TheOnlyGuyEver

I don't know, it's possible that the rectangles start getting bevels, and then the bevels increase in intensity until it's just a ring

Anti-bullying fistbump!

At long last! Inspired by Lord Valor's cool pirate outfit, I decided to make pirate outfits for the rest of his underlings. Something about a bunch of knights wearing pirate gear is really conceptually pleasing to me:
 
Knight puts on a red polkadot bandanna, torn (and slightly too small) red striped shirt, and black boots; basic swabbie look, fitting for him:

 
Might puts on a tricorne, one of those frilly neck things, black boots with folded cuffs, and a comically large, stretched out belt to emphasis his greatest asset:

 
Height gets a green bandana with a neat little knot, and to emphasize his long legs, big pantaloons with a big strap belt, as well as spring-loaded peg legs instead of his spring shoes. Don't worry, they're only cosmetic!

 
Flight gets a complimentary orange version of Knight's outfit under his normal clothes, seeing as he's just a normal Knight with fancy clothes and a helipack (and technically a differently-shaped faceguard to resemble an oxygen mask). I'm pleasantly surprised with how this one turned out, since I really didn't want to take away his identifying pilot clothes:

 
Bite wears a tied red sash and skull-shaped knee/elbow pads, a peg leg (it doesn't impede his leaping ability, I swear), and a gold tooth for extra stylish chomps:

 
Bight gets the same, minus the pads since he doesn't wear any, and plus a rope strap and sheathed knife. Since he's an underwater enemy with a big teeth-shaped faceguard, I originally wanted him to hold the knife in his mouth like pirates are often depicted doing, but it couldn't work out:

 
Airtight swaps his trident for a harpoon, and wears a torn naval officer's uniform with a medal and folded epaulets. The starfish also moves from his head to his hat, and some seaweed is thrown in too. I've always thought Airtight was really mysterious and eerie looking (he's the only enemy with his face fully covered, and I imagine all the cyan parts emit an eerie glow), and since he's an underwater enemy too I went for sort of a sunken/ghost pirate feel:

 
Ignite, inspired by his already barrel-shaped design, puts on a barrel full of explosives. Does the XXX mean it's alcohol? Maybe. Is alcohol still flammable or explosive? Yes:

 
Subnite does the same, with his own deep teal-colored barrel of explosives. Originally I had him wear an oil drum, which, while not exactly "pirate" I felt was associated with water enough, but I scrapped it because the colors never complimented his own, and like I said, it wasn't exactly "pirate":

 
Fright wears a black bandanna, a black striped shirt, maroon vest, and belt. He also gets two hooks for hands (again, purely cosmetic, don't worry!) which oughta make him a bit more frightening when he's chasing around with his arms outstretched. I'm really happy how the emphasis on his cylindrical shape came out; he's very cylinder-shaped, since he has to fit into holes in the ground to pop out from:
 
 
Sight loses an eye and a hand (he's still got his good ones though!), mounts a telescope on his musket, gets a brown glove and brown cavalier boots with folded cuffs to replace his black ones, and a fancy feathered cavalier hat to match:

 
Bonus! My rendition of the Ball and Chain Soldier from Link's Awakening DX. Unrelated to the above, just always thought this was a cool enemy and I've always imagined him looking cool, so I wanted to draw him:

 
From humble beginnings:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm very glad this project is finally finished! Trust me, I'm as tired of reference poses as you are! But I refuse to draw any new character or outfit without first having a proper reference -- it's the absolute most important drawing. But, these should be the last references I'm drawing for the foreseeable future, and any that I may do DEFINITELY won't be huge batches like these. I'm very eager to draw things with a bit more substance now that this is finished, flex my background skills and whatnot. Already got a few drawing ideas loaded up!

At long last! Inspired by Lord Valor's cool pirate outfit, I decided to make pirate outfits for the rest of his underlings. Something about a bunch of knights wearing pirate gear is really conceptually pleasing to me:
 
Knight puts on a red polkadot bandanna, torn (and slightly too small) red striped shirt, and black boots; basic swabbie look, fitting for him:

 
Might puts on a tricorne, one of those frilly neck things, black boots with folded cuffs, and a comically large, stretched out belt to emphasis his greatest asset:

 
Height gets a green bandana with a neat little knot, and to emphasize his long legs, big pantaloons with a big strap belt, as well as spring-loaded peg legs instead of his spring shoes. Don't worry, they're only cosmetic!

