It's taken me a while to get around to this, probably longer than it should have, but I have had a few other things to do. Any way, I finally got around to readign Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the rehearsal script for the eighth Harry Potter story. First of all, I really want to see this play just because there are scenes that I do not know how they did on stage. For the most part it is written as a stage script with great attention to how it can be on stage, but every now and then it appears that J.K. Rowling jumped in with some old school hard core magic with no regard to how it could actually happen on stage, and the fact that the trolley witch could transfigure claws, polyjuice potions could change actors, engorgement charms could be cast to make people inflate, dementors could suck out misty souls and witches can levitate, all on stage, just the effects, even the attempt to make them with this being the final draft, would be well worth the price of admission.
The story begins exactly where it left off with the epilogue from th Deathly Hallows. What changes is that the point of view shifts to Albus Potter, Harry's young heir on his first trip to Hogwarts. He meets Scorpio Malfoy on the train, the son of Draco Malfoy. What follows is very interesting as rather than history repeating itself with the Potter Malfoy feud carrying on to the next generation, the two become very good friends. The story then skips through to their third year where all of the action takes place. In their first two years the boys have bonded, not just in spite of their heritage, but in large part because of it. Both boys carry heavy burdens because of their fathers, and even though this should make them enemies, it gives them empathy for each other's plight. Scorpio is actually the nicer one, the end of a line of dark wizards he has had enough and just wants a friend. Albus is coming at it from another angle, he has two older siblings, famous parents, a famous aunt and uncle and two cousins that all make the family legacy clear and his middle name is Severus after Snape, the Half-Blood Prince, and he has also had enough and just wishes he didn't have to deal with all of this. Albus is even more complicated because he ends up in House Slytherin, but nobody, not even Albus himself, sees that he was meant to be there for no other reason than to be friends with Scorpio.
After Cedric Diggory's father bad mouths Harry and mentions an illegal time turner, Albus gets the crazy idea that he can use the time turner to save Cedric and make the world better. He gets the time turner but ends up making things worse, first inadvertently breaking up Hermione and Ron to make sure his cousins are never born, then saving Cedric but getting Harry killed to create a dark world where Voldemort rules and Albus is never born. Scorpio is then tasked briefly with settign time right but subtly stepping in and countering the spells they used the first time to allow time to return to normal. By the end of Act 3 everything is set right but then a surprise enemy comes along who actually wanted time changed and is not at all happy about Scorpio fixing time.
The narrative is kind of twisty, but it does allow for important scenes to play out on stage while also telling us what happened to our favorite characters. For the most part, the OGs seem to be consistent with who they were, while the new characters fit in the story in a believable way showing the touch of J.K. Rowling making sure the story stays true to it's roots. It's nice to see how everyone is doing, though in the middle it's jarring to see everything undone, even if only temporarily. Strangest of all is how this story was only released in script format, so unless you can actually attend a stage production, reading the book that has been released to the public makes for an awkward read, at least at first. The stage directions made me think of a stage production, sterile, quiet and with an unbroken but definitive fourth wall. Eventually I got used to it and I was able to read the story within the same reality of the first seven books, it helped alot once they got to the third year. The first few scenes skip through the the first two years at an uneven and accelerated pace, but once they hit the htird year, the pace settles down and as events unfold at a slower pace, the format relaxes into a dialogue that tells a good story. It's like if you never knew Harry Potter and were introduced to it with the Prisoner for Azkaban with a synopsis of the first two books hastily scrawled on the fly page, once you get past that awkward exposition, the story plays out quite well. This is probably best for Harry Potter fans or aspiring playwrights, anybody else is going to be flustered by how awkward the whole thing is, but for those of us who can decode this mess, it's a wonderful ride, not to be missed.
7th Moon
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Open world vs linear
I've been hearing a lot from gamers about open world vs linear style games, and frankly I feel it's time I have to speak up on behalf of linear games. I understand open world games make them seem more real and more lived in and it's annoying when you're in a linear game and hit some invisible wall that we know only exists because the programmers just didn't put anything over there, probably due to lack of time. However, I recently had the opportunity to make my own game and found out just how hard it is and I understand why programmers need to make boundaries to hold players back, and also as a player for years I have preferred knowing where I am supposed to be and not just run off in random directions wasting hours exploring and not knowing where I was supposed to go.
I know I've been talking about FFXV a lot but it really is a great example of what I'm talking about. The first part of the game is open world and I've heard complaints about how it becomes mor linear towards the end. I haven't gotten too far in the game so I don't know how true it is, but frankly I'm actually rather looking forward to it gettign more linear because I feel that while the open world format makes the game world seem more real, the amount of time they spend in such a relatively small portion of the game world starts to actually work against the realism that they were able to provide. The biggest problem is that there is a great story with a sense of urgency that is undermined by the sidequests. In chapter 1 you're trying to get to your wedding, which you would think would be important but your car breaks down so you need to mae some money to pay for repairs because nobody thought to bring money before leaving home, Noctis' first line is "What's a gil?" Seriously? The prince doesn't know money? Anyway you need to get to a port only to find out that the ferry has stopped running though a shady fellow named Dino can help you out, only after you do your part, you find out your father has been betrayed, your kingdom has fallen, and now you must save the world. This is a big deal because it means you have to retrieve thriteen royal arms, bond with six gods, fight an evil empire and bring down an army of demons, and to top it all off, Noctis has known about this since he was five. But first, let's go fishing! And play pinball! And pimp my ride, the last memento of my dead father! And Prompto says we should check out the chocobos! And Gladiolus wants to add something to Cup Noodles! And Dino wants us to help him launch his shady jewelry business! And Takka wants us to go grocery shopping for him! And Sania wants us to help her catch frogs because she's oblivious to the nation collapsing! Most of this has to be done just ignoring that there really is something more important to do but you do it anyway. It's jarring that the same characters that face things as dramatic as fighting the empire, facing gods, and collecting relics can make light of sidequests and act like the world isn't literally collapsing around them, especially with their constant dialogue that takes on two completely different tones that make it hard to believe they are happening simultaneously.
