Finally was bothered to download tumblr on my iPad to properly post digital art stuff… Anyway ETHO!!!!!

Saw u were asking for asks so i was wondering what was the process in designing Tys character :)

Tagging @fox-faced as they had sent a fairly similar ask to @swindle-comic and I felt it would be more effective to kill two birds with one stone.

I am honestly so sorry for taking so long to answer this. This is going to be a fairly long post!

So, as far as designing Ty goes, it was mostly a process of learning how to draw bears. Specifically Disney bears.

When it came time to design Ty, I was definitely not practiced in the art of drawing cartoon bears. In fact, I was mostly doing Moomin fanart at this point, and was still trying to figure out how I wanted to draw DT17 characters in a way that wasn't just the style of the show. Ty's design hasn't changed much, conceptually, but instead has been heavily tweaked and refined as I simply got better and more used to drawing bears.

As Ty was, at the time of his creation, so derivative of Kit, my plan of attack was pretty much just "figure out how to draw a bear cub in the DT17 style" using Kit's design as a reference for drawing a Disney bear cub to begin with. Lolly had been the one to choose which species of bear Ty was, so I was trying to focus instead on his general aesthetic while translating the proper features over. Once again, I used Kit as a reference - or rather, his athleticism - and pushed it to the point where Ty looked very jock-ish (though you can blame my love for letterman jackets on that).

You can tell in a lot of my older drawings of Ty that I really hadn't actually gotten used to or properly figured this bear thing out, yet. His face, especially, looks extra blocky and awkward. However, these early drawings were where I quickly decided to make Ty fairly large and thick as a teenager. This was before I had really considered the idea that he grew up underfed, it was more just "I want to play around with this body-type".

Among these earliest drawings was also one of Ty and Louie as adults, where, again, you can tell that I hadn't quite gotten the hang of drawing bears, but you can see that from the very beginning I had wanted him to be a more top-heavy adult (mostly just to allow for some variety between him, Kit, and Baloo. As much as I do love Kit's adult design, Disney has a bad habit of copypasting character designs from parents to their children, and I really wasn't interested on continuing that trend).

I wasn't super confident on how I was going to properly refine this design, so his adult design ended up taking a back-seat for a while as I instead focused on getting better at drawing his teen design.

This was pretty much accomplished simply by drawing him more, and lord knows I was hyperfixated as FUCK on this funky little bear cub, so drawing him a ton was not hard to do. I think what really helped me figure him out were these drawings, here, where I had to really think about what angles I had him posed at, and how his features would properly look in a more 3D or dynamic space. This was also where I started looking at any details I wanted to add to his design (the stripes on his collar were introduced to his design at this point, for instance).

At a point, I felt as though I had gotten good enough to at least create some proper "stock" images of the boy to properly solidify his desgin and all the little tweaks I made. I think the differences between this and his very first drawings are more subtle, but you can DEFINITELY tell the difference between these drawings and my other early Ty drawings.

And interesting fact was that I hadn't been drawing early Llewerius art with the idea that Ty had gone through a growth spurt before they started dating, so you end up with sketches like this:

PART 1 OF 2 BECAUSE TUMBLR SUCKS AND WON'T LET ME UPLOAD MORE THAT 10 PICTURES EVEN THOUGH THIS TECHNICALLY QUALIFIES AS A TEXT POST (as it, for whatever reason, decided to switch to mobile mode even though I'm literally on a desktop computer, I hate this broken-ass website)

First Impressions and predictions based on the coven Leaders

After a full first season their fame adorning the banners and walls, who they are being hailed, yet they themselves being kept in the shadows we now get first looks (and throughout 2a will meet) the emperors top dogs: The coven leaders. I will not lie as a group... these guys dissappoint me. Making the majority of them very human in appearance for me is a big no. Compare this group to the many colorful and fantastical creatures that are shown teaching at hexside and the hexside teachers are far more creative, unique, and fun. Maybe the artists decided to make the coven leaders look more like normal people so the audience would have an easier time understanding their expressions and body language. Maybe the more humanoid whitches are a higher class and have a easier time climbing higher than the more beast and demon like residence.? We will have to wait and see. 

Seperate this group into individuals (like how we will hopefully meet them) and most of them become far more interesting, So below lets take a look at each coven leader individually, where the artists may have taken inspriation, and what  What kind of characters they could maybe turn out to be.

The Beast keeping coven Leader: One of the only two that are not humanoids. What type of animal is he? At first I was sure he was a hedgehog, but maybe he could also be like a chipmunk or a squirrel. I get the feeling he might be partially inspired by Sonic from Sega. I was really into Sonic back in middle school. I liked the cartoons and read through the archie’s old comic series. But I kinda out grew him since then. I know from helping to take care of kids though that he is still popular with the younger generation. That’s kinda how I thin the Beast Keeping Coven leader will be: less interesting for older viewers, but a real fun charcter for kids.

The Healing coven leader: Now this guy looks like fun villain all around. Is some kind of witch docotor? a Dark Priest? The size the purple Grin, he looks like the phantom boss from those horror films where you get trapped in nightmares. Tell me he has scary theme song music and talks in a very high pitched voice. I’ve heard some people wonder if he could be Selena (oracle girl from hexside)’s dad. I don’t thinks so, the macaroni crescent shape n his head looks more like a fancy cowl than part of his actual head. Also him having a daughter in Luz’s class could be used as a reason for him to change sides, I want this guy to stay as a villian/antagonist. We all know that with this size group some will stay with the emperor and some will defect to Luz’s side (possibility a couple will die, we haven’t seen yet just how dark Dana is willing to go). Personally my view with redemption arcs and if a character “deserves them” is it depends on what it will do for the story/character afterwards? IF redeeming them opens more doors for the characters and directions the story can take, do it. IF it closes doors leave them as they are. I absolutely hate when clever and well written bad guys get “redeemed” in to boring, plot useless, weebs. The only reason I could see having this guy change sides is for him to “cure” Eda and Lilith’s curse, and I would much rather see the two of them gain control over their forms than be “cured” of them.

