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[Mobile Gaming] How the Nyan Cat led to the death knell for a popular mobile game- the downfall of RWBY Amity Arena.
Note: Many of the links are to the Amity Arena Library, a website devoted to the game which includes tracking the history of it through patchnotes and a running history of what cards entered and left the meta. Their website was a valuable resource for this post.
Mobile gaming has taken off like a wildfire since the advent of the smartphone boosted the average processing power a phone could carry. Initially it took the form of crossing over older, more easily runnable games onto the mobile market to... mixed success, but in recent years we've seen both the West and East use mobile gaming to replace the old fashioned movie tie in game. It's easily accessable, has a much wider reach than consoles or PC, you can take it on the go and standards are inherently lower for mobile games than they are a full 60 dollar game. Since the 2010s, mobile gaming has shifted to what's called the "Freemium" module. The game itself is free to download and start playing, but is insideously designed with obnoxious paywalls or artificial limiters put in place to limit how much you can play each day. If the game is part of a pre-existing franchise, additional money can be made through a premium currency or a chance to obtain high-powered units by rolling a slot machine random chance mechanic. And thus, gacha gaming was born. This sub has had several threads in the past on high profile gacha games, such as the monolithic Fate Grand/Order, Pokemon Go or Genshin Impact. One of the more popular things to roll for in gachas as a consequence is wallpapers for your homescreen, especially for high-grade units as they're usually animated to move a little bit on the homescreen. Today we're looking a low to mid-tier gacha game that rose and fell with the advent of one catgirl. Let's talk RWBY. RWBY is an online web anime made by Rooster Teeth focusing on four prospective monster hunters who get embroiled in a world-spanning shadow war. It's of debatable quality in matters of animation, combat, voice acting, story, worldbuilding, romance, and it's kind of a little racist if I'm being honest, but one of the major positives of RWBY is that the series tends to have good character design. Series creator Monty Oum set in the guidelines for the show while making it that most if not every design should be made to be cosplay friendly, hence why most of the outfits have things most costume designers haven't heard of like... pockets. And Rooster Teeth, above all else, likes making money. So they know people like RWBY's character designs, enough so that in 2017 plans were made to release a gacha game themed around RWBY called Amity Arena, which would be developed by Korean company NHN Entertainment. Amity Arena is a PvP tower defense game. Each player controls two turrets and a tower and has three minutes to use units themed from the show to destroy the other player's structures. Whoever took out more wins, destroying a tower is an instant victory. When the game launched, it had three tiers for units- Common (generally held for mooks or low-tier characters in the show), Rare (roughly protagonist-level or elite mooks go here) and Epic (High tier characters usually with an active ability that did lots of damage or stopped enemies in their tracks). The game launched in October 2018 to generally positive reviews from both mobile game players and RWBY fans alike. Fans were happy to get a lot of new official art for the characters in the game and the base gameplay loop was fun. Criticism at the time was largely themed around the lack of content besides PVP matches and some issues with the meta but overall, the launch went well. Each month, the developers would add new units, including popular characters like Neopolitian, Cinder Fall, Zwei the dog, and more. But everything changed with February 20th 2019, which introduced Neon Katt, the titular catgirl (RWBY characters are themed around fairytales, except for Neon, who is themed around Nyan Cat, and her partner Flynt Coal, who is themed off a potentially racist joke made by Rooster Teeth). Neon is a character from RWBY Volume 3 who's part of a team that RWBY face during a tournament arc. Her partner, Flynt Coal, was part of the game at launch, and Neon would join him a few months later. Neon in the show is a cocky fighter who taunts the heroes and zips around on rollarskates, which in-game is represented by Neon skating towards the nearest enemy structure to her and hitting it, while all units within a radius of Neon are taunted and provoked into attacking her above all other targets unless they-selves are coded to hit structures. On its own, not a bad idea for a unit, but Neon came with four big caveats:
Neon was the fourth corner of the square that became known as the Artillery Arena meta, which saw Neon, Cinder (who had an AOE ability she could use which was wide enough to hit a turret and tower and single-handedly killed the entire launch meta of using fragile swarm units), Zwei (an on-summon high damage AOE on any part of the map) and Penny (another AOE ability that instead did chip damage and locked a location down) turn the game's meta into a chip game. Every player ran at least one of the above cards, if only to counter the others. Neon was the universal counter in being anti-swarm and the hardest to stop, especially at launch where her taunt range was so large, it could grab units from the other lane.
Neon launched with a unit weight of "Heavy", which meant that if she was behind a unit she could push it on her way to the turret. This launched a sub-meta where Neon was placed behind a larger unit such as the Ursa (which like Neon was a unit that focused on structures but was made slow to cover its tankiness), to push them towards the turret faster. This was called Disco Bear. They eventually patched this so Neon phased through units by making her a lightweight.
Neon couldn't die. She was invincible until she hit a structure, which combined with her taunt meant that Neon was very annoying to fight and could lock down an entire lane of the battlefield by being placed well and taunting enemies to let you prepare a counter.
Neon was a very cheap unit to summon. Amity Arena uses a mechanic called "Aura" where all units cost a certain amount and it recharges over the match- for instance, protagonist Ruby Rose has a Rare card that costs four Aura to summon, while Weiss Schnee has two rares that cost three and five. Neo only cost two Aura, which made her one of the cheapest units of the game and thus disproportionately powerful for her cost and easy to cycle through your deck so you could spam her.
From the word go, Neon is an unpopular unit; she's clearly overbalanced and elements such as the Disco Bear glitch have players thinking she'll have to get knocked down in a nerf- she'll either be made slower, more expensive, or able to die pre-hitting a structure, right? Neon doesn't show up in the next patch. Instead, before she's fixed, an entire new class of units called Legendaries are introduced, and this is where the game goes full gacha. Legendaries were meant to represent the highest tier characters in the game, the ones who were either the most popular characters or the highest-tier fighters in the show. Or in some cases, the popular ships such as combo cards for White Rose (Ruby/Weiss), Bumblebee (Blake/Yang) and Flower Power (Ren/Nora). Legendaries, representing their value, were impossibly rare and had an infinitely small chance of actually appearing (The most reliable method was to buy the premium chests and hope you'd roll a Legendary, which often cost tons of money), and if you did get one, there was no way to guess which Legendary you'd actually get. Some such as White Rose and Adam were high tier units, others like Hazel or Checkmate were... kinda broken at launch. The playerbase isn't happy at this, especially as free to play players are left out in the cold and reliant on the game giving them high tier units effectively out of pity. Neon would get a small nerf in the April patch which lessened her taunt range and killed the Disco Bear meta, but her invincibility would be left untouched, even as players submitted feedback regarding how to make it more efficient. The official Amity Arena discord has a weekly feedback section on Tuesdays where players could submit up to four suggestions on how to nerf/buff units and general requests for quality of life such as "Can this character get a new skin from this part of the show," or "Can we have an option to lower music volume that's not just muting all music?" (they never did add that second request) Neon would then remain in this state until the November patch, despite constant weekly requests for a Neon rework, and all it would do is make Neon functionally mortal, in that she had a flat shield bar of 20 that would be lowered by one for each attack before the next hit would kill her. Neon could now die... but your chances of actually doing enough damage to stop her were slim, and regardless, you were now at a serious Aura defecit. It took seven months for this one unit to get a substantial nerf, all while the game added new units every week and the number of units being affected by patches each month began to gradually sink. To round up some of the major issues people had with Amity that developed throughout 2019 alongside Neon's general existance making life hell:
Common units were meant to be chump fodder, but could level up the most amount of times with a level cap at 13. This meant longer-term units that had a long time to level such as the Xiong Family card, the AK-130s the Beowolf Pack, or the White Fang gunners, could become shockingly strong if players grinded the money up to reach max level.