To give another angle, let's go back in time to where Square Enix began, with the original Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Dragon Quest was pretty open world, which was actually pretty annoying because you could try to make a mad dash for the end of the game and get yourself killed before you even make it halfway. The game leads you off tellign you that your main goal is to rescue a princess, and retrieve the ball of light, defeating the dragons guarding each. The first of these quests has no deterrents except your level, which means grinding until you're strong enough to fight the dragon. The second main quest requires three lesser quests to collect the items necessary to build a bridge to the final dungeon, but two out of three quests will require a fair amunt of grind ing and one of those two requires you to finish the princess rescue main quest. There are about four optional sidequests, if you can even call them that, and all requirea fair amount of grinding before you can attempt them, which means you have to do a lot of nothing before you can actually do anything, There is a certain amount of joy in freedom, but it comes with confusion and ultimatley boredom when you realize how much time you're wasting on the grind wandering aimlessly. Final Fantasy on the other hand beat that problem by creating a series of minor quests that open the world slowly which can seem annoying, but it also allows you to be kept where you belong for the part that the story requires. The downside for critics is that the game is linear. My counterargument is that you don't have to waste time grinding as you explore an open world, you just keep moving forward through the entertaining story which if you haven't experienced the tedious boredom of Dragon Quest, is much better than you can imagine.
Ultimately my point is that a good game is probably going to be more linear than open world, but only as long as they can make it serve a story that is good enough to make you forget whether it's open world or not.
I know I've been talking about FFXV a lot but it really is a great example of what I'm talking about. The first part of the game is open world and I've heard complaints about how it becomes mor linear towards the end. I haven't gotten too far in the game so I don't know how true it is, but frankly I'm actually rather looking forward to it gettign more linear because I feel that while the open world format makes the game world seem more real, the amount of time they spend in such a relatively small portion of the game world starts to actually work against the realism that they were able to provide. The biggest problem is that there is a great story with a sense of urgency that is undermined by the sidequests. In chapter 1 you're trying to get to your wedding, which you would think would be important but your car breaks down so you need to mae some money to pay for repairs because nobody thought to bring money before leaving home, Noctis' first line is "What's a gil?" Seriously? The prince doesn't know money? Anyway you need to get to a port only to find out that the ferry has stopped running though a shady fellow named Dino can help you out, only after you do your part, you find out your father has been betrayed, your kingdom has fallen, and now you must save the world. This is a big deal because it means you have to retrieve thriteen royal arms, bond with six gods, fight an evil empire and bring down an army of demons, and to top it all off, Noctis has known about this since he was five. But first, let's go fishing! And play pinball! And pimp my ride, the last memento of my dead father! And Prompto says we should check out the chocobos! And Gladiolus wants to add something to Cup Noodles! And Dino wants us to help him launch his shady jewelry business! And Takka wants us to go grocery shopping for him! And Sania wants us to help her catch frogs because she's oblivious to the nation collapsing! Most of this has to be done just ignoring that there really is something more important to do but you do it anyway. It's jarring that the same characters that face things as dramatic as fighting the empire, facing gods, and collecting relics can make light of sidequests and act like the world isn't literally collapsing around them, especially with their constant dialogue that takes on two completely different tones that make it hard to believe they are happening simultaneously.
To give another angle, let's go back in time to where Square Enix began, with the original Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Dragon Quest was pretty open world, which was actually pretty annoying because you could try to make a mad dash for the end of the game and get yourself killed before you even make it halfway. The game leads you off tellign you that your main goal is to rescue a princess, and retrieve the ball of light, defeating the dragons guarding each. The first of these quests has no deterrents except your level, which means grinding until you're strong enough to fight the dragon. The second main quest requires three lesser quests to collect the items necessary to build a bridge to the final dungeon, but two out of three quests will require a fair amunt of grind ing and one of those two requires you to finish the princess rescue main quest. There are about four optional sidequests, if you can even call them that, and all requirea fair amount of grinding before you can attempt them, which means you have to do a lot of nothing before you can actually do anything, There is a certain amount of joy in freedom, but it comes with confusion and ultimatley boredom when you realize how much time you're wasting on the grind wandering aimlessly. Final Fantasy on the other hand beat that problem by creating a series of minor quests that open the world slowly which can seem annoying, but it also allows you to be kept where you belong for the part that the story requires. The downside for critics is that the game is linear. My counterargument is that you don't have to waste time grinding as you explore an open world, you just keep moving forward through the entertaining story which if you haven't experienced the tedious boredom of Dragon Quest, is much better than you can imagine.
Ultimately my point is that a good game is probably going to be more linear than open world, but only as long as they can make it serve a story that is good enough to make you forget whether it's open world or not.