The Illusion coven leader: Another fun looking antagonist. My third favorite of these nine. If the healer guy is horror movie based. This guy is Disney based all around. Looks like one of those Vegas suave showmen styled character. Love it. I guarantee you he does not actually look that young or slicked back, but is using illusion magic to make himself more pretty. Not sure if he will stay with the emperor or not. Illusion is Gus’s track and I could see Dana having the leaders of Luz’s friends tracks be the ones to stand by them. If so I am fine with that (in the case of the abomination leader I will beg for it). Gaining the respect of someone as high up as a coven leader could be really great for Gus’s character. Just as long as I get plenty of laughs from Gus and this guy both along the way.

The Potion coven leader: My second favorite and in my opinion the most creative idea of the whole bunch. A mosquito that works in potions! Does he suck them up with his nose and carry them in.. whatever it is mosquitos store blood in. Also he looks angry. Like everyone else is either amused or board. This guy is fed up and ready to do something about it. Not sure if it is the Emperor, the other leaders, or the owl gang he is mad at, but it should be a worthwhile show down.

The Abomination coven leader: Yes this is my favorite design. Yes it is because he is such a beautiful man. Would never have expected someone who creates mucks (the pokemon) with legs would be so fine. Its more than that though. He looks the most kind. Their is no malice or guise in his smile and his green eyes are bright and relaxed. I wondered what the purpose of the Abomination track was and why it had “more opportunity” all last season. Well slight spoilers if you haven’t seen episode 2x02 it is the industrialist field. When you learn about Industrialization usually the idea is that it is done to help the human race reach its full potential, and it is up to each individual to decide what to do with that potential. Whether you call that the passion of a creative mind or the carelessness of a fool would also be up to you. But I really don’t want this guy to be all bad. If for no other reason that more spoilers for episode 2 * with the interest/caution the emperor is showing the blights I expect this guy to show up to their house, probably meet Amity, and we really do not need another not so nice adult in her life. She has had enough.

The Oracle coven leader: What is this? He’s got nails/caws at the ends of dread thingys like Kikimore, so is this her father? Does he have anything to do with her being in the Emporor’s coven? But this is my least favorite. Like what was the inspiration behind this guy? With so many legendary oracles in mythology and we get this guy who mostly looks saggy, washed out, tierd, and just Blah. Hope thier is more to him, but here is one who I am not holding my breath for an episode on.

The Plant coven leader: based on her banner I was expecting something like the Swamp Giant from ALTA. Instead they went in the direction of a very traditional witch desgine: An old women with a wrinkled face and really messy hair, who probably lives alone in the woods, with maybe the exception of a cat, and dances around a fire at night. Okay. She is definitely going to become an ally of the owl gang. This is the only female of the group,and it is neither in Dana’s message nor would it be popular with her target audience to make a villain or even an antagonist out of a women who managed to climb the later into a male dominated success level. I am actually looking forward to seeing her, because it will probably be in a Willow based episode, and after 2x02 (which I personally feel should not have been a luminaty episode but rather a Willow and Amity one finishing up their reconciliation arc), Willow deserves an episode with potential centered around her. An episode where she goes against the Plant track Leader would be that. This witches Grin isn’t exactly friendly, but its more mischievous than wicked. She gives off vibes as one of those people who like to test the mains, and if you pass her tests than you earn her respect. I have no doubt Willow could win at her little games, and doing so would be a huge boost the confidence she has spent the show building.

The Construction coven leader: Oh joy here’s the other one I am unimpressed with. Unlike with the Oracle guy I know where they got his design. To everyone saying that we first saw him at the convention, your not backing far enough up. If you have ever seen any cartoon ever where the main character wanders past or onto a construction sight you have seen this man. Every trio of workers sitting on a iron frame eating from a lunchbox. Every pig that makes a catcall at a disgusted women. Every exhausted worker who watches as your slapstick mains chase each other past at quitting time... they all looked EXACTLY like this guy. This is really the character leading the track Dana herself has said she would pick to join? They could have done a Golem made of brick an stone that resembles a palace. They could have done some kind of humanoid ant with super strength. They could have done a wizard with shapes and mathematics on his robe who carried a scroll everywhere that he compulsively scribbled blueprints onto. But instead we get Mr. Generic here.

The Bard coven Leader: This is R, Eda’s old friend from her hexside days. Did I save R for last because of this connection? Partially. I am also unsure what R’s pronouns are. To me R looks physically male. I have seen other posters use “she” when posting about R. One person posted that Dana had confirmed R uses “they” and if so awesome, I would really like to see that tweet. What ever R’s pronouns though their appearance in the show will be tied with Eda, er past, and what she had to give up in order to live free. I look forward to this new insight onto her character

Trollhunters Season 3

Sooooooooo..... is anybody ready to scream and cry about this with @lycidas-spooky and me yet? Please?!

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!

- Still having Anton's voice at the beginning!

- The beautiful change to Emil's voice in Episode 3 - them actually explaining it, that is NOT a given!

- Jim actually admitting (to himself AND Strickler) that his mom still loves and cares for Strickler

- THE MOTHERFUCKING EXCORCIST IN A "KID'S SHOW"!?

- Claire beating Morgana's evil ass; gaining some sweet magic and full control of the staff

- The parents finding out about everything and being COMPLETELY supportive!!

- Dictatious switching sides and REALLY wanting his brother to forgive him - touch starved little bean...

- Knowing it was necessary for Jim to destroy the amulet BUT IT STILL BEING SO PAINFUL TO WATCH

- The amulet is actually made out of Moragana's hand?! What the actual fuck, Merlin?!

- Angor Rot saving Draal because 'he could still be useful' - yeah right, we all know he felt sympathetic towards him after the whole dog/leash line from Gunmar!

- DRAAL DYING EXACTLY LIKE HIS FATHER!!!

- Morgana vs Merlin being the REAL battle of Killahead Bridge

- AJA AND KREL AND ALL THE ALIEN REFERENCES

- Usurna FINALLY getting what she deserves

- Angor Rot realizing he's nothing but a pawn to Morgana, but having been nothing else for so long, he doesn't know what else to do

- Strickler's Wings?!

- BARBARA AND STRICKLER

- 'My life is not worth the world!'

- 'It is to me...'

- Going from: 'Merlin's a dick I want him to die!' to: 'He actually kinda has a point - but he's still a dick.'

