Hey folks!
It's been a while since the last blog post, I'm aware. Truthfully, I'd been busy dealing with school-related things over the past few months; namely, graduation! I'm moving on from high school and heading into college, and guess what! I'm an incoming freshman for a Game Design and Development program! This is honestly a huge dream come true for me, and I appreciate the two people who actually support me for taking this career path, and everyone else (including me) who don't see a viable long-term future. Jokes aside, I'm so incredibly happy to have gotten this opportunity, and best believe that I will not let it go to waste.
Now that the bittersweet joys and pains of graduation's over and vacation's starting, you should expect a lot more activity from me! Already, I've been thinking up some cool game ideas I could perhaps develop over the summer (besides, it's good practice for college hehe). And, of course, I've been playing games.
Honkai: Star Rail
Perhaps the most... interesting game I've started playing recently is Honkai: Star Rail. I say interesting because HSR really shouldn't be a game up my alley, or even anywhere near the back of the building. First, it's a turn-based combat RPG, and I have a general disdain towards those, and second, it's a gacha game, and I especially give those types the side-eye. But as I've gotten more open-minded throughout the years, mixed with the buildup of peer pressure and FOMO from my good friends, along with newfound curiosity towards a side of gaming I don't usually engage with (that is, free-to-play games), I figured now's as good a time as any to give it a try. And you know what? I'm not not enjoying it so far.
I guess one of the more surprising things to me about HSR was its genuine quality of writing which holds a venerable amount of character I personally don't often see elsewhere. Trash cans in this game have shocking whimsy, and every bit of collectable log in the game shows a bit of lore or worldbuilding, aside from just being generally enjoyable to read. Maybe it's something I should have expected? I just didn't know I'd find myself spending half my playtime reading. It's nice!
The gameplay (outside of perusing endless mounds of charming text) is... mixed. Puzzles are there, I suppose — though they're your usual childrenslop that hardly require brainpower (insofar as the puzzles I've encountered). The sidequests are sometimes a nice detour, sometimes a waste of time, per usual. The main combat itself is really where my gripes start. Look, I'm not that far into the game, my characters aren't really even leveled yet, but this game so far has been mindlessly easy, and with how simple and accessible it is to enable auto-battling, I can't find any good reason for not doing so. Disengaging with the actual combat system of the game is one click away, and it's a combat system that (so far) has hardly required higher-level stratagem. And seeing my friends play HSR who are far further than me, they, too, make extensive use of auto-battling. So where is the game? Is it in the planning and building of a team that could dish out DPS? Once I get to the point where the game is challenging enough to ask me to put effort into my team, what's stopping me from just looking up guides for the meta strategies, and what's stopping RN-Jesus from not giving me the characters I want through the gacha (especially as a free-to-play player, where I'm now faced with having to grind more for pulls), and what's stopping the game itself from continuing its ever-increasing problem of powercreep — do you see my problem? Don't get me wrong: I'm not not enjoying the game, but at the same time, it's not presenting me with a very bright future, is it?
Anyway, I have more things I like and dislike. As I go, I'll keep a critical mind. One thing's for damn sure, this game has piqued my interest, and I'll be sure to write about it in the future. We'll see what happens from here.
Pride!! Games!!
#Yep #ImGay
Aside from Star Rail, I've also been playing a good bunch of LGBTQ+ games, mostly on itch.io!
One of my favorites include Just Kiss Him Already!, a cute and fluffy visual novel about two idiots in love, who really should just kiss each other already! Another is one night, hot springs which is another adorable visual novel about the experiences of a trans woman entering hot springs with her friend. And perhaps my favorite encounter so far is a butterfly, which is a solemn poem told in the form of a butterfly flight simulator. Unlike the first two titles I've mentioned, a butterfly is neither cute nor reassuring, and it is instead an abstract piece showing the belligerent and painful death of one's identity as they conform and contort themselves to the expectations of society. A butterfly is amazing because it hides its tragedy under its rising tone, with every act that gets the butterfly "closer to the truth" (that is to say, further from their identity), the brighter and less desolate the place becomes, all while these moments are interjected and juxtaposed by inner thoughts that are, in contrast, burning, bloody, and gripping. Literally, as though the butterfly grips to its last bit of self for a final time. As someone forced to conform to heteronormative norms myself, this hit really close to home, much like another abstract walking simulator I've discussed in this blog previously (caged bird). A butterfly is even more tragic when you consider the concurrent context that surrounded the creator of the game at the time of its development, though I won't elaborate on it much here out of respect. Instead, I'll just give some lines in the game which stuck with me for a while.
"I must surrender myself to the sun and dust that turned me into bleached stone. /
To be free I must surrender myself until nothing is left but a petrified form, one that I neither recognize nor one that I call home. /
Only then can my spirit rest, as I am bereft of all past pain. A red flower will grow to mark my grave /
For it is in this horrible surrender that I learned to fly."
The death of the queer self being likened to the typically elegant and revered act of flying and spreading one's wings is... fucking tough, man. It really is. Go give it a shot!
Oh, and by the way, I'm always on the lookout for queer and LGBTQ+ games, cute or otherwise. If you know of any that you'd want to recommend to me, let me know! If I could list all the games I did play over the past few months, I would, but honestly I haven't kept track. I just know I've appreciated all of them sincerely. Happy Pride Month, everyone!
Mobile Upgrade
Another thing: I got a new phone! With much better specs than my old one! I can play a much wider variety of mobile games now. Naturally, the first thing I decided to play was Star Rail. Then after that was Roblox.
Yeah, I don't have anything right now. If you have any mobile game recommendations, let me know.
Game Projects...?
Like I mentioned earlier, I got some cool game projects in the drafts. Not sure when (or... if) I'll work on them, but when I get around to them, I'll make sure to keep this blog updated on their progress.
Also, I may or may not currently be a part of a bigger development project..... with a team currently mostly consisting of friends and acquaintances... hm.... 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
What to Expect?
More posts!
Deltarune is coming out later TODAY! Expect a post about that once I finish it! It's probably going to change my life! I also have a gaming backlog of like... a hundred games! I have so many games to get through! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Okay. That's it. Thanks for reading. See 'ya!