Friday, February 10, 2017
For the love of Final Fantasy
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Make sure to get your copies of the Magic of Rochester Trilogy from Amazon, including Red Ellen, Waking Dream, and the recently released conclusion Riding the Dragon! Perfect for the paranormal romance fan you forgot to get a present for. Or if you're alone, get 7th Moon the RPG from Steam in the RPG Maker MV workshop.
Meanwhile for me, the only Valentine I've got is Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy VII(see what I did there). I did try, but unfortunately, I haven't had as much success when I'm preoccupied with four Final Fantasy games. I've already talked at length about Final Fantasy XV which has about a week left of the Moogle Chcobo Carnival and I'm hard at work fishing to try and get the event rod and reel, or at least get my fishing skill up, but I did everything else so I'm ready for it to be over so I can get back to the man story. I'm also playing Final Fantasy Record Keeper which doesn't have a whole lot of newsworthy content, although it is the most fun piece of nostalgia even though it's nothing new, just a trip down memory lane.
Mobius Final Fantasy has gone hardcore recently, like I said last week, it's on Steam so it can be played on the PC and wow, the graphics are even better than I thought. I expected it would just be bigger, but the animation is smoother too. The only complaint I've got is regarding the interface, which I'm fairly used to by now having played this game for months and the transition wasn't all bad, but it's painfully clear this was not originally for PC. While the interface is convenient for on the go gaming with a phone or mobile device, it comes off as simplistic on the PC. All that said, the game is still pretty solid, especially with the new FFVII event they started the day after the Steam release, for the next two months you can fight through the Mako Reactors with Cloud in a special region of Palamecia. One cool thing is that you get to use Wol and all his special abilities, and it gets worked into the cosmology of Mobius as you and your fairy companion Echo try to figure out how he and his world got here. I'm a little optimistic that they are calling this the FFVII Remake event, not just FFVII but Remake is in the title as well, which I hope means that since they ofte time tribute events in apps with the release of the actual game that his might mean that around the time the event ends April 1 we'll finally get FFVII remake or at least a definitive release date.
My new game is Final Fantasy Brave Exvius which I was debating for a long time and finally took the plunge for Ariana Grande. Yeah, I know that sounds weird, but for some reason of all possible celebrities to be the first to become a final Fantasy character, Ariana Grande was chosen to become Dangerous Ariana. To ecxplain how she fits in, first I have to explain what this game is. Brave Exvius is a game that doesn't feel much like a Final Fantasy game and yet very much a great 16 bit era JRPG, the sort of game I wish they still made. The story follows two knights named Rain and Laswell who receive a supernatural cry for help from the shrine of the Earth Crystal and when they go answer it, it begins an incredible adventure to save the world and they are aided by the power to summon Visions, which are people from other worlds that and/or times that join your party. Visions are not to be confused with Espers which are summoned in battle as summons usually work in Final Fantasy and function in a completely different way. Visions are basically an excuse to drag in characters from every other Final Fantasy game as well as original characters that represent traditional jobs that are otherwise underrepresented. The one thing that kind of sucks is that Visions don't seem to have an actual role in the story, which is highlighted by how the half dozen main characters are very active and are very entertaining in their own right. Rain and Laswell have a hilarious rapport and the main story seems to be plenty of fun and almost seems to get dragged down by the gimmick of summoning Visions. That said, this is the explanation for Ariana Grande who is a Vision with minimal story but she will be part of your party permanently once acquired. Unfortunately she's not actually available anymore as she only came with a two week limited event that I didn't find out about until the last day and just barely got her at all. The reason I screwed up on this was that I hard about how she was going to be in the game from the same company who promised FFFVII remake two years ago and FFXV ten years ago when it was going to be FFXIII Versus, so while I'm waiting forever for what I really want, I was surprised to find this whole Ariana Grande thing came and went in less than a month.
Square Enix is making some good games, but seriously, if there is any chance this is getting back to the head honchos over there, can you take a break from free-to-play apps and focus on getting FFVII out already?
Meanwhile for me, the only Valentine I've got is Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy VII(see what I did there). I did try, but unfortunately, I haven't had as much success when I'm preoccupied with four Final Fantasy games. I've already talked at length about Final Fantasy XV which has about a week left of the Moogle Chcobo Carnival and I'm hard at work fishing to try and get the event rod and reel, or at least get my fishing skill up, but I did everything else so I'm ready for it to be over so I can get back to the man story. I'm also playing Final Fantasy Record Keeper which doesn't have a whole lot of newsworthy content, although it is the most fun piece of nostalgia even though it's nothing new, just a trip down memory lane.
Mobius Final Fantasy has gone hardcore recently, like I said last week, it's on Steam so it can be played on the PC and wow, the graphics are even better than I thought. I expected it would just be bigger, but the animation is smoother too. The only complaint I've got is regarding the interface, which I'm fairly used to by now having played this game for months and the transition wasn't all bad, but it's painfully clear this was not originally for PC. While the interface is convenient for on the go gaming with a phone or mobile device, it comes off as simplistic on the PC. All that said, the game is still pretty solid, especially with the new FFVII event they started the day after the Steam release, for the next two months you can fight through the Mako Reactors with Cloud in a special region of Palamecia. One cool thing is that you get to use Wol and all his special abilities, and it gets worked into the cosmology of Mobius as you and your fairy companion Echo try to figure out how he and his world got here. I'm a little optimistic that they are calling this the FFVII Remake event, not just FFVII but Remake is in the title as well, which I hope means that since they ofte time tribute events in apps with the release of the actual game that his might mean that around the time the event ends April 1 we'll finally get FFVII remake or at least a definitive release date.