- ALL THE FLASHBACKS WHILE JIM WAS MAKING THE DECISION - NOT TO MENTION THE PARALLELS TO WHEN HE WENT INTO THE DARKLANDS ALONE

- 'YOUNG ATLAS YOU ARE NOT ALONE! DON'T DO THIS!'

- Jim's Troll Desgin??? I mean, it's still HIM, but also sooo different, like aaaahhhh

- How happy AAARRRGGHH!!! was after realizing Jim's now a troll too? Like? How cute was that??

- Jim's entire breakdown after he realizes he doesn't belong in either world, human or troll

- Him doing the complete opposite from what he did in the Darklands and actually ACCEPTING the help from his family and friends!!

- BLINKY CALLING JIM HIS SON!!!

- EVERYTHING ABOUT THE FUCKING FINALE?!

- Steve having Eli on his shoulders during the concert?? *^*

- Claire just running up on stage and basically telling the whole town the truth

- Almost EVERYONE fighting and defending their hometown, even if they don't really know what's going on

- Humans AND Trolls being treated in the hospital

- The entire Trollhunters Team being the DEFINITION OF BADASS - INCLUDING THE CREEPSLAYERZ

- Gnome Chompsky and NotEnrique totally saving those babies

- Jim being the one to remind Angor Rot about who he really is

- 'I heard you were once a great warrior, a hero to Trollkind! What's your excuse now that you have your soul back?!'

- JIM FUCKING WASTING GUNMAR!!!

- Merlin basically being useless during the battle..... I mean.....

- Angor Rot switching sides and FUCKING decking Morgana straight in her damn face

- 'Witch! I am no one's pawn! The boy reminded me who I fight for!'

- Angor Rot dying a MOTHERFUCKING HERO

- 'Well played, hunter...'

- TOBY ACTUALLY CALLING OUT 'ANGOR!'??? TOBY, THE VERY SAME GUY WHO KILLED HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

- JIM THROWING HIMSELF IN FRONT OF HIS FRIENDS TO PROTECT THEM

- CLAIRE BEING WILLING TO SPEND AN ETERNITY WITH MORGANA IN THE SHADOW REALM IF IT MEANS THE WORLD IS SAFE

- CLAIRE RECITING ROMEO AND JULIET?!!

- The town's people just.... accepting the trolls and HELPING THEM

- THE ENTIRE GOODBYE SCENE

- 'I promised I'd never leave you...'

- Claire's parents letting her go with Jim after they basically hated him most of the time he was dating their daughter??

- Realizing Strickler has to stay in his troll form forever now - and Barbara giving single fucks and just staying by his side

- AAARRRGGHH!!! staying with his wingman although he KNOWS he'll die eventually without a heartstone

- 'DESTINY IS A GIFT. NEVER FORGET THAT FEAR IS BUT THE PRECURSOR TO VALOR. THAT TO STRIVE AND TRIUMPH IN THE FACE OF FEAR IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A HERO. DON'T THINK. BECOME.'

IN ANTON'S VOICE

- THIS SERIES IS DEDICATED TO ANTON YELCHIN

What’s your beef with Byleth’s design, I think they’re both great.

That’s your opinion that is definitely not the same as mine.

I’m gonna critique the game as less than a whole since I haven’t finished finished it yet but one path. I did give the game some predictions and critiques before it came out. It’s a game something meant to be bought and critique so I don’t wanna hear any bs about “just play the game and enjoy it” Shit because that’s how games get better people whining. So any of you people who get mad at this game getting critique, go do something else.

Fire emblem 3 houses is a game that costs like 60$ I think? I got it as a gift because someone was like “congratulations I know you like that fire emblem weeb shit!” And since I’m back at school I have a switch I can use again. Anyway it’s a 60$ game with cats that you can’t pet.

I had some expectations. One being both avatars weren’t ass ugly. Like they’re ugly ugly they’re just got I hate that I’m one of them. I said both you heard me. So there isn’t “just be the boy character!” What if I wanted to marry some dude character who couldn’t marry dude byleth? You want me to be ugly?! I mean I’m ugly other way.

I’ll start dragging dude byleth. His outfit is okay, complex but Fire emblem is known for complete character designs. (Very detailed) I kinda hate his face and hair. He has emo bangs and mullet hair. And I get that the byleths are stone cold so it makes sense, but I wish he had eyebrows. He doesn’t look like an avatar character. His look kinda looks mix match. The mullet and emo bangs are just a huge turn off. He’s just not appealing. I guess he’s just basic ugly.

As my bf put it “the slutty Halloween costume of male byleth” not slut shaming a fictional character but this outfit definitely has that vibe. You’re a damn teacher in this game and she’s wearing those tights, crop top, short shorts, and who wants to bet that armor is just a kinda like a tube top? I don’t know the function of that collar either. Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for her to wear long sleeves so the armor doesn’t bother her skin? She’s breaking dress code. Don’t get me started on Manuela I like her charcter but damn. No wonder why t was so easy to kill her in the beginning of the game, she has near to none good armor on her vital spots. Here stab my stomach window if you wanna kill me! No? Try to my collar bone area. I can’t believe that got passed for being the female avatar. My roommate made the joke it she was dressed as a role play teacher for the bed room.

Is Byleth suppose to be like “hey kids fight the dress code, break it. I’ll be your example!”

I did use to hate her hair as well, but it grew on me when I learned it was just her an Jeralt so he didn’t have the skills or means to teach Byleth to cut hair right (he’s got a damn braid) and that’s why her hair is all choppy, she’s been using a damn knife all these years. Her hair I can manage looking at but Male Byleth should just start over with the hair.

Yes I’ll agree the whole no pants in Nohr and other character designs also sucked from fire emblem, I just had hope it would be better. I don’t know the exact number of avatars in the series but Robin desgin was the best and I hate pigtails but at least you can change that. The Robins both rocked as avatars, they had personality, choices, customizable looks (yeah it’s not needed just nice) and had big jackets and decent outfits. Fates custom options also kinda sucked I couldn’t make a male Corrine I could stand looking at and female Corrin had more leeway but felt weird with her armor.

I get why Byleth wasn’t the same as those two for customizing but damn did they have to pick those designs? I explained why I didn’t like them and sure I didn’t use big words and it was all based on my opinion but it doesn’t take long to look at that and think wow how is that functional for a woman of that game?