A pre-existing divide between free players and players willing to burn money IRL to get access to premium currencies led to a huge disparity in play. Free players have long complained about how hard it is to scrounge money together to level up units at higher costs as even the basic currency of Lien is hard to get large quantities of (you get a certain amount every match win but otherwise you need to burn the Schnee Premium Dust currency for the highest payouts, but SPD is also needed for shop resets, buying crates or unlocking cosmetics). The developers used to do frequent double weekends where all gains were doubled for a weekend, but these became less and less frequent as time went on. Legendaries only added to the divide, as their rarity was bad enough for players willing to spend money (one player, known as one of the largest whales in the community, in trying to get Sienna Khan, reported burning nearly nine hundred dollars on her, while taking nearly six hundred to get the Ice Flower card).
One actual counter was born to fight Neon in the Argus Shield, a stationary unit that existed solely to stall units and take damage. At 2 Aura, it was the first structure to counter Neon, which allevated one of the primary problems with Neon in that no way to counter her was cost-efficient for an enemy player. They buffed the Wall to 3 Aura eventually which killed that hope, and all this happened before Neon's November nerf.
The Summer of 2019 saw a large number of defensive units released; alongside the Argus Shield, several different units were released themed around turrets for the technological kingdom of Atlas, such as the Beam Turret. The Atlesian Burrow Gun was the straw that broke the camel's back and made for a miserable meta as the Burrow Gun would only appear (and be available to take damage) when a unit entered its range. These three units together were all very overpowered on launch and led to a large exodus of players sick of defensive and chip-based metas, especially as what few offensive units that were good enough to counter these metas (such as Professor Port and Adam Taurus) were often nerfed into the ground within a month of release.
Also around this time it became apparent that the developers were unable to meet the quotas that Rooster Teeth was forcing on them. The social media team admitted that a certain number of units needed to be in the game in time for Winter 2019 when Volume 7 was set to start, and as the year went on more and more game-breaking bugs were being found in units, or they were at best horrifically undertuned or overpowered. The Apathy was perhaps the largest case of this, as an unfound bug pre-release meant that the Apathy (who have a passive ability that let them self-duplicate) had no cap on their power, meaning that they could immediately overwhelm defenses and in the case of some phones, be such a resource hog the phone would crash. Many Legendary units were especially guilty of being under-tuned due to low Legendary availability meaning they were simply weren't powerful enough to compare with high-levelled units. Checkmate's ability simply didn't work at launch, and Neon made several more such as Hazel Rainart a joke. May Marigold's invisibility bubble would have been an interesting game changer... were it not for a bug that made it that units placed in the bubble still played their sound lines, meaning players knew what to expect. Things were so bad that when Flower Power launched and wasn't broken or needed an emergency patch, the playerbase were shocked.
Unfortunately, the Novemember patch did little to stop the problems with Neon, and a new problem would rear its head for Christmas: Jinn. This unit embodied many of the problems players had: She was a Legendary so it would be hard for free players to get her, and only added to the sheer number of Legendaries that were out there. She was another structure card, and she was horrifically broken. Stopping time for seven seconds in an area around any friendly units, Jinn broke the game overnight, with players horrified at how little playtesting she'd clearly had. Most chip units now couldn't damage structures as Jinn simply could stop time and freeze the turret for the duration of the attack. And to make matters worse? She cost two Aura, meaning it was very easy to cycle a deck and start Jinn spamming. And yet at two aura she was still one of the only cost-efficient Neon counters... until they patched her to be worth three Aura instead. Talking of the feline menace, January saw Neon get a HP nerf that set her shield at 14. Finally, Neon could be realistically be taken out, still at an Aura defecit but at least it can be countered and now they just have to raise her Aura- why are you buffing her game? Less than a month later, Neon got, of all things, a buff. Her HP shield was set at 20, and her attacks now did double damage. This is around the point where a lot of players begin to suspect the developers aren't listening to feedback and more long-term players dip out or drop the game. Neon got touched one more time in April, which slowed her down (which itself was a problem as Neon's lessened speed on spawn simply made her better at generating aggro), she dealt 10% less damage and made it somewhat easier to hit her enough to kill her, but a new problem was on the horizon. Because Neon was now no longer the game's White Whale for patches. Meet the White Fang Gunner Barracks. Added in September 2019, the Barracks fell under many player's radar simply because they were horrifically undertuned. Their gimmick was that every few seconds, a White Fang Gunner would spawn, with three spawning on death. In April, as Neon got her last appearance in the patches, the Barracks got a huge buff and became the centerpiece of the meta; they now spawned two Gunners, which made them immensely valuable for just five Aura. You could overwhelm many anti-swarm units before they had a chance, and shred your way through turrets. The Barracks would then go six months before this overtuning was rectified, barring one nerf in August that lowered their health to try and stem the tide of units. To sum up every other thing that went wrong during the year meta-wise:
The playercount was getting so low that players were able to make lists of the AI bots the developers had in place so lower-level players had a challenge (Amity breaks up players by a trophy system where you gain trophies with every win, and by this point most of the active players were in the 2500 to 3500 range. This also meant new players steamrolled through the lower levels only to hit a brick wall in the 3000 range, with the only reliable solution being to willingly lose matches until you were in your optimal range and grind victories until you reached a certain level.
The patches became more and more threadbare, going from 8+ units getting changed each month in early 2019 to three units at most getting changed in 2020 patches outside of the anniversary patch going back to the golden days of eight. The only area where they didn't get more threadbare was in the cosmetics and emotes that the developers were cranking out, all of which were only available through hours of grinding or premium currencies. This was despite the fact that the units were being released slower, going from once a week to once a fortnite.
The majority of units added in 2020 were Epic or Legendary tier, which were the hardest to get for free players unless they got lucky and they were added to the store (and if they had the lien as a Legendary in the store costs a flat 40,000 Lien). One Common and four Epics were released compared to twelve Epics and seven Legendaries. The release of Moonslice Adam especially was annoying for this regard, as Adam already had a Legendary released (at least for Team RWBY, each of them headlined a Legendary when it came to the team attack cards), and this was clearly done to pander to Adam's fans again as his first unit saw a spike in interest in the game. The math was done and showed how artifically scarce Legendaries were made.
The undeovertuning was still in play. Colossus is seen as one of the worst cards in the entire game because of its gimmick. I have literally never seen anyone play it. Flynt became overtuned and now he's a staple thanks to his trumpet's AOE attack being able to hurt turrets and shred most units. Launcher Nora was an especially overtuned unit thanks to her high-damage constant AOE barrage and long range meaning she could annhilate most anything if given enough cover. Even after patches she's still dangerous. September saw the White Fang Dropship Formation added, which was widely seen as a terrible unit and done as an emergency addition because the planned unit for September in the Grimm Seer had to be cut last minute for technical reasons.
The game has barely had significant content added since launch, with the primary gameplay still just being PVP. Barring Battle of Beacon (a mode where you can play as Ruby and Weiss and fend off Grimm which most players just use to grind chests, and no, they still haven't added Blake or Yang) and Plaza (a lobby where you can dress up as a character and run around Beacon), the game has added no new features and quality of life content players have requested since launch (rerolling in the shop, Superior Crates having guaranteed Legendary spawn rates) have been released at a snail's pace (you still can't reroll Legendaries if you're looking for a specific unit). Academies where players can unite to trade units and chat still lacks features that have been requested for years such as the ability to delete messages. And Plaza immediately went to hell because players were doing erotic role play in the chats and after people came forward with proof that minors were being sexually harassed in the Plaza or being coerced into side-channels, the dev response was to... just turn off the chat entirely instead of banning the accounts or implementing moderation. This also removed the chatlog which deleted a lot of the evidence of said harassment.