My new game is Final Fantasy Brave Exvius which I was debating for a long time and finally took the plunge for Ariana Grande. Yeah, I know that sounds weird, but for some reason of all possible celebrities to be the first to become a final Fantasy character, Ariana Grande was chosen to become Dangerous Ariana. To ecxplain how she fits in, first I have to explain what this game is. Brave Exvius is a game that doesn't feel much like a Final Fantasy game and yet very much a great 16 bit era JRPG, the sort of game I wish they still made. The story follows two knights named Rain and Laswell who receive a supernatural cry for help from the shrine of the Earth Crystal and when they go answer it, it begins an incredible adventure to save the world and they are aided by the power to summon Visions, which are people from other worlds that and/or times that join your party. Visions are not to be confused with Espers which are summoned in battle as summons usually work in Final Fantasy and function in a completely different way. Visions are basically an excuse to drag in characters from every other Final Fantasy game as well as original characters that represent traditional jobs that are otherwise underrepresented. The one thing that kind of sucks is that Visions don't seem to have an actual role in the story, which is highlighted by how the half dozen main characters are very active and are very entertaining in their own right. Rain and Laswell have a hilarious rapport and the main story seems to be plenty of fun and almost seems to get dragged down by the gimmick of summoning Visions. That said, this is the explanation for Ariana Grande who is a Vision with minimal story but she will be part of your party permanently once acquired. Unfortunately she's not actually available anymore as she only came with a two week limited event that I didn't find out about until the last day and just barely got her at all. The reason I screwed up on this was that I hard about how she was going to be in the game from the same company who promised FFFVII remake two years ago and FFXV ten years ago when it was going to be FFXIII Versus, so while I'm waiting forever for what I really want, I was surprised to find this whole Ariana Grande thing came and went in less than a month.
Square Enix is making some good games, but seriously, if there is any chance this is getting back to the head honchos over there, can you take a break from free-to-play apps and focus on getting FFVII out already?
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Mobius Final Fantasy on Steam
I already covered this game once before, but now there's a new development, it's coming to Steam to be playable on your PC as well as your mobile device. The awesome thing is both versions can play off the same account so you can play the game on top quality at home and then catch up a little on the road too, the bad part is that you need a wi-fi connection so you won't be playing this in the middle of nowhere, it's just basically if you couldn't drag your laptop around you might be able to fit in a few battles on your phone. Still, this game has exceptional graphics for a mobile game and I'm looking forward to trying it on my laptop to see how good it looks on a full screen.
As for the story, you are an amnesiac who remembers only his name, problem is, many others seem to answer to the same name, but only one will fulfill the prophecy to be the Warrior of Light, defeat Chaos and save Palamecia. The wierd thing is, it doesn't seem like there are many inhabitants in Palamecia, as you go through your adventure the only people are Princess Sarah, Garland, Mera the summoner of Sicari, moogles, and other blanks(aliens like you) and a few women that must also be natives given that blanks are all male.If you ignore the fact that you're saving a world where nobody really lives, the story plays out pretty well. So far the released material takes you from a wilderness plagued by basic dust fiends, lesser dragons and a Cockatrice to a desert that has more advanced dust fiends, mind flayers and a Lich, then to a battlefield where you face Chaos for the first time after proving yourself against a horde of recurring series monsters, and most recently a trial of elements before rejoining Sarah.
To fight your battles you use a deck of four cards, plus a fifth rental card from a friend, which are named for various monsters, both the ones you defeat and summons that are even more powerful that you get from an ability shop but actually represent traditional abilities such as Fira, Cure, Ultima, Cross Slash and Diamond Dust. The Sicarius represent actual summons, but unfortunately the ability is activated without a full manifestation so they all get pretty lame. There is still some strategy because of the elements system, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light and Dark. Every monster has one of these elements and so do your attack skills, they are paired off so they are strong against themselves and can sometimes even absorb their own element, but are also weak against the opposite element. Also, you only get three elements based on your job so you have a fifty percent chance of having an advantage. Jobs are again recycled from old games, but Light and Dark are new elements just recently added which can make the game harder because it complicates the simple element system and reduces your chances you are prepared to handle any particular enemy.
In addition to the main story, there are also challenge events including cactuar bonus rounds and the battle tower which most recently hosted a visit from Gilgamesh, who was hilarious breaking the fourth wall like never before. The Sicarius summons are in a special multiplayer arena where you have to collect the parts to craft the cards, so it's a pain, but can be worth it. There's also exploration areas where you get daily bonuses to skillseeds that enhance your job and the Pleiades Islands where you can collect components that augment your cards. There's always something to do and beautiful graphics to do it in and the voiceovers make the cast come alive on this surreal existential adventure. Try it February 6 on Steam.
One last thing, while your at Steam, check out the RPG Maker workshop and pick up the beta version of my game, 7th Moon.