I did like their merge with sothsis less. The bright green made them worse.

Spoiler parts critque

Why do all the blue lions have back story and lore? Sylvain s brother, Ash’s adoptive dad, and Annette’s father are all major plot points. Yeah Merecede’s brother is also important but he’s not revealed in every story on who he is only hinted.

The blue lions trio plus Dimitri also draws me into the lions a lot because they all know each before this school which makes them cool. Mercedes and Annette being friends also makes their route more enjoyable.

The black eagles most of the characters know of each other because of their parents but I thought they’d be more friendly with one another (didn’t really all the supports yet but I though Bernie and Edlegard would be closer since they should be involed with the empire’s politics)

I can’t say much for golden deer just cause I haven’t played it yet but I’m pretty sure Ignatz Raphael and Lorenz have something going on???

I did find Dimitri ugly when the game first was announced and I wa alike damn only gotta focus on two houses and then the five year designs came out and I was like fuck you. Dimitri got hot but Edlegard had an okay desgin. Claude look exactly what I liked. I thought since they’re called the black eagles, Edlegard would wear more black but she’s as bright as a stop light. Her twin buns weren’t my favorite but whatever I still love her.

The crimson flower route (edlegard’s route) was enjoyable. I didn’t know the game kinda ends chapter 17/18 so it was kinda fast but for that route they do set Rhea up to the the villain really well. Edlegard is always ready to talk shit about her and its kinda nice because dead dad also didn’t like Rhea and we couldn’t tell why. I just didn’t like how I didn’t really deal with those who slither in the dark that much. If they wanted to make that a couple chapters longer I wouldn’t oppose that being added, but Rhea was the main villain for that route. rip dad. Yeah we avenged him but I wanted the entire group gone.

I don’t hate Rhea, she’s just a very likeable villain and the woman who plays her has the some range! Here I thought even with Rhea’s past, she was going to be this sweet lady who could see no wrong with Byleth and now she wants to rip me limb to limb. And every time Rhea felt like that and voiced that it shocked me every time which was great.

Haven’t finished other 3 routes won’t say anything there.

Game play/experience

I like how much you can grind without any set backs. Wish you could deal with supports when ever tho but I guess that would be too easy

Graphics are good for me

Wish I could let the animals

Surprised to not see Cain and Abel characters or characters who turn into animals or dragons (playable ones) but tbh didn’t miss it.

Other character designs I thought weren’t my favorite was probably Manuela (love her character) just cause she’s also a teacher. Hilda didn’t stand out to me, but it was nice knowing she wasn’t a copy of Severa which I thought she was. The pre five years the after isn’t my favorite eithe but whatever. The pig tail look and how there was nothing else standing out for her made her desgin boring but she makes up for in personality. Pink hair and eyes what is she the leader of a magical girl show? Dude wise no one really stood out as awful. Ignatz was just not the best looking but I think that’s just his quirk.he goes from bowl cut to mullet. Lorenz look awful before the five years and gets a little better.

Designs I liked for the girls were probably Rhea, (clever with the ears) I liked her complex look really holy like and had surprises. Mercedes was cute, and i liked Ingrid all the way long hair or short. Dorthea having a hat like that was a nice change. I liked how Marianne went from look stressed all the time to some what better. Lythesisa’s veil was cool. For dudes I like Ash’s pre five years more that his after just cause I like his shaggy hair over his little bit longer. After five year Dimitri looks good, Claude always looked good.

So there I gave the game some compliments but they won’t get one from me on their avatar designs.

Our Favorite Dumb (But Awesome) Games

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/our-favorite-dumb-but-awesome-games/

Our Favorite Dumb (But Awesome) Games

At some point in the past few weeks, some of us at the office were spitballing about when we thought the ludicrous new crustacean-themed battle game Fight Crab might come out.While we don’t know for sure (though their website alleges it will be some time by the end of the month), it got us thinking: this game, while undeniably awesome, is also undeniably silly and sort of dumb. But that’s not a bad thing – in fact, it reminded us that some of our favorite games aren’t much smarter.

IGN’s Favorite Dumb-But-Awesome Games

Check out the slideshow above for some of our favorite dumb-but-awesome games, or scroll through the entire list below.

I Am Bread

In I Am Bread, you are bread, and your mission is to become toast. Literally – it’s all about traversing a hazardous kitchen, apartment, or other mundane room as a slice of bread to get to a toaster and cook yourself.

The premise is silly as hell and it’s frustratingly, stupidly hard, but it also had me laughing so hard I teared up. Funny, because I had the same exact reaction to Bossa Studios’ other wacky game, Surgeon Simulator.

– Casey DeFreitas, Editor

This game was an absolute turd, so bad in fact that it was one of the first games to be approved for the PS Classic, the first mini-console desgined to showcase all of the worst titles in the history of an otherwise beloved system.

It was also the first and only 3D fighting game available for the system at launch (a couple months before Tekken and a couple years before Soul Blade would be released), so you better believe there were quite a few of us early adopters out there wasting hours mastering a game that would never really achieve widespread popularity. Even though I definitely know better in retrospect, I still can’t help but to remember my time with BAT fondly.

– Jeremy Azevedo, Head of Gaming Video

Blitzball

Final Fantasy X was a game about love, parenthood, responsibility, adulthood, and playing underwater basket-rugby with lots of dudes in big shorts. At least, it was for me. I am acutely aware that Blitzball, X’s take on the traditional all-consuming Final Fantasy side-game, is objectively bad. It’s slow, predictable and has, generously, about 4 animations in total. And I played it for dozens of hours, sculpting the perfect team of dudes in big shorts and winning everything I could. It was a chance for a distraction from the sad fact that Tidus’ dad had become an apocalyptic whale, and by god, I took that chance. I love it.

– Joe Skrebels, UK Deputy Editor

Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold

In my house, my dad didn’t let me play Doom. He let me play Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold while he played Doom. Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold is kind of like Doom, but it’s also not Doom. Doom came out the week after this game and ruined my life. Thanks, Doom.