As OctobeNovember comes in, the players are getting more and more furious. The weekly feedback includes a near constant demand for an acknowledgement from the developers given how often it feels like the feedback is being ignored. The social media team get caught several times hyping up how the coming patch would address player concerns, only for said patch to lack those units. The meta has been locked down to the Xiong Family, Flynt, Launcher Nora, Spider-Mines and the hell-cat herself in Neon. Everyone runs at least one of these, people run meta decks not because they want to, but because it's the only way to have a chance of victory. And then in December, things implode. The patch for the month was set to launch on December 10th with the monthly event missions. But when the clock rolls around, the event missions (which usually take about two weeks to do if you're doing as many as you can a day)... has a six day timer. And the update doesn't come out. The art team doesn't release new unit art. The shop has no special timed bundles. There's no patch notes. And then the Twitter team who've been hard carrying the game through... actually talking to the players and acknowledging the grievances they have... admitted that they don't know what's going on either. The best guess is that the devs have come down with Covid, but no statements to confirm or deny this leave it as guesswork. The timer eventually got reset and people could do the event, but then on Christmas itself, another issue. Ruby has appeared in the plaza on Halloween (her canonical birthday) and Christmas, and if you go talk to her you get free stuff. But on Christmas people, people discovered that Ruby was talking as if you'd already talked to her. Because they hadn't updated Ruby yet for 2020. She still thought it was 2019 so if you'd talked to her then for goodies, she had none now. They patched it eventually but a lot of people didn't see this fix before the timer ran out to get the free stuff. Some have resorted to memes to cope with the fact that the game just seems to have died out of the blue. Others have been trying to desperately rally the players and find a way to save it. Some resorted to friendly mockery of the whales who'd spent thousands on a game that seems to be dying (seriously though gacha games need to curb this shit but they won't because whales are godsends for their bank balances). If the game doesn't get an update in January then two months without new content will mark the end, and the already significant playercount drops will only increase. And it's hard to say if any one thing could have turned Amity Arena's fate around beyond just "Have a better balancing team who can respond better to feedback." Neon began the time of death, but by the time December rolled around the meta was in a horrifically toxic place where if you wanted to make any progession, you had to get down and dirty with the pigs. The team just constantly failed to balance problem units outside of their emergency hotfixes of Jinn, and more often then not they went after units and buffed or nerfed them at random going off playcounts to determine what needed fixing instead of the actual written feedback they were getting. It's clear from the references to the show and some of the attempts to reach out to the community that at least one person in the team genuinely wanted to make the good appealing to RWBY fans, but somewhere during the game's lifespan, they lost their way. Less focus needed to be put on how to milk the players, and instead focusing on making a game sustainable and enjoyable enough to warrant the cosmetics and emotes. The game's failure ultimately isn't on the playerbase. It's on the people who were actually making the game who chose to slack off because they thought it acceptable to do so. Thanks for reading. EDIT: HOT OFF THE PRESSES, I JUMPED THE GUN Had I waited one more day, my story would have had a far more sudden ending, as the game just announced its shutdown for January. RIP.
Learn from my mistakes. I got a job, but it took me a year, 1100+ applications, and failing 11 final interviews. Here is what you don't do while job searching.
Sure, there are plenty of posts from people who applied to a job and got an offer 30 seconds later. Good for them. But if you're on this sub, you're probably running into more difficulty. I did. Job hunting these days is inherently pretty hard, but there are plenty of things I did wrong during my job hunt that could have saved me time and trouble. I'm a 35 year old in product marketing in the bay area, so this advice may or may not apply to you. Most of this advice is not new, you may have seen it elsewhere. Well, HEED MY WORDS! You should take that advice. Here are my don'ts of job hunting: e: Here's the real #1 piece of advice because someone brought it up in the comments: Don't Not Have A Network. The main reason I had such a hard time was I moved to a new city where I didn't have a professional relationship with ANYONE. I think if you're applying without a friend on the inside, it reduces your odds by 80-90%, based on random factoids we've all seen that say 80% of jobs are never posted publicly. I went to networking events and coffee meetups and blah blah blah, but COVID put a stop to that before I could make much progress. The biggest piece of advice (by far) is just to have a friend who can get you a job. But if you're reading this, you would have done that already if you could have. Don't try to get by without doing the standard "best practice" stuff. I spent a while thinking I could get away without making a customized resume for different jobs. I also thought I would probably have the right keywords naturally, and that I didn't have to worry about that either. WRONG. I wasted many weeks submitting poorly optimized resumes and getting few interviews. What you should do is have at least one version of your resume customized for each job title you're applying to. That means if you're applying for Sr. Widget Fiddler and Director of Widget Fiddling, you need 2 versions. Keyword optimize each resume version by copy-pasting 50+ job descriptions for that job's title into a tool like Voyant Tools, which will spit out all the most common words and phrases. Find the most frequent ones that seem important and relevant, and work them into your resume, even if it seems weird to refer to yourself as a "team player" or "entrepreneurial". Don't be bad at interviewing, not even a little bit bad. Being a good interviewee is a skill. Most of us aren't born with that skill, and most of us are rusty when it comes time to look for a job. I knew I wasn't great at interviewing, but I really didn't want to go through awkward practice interviews with friends, so I told myself people would understand why I was all nervous, and realize I was still super talented and experienced despite my 'rough edges'. WRONG. I blew it on a lot of interviews before admitting that I had to practice, a lot. I did a bunch of practice interviews, got feedback, and I even talked to an interview coach. The latter was expensive, but I think the dose of outside perspective really helped. YMMV. I practiced enough that I started getting to final rounds instead of washing out in the first couple rounds. It made a huge difference. Practice. Don't wing it during the interview. For 'behavioral' questions (i.e. "tell me about a time when..." questions) everyone says you need to have multiple answers memorized for every major category of question. Ugh! So much work. Greatest weakness. Success story. Failure story. Conflict story. Collaboration story. YAWN. I thought I could come up with good answers on the spot. It's "supposed to be a conversation", right? WRONG. I blew it on a couple interviews before realizing I was coming across as both unprepared AND inexperienced. Sit down and work out your bullet points for every answer, BEFORE you land an interview. Pain in the butt? Yes. But not as big a pain as getting an interview, blowing it, then ending up doing the work anyway. Don't apply to old job listings. If it's still up, they're still hiring, right? WRONG. I have found that job listings are good for about as long as fresh bread. You mostly want to apply the day they're posted, 2-3 days is OK, 5 days is pushing it, beyond that, it's literal trash. I started out applying to anything relevant that was less than a month old, and my app-to-interview yield was around 1%. Started applying to new listings exclusively, and my yield went to more like 3%. YMMV. Don't apply to listings that aren't on the employer's own site. It's become disturbingly common for 3rd-party sites to steal and re-post job listings they have nothing to do with. You click on a link on LinkedIn or Indeed, and you end up on Neuvoo or some random BS. Don't submit any of your info on those sites. Very often the jobs are expired already, but these 3rd-party scammers are still re-posting them to steal your info. Even if they're not expired, there's no reason to think they actually send your application to the employer. If you land somewhere unexpected, go to the employer's actual careers section on their site and find the listing yourself. Otherwise you're just giving your info to someone to sell, and the employer probably never sees it. Please report these listings as you go. Don't be too picky with job titles. Unless your resume precisely "fits the profile" employers are looking for, you're going to have to apply a lot. I had to apply a lot. At first, I was exclusively applying to one title, because although I didn't "fit the profile" I didn't want to compromise. I ended up getting a really solid job with a different title, after I loosened my criteria JUST a tad. Have a serious talk with yourself about how many months you're willing to apply before broadening your search, and don't talk yourself out of good jobs because they have the "wrong" title. Don't be too loose with companies you apply to. At a couple points in the process, I ended up with interviews at companies that I seriously didn't want to work for. I was playing the numbers game and I would apply to anything with the right title, even if I hadn't heard of the company. I figured if I got an interview, I would worry about the company later. Difficulty: If you are on unemployment, this can lead to a sticky situation - if you turn down an offer, you legally can't collect unemployment anymore in many places. It's also pretty hard to justify to yourself turning down ANY interview if you actually need the money. Have a loose idea of who the company is before applying, to avoid those awkward moments. Don't stop applying until the ink is dry on your offer letter. My advice is to apply to every suitable listing as soon as it's posted, which could be as many as 10-30 per day depending on your field