 
Flight gets a complimentary orange version of Knight's outfit under his normal clothes, seeing as he's just a normal Knight with fancy clothes and a helipack (and technically a differently-shaped faceguard to resemble an oxygen mask). I'm pleasantly surprised with how this one turned out, since I really didn't want to take away his identifying pilot clothes:

 
Bite wears a tied red sash and skull-shaped knee/elbow pads, a peg leg (it doesn't impede his leaping ability, I swear), and a gold tooth for extra stylish chomps:

 
Bight gets the same, minus the pads since he doesn't wear any, and plus a rope strap and sheathed knife. Since he's an underwater enemy with a big teeth-shaped faceguard, I originally wanted him to hold the knife in his mouth like pirates are often depicted doing, but it couldn't work out:

 
Airtight swaps his trident for a harpoon, and wears a torn naval officer's uniform with a medal and folded epaulets. The starfish also moves from his head to his hat, and some seaweed is thrown in too. I've always thought Airtight was really mysterious and eerie looking (he's the only enemy with his face fully covered, and I imagine all the cyan parts emit an eerie glow), and since he's an underwater enemy too I went for sort of a sunken/ghost pirate feel:

 
Ignite, inspired by his already barrel-shaped design, puts on a barrel full of explosives. Does the XXX mean it's alcohol? Maybe. Is alcohol still flammable or explosive? Yes:

 
Subnite does the same, with his own deep teal-colored barrel of explosives. Originally I had him wear an oil drum, which, while not exactly "pirate" I felt was associated with water enough, but I scrapped it because the colors never complimented his own, and like I said, it wasn't exactly "pirate":

 
Fright wears a black bandanna, a black striped shirt, maroon vest, and belt. He also gets two hooks for hands (again, purely cosmetic, don't worry!) which oughta make him a bit more frightening when he's chasing around with his arms outstretched. I'm really happy how the emphasis on his cylindrical shape came out; he's very cylinder-shaped, since he has to fit into holes in the ground to pop out from:
 
 
Sight loses an eye and a hand (he's still got his good ones though!), mounts a telescope on his musket, gets a brown glove and brown cavalier boots with folded cuffs to replace his black ones, and a fancy feathered cavalier hat to match:

 
Bonus! My rendition of the Ball and Chain Soldier from Link's Awakening DX. Unrelated to the above, just always thought this was a cool enemy and I've always imagined him looking cool, so I wanted to draw him:

 
From humble beginnings:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm very glad this project is finally finished! Trust me, I'm as tired of reference poses as you are! But I refuse to draw any new character or outfit without first having a proper reference -- it's the absolute most important drawing. But, these should be the last references I'm drawing for the foreseeable future, and any that I may do DEFINITELY won't be huge batches like these. I'm very eager to draw things with a bit more substance now that this is finished, flex my background skills and whatnot. Already got a few drawing ideas loaded up!

Felt inspired last night

Felt inspired last night

Prank call but still baller as fuck.

I don't like changing profile pictures; I appreciate being able to recognize people at a glance before you commit their usernames to memory. Plus I like this one, it's pretty good, why would I ever wanna change it? I'm the same way with hairstyles.

I don't like changing profile pictures; I appreciate being able to recognize people at a glance before you commit their usernames to memory. Plus I like this one, it's pretty good, why would I ever wanna change it? I'm the same way with hairstyles.

Not to mention the computer that straps two screens directly to my eyeballs, so I can be rendered completely ignorant of my sad little studio apartment.
 
IF I HAD ONE!

Dreamt that Thanos and I were trying to estimate the year this globe was made by looking at the countries and shape of countries on it. Didn't have South Sudan or Russian control of the Crimean Peninsula. At one point he was like "holy shit, Africa's pretty big dude."

Get to know them better! With fun and tasteful backgrounds, too:
 

 

 

 

Get to know them better! With fun and tasteful backgrounds, too:
 

 

 

 

Nintendo unaffected

Thats terrible, where else I'll get Ubisoft making a cringe parade on stage and a group of two grown men and two women using military slang on yet another military shooter.

Lord Valor's back with a slightly new, slightly more menacing appearance:

 
His captain costume in all its glory:

 
...And wielding his Handcannon, a weapon befitting a pirate captain:

 
Projection of the Handcannon itself (minus the sight cause it looks weird on a projection like this):

 
These were really fun to draw, and I learned a lot drawing them too what with the 3/4ths perspective. The captain coat and the Handcannon were real challenges, but I learned the valuable lesson that, if you are drawing something comprised of both organic and inorganic shapes on a perspective like this, do not start with the organic ones.

Precious history

Omega brain move: Increase a password's security by putting a typo in it.

Almost exactly a year later.

