May Be Nonsense

Back again!

I’d say the game I’m making is really starting to come into focus. The major plot beats and required assets are mostly accounted for, and with the winter semester over, I should have the time to put everything together. My aim is to have everything done by the end of May, and after some quick alpha testing, post the first version on itch sometime early June.

I don't really have much to show yet, but here's a screenshot just to prove (mostly to myself) that it's in progress!

Ludological Logorrhea

Heisei Pistol Show

What a wonderful game. It’s a shame knowing how many pieces of art like this will get lost to time and never receive the recognition they deserve.

I’m not going to pretend for a second that I quite understand this game. The game seems to go out of its way to mess you with at points, but I can tell that it’s to some end, even if it’s unclear. The creator outright says in a post-game cutscene that you should play the game multiple times if you want to really ‘get’ it. I plan to do just that sometime in the future. But even without a good grasp of everything, this game has so much to enjoy and appreciate. From the maximalist art sensibilities to the heart(heh)felt narrative seemingly underlying it, it’s really a good representation of what I love about these kinds of games. I love its use of pre-made and public domain assets. They never feel like they’re out of laziness, but rather because they’re how Parun wanted to express his vision. Without getting too into spoilers, I find the game’s (seeming) themes of how people can depend on the validation and approval of others to be really well executed.

Please play this game or look into it! It’s short, free, and does not deserve to be so underlooked! Check out the NOMOIDA review too, it’s pretty great and explains this stuff better than I can.

Stuff (Other)

Girls' Last Tour

Watched the anime and read the manga last month. Really great stuff! In my opinion, not as good as Shimeji Simulation, but tkmiz started out really strong here. The banter between Yuuri and Chiito is usually pretty good, though I think the dialogue really got refined in Shimeji. That said, there are some fairly thought-provoking chapters here, and the last two volumes I thought were particularly great. It's quite sad that that’s where the anime decided to stop.

It could just be due to the Cerebus Syndrome that both GLT and Shimeji Simulation exhibit, but I also found the manga to do a better job at emphasizing the bleaker aspect of the series. Like the art itself, the manga does a somewhat better job of maintaining that strong contrast I find. That said, it doesn’t have the montage featuring Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 which is the easily the best part of the entire anime. It’s amazing how it doesn’t really show anything that hasn’t already been implied, but it still comes as a shock to watch because of how it puts everything into perspective.

My favourite part though honestly is just the atmosphere and the backgrounds. The anime does a pretty good job at capturing the world, but there’s something about tkmiz’ style of illustration – perhaps largely the jagged, rough line work – that sells it a lot more effectively. At least in terms of my personal taste.

Extra(neous) Thoughts

No thoughts... still too tired...