and geography. If things are going well, you'll also have interviews going on during any given week, which also put heavy demands on your mental energy and prep time. It is tempting to stop applying for jobs if you are doing multiple interviews and they seem to be going well. You need the time, and one of them has to work out, right? WRONG. It happened to me multiple times - I'd get further along in an interview process, I'd be focusing on prep, and I'd let my application routine slip. Bad idea. If your application pipeline runs dry, it can be another 2-6 weeks before the interviews start flowing again. ABA - always be applying. Don't get your hopes up. (maybe the most important tip.) Your mental resilience to rejection and your self-regard are finite resources. They are resources you need to conserve to maintain your overall mental health and good job-hunting habits. Job hunting can burn through these resources like Joe Exotic through a bag of meth. Don't be like me and get emotionally invested in any given job before you get an offer. Don't start picking out all the stuff you're going to buy with the new salary. Don't start thinking of what doors are going to open up for you with this step in your career. Don't mentally pick out outfits for your new commute. Just don't. I consider myself a mentally tough person, so I should be able to handle the repeated rejection, right? WRONG. If you allow yourself to start caring about a job before you GET the job, you WILL be crushed to bits. Maybe not the first time, but after the 5th, or the 10th, it becomes hard to take. To some of the newer job hunters I've seen on this sub: Caring about a job from the day you APPLY? Sheer lunacy. You shouldn't even remember where you applied by the time you go to bed that day. Keep in mind: It's a numbers game. It's not personal. You WILL get the right job eventually, if you keep going. You have to maintain faith in yourself, but hold no hope for any particular job. In emotional terms, treat it less like a poker game, (where any hand can be a big deal) more like a slot machine (where you care zero until you finally win). No matter how tough you think you are, take care to maintain your mental state, especially during COVID where so many aspects of life are also wearing down our mental health. Don't be afraid to be a try-hard. The role I finally got was based largely on a "take home project" used to demonstrate my working style. It was paid, also really long, the minimum suggested time was 10 hours. Usually I put 70% effort into trial projects, because I don't want to bust my ass for a throwaway, and I don't want to look desperate. My thinking is "Well, we're all professionals, so as long as I mention a few of the right things, they'll know we're on the same level, right?" WRONG. On this one, I decided to go HAM on the project. All or nothing. I ended up putting over 20 hours into it, (the max time they suggested was 20) and came up with a total overkill amount of material, it was probably 20 pages worth, if not more. To give some idea, I spent like 4 hours just doing addressable market sizing, which everyone including me acknowledges is fairly pointless. Part of the project was also to see how we communicate about our work - they put me on their company slack, so I logged onto it pretty much every day to update them on my progress. It was firmly in try-hard weirdo territory. But it worked! So I guess my lesson from this is, if you're going to bother with these projects, be the one who turns in the blue ribbon material. NB: Be aware of "free work" scams where they try to get you to do the actual job without hiring you for the job. If it's pertinent to the actual job and it's more than an hour or two of work, it should be paid. Unpaid trial projects that don't relate to the actual business are OK, but you'll have to decide for yourself how much time you're willing to put in for free. Don't assume ***anything*** until it's final. In 3 instances, I got much further than I expected in a hiring process, and in one I was blindsided by a rejection where I thought I was a shoo-in. #1, they interviewed me for the role (up to the final round) even though the job called for an actual engineer and I have zero engineering experience. In #2, I blew an interview and got rejected. I knew exactly how I blew it, I got the yips and did poorly. So I sent an email reply explaining what I SHOULD have said, and that I really believed in the company's mission, and that I realize I was a poor interviewee, but I was working on it - they actually gave me another shot and I made it to the final round. In the last unexpected twist story, they actually scheduled a final interview, then CANCELLED IT. I have been rejected for about a million jobs, but I've never been cancelled on. They said that instead of an interview, they would just review my trial project. I couldn't imagine cancelling an interview with someone you intend to hire, so I assumed this 'review' was just a consolation prize and the job was going to someone else. On the day the cancelled interview was meant to take place, they offered me the job. Huh???? Later that day I rode to heck on a flying pig and bought a snowcone there. But I also got a job. On the other side of things, I was told directly I was the top candidate for a role, the only one who was really qualified, but because of COVID they were putting the role on hold. OK cool, I figured I was a shoo-in once they actually hired for it. Well, they re-listed the job about 45 days later. They didn't reach out to me. I messaged them. They told me I wasn't even going to get a phone screen for it. WTF? They lied to my face for no reason whatsoever? Yep. They did. The lesson: Do not assume anything! ANYTHING!
With so many games releasing nowadays, I think it's easy for the good ones to get lost in the shuffle. I'm going to list 20 highly anticipated Indie/AA games. I'm sure there's many great ones I'll probably miss (like I said, there's so many it's hard to keep track sometimes), so please let me know what other ones I should look out for. I’m going to order them by release date. If the game does not have a tangible release date, I’ll place it in the list based on what I think is more likely to come out first, based on marketing material and release date delays. 1. Cyber Shadow
Description: This game looks like a cyberpunk Ninja Gaiden. It's very fast paced and has some huge enemies to fight. The player character looks to have a very versatile moveset which looks to complement both the platforming and the combat. This is apparently the work of one guy, making it all that much more impressive.
Description: TOHU has you exploring a variety of fish planets, solving puzzles and unraveling mysteries behind the protagonist’s mechanical alter-ego, Cubus. The musical score is composed by Christopher Larking, the same guy behind Hollow Knight’s soundtrack.
Description: Little Nightmares was a big indie success back in 2017, and the sequel looks to lean heavier into its horror elements. The game will feature two characters this time around - Six and Mono - as they brave the horrors in this larger than life world to discover the dark secrets of The Signal Tower.
Description: Crazy Taxi hasn’t had a new console/PC entry since 2002 (however there were two for handhelds in the mid to late 2000s and two for mobile phones in the 2010s). Taxi Chaos mirrors the formula of picking up customers and dropping them off in a race against the clock. Sega, the developer behind 1999’s original Crazy Taxi, gave developer Team6 Studios their blessing and are actually set to publish the game in Japan and other Asian regions.
Description: This is a vertical SHMUP with four different characters, online leaderboards, and large enemy encounters. Characters will have their own unique ships, weapons, bombs, and story endings. A demo for the game was introduced back in September, and the developer has rolled out steady updates detailing the development of the game.
Description: It Takes Two follows a clashing couple who have been turned into dolls. This is the second game to come from Hazelight Studios, creators of A Way Out. Like that game, this one is built around the co-op experience and is both online and local co-op. If you play online, only the host needs to own a copy of the game.
Description: This comes from the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and Nights into Dreams. It's a 3D platformer with a dreamlike carnival theme. You'll wear a number of different costumes (80+ according to the game description) that grant different abilities. The game also has a Chao Garden-like feature for Sonic Adventure fans. The adorable little creatures in this game are called “Tims.”
Description: Garlic tells a less than romantic tale of an onion boy climbing the Sacred Tower to seduce the Cyber Goddess. This is a “1 bit platformer” with a monochrome aesthetic and an emphasis on one screen levels with lots of wall jumping and strange but catchy tunes to accompany the action.
Description: The original King’s Bounty released all the way back in 1990, which also spawned a board game in 1991. It wouldn’t receive a follow-up until 2008 when King’s Bounty: The Legend released. Four expansions would be released between 2009 and 2014. Progress and features of the game are continually updated on the Steam page of the game.
Description: This game has been in development for 10 years now and is clearly inspired by Banjo Kazooie. The game follows a tag team duo – a rabbit and a monkey – through 11 different worlds in a collectathon-style platformer. The two characters like act as one unit to perform certain moves, just as it was in Banjo Kazooie.
Description: After being evicted from his home, Turnip Boy sets out on a quest to topple a corrupt vegetable government. You’ll explore dungeons, solve puzzles, fight enemies and bosses, and find treasure along the way.
Multiplayer: 8 Player Competitive Local & Online Multiplayer
Description: The original Knight Squad first released in 2014. It was an arena fighter that took heavy inspiration from Bomberman, with eight player battles and a ton of different game modes. Knight Squad 2 will introduce even more game modes, better graphics, and more customization options.
Description: Hell Pie reminds me of Conker’s Bad Fur Day with its cutesy aesthetic contrasted with adult humor and lewd scenes. Hell Pie follows a demon named Nate through both open and linear levels, tethered to a plump angel called Nugget, who can be used as a weapon, a grappling hook, and a guide.
Description: Iron Meat is a retro inspired grindhouse game made by one guy, Ivan Suvorov. There is a demo on Steam with two of the levels currently, with eight total announced for the full release, and three difficulty settings to choose between.
