

This, without a doubt, is now my favorite of her games. The charters are perfect, the story is written wonderfully, and I just love it.

Everyone has a place in the story. My favorite ending in the game features every character, and no romance whatsoever!

I also love the chibi look used for most of the game. Yes, some parts use the traditional style, but it mostly looks like this:

(This actually happens in the game) Pacthesis. Oh shiiiiiiiii. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

(This actually happens in the game)
Pacthesis. Oh shiiiiiiiii. Digital Image. Deviantart. Deviantart. Web. 30 Oct 2014.

And It is glorious.

As you can see. I love these games. Unfortunately, Pacthesis is currently on hiatus. Let’s not forget the wonderful games she made, however!