As for the story, you are an amnesiac who remembers only his name, problem is, many others seem to answer to the same name, but only one will fulfill the prophecy to be the Warrior of Light, defeat Chaos and save Palamecia. The wierd thing is, it doesn't seem like there are many inhabitants in Palamecia, as you go through your adventure the only people are Princess Sarah, Garland, Mera the summoner of Sicari, moogles, and other blanks(aliens like you) and a few women that must also be natives given that blanks are all male.If you ignore the fact that you're saving a world where nobody really lives, the story plays out pretty well. So far the released material takes you from a wilderness plagued by basic dust fiends, lesser dragons and a Cockatrice to a desert that has more advanced dust fiends, mind flayers and a Lich, then to a battlefield where you face Chaos for the first time after proving yourself against a horde of recurring series monsters, and most recently a trial of elements before rejoining Sarah.
To fight your battles you use a deck of four cards, plus a fifth rental card from a friend, which are named for various monsters, both the ones you defeat and summons that are even more powerful that you get from an ability shop but actually represent traditional abilities such as Fira, Cure, Ultima, Cross Slash and Diamond Dust. The Sicarius represent actual summons, but unfortunately the ability is activated without a full manifestation so they all get pretty lame. There is still some strategy because of the elements system, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light and Dark. Every monster has one of these elements and so do your attack skills, they are paired off so they are strong against themselves and can sometimes even absorb their own element, but are also weak against the opposite element. Also, you only get three elements based on your job so you have a fifty percent chance of having an advantage. Jobs are again recycled from old games, but Light and Dark are new elements just recently added which can make the game harder because it complicates the simple element system and reduces your chances you are prepared to handle any particular enemy.
In addition to the main story, there are also challenge events including cactuar bonus rounds and the battle tower which most recently hosted a visit from Gilgamesh, who was hilarious breaking the fourth wall like never before. The Sicarius summons are in a special multiplayer arena where you have to collect the parts to craft the cards, so it's a pain, but can be worth it. There's also exploration areas where you get daily bonuses to skillseeds that enhance your job and the Pleiades Islands where you can collect components that augment your cards. There's always something to do and beautiful graphics to do it in and the voiceovers make the cast come alive on this surreal existential adventure. Try it February 6 on Steam.
One last thing, while your at Steam, check out the RPG Maker workshop and pick up the beta version of my game, 7th Moon.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Moogle Chocobo Carnival
In case you didn't know, we are currently in the middle of a special event in Final Fantasy XV called the Moogle Chocobo Carnival. Taking place outside of the main game, the town of Altissia has been redecorated for the event with moogles and chocobos all over town and even Noctis himself can dress up in not one, but two different festive outfits to celebrate the franchise's mascots with fun and games for all. To access it, you will need to download the extra content which can come with the season pass, or a free package that apparently has less content but let's in people who can't afford the paid version.
For those of you who are not familiar, chocobos are large yellow birds that are usually ridden in lieu of horses which generally do not exist in the Final Fantasy multiverse introduced in FFII while moogles are white mole like creatures with purple bat wings and big pink noses and a pom pom on top of its head that were introduced in FFIII and both appear in some form in every game since they were introduced. Chocobos are actually pretty cool, they protect you from random encounters while you ride them and they can cross rivers and have a catchy theme song that changes with each game. Moogles are also cool, but much more often get relegated to comic relief and are not taken very seriously. Both are notable as being cute, which can sometimes contrast with the otherwise dark nature of the game's story.
Starting January 24 and going to February 20, these two cute mascots, with a little help from the also cute carbuncle, are taking over FFXV. For those who like open world exploring, this is awesome, there is one main quest and a few subquests, all of which amount to mini games, plus mini games that don't involve quests at all, and you just get to goof around. There are also rewards that should last beyond the event, particularly that Noctis can now take photos himself without Prompto. This feature was introduced because there is a photo component to the event, including one sidequest and some random extras, but Prompto is not with Noctis so he has to do it himself. The main sidequest for photography is the Brother Kupomarov where you photograph six moogle dolls hidden around town with clues in a poem, but if you look closely there are challenges to recreate photos of oddities around town. Finally, once you complete the main quest of getting a voucher for the fireworks show you can watch fireworks and take photos of them from a gondola in the bay around Altissia. In addition to the photography you can also get two new recipes for Ignis by ordering them at the Square Enix Cafe, the moogle cheesecake which reduces tension on the line during fishing and the chocobo tart which enhances stamina when riding chocobos, both of which are handy for special activities during the event, and you can redeem medallions for a decal, fishing lures, and rare treasures that can be used for upgrading weapons as well as other items if you get too many medals somehow. One of the activities is fishing which can net you a new rod and reel or chocomog medals.All of these specials remain in your save file so you can use the items in your regular game when you go back o playing the regular story.
Other sidequests include a diner dash game at one of the restaurants, a puzzle game decorating the Listro Plaza and best of all, the quest to round up lost chocochicks, baby chocobos that run around town. In addition to these quests, there's also the chocobo racing track and at the coliseum you can play carnival games including, whack-a-cactuar and a shooting gallery. One other thing that you can miss is children crying over their lost balloons, which sounds sad, except Noctis can track down the balloons and use his warp to retrieve them, which is not only nice, but you get medals for it. There are medals everywhere, literally, they are just lying on the ground, on tables, medals everywhere. The whole event is basically collecting these medals to get your permanent items.
One last thing to note, I found a glitch where Vyv apears to offer a quest, but it does not work. Talk to him and the game crashes, just take your photo and move on. Now, go on and have fun! Kupo! Kweh!