Description: The game looks as bleak as the title suggests, with gorgeous pixel art and great enemy design. Big, epic bosses seem to have prominent presence here judging from the trailer, and combat animations look slick and smooth.
Description: 30XX is the sequel to 2014’s 20XX. This is a Mega Man X inspired roguelike with both local and online co-op. There were eight characters with different abilities to play as in 20XX, and it looks like a similar approach is kept for the sequel. Despite taking place 1000 years after the original, Ace and Nina at least, are still present in 30XX.
Description: Inspired by the works of H.R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński, Scorn is an atmospheric blend of horror and a first person shooter. You play as a skinless humanoid in a nightmarish world. The studio behind the game, Ebb Software, was founded in 2013 and first showed the game off in 2014. The game was announced for a 2021 release date in Microsoft’s Xbox Series X showcase in 2020 and will be coming to PC as well.
Multiplayer: 4 Player Competitive Local & Online Multiplayer
Description: Windjammers is a fast paced blend between pong and frisbee that originally came out in 1994. An updated version of the game was released for Steam and modern consoles with online play, and Windjammers 2 will be a new sequel 27 years after the original release. Players can choose between a multitude of characters with different stats, with a few mini games to boot.
Description: 2017’s Hollow Knight is one of the biggest indie games of all time, in both its popularity and scale of the game. Silksong was originally just meant to be a DLC for the original game, but the project expanded into a full-scale sequel. The original is probably the single most popular indie Metroidvania out there, so there’s a lot of hype for the sequel.
Description: This has been a very long time coming, but with all the gameplay footage and marketing material coming out for the game, it seems Psychonauts 2 will finally release in 2021. The first game released in 2005 – three PlayStations ago – and was a cult classic. The director of the first game, Tim Schafer (Grim Fandango, Brutal Legend, Broken Age, etc.) is also directing the sequel, so there is a lot of hope from the fanbase.
Description: Coromon dons a similar pixel art aesthetic that defined the fourth and fifth generation Pokemon games. When a Coromon gains experience points, you will be able to distribute the stat points as you see fit. Trainers are customizable, and there are also multiple save slots. There is a demo available on Steam.
Description: This comes from the same developer as Hyper Light Drifter. Solar Ash Kingdom has a lot of the same stylized aesthetics as Hyper Light Drifter, but this is a fully 3D over the shoulder adventure. You’ll engage with massive enemies, traverse the world at high speeds, and meet many characters throughout the adventure.
Description: No Place for Bravery boasts a low fantasy setting with Sekiro-esque combat and stories based on real life. The game follows Thorn, who – with his disabled foster son, Phid – seeks to find answers to his daughter’s disappearance from long ago. There is a demo available on Steam.
Description: Bushiden has you taking control of a cybernectic ninja in a futuristic world, on a quest to find his sister who has vanished. There are a number of unlockable traversal and combat abilities, as well as purchasable upgrades.
Description: This is an adventure following a young engineer on an island in the flying city of Gideon. The game boasts exploration, a heavy story, and the ability to build and repair “incredible flying machines.”
Description: This is a steampunk side scroller with narrative choices and a fast paced combat system. There are side quests, skills to level up, and secrets to uncover. Originally planned for 2020, the developers regularly post tweets on Twitter to keep fans updated with the project.
Description: Set in a cyberfunk universe (real word is getting the post removed by the automoderator), Jack Move follows a hacker who seeks to rescue her father from the evil mega corporation, Monomind. The combat system will allow for a number of customizable options both in and out of combat.
Description: Heavenly Bodies follows two cosmonauts in the 1970s who must work together through a series of physics-based challenges. While the game is built around the co-op experience, the game can still be played in single player. While this is only local co-op at the moment, the Steam page seems to suggest that the developer is looking into options for online play.
Description: This is technically a DLC, but given the wait for it, I think it’s fair to expect a fairly sizeable one. This DLC will introduce a new playable character, Ms. Chalice, who will have a double jump and possibly other differentiating moves. This DLC was originally supposed to release in 2019, but it’s been delayed a number of times. For reference, the original game released in 2017 and took seven years to make (though the two brothers responsible for the game had day jobs and a much smaller team up until 2014).
Description: This comes from Kayin, the creator of I Wanna Be the Guy. This is an NES Castlevania inspired game with three playable characters that have unique paths and differing abilities. The game will also feature cutscenes and over a dozen different levels. The game has been in development for years now and is near completion.
Description:Hazelnut Bastille actually has a 2-3 hour demo with a full dungeon included, which I didn't know about until just now as I was making this list! Heavily inspired by top down Zelda games, these games have some really beautiful looking art. Development for Hazelnut Bastille began back in April 2016. Dawnthorn, a prequel to Hazelnut Bastille, will also be releasing around the same time in 2021. Dawnthorn will emulate the look of an NES game, while Hazelnut Bastille will look more like an SNES game.
Description: The original Freedom Planet was initially conceived as a Sonic fangame before the the creator, Stephen DiDuro, reconceptualized it as his own IP. The sequel was announced back in 2015, a year after the original’s release, and will introduce new mechanics and make changes based on feedback from the first game.
Description: This game comes from the creators of Crawl and Regular Human Basketball, two highly acclaimed competitive local multiplayer games. Unlike their previous work, this looks to be a campaign/adventure game, but it also has a demonic narrator just like Crawl. They're also making The Drifter right now.
Description: From the creators of Lenna's Inception, Bytten Studio, which released on Steam in January of this year – a randomly generated Zelda inspired local co-op action adventure game with two art styles to switch between. The two guys behind the game have also worked on Starbound, Stardew Valley, and Wargroove, so they have quite a pedigree of games. Cassette Beasts in heavily inspired by Pokemon and includes 120 beasts that can be combined for a total of 14,400 fusions.
Description: Developer Dead Mage has won me over with both Shadow Blade: Reload and Children of Morta. Their new game, Tale of Ronin, focuses on the “human side of the Samurai,” and will feature a dynamic world to explore and allow for you to make story-based choices that impact the storyline.
Multiplayer: 6 Player Local & Online Competitive Multiplayer
Description: This is the spiritual successor to Stikbold. It’s a dodgeball game with wacky antics and multiple game modes. Players can do free for all or team based matches, and if it’s anything like Stikbold, it will also have a two player local co-op campaign with a few boss fights.
Description: Spark 3 will be the second 3D platformer in the Spark series. It’s no mystery where Spark takes its inspiration, but it does it well and mixes action sequences into the mix while removing a lot of the bloat found in most 3D Sonic games. Spark 2 is well regarded by the Sonic community, and the third game looks to up the ante with even more mechanics, like wall running.
Multiplayer: 2 Player Local Co-op/4 Player Competitive Local Multiplayer
Description: Samurai Gunn 2 is the sequel to the 2013 PC exclusive. The game is designed by Beau Blyth, the co-creator behind Hyper Light Drifter. The game plays similarly to TowerFall, in that you platform around a fixed screen and try to shoot the other players. The sequel will launch exclusively on Switch first, with a release for other platforms in the future. The story mode will allow for up to two players in local co-op, while the competitive mode will allow up to four.
Description: This comes from the creators of Wargroove. Witchbrook will allow you to experience high school as a wizard. A website for the game was launched back in September, so it seems progress on the game is coming along. The website seems to suggest you’ll be able to develop relationships based on your choices in the game.
Description: This comes from the same developer as The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, The Astronauts, but instead of just walking, you'll be walking and shooting demonic creatures. If this game reminds you of Painkiller from 2004, it's because director Adrian Chmielarz actually worked on that game. The game has been worked on for five years now by a team of nine full members and three contributors, so hopefully we'll see it soon.