I just realized this, but this out of context quote totally proves that I'm an authentic leaker. Stay tuned for when I leak DLC 6-11!

I'm not even big on Xenoblade but I feel for the fans. Remember that the DLC was decided from the beginning -- Rex got shafted and his game came out a year before Smash, Byleth gets in and his game isn't even our yet for another half year at the time (and that's only relative to the Smash release date, not even dev time!) -- "too early" my ass. From what I understand, Nintendo gave Sakurai a list of characters to work with at the start and he picked a few to make into DLC. There are so many franchises I wish anyone at Nintendo gave half a shit about as much as Sakurai does about FE, just tossing characters in for the sake of there being a new game rather than for the actual sake and merit of the character.
 
Honestly though, I think the first wave of DLC was pretty good overall. It's just that...why did they save the FE character for the last spot? And not like the beginning or middle or something? It's not like they don't know; there's not a chance in hell they don't know, they literally joke about there being a shit ton of swordfighters in his reveal trailer. Blue-haired self-insert anime swordfighter is just a pretty underwhelming note to finish on.

Spoiler-free game review below:
 
The other day I finished Jenny LeClue: Detectivu. It got kickstarted way back in August of 2014, and came out in September of 2019, as Mografi's first game. I first saw it back in December in some retweet somewhere, and its mid-20th century-inspired visuals immediately caught my eye; I always enjoy a game with a unique artstyle. But, I am also a very patient and particular person when it comes to making purchases (after all, who would want to buy something they'd be unhappy with? Even with the refund policy on Steam, it's a bad habit to get into), and I'm usually not too interested in story-based games, but I also do really love mystery books. So, I decided to sit on it for about a month before deciding, and come January I decided to give it a shot, and let me tell you, I'm happy I did.
 
SYNOPSIS: In the game, you play as the titular character, a young aspiring detective girl who lives in the small and idyllic town of Arthurton, where the weather is always perfect and the crime rate is non-existent. Things take an unexpected turn when Jenny's mother is framed for murder, and she must set out to absolve her of any guilt -- finally her first real case, and the case of a lifetime at that. But along the way, she will discover much, much more than just the true circumstances surrounding the murder, as the true nature of Arthurton is questioned and revealed.
 
ART: The game features a mid-20th century-inspired artstyle, packed with sharp angles, vibrant colors, and moody lighting -- even areas that you would expect to be dark or gritty like the sewers or graveyard feature quite saturated palettes and lighting choices that enhance the mood. All the characters are shaped very distinctly and dressed with tasteful detail to highlight their personalities. The art is what originally piqued my interest for Jenny LeClue, and I can say it is definitely some of the most impressive and stunning I've ever seen in a game; the color palettes and lighting choices in areas continually blew me away.
 
MUSIC: The soundtrack is quite large for a small indie game, with the official OST numbering at 29 tracks. Jenny LeClue is a game full of mystery of course, but it is also full of humor (this game actually had me laughing a good lot), horror, panic, and poignancy. It is a game about getting to the bottom of a murder, but it also features themes of family, loss, and identity. There are many moods to cover, but the OST always does a very good job of conveying the proper one. Many of the tracks lead with more moody, synth-type instruments, but never anything that drones on one note for so long that it becomes white noise -- each track is very distinct and consciously composed. Though a majority of tracks do lead with synths like I said, there are a fair amount that feature more vintage, "gumshoe detective"-like instrumentation, or even somewhere in between. The point is, the soundtrack is really varied, full of unique sounds and melodies, and never gets boring.
 