I wanted to add also my predictions for future downloadable content. We all know they have planned to add chapters where you get to play as Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto, as well as a multiplayer mode. While it sounds cool, nobody has asked why. Here's what I think: Gladiolus and Prompto are going to let us play through the chapters where they get separated from the main party and tell us what they were doing. For Gladiolus this means alternative Chapter 7, we'd get to find out how he got that scar and I'm betting lil' sis Iris will be his back-up, I can't figure much beyond that, but it's enough to get me excited. I haven't gotten as far as Prompto leaving the party, but I know from the wikia that he does get knocked off a train and it takes a while for him to rejoin the team, and the DLC should explain where he went, which may involve fellow Niflheim ex-patriate Aranea Highwind, which would be hilarious if he tries to take advantage of their alone time. I'm not sure about Ignis, though my guess would be during the few days immediately following the Leviathan Incident when Noctis may be out of commission and perhaps there's more to his blindness than we thought. Finally, multiplayer mode, probably during the ten-year gap and revolving around daemon hunting, which would explain rumors of designing your own character, which would be a hunter who is determined to go down swinging. Also, there might be a slight possibility of new Royal Arms; the regular arsenal is probably enough, but Ignis said there's likely as many Royal Arms as kings, and we only get 13 of 113, so there's still one hundred out there, and while Noctis is normally the only one who can wield them, Kingsglaive shows that in times of dire need, others can wield the power of the king, and if that can be considered for fighting Niflheim imperials, it should apply to a well meaning hunter facing a daemonic apocalypse. In any case I purchased my DLC season pass and I'm keeping save files from the points I suspect I'll need for the DLC later.
For those of you who are not familiar, chocobos are large yellow birds that are usually ridden in lieu of horses which generally do not exist in the Final Fantasy multiverse introduced in FFII while moogles are white mole like creatures with purple bat wings and big pink noses and a pom pom on top of its head that were introduced in FFIII and both appear in some form in every game since they were introduced. Chocobos are actually pretty cool, they protect you from random encounters while you ride them and they can cross rivers and have a catchy theme song that changes with each game. Moogles are also cool, but much more often get relegated to comic relief and are not taken very seriously. Both are notable as being cute, which can sometimes contrast with the otherwise dark nature of the game's story.
Starting January 24 and going to February 20, these two cute mascots, with a little help from the also cute carbuncle, are taking over FFXV. For those who like open world exploring, this is awesome, there is one main quest and a few subquests, all of which amount to mini games, plus mini games that don't involve quests at all, and you just get to goof around. There are also rewards that should last beyond the event, particularly that Noctis can now take photos himself without Prompto. This feature was introduced because there is a photo component to the event, including one sidequest and some random extras, but Prompto is not with Noctis so he has to do it himself. The main sidequest for photography is the Brother Kupomarov where you photograph six moogle dolls hidden around town with clues in a poem, but if you look closely there are challenges to recreate photos of oddities around town. Finally, once you complete the main quest of getting a voucher for the fireworks show you can watch fireworks and take photos of them from a gondola in the bay around Altissia. In addition to the photography you can also get two new recipes for Ignis by ordering them at the Square Enix Cafe, the moogle cheesecake which reduces tension on the line during fishing and the chocobo tart which enhances stamina when riding chocobos, both of which are handy for special activities during the event, and you can redeem medallions for a decal, fishing lures, and rare treasures that can be used for upgrading weapons as well as other items if you get too many medals somehow. One of the activities is fishing which can net you a new rod and reel or chocomog medals.All of these specials remain in your save file so you can use the items in your regular game when you go back o playing the regular story.
Other sidequests include a diner dash game at one of the restaurants, a puzzle game decorating the Listro Plaza and best of all, the quest to round up lost chocochicks, baby chocobos that run around town. In addition to these quests, there's also the chocobo racing track and at the coliseum you can play carnival games including, whack-a-cactuar and a shooting gallery. One other thing that you can miss is children crying over their lost balloons, which sounds sad, except Noctis can track down the balloons and use his warp to retrieve them, which is not only nice, but you get medals for it. There are medals everywhere, literally, they are just lying on the ground, on tables, medals everywhere. The whole event is basically collecting these medals to get your permanent items.
One last thing to note, I found a glitch where Vyv apears to offer a quest, but it does not work. Talk to him and the game crashes, just take your photo and move on. Now, go on and have fun! Kupo! Kweh!
I wanted to add also my predictions for future downloadable content. We all know they have planned to add chapters where you get to play as Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto, as well as a multiplayer mode. While it sounds cool, nobody has asked why. Here's what I think: Gladiolus and Prompto are going to let us play through the chapters where they get separated from the main party and tell us what they were doing. For Gladiolus this means alternative Chapter 7, we'd get to find out how he got that scar and I'm betting lil' sis Iris will be his back-up, I can't figure much beyond that, but it's enough to get me excited. I haven't gotten as far as Prompto leaving the party, but I know from the wikia that he does get knocked off a train and it takes a while for him to rejoin the team, and the DLC should explain where he went, which may involve fellow Niflheim ex-patriate Aranea Highwind, which would be hilarious if he tries to take advantage of their alone time. I'm not sure about Ignis, though my guess would be during the few days immediately following the Leviathan Incident when Noctis may be out of commission and perhaps there's more to his blindness than we thought. Finally, multiplayer mode, probably during the ten-year gap and revolving around daemon hunting, which would explain rumors of designing your own character, which would be a hunter who is determined to go down swinging. Also, there might be a slight possibility of new Royal Arms; the regular arsenal is probably enough, but Ignis said there's likely as many Royal Arms as kings, and we only get 13 of 113, so there's still one hundred out there, and while Noctis is normally the only one who can wield them, Kingsglaive shows that in times of dire need, others can wield the power of the king, and if that can be considered for fighting Niflheim imperials, it should apply to a well meaning hunter facing a daemonic apocalypse. In any case I purchased my DLC season pass and I'm keeping save files from the points I suspect I'll need for the DLC later.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
7th Moon on Steam and Riding the Dragon
In the past week I managed to bring out two major projects, 7th Moon is available in beta on Steam and Riding the Dragon, the last book of the Magic of Rochester Trilogy is available on Amazon.