What are some other upcoming indie/AA games you’re looking forward to? If you’re looking for more indie games to play, see my post here:
this event made me consider whether to keep playing
This is mostly my reactions and rationalizations to the Brave event and how it's affected me a a player of DMK. I've been playing for nearly a year. I've experienced Onward, Pocahontas, Hercules, two Tower Challenges, the Lock Shock and Barrel Halloween event, Mandalorian, and now Brave. At first I was okay with not completing things since I just didn't have storyline characters unlocked or leveled up to be of any use. But starting around that second Tower Challenge, the one where they offered Rabbit for a second time in a row, things started feeling off. The Halloween event was brutal. Lock, the premium character, was surprising in that he not only was 500 gems but despite being useful to the point of being necessary for one of the tasks he ended up being not that useful for the rest. Meaning even people who purchased Lock found out they couldn't get Shock unless they got lucky with drops or burned through a ton of elixir buying the needed tokens. Then the Mandalorian came out a few weeks later, and I didn't participate much but I did hear that once again the premium character wasn't as useful as expected. Kuiil needed to be leveled up before he could be properly used, and he had some token conflicts with characters. And now we are at Brave, where people who had both premium characters and the premium attraction and the parade float and discovered they could not finish the event. They did everything right, and it wasn't enough. The RNG was just too strong - there were too many stages where people got screwed over by RNG or bottle necked by arbitrary cooldown times. Some people even had full Frozen collections to help, and were struggling! I had Fergus, Dingwall, and the Ring of Stones at level 2. Up until the last hour, I had no idea if I would be able to complete the event or if I would come up short. And I realize it's only going to get harder. This isn't fun anymore. I've never played a game where I needed to wake myself up repeatedly during the night, to stand a chance at completing it. For days at a time. I've never played a game that made me wonder if I could 'get away' with sneaking my phone into my phone-hating teacher's class because lectures cut into a character's task completion. This is supposed to be a game, not a job. With Brave, the difficulty is entirely intentional. Gameloft didn't want people completing the event. Gameloft wanted people so frustrated that they caved in and bought a sack of gems. Merida herself was 10USD, and without any tokens her costume was 970 gems. Two 500 gem deals bring her costume to just under 40USD. Let's say you did your best, got all the Glitched Fabric, but still came up short 7 comfy fabrics. That's still 560 gems that Gameloft wants you to spend. You just busted your ass for the "privilege" of giving Gameloft an additional 24USD of your money. Nice hustle. And then there's the fact that Gameloft made sure only Frozen characters can get Glitched Fabric. And not just Frozen characters, but you needed Anna and her traveling costume (so 2 legendary chests, minimum) or the Fire Spirit with the Enchanted Forest attraction upgraded to level 1 (another 2 legendary chests). You could also have it dropped from the Dressing Room if you have it at level 2, but with an 8 hour cooldown most people couldn't collect enough fabric before the event ended and were forced to spend more gems. Some people were lucky enough to have the Dressing Room upgraded all the way to level 5, which requires a total of 475 relic tokens to do. And the odds of getting WIR relic tokens have decreased, now that Gameloft has added Brave relic tokens to the chest pools. And when an event ends...does it even feel good having those event characters you earned? Thanks to the 75 character limit, you're going to spend the next few weeks leveling them up and then be forced to box them up and send them Home by the time the next event starts. There are so many storyline characters that have so many tasks needed to collect more tokens, but event characters are mostly isolated and very rarely are able to collect tokens for characters not in their collection. So their main purpose becomes slot machine bait: they'll eventually be the next helper collection for a future event (that you'll have to lose sleep, buy all the premiums, and even then burn through more elixir or gems or even real money in order to complete), and anyone who wasn't able to get all the characters can try their luck opening a legendary chest. I'm not even done with the story. I'm at the brink of my game getting bottle necked because I have over 75 characters which can be out and about doing tasks. But with recent events, they prove it won't matter how far along in the story I am. It won't be enough to complete events. Now, each new event character feels like it bloats regular chests. All those event character tokens taking up space, all those event relic tokens that you don't need anymore because the relic token system is utterly broken and Gamelot isn't interested in fixing it. All for what? For shoring up for the next hustle. For making sure you have fewer gems ready for the next event, tempting you to give in and pay cash. And maybe this is because I've only been playing for about a year while others have been playing much longer, but it is discouraging knowing that I'll never be able to complete many collections because it all lies within the slot machine legendary chests. At first I thought Tower Challenges were going to be a chance to make up for it, but I realized Gameloft hardly ever offers Tower Challenges and when they do happen you get...one or two returning characters plus an attraction, common tier. It's been a year and Gameloft has offered a grand total of 5 returning event characters. They have also added 25 event characters. Free legendary chests are sporadic, sometimes a few will be offered as milestone prizes during events but for the most part we get one, maybe two a month. But not in January though, we get nothing this month. Spending gems is the only way to really complete a collection, but of course you don't want to spend your gems because you need those for the next event, but of course what's the point when the 75 character limit prevents you from really enjoying and showing off your completed collections. DMK operates on FOMO: fear of missing out. If you don't complete a collection during its event, it is extremely difficult to do so after without spending money, and Gameloft ensures that the rate of free offers is outpaced by new events. "If I don't get the comfy, it won't be available again for years. And when they release it again, it will be just as hard to obtain, so I might as well spend money/gems now." That's how they get you. "If I don't get Merida now, she'll be in a Legendary Chest, but she'll only have a base 2% chance to get, so I might as well spend money/gems now." Same thing. I've come to realize I don't feel like I'm playing a game anymore. I feel more like I'm trying to see how much I can get away with an abuser. This is no longer a fun time waster, but something negatively influencing my life. Between the 75 character limit, the lack of usefulness for premium characters, and the absurd hoops needed to complete an event to screw people over with RNG and tempt them into spending more gems/cash, this isn't a game anymore it's just a chore. I don't see DMK getting better. So, I'm done. Let it go, as a certain Snow Queen would say. I hope I don't come off as sounding dramatic. I only want to rationalize my decision, and help others understand if they are feeling the same way. I am not demanding that anyone quit or stop spending their own money if they still find enjoyment and satisfaction. I am not angry at anyone, but I will note that the more people spend real money the more it encourages Gameloft to rig things with less and less fairness. If anyone is feeling reluctant to stop playing or reduce playing due to the time and money they have already spent, this is a phenomenon called the sunk cost fallacy. It's harder to walk away from something when you feel you have invested in it. But this is a tapping game, and the only investment is whether you still find it fun and rewarding to play. You're never going to get that money back, there will be no payout at the "end". The only real loss is your money and time if you continue to play a game that is no longer fun. In case anyone was wondering if I was able to get Merida's comfy costume at the very end, it doesn't matter if I did or not. Because I'm walking away. I thank everyone here, and hope whatever decisions you make, you base them on your own satisfaction. Stay healthy and happy. And in case anyone is wondering what else to do for a time waster, I picked up the inexpensive Stardew Valley and have been having a blast with it. Yes, I traded my kingdom for a farm.
Ranking games to do + how long it took to do. 170$ in 2 weeks
Proof: https://imgur.com/a/lFRzQTe Best one to do: War Thunder Time it took: 2 hours Reward: 700 Download & install and play 1 game... was fun too. 2nd best one to do: 21 Blitz Reward: 1200 Time it took: 2 hours Just win 25 games... doesn't require any money. Somewhat fun to do. Best Casino game: PopSlots Time it took: 2 days Reward: 2500 Was the easiest one to do. Just sit on Fire & Lightning and collect every single one you can here: https://www.myvegasadvisor.com/mobile/pop-slots-free-chips/ If you're lucky you'll get it done in a few hours. If unlucky, a few days. Second best casino game: Club Vegas Slots Time it took me: 2 days Reward: 3500 Machines don't matter as it's random, go to there facebook for free coins. Third/Fourth best casino game: Huuuuge + Billionaires(they're the same thing) Reward: 4500 each(currently 5500 each I got screwed) Billionaires took - 6 days Huuuuge took - 1 day(got lucky) On Billionaires I did it through only slots which is why it took so long. DO NOT DO THAT. GO THROUGH ROULETTE AS SOON AS YOU CAN. Billionaires I managed to snag a 2b jackpot then just did roulette the whole way then still had 1b+ so I just did 140-150 through slots(ran out of money reaaaall quick) YOU NEED TO WIN 20-22b TO HIT LEVEL 150 ON BOTH. WORST ONE IMAGINABLE: Star Slots Reward: 4000(I had it for 3000 but luckily it went up as I was doing it) Time it took: 7 days with ONE lucky break of winning 1b and machine going even for a few bil. It was 6 days of torture to even hit level 60. These slots are super rigged. Same company as Huuuuge + Billionaires but worse slot machines and nowhere near as many players. You also don't get nearly as many free stuff from your clubs, etc. YOU NEED TO HIT 11-13B TO HIT LEVEL 100. Overall, it took me 2 weeks(not really I paused a few days in between on some) of leaving my phone spinning on these things to get a new graphics card... whatever, worth.