– Ronny Barrier, Video Producer

Sneak King

Who’d have thought that one of the most memorable games of the last generation would have been a marketing stunt? Sneak King took my love of stealth games, and slapped it on the grill with my love of burgers to make a delicious, greasy, surprisingly unbroken adventure starring America’s only acceptable monarch, the Burger King. May his charbroiled reign last a thousand sneaky, greasy years.

– Jon Ryan, Senior Editor

Uno (Xbox Live Arcade)

When this game came out, I got way too into becoming the greatest Uno player of all time. I will never forget the lack of moderation on the pictures for my competitors leading each game of Uno to basically become a proxy for chat roulette. A unique time in gaming.

– Tate Fiebing, Product Manager

Roundabout

Expecting an FMV comedy romp, I was not expecting to be dumped into what is arguably the most absurd puzzle/platformer/racing game I’ve ever played. Yes, it also has FMV. Beginning with frustration and utter confusion as I tried to learn how to control my continually-rotating cab quickly gave way to howls of laughter as I crashed and exploded again and again, and I became obsessed with trying to top my previous high scores for each level. If I’d been playing by myself, I might not have found it quite as funny – but with friends, this game is comedic gold.

– Ginger Smith, Product Manager

Almost every single licensed NES game (not made by Capcom)

If it existed in the 80s, there was an NES game based on it. It didn’t matter if the underlying IP was rated R, or what the story might be, or if the developers had ever seen the movie or show it was based on.

This was before the internet and by the time you were suckered into buying the game, that was it, you were stuck with it. Rambo, Total Recall, TMNT, Bart vs The Space Mutants, A Nightmare on Elm Street, X-Men, Goonies, Karate Kid, Terminator 2, Friday the 13th, Night Rider, Airwolf, Bill & Ted, if you can remember it, there was probably an NES game based on it and it was almost definitely shit. But you’d play the hell out of it because you wanted to believe it was like the thing you loved, and because you had to justify the expense of a new game tape to yourself and your family. Unless it was made by Capcom (like Ducktails or Little Nemo), in which case it was, of course, bitchin’.

– Jeremy Azevedo

You Have To Burn The Rope

YHTBTR is a 30sec game with a great 2min end credits song. It’s not very difficult. The game literally tells you what to do right in the title. You could argue this isn’t even a game and instead is more of a music player with an interactive play button. No matter how you look at it, YHTBTR is definitely a “dumb” game but to this day is still one of my favorite time-wasters.

– Isaiah Smith, Software Engineer

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

After G-Unit performs a sold-out show in an ambiguous Middle Eastern country, they’re outraged to learn the concert promoter can’t pay them in cash. Instead, he offers them a jewel-encrusted skull, which is immediately stolen by a beautiful ninja woman. 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, and DJ Whoo Kid chase after her, which proves easier said than done because there are terrorists everywhere and they have to fight the terrorists.

Because this is a video game, new weapons and skills can be unlocked, but because this a 50 Cent video game, so can new swearwords. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is dumb as all hell, and way better that is has any right to be. It is a tragedy and an atrocity that it never got a follow-up where G-Unit goes to outer space or back in time.

– Max Scoville, Executive Mailroom Clerk

Chrome Dino

When you go offline…and you’re really bored…watchu gonna play? Chrome Dino! No, but seriously, Chrome Dino has saved me from complete boredom so many times over the years. From dodging pterodactyl and cacti to watching the world change from day to night and back again, Chrome Dino is a surprisingly addictive game that lives in the most unlikely of places. I still play it sometimes to this day when the internet goes out…

– Isaiah Smith

Cool Spot

A video game tie-in to promote Sprite’s bastard stepchild 7-Up, Cool Spot is profoundly dumb in theory, but actually quite fun to play. You play as the eponymous spot – 7-Up’s mascot in the United States – as he traverses through various generic ‘90s platforming levels, rescuing other Spots and collecting points. Strangely competent despite the relentless product placement.

– Lucy O’Brien, Executive Editor

Get On Top (Sportsfriends)

The awkard wrestling game where rounds last 2 or 3 seconds. Many laughs were had and bets decided from wierd round boys slamming eachothers heads into the ground by wiggling around in QWOP-like motions. Existed as a hidden mini game in Sportsfriends and on the best selling console of all time: Ouya.

– Drake Wempe Software Engineer

Dong Dong Never Die

One of the weirdest fighting games ever made, DDND is a Doujin (Fan-Made Indie Game) game from China made in Fighter Maker. It plays a little bit like the old King of Fighters series, but the game looks like you took the weirdest characters out of Kung Fu Hustle and put them in a digitized 2d fighter. You’ll laugh at how absurd each character and their attacks are, but actually get a kick out of the fighting engine too. The game is free on PC, so you can take a shot of using your Mian Hua Tang against Super Mario without spending a penny.

– Aaron Smith Sr. Mgr.of AdOps

Metal Arms: Glitch In The System

A long-forgotten game for GameCube that was in many ways ahead of it’s time. Quirky storytelling that reminds me of borderlands. A bunch of bizzare weapons that could be upgraded and customized.

A final boss fight that was utter insanity as you’re almost literally fighting a building. A ton of fun to play and even gave itself an arena to do PvP with. Sadly in spite of having all of the elements of other great games it never really caught on.

– Eric Becking Lead Engineer

What are some of your favorite games that make you go “this sucks, I love it?” Let us know in the comments!

Source : IGN

6 Stories of Beer Moms Who Inspire Breweries

Credit: Craftbeer.com

May 12, 2017

Moms are often our ultimate cheerleaders, our protectors, our providers. They play an important role in our lives, and in the world of craft beer, that’s no exception.

We asked people to tell us about moms who had an integral role in the foundation of their breweries. Here are six stories about beer moms who inspire breweries and the people behind the scenes.

(MORE: 2017’s Great American Beer Bars)

It All Started with a Homebrew Kit

Chris Spinelli’s mom, Patty, wearing Roc Brewing gear. (Credit: Chris Spinelli)

Chris Spinelli, owner and founder of Roc Brewing Company in Rochester, New York, praises his mother, business partner and co-owner, Patty, as the reason he’s entered the business.

“If it were not for my mom, I would not own a brewery today,” Spinelli says.

It started on a lazy Sunday afternoon when Spinelli’s soon-to-be partner in crime bought him and a friend a homebrew kit. Little did they know — that was the beginning of a new journey.