Riding the Dragon is about Ellen Red's twenty-first year. It starts with her birthday when the enchantment that protects her kingdom wears off and undead are free to hunt her and her friends down. Also, she's graduating from college, starting her own fashion line, introducing a whole bunch of changelings to Rochester, and of course making her final decision on whether she's going to marry hunky werewolf Jason or exotic wizard Ralph. To make it all more complicated, the previous leaders of the werewolves and wizards both die under suspicious circumstances and a feud heats up that complicates matters even further. If you like paranormal polyamory with fashion and local culture from western upstate New York, then find out how her story ends. Also a great Valentine's Day gift.
7th Moon is now available on Steam! It took me a few months to figure it out but you can now download the beta of the RPG on Steam. It is quite simply, the book made into game format. I did have to make a few adjustments, I couldn't get all the right artwork for the enemies, so I had to take some liberties with appearance, but it makes it cooler in some cases. Also, I gave more equipment options than were actually in the book so that part is more fun but less accurate. Abilities I try to stay true to, but Douji's powers are definitely more than most readers may expect, though just because I didn't explore it in the book, doesn't mean it's not an accurate reflection of his potential. The story is edited for time and space, but if you would rather play through 7th Moon than read it, than this is the game for you. Feel free to give feedback on 7th Moon in the comments section on Steam so I can work on a better final product. I tried to make it as good as possible, but as it is my first try, I'm sure I missed something, also it's hard to remain objective when I designed it so I know the easiest way to finish it.
Well, I've got three Final Fantasy games to play, so I'm gonna get back to playing, all of you get to enjoying the entertainment I've created for you.
Riding the Dragon is about Ellen Red's twenty-first year. It starts with her birthday when the enchantment that protects her kingdom wears off and undead are free to hunt her and her friends down. Also, she's graduating from college, starting her own fashion line, introducing a whole bunch of changelings to Rochester, and of course making her final decision on whether she's going to marry hunky werewolf Jason or exotic wizard Ralph. To make it all more complicated, the previous leaders of the werewolves and wizards both die under suspicious circumstances and a feud heats up that complicates matters even further. If you like paranormal polyamory with fashion and local culture from western upstate New York, then find out how her story ends. Also a great Valentine's Day gift.
7th Moon is now available on Steam! It took me a few months to figure it out but you can now download the beta of the RPG on Steam. It is quite simply, the book made into game format. I did have to make a few adjustments, I couldn't get all the right artwork for the enemies, so I had to take some liberties with appearance, but it makes it cooler in some cases. Also, I gave more equipment options than were actually in the book so that part is more fun but less accurate. Abilities I try to stay true to, but Douji's powers are definitely more than most readers may expect, though just because I didn't explore it in the book, doesn't mean it's not an accurate reflection of his potential. The story is edited for time and space, but if you would rather play through 7th Moon than read it, than this is the game for you. Feel free to give feedback on 7th Moon in the comments section on Steam so I can work on a better final product. I tried to make it as good as possible, but as it is my first try, I'm sure I missed something, also it's hard to remain objective when I designed it so I know the easiest way to finish it.
Well, I've got three Final Fantasy games to play, so I'm gonna get back to playing, all of you get to enjoying the entertainment I've created for you.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Star Wars Rogue One
I know I'm a little late on this one, but I just watched it last week and that was DBS week, so it kind of took precedence.
Star Wars Rogue One finally answers the question anyone with sense has asked since the original Star Wars, "Why did the Empire build the Death Star with such a simple and obvious weakness?" The answer is that the architect actually did want it destroyed, which, once that fact is revealed, is the only logical explanation.
The movie opens with the architect, Galen Erso, being approached by the Empire demanding that he help them build the Death Star. He is very reluctant, but he has a family he must protect and to do this, he relents so that his daughter, Jyn, can escape. The movie then skips forward to Jyn's adulthood when she gets rescued from prison by the Rebels because they found out that Saw Gerrara, a family friend, got a message from Galen and she may be the only one who can get the inside track on the architect to bring down the Empire. The specific rebels who get her are Cassian Andor and K-2SO, a droid that used to belong to the Empire but got reprogrammed to work for the Rebels and is a bit glitchy, so now he's a sarcastic prick that plays like a more badass C-3PO(who has a cameo). Cassian mostly follows orders and kills without qustion when it suits the mission and is as cold as a droid, but over the course of the movie both he and K-2SO develop more emotion and care for those around them. The Rogue One crew is rounded out by Bodhi Rook, an imperial pilot who defected to deliver Galen's message, and Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus, the last guardians of the crystal mines beneath the sacred city of Jedha where the power source of light sabers came from. Chirrut is the resident badass of the movie because he is a blind monk who has learned to use the Force to fight without sight. Chirrut and Baze are just sort of in the wrong place at the wrong time, getting mixed up with the others for no real good reason, but if you're paying attention, you realize they are guardians of something that no longer needs guarding and this is their last chance to be relevant. Also, the moon they're on gets blown up and they survive only beause they get away with the crew, so it's totally worth letting these two badasses tag along.