Previous Post Here’s a link to the first post with the first 20 games. The comments in the linked post above also contain more upcoming indie/AA recommendations, some with links to the Steam page. In particular, I want to highlight comments made by three users who all listed 5+ games with links to each game’s respective Steam page: RespawnTT’s list,Venomousx’s list, and dust-‘s list. Introduction With so many games releasing nowadays, I think it's easy for the good ones to get lost in the shuffle. I'm going to list another 20 highly anticipated Indie/AA games. I'm sure there's many great ones I'll probably miss (like I said, there's so many it's hard to keep track sometimes), so please let me know what other ones I should look out for. I’m going to order them by release date. If the game does not have a tangible release date, I’ll place it in the list based on what I think is more likely to come out first, based on marketing material and release date delays. 1. Taxi Chaos
Description: Crazy Taxi hasn’t had a new console entry since 2002 (however there were two for handhelds in the mid to late 2000s and two for mobile phones in the 2010s). Taxi Chaos mirrors the formula of picking up customers and dropping them off in a race against the clock. Sega, the developer behind 1999’s original Crazy Taxi, gave developer Team6 Studios their blessing and are actually set to publish the game in Japan and other Asian regions.
Description: Not to be confused with Bravely Second, Bravely Default II is taking the Final Fantasy approach and stars an all new story and cast of characters. A demo for the game was released in March 2020 and was generally well received, though noted to be pretty difficult. The game is being developed by Claytechworks and published by Square Enix in Japan and Nintendo in the rest of the world.
Description: This is a vertical SHMUP with four different characters, online leaderboards, and large enemy encounters. Characters will have their own unique ships, weapons, bombs, and story endings. A demo for the game was introduced back in September, and the developer has rolled out steady updates detailing the development of the game.
Description: Garlic tells a less than romantic tale of an onion boy climbing the Sacred Tower to seduce the Cyber Goddess. This is a “1 bit platformer” with a monochrome aesthetic and an emphasis on one screen levels with lots of wall jumping and strange but catchy tunes to accompany the action.
Description: After being evicted from his home, Turnip Boy sets out on a quest to topple a corrupt vegetable government. You’ll explore dungeons, solve puzzles, fight enemies and bosses, and find treasure along the way.
Multiplayer: 8 Player Competitive Local & Online Multiplayer
Description: The original Knight Squad first released in 2014. It was an arena fighter that took heavy inspiration from Bomberman, with eight player battles and a ton of different game modes. Knight Squad 2 will introduce even more game modes, better graphics, and more customization options.
Description: Hell Pie reminds me of Conker’s Bad Fur Day with its cutesy aesthetic contrasted with adult humor and lewd scenes. Hell Pie follows a demon named Nate through both open and linear levels, tethered to a plump angel called Nugget, who can be used as a weapon, a grappling hook, and a guide.
Description: Iron Meat is a retro inspired grindhouse game made by one guy, Ivan Suvorov. There is a demo on Steam with two of the levels currently, with eight total announced for the full release, and three difficulty settings to choose between.
Description: The game looks as bleak as the title suggests, with gorgeous pixel art and great enemy design. Big, epic bosses seem to have prominent presence here judging from the trailer, and combat animations look slick and smooth.
Multiplayer: 4 Player Competitive Local & Online Multiplayer
Description: Windjammers is a fast paced blend between pong and frisbee that originally came out in 1994. An updated version of the game was released for modern consoles with online play, and Windjammers 2 will be a new sequel 27 years after the original release. Players can choose between a multitude of characters with different stats, with a few mini games to boot.
Description: Coromon dons a similar pixel art aesthetic that defined the fourth and fifth generation Pokemon games. When a Coromon gains experience points, you will be able to distribute the stat points as you see fit. Trainers are customizable, and there are also multiple save slots. There is a demo available on Steam.
Description: No Place for Bravery boasts a low fantasy setting with Sekiro-esque combat and stories based on real life. The game follows Thorn, who – with his disabled foster son, Phid – seeks to find answers to his daughter’s disappearance from long ago. There is a demo available on Steam.
Description: Bushiden has you taking control of a cybernectic ninja in a futuristic world, on a quest to find his sister who has vanished. There are a number of unlockable traversal and combat abilities, as well as purchasable upgrades.
Description: This is an adventure following a young engineer on an island in the flying city of Gideon. The game boasts exploration, a heavy story, and the ability to build and repair “incredible flying machines.”
Description: This is a steampunk side scroller with narrative choices and a fast paced combat system. There are side quests, skills to level up, and secrets to uncover. Originally planned for 2020, the developers regularly post tweets on Twitter to keep fans updated with the project.
Description: Set in a cyberfunk universe (real word is getting the post removed by the automoderator), Jack Move follows a hacker who seeks to rescue her father from the evil mega corporation, Monomind. The combat system will allow for a number of customizable options both in and out of combat.
Description: Developer Dead Mage has won me over with both Shadow Blade: Reload and Children of Morta. Their new game, Tale of Ronin, focuses on the “human side of the Samurai,” and will feature a dynamic world to explore and allow for you to make story-based choices that impact the storyline.
Multiplayer: 6 Player Local & Online Competitive Multiplayer
Description: This is the spiritual successor to Stikbold. It’s a dodgeball game with wacky antics and multiple game modes. Players can do free for all or team based matches, and if it’s anything like Stikbold, it will also have a two player local co-op campaign with a few boss fights.
Description: Spark 3 will be the second 3D platformer in the Spark series. It’s no mystery where Spark takes its inspiration, but it does it well and mixes action sequences into the mix while removing a lot of the bloat found in most 3D Sonic games. Spark 2 is well regarded by the Sonic community, and the third game looks to up the ante with even more mechanics, like wall running.
Multiplayer: 2 Player Local Co-op/4 Player Competitive Local Multiplayer
Description: Samurai Gunn 2 is the sequel to the 2013 PC exclusive. The game is designed by Beau Blyth, the co-creator behind Hyper Light Drifter. The game plays similarly to TowerFall, in that you platform around a fixed screen and try to shoot the other players. The sequel will launch exclusively on Switch first, with a release for other platforms in the future. The story mode will allow for up to two players in local co-op, while the competitive mode will allow up to four.
What are some other upcoming indie/AA games you’re looking forward to? If you’re looking for more indie games to play, see my posts here:
I often felt that during Porter’s Twitch livestreams, I would find myself learning these interesting facts about him or his approach to his art that I felt should be documented and shared. Porter unselfishly provided lots of insight into his creative direction and about himself. I went back and rewatched most of the archived streams and I felt I would compile a list of these interesting things for readers to enjoy on here. I think most information might be repetitive or something you’ve heard before, but hopefully you learn something new about him! Feel free to add anything you’ve learned below.
porter's half-life alyx stream: day 3 (March 26, 2020)
The “Something Comforting” video was shot in chronological order, the scene where Porter is suspended was the last scene filmed
There was a snake wrangler present during filming the “Something Comforting” video for the outdoor shots because the sight was “notorious for having snakes.”
No snakes were encountered during filming
The scene where Porter is floating in the “Something Comforting” video was denounced as a reference to the “She Heals Everything” live visuals from the ‘Worlds’ era, he said it's more of a “subconscious motif and not intentional”
Elements in the “Something Comforting” song were written in 2015
Porter worked with creative director Samuel Burgess Johnson for the video of “Get Your Wish,” who is also notorious for working with The 1975.
Porter started the Malawi Fund at Second Sky for his younger brother, Mark, who was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma. The donations contributed at Second Sky were matched by Porter in an effort to help patient care in Malawi, where the disease is commonly known to affect people.