“If she knew she would be purchasing a kit that would lead to us taking over the whole house for the next two years,” he reflects, “I don’t know if she would have pushed us out the door that afternoon.’

Two years after the purchase, they opened the doors to Roc Brewing, where Patty is known as the “brewery mom.” Chris tells us she’s the ultimate confidant, cheerleader and a driving force behind the brewery’s success.

“I wish her a happy Mother’s Day and a big thanks for all her help and support for Roc Brewing.”

(MORE: Major National Recognition for Owners of Maui Brewing)

Give ’em Helles, Mom

Melanie’s Helles, named for Chris’ mom. (Credit: Halfpenny/Instagram)

This story of Centennial, Colorado’s Halfpenny Brewing begins an ocean away in one of the biggest beer capitals of the world — Germany. Co-founder Chris Reigrut’s family moved to Europe when he was 9-years-old, and there was no shortage of bier festivals and brewery tours along the way.

Their love for beer blossomed into a passion that continued to grow after moving back to the U.S. The family attended the Great American Beer Festival® every year and continues to do to this day.

But visiting the GABF isn’t the end of it.

Chris has been brewing since college ended, and his mother’s opinion is integral to his work. She’s been a constant source of encouragement for his brainchild.

“When I told her that we were going to start a brewery, she was really excited,” Chris recalls. He says she jumped on board, helping with crowdfunding, setting up and chatting with new customers during the business’ grand opening, and so much more.

She’s honored with her very own (and favorite style) beer — Melanie’s Helles. You won’t want to miss it!

A Mother’s Intuition Sparks Curiosity

Chris Labbe’s mom Cheryl (aka Chery) sparked his interest in brewing beer. (Credit: Chris Labbe)

“Sometimes, our mothers know us better than we know ourselves,” admits Chris Labbe, Periodic Brewing’s chief fermentologist.

Chris, a self-described “Southern Boy” wasn’t a huge beer drinker when he moved from Atlanta to Colorado with his wife.

But that all changed when his mom got him a (you guessed it) homebrew kit for his 25th birthday. Through the homebrew kit, combined with curiosity fueled by Colorado’s famous brewery tour, an idea was born.

(RECIPES: Hundreds of Ways to Cook with Craft Beer)

“We set off for the nearest homebrew store, and I fell in love almost immediately,” Labbe recalls.

Periodic Brewing was born 20 years later in Leadville, Colorado, and their first professional batch was created 21 years after his first creation.

The Definitive Brewery Cheerleader

It’s another tale that begins with a homebrew kit.

Ro Guenzel is the director of brewing operations at DC’s Bluejacket Brewing. His mom pushed him toward a career craft beer with the gift for his 22nd birthday. But she didn’t stop there.

Ro’s mom financed his pursuit of the American Brewers Guild Craft Brewers Apprenticeship program and lent him her wheels and a phone for safe travel from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Sacramento, California.

Talk about the ultimate support system.

It’s only fitting she was the first call Guenzel made when he got his first job with Kaltenberg Castle in Vail, Colorado.

“She was impressed that I would be making way more money brewing beer than she did when she was first hired as a teacher,” Guenzel says. “Granted it was nearly 30 years later, and Vail isn’t cheap.”

Mama Guenzel is the definition of a cheerleader, sporting brewery paraphernalia from every brewery he’s worked and hawking social media.

“I would not be where I am without her support. I love my mom.”

(MORE: Movie-Inspired Beer Names)

Designs Inspired by Her Life

New art on Figueroa Mountain releases were inspired by Oceania Eagan’s mom. (Credit: Blindtiger Desgin)

Blindtiger Designs harbors a close relationship with Seattle’s craft beer scene — most notably with Figueroa Mountain Brewing.

This year, the design firm and FMB are hard at work, creating an updated design for the latter’s packaging, in a market that is experiencing explosive growth.

Blindtiger’s founder Oceania Eagan didn’t have to look far for the winning idea: her mother’s artwork was the perfect solution and a lovely tribute after her passing three years ago. Each work of art is incorporated into various labeling, preserving FMB’s heritage look but making for a clean, uniform appearance.

“The new look provides an open canvas to highlight the beauty in each story,” Eagan says. “I know my mom will be proud to see the love she put in each and every painting continue to tell the story of Figueroa Mountain.”

(MORE: 7 Craft Beers in Minor League Stadiums)

Label Art by Mom

In a tough-as-nails world, artwork can make or break a brand. Just ask Linus Hall, the founder and brewmaster of Nashville’s Yazoo Brewing Company.

Yazoo opened its doors in October 2003, 10 years Linus Hall bought his first homebrew kit from Rolling Stone, beginning an epic adventure.

Hall found a way to ensure Yazoo’s packaging set the brewery apart. His secret weapon: his mom. Like the folks at Blindtiger and FMB, she’s painted several of Yazoo’s labels.

This story covers half a dozen beer moms who inspired breweries, and it’s safe to say there are hundreds more to thank. We raise our glasses to all of you ladies and wish y’all a Happy Mother’s Day. Cheers!

Carolyn Williams

Fairly new to the craft beer scene, Carolyn enjoys beginning the ultimate adventure of exploring all this delectable world has to offer. She’s a Colorado native lucky enough to revel in a treasure trove of craft brews, particularly enjoying a hearty IPA from time to time. Cheers! Read more by this author

The post 6 Stories of Beer Moms Who Inspire Breweries appeared first on Miami Beer Scene.

from 6 Stories of Beer Moms Who Inspire Breweries

Not Dead (And also Uncharted)

Well howdy there all of the 0 people who read this blog, I’m not dead! I don’t really have a reason for not posting, I just didn’t really think to or care enough to. But that’s the good thing about having an unread blog, no expectations! Anyways, as the title implies, I’ve been replaying the original Uncharted trilogy through the remaster on PS4. First off, it’s totally worth buying if you have any kind of interest in action or shooter games, but secondly, the games were really interesting to look back on, especially having played Uncharted 4: A Theif’s End, the finale to the series. 