The message from Galen Erso was meant for Jyn and explains that he worked for the Empire because he knew they would build the Death Star without him but at least if he cooperated he could build in a weakness, and now that it's complete and ready to destroy planets, he needs for the secret weakness to be known to the rebels. From there the movie is pretty predictable, but that's what makes it interesting, you know how it ends, because it ends where the original Star Wars begins, you know the mission succeeds, you just sit back and watch the events unfold. Chirrut and K-2SO are the best for reasons already stated, but there's alos plenty of easter eggs for fans. Dart Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin both make appearances, the latter utilizing CGI to recreate the original face from over forty years ago, so flawless you won't know unless you think to look for it. Other familiar faces who pop up include Mon Mothma and Bail Organna, Leia's adoptive father, who has a sad moment nea the end when he mentions going back to Alderaan and we know how that goes. Also, pay very close attention and you'll see or hear some old minor rebel members, and astute observers will recognize the guys from the Mos Eisley Cantina who had a fight with Luke Skywalker that ended with Obi Wan Kenobi cutting off one guy's arm with a lght saber as they bump into Jyn Erso on the street. And of course there are a few other nods to Star Wars of the past, including catch phrases like "May the Force be with you" and "I have a bad feeling about this" and on an unrelated nerd note, there is a second where you see K-2SO in the cockpit flipping switches overhead the same way Wash did on Firefly, both characters played by Alan Tudyk, and since he did the motion capture I am 99% certain he did the motion as a wink to his fans.
Now that we've settled the question about the Death Star's weakness, can we work on explaining how Luke Skywalker lived on his father's home planet, with his father's step brother under his father's name and was never found in ~20 years?
Star Wars Rogue One finally answers the question anyone with sense has asked since the original Star Wars, "Why did the Empire build the Death Star with such a simple and obvious weakness?" The answer is that the architect actually did want it destroyed, which, once that fact is revealed, is the only logical explanation.
The movie opens with the architect, Galen Erso, being approached by the Empire demanding that he help them build the Death Star. He is very reluctant, but he has a family he must protect and to do this, he relents so that his daughter, Jyn, can escape. The movie then skips forward to Jyn's adulthood when she gets rescued from prison by the Rebels because they found out that Saw Gerrara, a family friend, got a message from Galen and she may be the only one who can get the inside track on the architect to bring down the Empire. The specific rebels who get her are Cassian Andor and K-2SO, a droid that used to belong to the Empire but got reprogrammed to work for the Rebels and is a bit glitchy, so now he's a sarcastic prick that plays like a more badass C-3PO(who has a cameo). Cassian mostly follows orders and kills without qustion when it suits the mission and is as cold as a droid, but over the course of the movie both he and K-2SO develop more emotion and care for those around them. The Rogue One crew is rounded out by Bodhi Rook, an imperial pilot who defected to deliver Galen's message, and Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus, the last guardians of the crystal mines beneath the sacred city of Jedha where the power source of light sabers came from. Chirrut is the resident badass of the movie because he is a blind monk who has learned to use the Force to fight without sight. Chirrut and Baze are just sort of in the wrong place at the wrong time, getting mixed up with the others for no real good reason, but if you're paying attention, you realize they are guardians of something that no longer needs guarding and this is their last chance to be relevant. Also, the moon they're on gets blown up and they survive only beause they get away with the crew, so it's totally worth letting these two badasses tag along.
The message from Galen Erso was meant for Jyn and explains that he worked for the Empire because he knew they would build the Death Star without him but at least if he cooperated he could build in a weakness, and now that it's complete and ready to destroy planets, he needs for the secret weakness to be known to the rebels. From there the movie is pretty predictable, but that's what makes it interesting, you know how it ends, because it ends where the original Star Wars begins, you know the mission succeeds, you just sit back and watch the events unfold. Chirrut and K-2SO are the best for reasons already stated, but there's alos plenty of easter eggs for fans. Dart Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin both make appearances, the latter utilizing CGI to recreate the original face from over forty years ago, so flawless you won't know unless you think to look for it. Other familiar faces who pop up include Mon Mothma and Bail Organna, Leia's adoptive father, who has a sad moment nea the end when he mentions going back to Alderaan and we know how that goes. Also, pay very close attention and you'll see or hear some old minor rebel members, and astute observers will recognize the guys from the Mos Eisley Cantina who had a fight with Luke Skywalker that ended with Obi Wan Kenobi cutting off one guy's arm with a lght saber as they bump into Jyn Erso on the street. And of course there are a few other nods to Star Wars of the past, including catch phrases like "May the Force be with you" and "I have a bad feeling about this" and on an unrelated nerd note, there is a second where you see K-2SO in the cockpit flipping switches overhead the same way Wash did on Firefly, both characters played by Alan Tudyk, and since he did the motion capture I am 99% certain he did the motion as a wink to his fans.
Now that we've settled the question about the Death Star's weakness, can we work on explaining how Luke Skywalker lived on his father's home planet, with his father's step brother under his father's name and was never found in ~20 years?
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