GAMEPLAY AND MECHANICS: For a story-based game, there's quite a wide variety of core gameplay mechanics:
Interrogation is a mechanic that occurs primarily -- though not exclusively -- during dialogue scenes, where the player is able to search over an individual for clues regarding their actions, whereabouts, or innocence, sort of like a body-wide scavenger hunt. The magnifying lens is a dual-purpose special mode that not only allows the player to focus in on even more minute details during interrogation, but also is used outside interrogation to spot hidden clues, interactions, and collectibles in the world. Whenever Jenny gets in range of a hidden thing, a magnifying lens icon will display, showing that there is something about. I'd be interested to see how the game plays with an option to turn this icon off, for players who want a bit more difficulty and raw searching in the world and interrogations, but given that the activation range for the icon is rather large, finding hidden things was still quite fun and never just an instant "here it is." I also must mention that most hidden things outside of interrogations are completely invisible, so I can see how finding key clues or items without the icon could get frustrating in theory. Often at the end of interrogation, you must make a deduction proving Jenny's suspicions based on the clues you've found. You can only use a certain number of clues out of the ones you've found to make a deduction, and there is only one correct combination of clues, though you get unlimited attempts at making your deduction. Even though you could brute force each deduction, the fun is in trying to put your detective skills to work and to be correct on the first try. There's a good bit of platforming -- running, jumping, climbing, the standard stuff. However, jumping can only be done at scripted points, i.e. once you're near a large rock or beneath a ladder. I somewhat wish there was a bit more freedom to platforming (a jump button that is available at all times perhaps?) but I can see from a creative perspective why they didn't go with that. Nevertheless, it definitely suffices and is more fun than all traversal just being walking in a straight line. Interactions. I separate these from puzzles on the criteria that these mechanics are less of the side of gameplay and challenge, and more on the side of plain engagement or flavor. I was a bit shaky on these at first and thought they were cheap ways to force in gameplay, but upon revision I think they do a good job of keeping the player involved and engaged, but more importantly, making the world feel a lot more responsive and immersive, so I think I welcome that. Some interactions include things such as: Tapping to kick over an old tree Holding to pull down a lever The "quick-scan" function which is a combination of tapping and holding, and serves to visualize Jenny's thought process as she assesses her options, makes calculations, and weighs her chances. Puzzles. These are the real meat of the gameplay mechanics, where the true challenge lies. The two main types of puzzles are ones that are sort of like scavenger hunts in the world, where you must perform certain actions or make things a certain way, and ones that are more contained, and take you into their own little screen and interface. The puzzles are widely varied and actually get fairly challenging towards the end, though I do have some criticisms. For instance, there is a certain puzzle that appears 3 times where you have to align three wavelengths. The wavelengths are different each time, but the interface and functions are the same. I would have liked to see a small new mechanic thrown into each iteration of repeat puzzles like that one to make them a bit more interesting and challenging each time. I definitely wouldn't mind more challenge, or perhaps even a "hard mode" that swaps all puzzles for higher-difficulty versions. That said, I certainly never got bored or irritated or said something like "oh, THIS puzzle again" in my playthrough. Choosiness. One of the things I appreciate most about this game is that it is a linear adventure, and it's honest in that, but it still offers choice. Often during dialogue or other events, you'll be able to choose one of two choices, and depending on that choice, you'll get a different set of dialogue or interactions -- sometimes this will learn you a different set of information. So while your choosiness will not cause any major story deviations, the choices you make will still affect how you think about the game and the unfolding mystery and what might happen next, based off of what you've learned as a result of those choices. I think something people often overlook is that sometimes it's nice to be able to choose things just for the sake of fun and expression, rather than for the sake of effecting events 10 chapters later. Boat section. That is all.  
FINAL BITS: Jenny LeClue does feature a cliffhanger ending, as it is part 1 of a planned 2 part series -- this has always been the plan since the 2015 Kickstarter, but that aspect was, frankly, a bit poorly-communicated in the months and days leading up to release, and so many players on release who had not known of the game beforehand felt a bit betrayed (perhaps a "part 1" subtitle or something along those lines would have made it clearer?) The devs have since added a note to its store description to clarify this. Marketing mishaps aside, I don't think anyone who understands that this is part 1 of 2 (as they should by now), will be left feeling cut short or betrayed. The game is a full, roughly 7 hour experience, probably pushing 8 or even 9 if you wanted to go back and find missed collectibles or something else which I won't mention. Many conclusions are made, with enough unanswered questions left to let you theorize what will happen next, like a season of a TV show. Also, that thing I said about choices not causing major story deviations is not entirely true. All player choices are actually recorded behind the scenes, and certain key choices that players make will influence how part 2 is developed. So while your choices won't majorly affect part 1 of Jenny LeClue's story, they will affect the story following it. It's an interesting concept.
 
IN SHORT: Jenny LeClue: Detectivu is a game with stunning and vibrant visuals, a soundtrack that always sets the mood, charming characters, puzzles that, while asking for a bit more, will still challenge you, compelling writing with its fair share of silly moments, and an intriguing mystery that manages to get deeper each time you think you've hit its bottom. Mografi really blew it out of the park for their first game, and I can't wait for the followup.

Belated Happy Christmas and Merry New Year.
I got warm sweaters for christmas.

No one calls anyone "gayfer" or "BK" anymore. Truly the biggest losses.
 
Also while we're on the topic:

 

 
Troll physics was so fucking good. The best ones were ones like these that just use simple understandable physics, as opposed to time travel and silly shit like that. The point is that they're supposed to be believable and make you go "wait, why wouldn't that work?" or that they actually would work but only on an extremely large scale.