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Remastered The first game in the series, it definitely had it’s problems the first time around on PS3. The shooting was kinda iffy, and the whole mechanic of using motion controls to aim where your grenades go was just painful. Thankfully, the gameplay of this game has been sharpened up, I’d even say that it falls in line with the next two games in the series. Unfortunately though, that’s strictly on gameplay terms. The level design is another story. It’s not bad enough to call it awful, but it’s certainly bad enough to say it likely wasn’t thought out all that well or, if it was, the level designers were dicks. There are many times where, while dealing with enemies on one side of you, the game will spawn in enemies on the other side of you. This typically leaves you in a spot where it’s impossible to take cover from all the enemies in the area. While that’s fair, and unarguably more interesting than simply playing through a shooting gallery where you occasionally have to duck, but while playing on the hardest difficulty (Well, the old hardest difficulty, ‘Crushing’. A new ‘Brutal’ mode was added in the remaster of the trilogy, which I haven’t tried.) the layout of the levels leaves little time for switching between cover, if there’s any viable cover to begin with. There’s also the story to the game, which is extremely generic. Adventurer discovers treasure, races Bad Guy to the treasure, treasure is revealed to have supernatural and damning effects, Adventurer beats Bad Guy (Bonus points if they don’t kill Bad Guy directly.) and casts the treasure away to hopefully never be found forever. In this case, the treasure is El Dorado (A statue, not a city), and I honestly don’t remember the bad guy’s name, but he gets backstabbed and replaced by his henchman Navarro, so he’s the real Bad Guy. However, that isn’t to say the story isn’t enjoyable, because the actual narrative isn’t the meat of it. If anything, the Uncharted series is more character-driven than narrative-driven. The character interaction is fun and relatable, and it helps that the voice actors (At least those for the main characters.) all put in a good performance. Overall, good game. If you’re going to play it though, do not cheap out and play it on PS3, the remaster is definitely worth the improvements in brings to the table.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered Ah, Uncharted 2, you little masterpiece you. There’s a reason this game tops so many ‘Best Games of’ lists, and that’s because it’s a blast to play. The original fixed most of the gameplay issues of the first game, removing the motion controls and tightening up the gunplay, as well as the design issues. The level desgin is a bit compact, but I’d say it’s a fair trade off for the mobility it offers in gameplay. If you do get into a tight spot, running and gunning your way to a safer place is viable even on Crushing. Not all the time, of course, but much more than in the previous game. There’s a rewarding feeling everytime you get past a gunfight, especially if you pull it off without dying, and doubly so if it’s during one of the many setpieces in the game. If you know anything about this game, it’s probably something to do with a gun fight that happens on a moving train. Needless to say, things go off the rails from there. In total, I think Nathan Drake takes out about two helicopters, a couple of armored vehicles, and like half a train, not counting the countless people he just shoots the good old-fashioned way. Speaking of shooting the good old-fashioned way, the game puts a spin on that too, introducing enemies that present new challenges. Two, to be precise. There are enemies with shields, who can be easily taken out with grenades. If you don’t have any though, you’re in for a challenge. And then there are armoured enemies, covered in thick metal plating that needs to be shot or blown off before you can kill him. The easy trick is to just grenade them to take out their armor, and then spraying them down to finish them off. But if they’re able to get up close, you’re screwed. The story is also better this time around, mostly because there’s more characters, allowing for more witty dialogue and banter to go on between them. The Bad Guy is also much more of a Bad Guy in this game. He has a scary foreign sounding name, Lazarevic, a complementing accent, a well-defined goal (World domination.), and most importantly, has a whole army of grunts for Nathan Drake to shoot and (barely ever) punch his way through. In this outing, Drake is after Shambala, which turns out to be a real place hidden inside of a mountain, which he then promptly destroys in the process of beating Lazarevic (But bonus points because he lets the natives of Shambala finish him off.) and generally shooting all over the place. So yeah, this is in my opinion the best Uncharted game, but that doesn’t mean the rest are bad. 

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Remastered For the life of me I couldn’t tell you why this game, of all four games, is called Drake’s Deception. As it turns out, Drake isn’t all that hard of a guy to decieve, and this game isn’t the first time he ever gets duped. That’s besides the point though, because this game is an infernal hell of an experience created by what must be the most sadistic people on the planet. Like the other two games, I played this one on Crushing, but I still remember having trouble with this game the first time I’d played it, and that was on Normal. The gameplay is almost exactly the same as Uncharted 2, with two major differences. The lesser of the two is the ability to throw back grenades. When a grenade lands close enough to Drake, a prompt will show up and, if done correctly, will allow the player to throw the grenade right back at the enemy. Overpowered? Of course, but I’ll get to how that evens out later on. The second, bigger gameplay change is a new focus on melee combat. This is something the first game tried to do, but ultimately it was almost always better to shoot your way out of a situation. Rather than give the melee system a benefit like the first game did (Killing enemies with melee increased the amount of ammo they dropped.), Uncharted 3 adds depth to the melle combat. You can attack, counterattack, and push people. It’s not very deep, but it’s something. It’s only really used when the game forces you to use it, as trying to fight someone hand-to-hand in the middle of a gunfight isn’t a very good idea. There’s also a new enemy type to facilitate this change, the Brute. These guys, who with one exception literally all look the same but with different clothes, are complete bullet sponges, and the only practical way to take them down is by fighting them hand-to-hand. Only once does one of these enemies actually show up alongside other enemies, and even then it’s spaced in a way to make it fair. All in all, the melee system is just meh, it isn’t bad, but it doesn’t really add much. Now, as promised, why the whole grenade throwback mechanic is justified: The level design is harder than ever. I won’t say it’s bad, because it isn’t. It’s clearly designed in a way that gives an advantage to your enemies. Areas are typically large and wide enough that, if you can’t dispatch enemies quick enough, you will eventually be flanked and overrun. Can it get a little rediculous at times? You betcha. In fact, there are some checkpoints where, on Crushing difficulty, if you don’t move immediately you will die before you can make it to cover. It does feel rewarding, but not in the same way as Uncharted 2. The second game makes it feel like you overcame a group of soldiers, this game feels more like solving a difficult puzzle where the pieces just happen to be bullets that need to be placed strategically in holes that haven’t been made yet. Also, this may just be something I noticed specifically in this game, but the enemies seem very unresponsive. As in, you can shoot someone mid-sprint and they’ll keep on running as if nothing happened. It gets pretty annoying, and takes a bit out of the immersion. Man, and I haven’t even gotten to the story yet. This time Bad Guy is actually Bad Girl and her cocky little shit of a right hand man. They’re both members of a secret shadowy organization that wants, you guessed it, world domination! I actually think this game has the worst plot of the series, simply because everything just kind of feels like it comes and goes, like the game’s just looking for an excuse to move us on to the next locale to show us how pretty it is. The character interaction is still top notch though. I’d definitely say it’s better than the first game, but the difficulty can be a bit much. 

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Uh-oh, did somebody say Uncharted 4? Granted, while this game just came out last March, I figured I’d put in my two cents regarding it, especially in how it compares to the originals. I’ll start off bluntly, Uncharted 4 is a great game, however,  Uncharted 4 is one of the worst  Uncharted games, and it’s all The Last of Us’s fault. Off of gameplay alone,  Uncharted 4 is the best the series has to offer. The stealth mechanics (Which were pretty much just a loose suggestion in the original games) have been overhauled dramatically. Not only that, but it actually allows you to pull off this kind of ‘hide-and-seek’ style of play where you can break stealth, kill a couple guys, and then hide and repeat the process. It’s very fun and is something I’ve been looking for in a stealth game for a long time. While the likes of Metal Gear Solid make it possible to hide after being spotted, it’s pretty tedious to sit around waiting for guards to stand down.  Uncharted has the advantage of taking place in exotic locales, though, not in military bases. Unfortunately, you can’t judge Uncharted 4 on gameplay alone. Remember how I said The Last of Us ruined Uncharted 4? Well, I wasn’t talking about stupid fan theories trying to link the two series, the real problem lies in  Uncharted 4′s attempt at becoming more focused on the narrative. Remember when I said the narrative aspect of the games wasn’t all that great? It didn’t really improve all that much. In fact, the story just got more generic as the game overall has a much more grounded tone. In this game, Nathan Drake and his brother Sam (Who has not been mentioned at all before this game.) go after a hidden pirate treasure while competing against an old collegue of theirs, Rafe. What is Rafe’s goal? World domination? Unlimited Power? Nah, he just wants to find something. That’s it, he’s pissy because he’s spent his whole life treasure hunting and never found anything while Nathan Drake has found El Dorado, Shambala, and a hidden Desert City. He doesn’t even want the money, in fact he’s already rich. Well surely then the treasure somehow backfires on him, right? Wrong again, hypothetical reader. It’s literally just a bunch of pirate treasure, no strings attached. There’s also a problem I’ve only breifly touched on up until now, and that’s Nathan Drake’s iffy moral code. Sure, he kills hundreds of random grunts per game, but for whatever reason as soon as it’s one of the main antagonists, he gets all heroic and decides to either spare them or let them suffer from their own hubris. It’s passable in the other games because the story isn’t to focus their, but here I’d say it’s totally up for criticism. The stupidly bombastic and simple gameplay and story go hand in hand, and you can’t neuter one without creating a rift between the two. It isn’t just the story that gets hurt either, the gameplay takes a blow as well. On my first playthrough, I felt like just about one third of my time was actually spent fighting enemies, whereas I’d say the other games have abouts two thirds or so of combat. The other third is spent climbing and solving puzzles, and the other third is spent WAITING. Waiting for cutscenes, waiting as you slowly walk through an area, waiting for a character to do something so you can progress, waiting for the game to reload because you got bored and threw yourself off a cliff, or, worst of all, waiting for a charcter that you helped get into one area interact with the one object that will allow you to join them and progress. I suppose it could go with the third thing, but my main gripe with it is that it’s a mechanic from The Last of Us, and I use the word ‘mechanic’ very loosely. It’s exists solely to waste your time, and not even the best damn dialogue in the world could make waiting over and over and over again fun. You see, all of this waiting works in The Last of Us, but why? Well, perhaps it’s because The Last of Us is a action game with survival horror elements and a heavy emphasis on stealth and storytelling? Just a thought. On the other hand, Uncharted is a series of third-person shooting games with a light puzzle-solving mechanics and an emphasis on character interaction, taking notes from the likes of Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider. In one, it’s okay to take things slow, to wait a bit and take a break. In the other, it’s just boring and noticeably slower than the actual fun parts of the game. In fact, it makes replaying this game a complete bore, and it isn’t helped by the fact that you spend HOURS in the game before you even shoot an actual fucking gun (There’s a little bit where you shoot a toy gun.). So yeah,  Uncharted 4 shoots itself in the foot by presenting the player with an excelent gameplay experience, and then making the decision to not capitalize on that, and instead just try to force what made The Last of Us good into Uncharted’s world and gameplay, which just doesn’t work. The story that Naughty Dog tries to hard to make us focus on is, as with the rest of the series, terribly cliched, yet doesn’t hone in on the fun in those cliches and tropes that make the treasure hunter genre fun, sacrificing that for a serious tone that doesn’t hold up, especially not when the characters are spitting out witty remarks every other second. Honestly, the character interaction is the only thing consistent with the series, but with how much of it that’s forced down your throat while you wait to actually play the actual game makes it a bit tiresome. Hell, I don’t really even like Sam Drake as a character, he’s just Nathan Drake but is delibrately an asshole.

I realize I’ve just spent a lot of time thrashing on Uncharted 4, so I’ll make a point of saying this again, it is a good game. It just doesn’t mesh well with the original three Uncharted games. To be fair, I did enjoy it my first time around, but I can’t bring myself to finish my second playthough simply because of all that waiting. My advice, if you want to get into this series, go for it. If you want to play Uncharted 4, go for it, but I’d suggest buying it on sale, it’s not really worth the asking price of $60 to me, I’ve played better games for far cheaper. In fact, if you’re strapped for cash/time/care, you could just not bother with  Uncharted 4. Having just beat Uncharted 3 a couple hours ago, I can say that it does end the serious on a positive, if ambiguous ending, compared to Uncharted 4′s slightly less ambiguous ending, the only difference being an epilogue that shows Drake’s life years after Uncharted 4. If you aren’t limited by much, I’d say play Uncharted 4, just keep your hopes in check. If there’s one last positive thing I can say, it’s that The Last of Us Part II probably won’t have Ellie going off to find ancient treasure. You know, probably.