Porter has amblyopia - mostly sees out of one eye
porter VR stream (day 4...) Part 1 (March 28, 2020)
The “Ghost Voices” hook was accidentally created. Porter was experimenting with sound fonts and randomly played notes on the piano until he played what would be cemented as the opening hook heard in the song today.
Starting a song with a hook is very Porter-esque and not Virtual Self, but it was too good to pass up so he kept it
“Angel Voices” was actually its own Virtual Self demo before creating “Ghost Voices” and the original title of the song was going to be called “Orbit” because it sounded spacey
“Angel Voices” came to fruition when the drum ‘n’ bass artist Netsky sent Porter a d’n’b version of the song, but Porter felt the chord progression of the song should be half time, so he instead went with his own approach and created the happy hardcore remix to “Ghost Voices”
Porter’s favorite Virtual Self edit that he loves to play live the most is Igor’s “Game Tight” (Virtual Self Edit)
porter VR stream (day 4...) Part 2 (April 1, 2020)
Porter dyed his hair blonde because he liked how he looked in a face app
The “Get Your Wish” and “Something Comforting” video were not filmed in the same warehouse
The company Active Theory is responsible for making the nurtu.re and Virtual Self websites
Porter’s approach to his lyric writing process:
Porter keeps a text file in his phone where he stores some of his favorite lyrics that come to mind
He’ll sing melodies from the aforementioned text file into really heavy autotune over an instrumental he's produced
He states that he records roughly 500 takes of random melodies and applies heavy effects to obscure what he’s saying and as a result it sort of “loses the lyrics”
Finally, he will listen through until he finds something interesting or different then what he originally intended
porter robinson VR stream - the story continues (Part 1) (July 29,2020)
Favorite DDR songs musically:
“So Deep” - Silvertear (Perfect Sphere Remix)
“Graduation” - BeForU
“Maxx Unlimited” - Z
“PARANOiA” - 180
“Trip Machine” - DE-SIRE
porter robinson VR stream - the story continues (Part 2) (July 30, 2020)
Porter co-wrote a small section in Anamanaguchi’s “Air Online”
Music production tip: Porter has found that when he gets inspired by a sound or lyric he becomes laser focused and doesn’t allow him freedom to move forward with doing something else until he's finalized the idea. This approach has led him to feel counterproductive, so instead he has recently started scheduling time slots throughout the day to work on music, (i.e., 1 hour on for first track, 1 hour for a second track), to give him the notion that there is an endpoint in sight and look forward to doing other things throughout his day (i.e., the twitch streams).
For the Second Sky Stream line up, Porter had this dream team of artists he wanted to participate and of the 15 artists he reached out to, 14 responded and he felt genuine of the response.
Porter views ‘Spitfire’ as his least favorite era of music but enjoys ‘Vandalism and ‘The Seconds’ while “100% In The Bitch” is his favorite track on the EP
“Sad Machine” was the very last song written for ‘Worlds’
Porter confirmed on stream that one of the IDs played during his Virtual Self sets originally perceived as titled “Draw Your Knives” is actually called “Dry Your Eyes”
At the time of the recording, Porter is 100% sober and stopped drinking caffeine. He used to drink before shows but found it hindered his performance. He stopped drinking caffeine because there were moments where he only felt happy when he was ‘high’ on caffeine and would feel ‘lows’ when not caffeinated
Playing baseball was Porter’s obsession growing up and he really wanted to succeed in it. He wore jerseys, collected baseball cards, it was everything that he thought about. At the time, he was undiagnosed with OCD/anxiety and on one unfortunate day, he got hit by a pitch and the event traumatized him to the point where he would be sitting in the dugout nervously counting the number of people in the batting order before it was his turn to bat. This anxiety inevitably caused him to quit a sport he loved. The trauma lingered into his career as an artist as well, he thought that those emotions would re-emerge during his process and wouldn’t allow him to create music he was happy with and the memory of him quitting and the anxiety that came with it would again be the reason he would stop doing what he loved.
Secret Porter streams for the real ones only (Sep 5, 2020)
“Mirror” is not Porter’s favorite song from ‘Nurture’
“Language” and “Easy” were originally intended to be put into ‘Worlds’ but Porter felt the songs were too “EDM-y” and “Club-y” for the album
Porter put “Shepherdess” on the B-side of the “Lionhearted” vinyl in 2013. Originally he intended to put “Shepherdess” out on ‘Worlds’ but fell out of love with the 128 BPM EDM style and was feeling angst about the scene at the time, so he decided against putting it in. Instead, “Shepherdess”, was released on a whim because he saw people’s reaction to the 6th Anniversary of ‘Worlds’ and said “why am I stopping myself this would be meaningful to certain people”, so he mastered it quickly and posted it on SoundCloud as a thank you for the generous reaction and continuous support to “Worlds”
Porter Robinson music will never be played in a Virtual Self set.
“Lionhearted” is Porter’s least favorite track on ‘Worlds’ because it assimilates with EDM and club style tracks, which was not the flavor of the motif for the album.
Shooting the “Get Your Wish” music video was the most fun he had on set
secret porter VR stream - COMIN FOR THAT TOP 100 WORLDWIDE RECORD STRIDE VR LETS GOOOO (Sep 13, 2020)
“Angel Voices” is Porter Robinson’s favorite Virtual Self track
Porter has not released his favorite track on “Nurture”
The first ever ‘Worlds’ live show in Sydney Australia the show went catastrophically. Halfway through the show, two things happened to his AKAI, a tech he often uses in live shows to play certain instruments of a song live (i.e., the cute piano in ‘Sad Machine’), first, the wrong patches were loaded into the AKAI and second they were transposed incorrectly (i.e., would play out of key). It was the most bummed he ever felt after ending a show.
The cryptic text seen during Virtual Self live visuals was partially created by Porter, but also randomly generated using Markov Chain which is a process that takes texts and translates it into, for example, Russian then back into English.
I'm wondering if there's a place that will purchase used computers and other tech/accessories. Additionally, if there's somewhere that you can take old and broken tech to get properly recycled and disposed of. Over the years I've accumulated various computers/electronics that have either completely died or have been aged out and left to collect dust in a closet cause I'm not sure what to do with them. Alternatively, if any of you are interested in the following, please feel free to PM me for local purchase/pick up. I need these out of my apartment! Thanks in advance for looking and for any input in regards to tech recycle spots. 2011 Mac Desktop: https://imgur.com/a/V6PfNe7 Older machine but is great for someone who just needs *something* for school or office WFH. Been formatted for security purposes and so needs OS reinstalled. If you're not sure how to go about that, the computer can be taken to the Apple Store and they'll help you out at no cost. Just make a genius bar appointment. I did that with this same machine just after lockdown began last year. Used this Mac just fine up until I built myself a new PC in November which is why I don't need it anymore. Hoping for $275. Samsung Galaxy Tab3: https://imgur.com/a/7TJOaTm I was bullied into taking this home by SPRINT years ago when I upgraded my cell phone. I never set it up for cellular service, used over wifi in airplane mode only. Barely used, like new. Has a small scratch on the back. Make me an offer. Skytech Gaming Keyboard & Mouse: https://imgur.com/a/Zx3PLs0 Brand new in box. Never used. Rainbow backlight with breathing effects so you can be a real gamer girl. $35 for the set, firm. Dell Latitude E6420 Laptop: https://imgur.com/a/BI4cjau Another older machine but is good for someone who just needs *something* and can't afford a brand new computer yet. Best for cloud-based working or for a young student. Has SD slot & a CD/DVD player. Freshly reset to factory settings, ready to use after setup. Aiming for $150.
Finally finished buying all the parts for my new build 3 months later (Report)
I thought I would post a small report after having finished buying all the parts for my new gaming rig. Hopefully this can offer some assistance to others on where to look or price baselines for people in the same situation as me who have been shopping to a tight budget and waiting for availability. All prices listed are inclusive of shipping costs and in AUD. I made the decision to start building this in late October so it's been a lot of research and trawling online deals to get the best prices. Motherboard - Gigabyte B550i Aorus Pro AX - $295 - Seemed to be the best value AM4 socket B550 board from my research. Was able to nab it slightly reduced during a 10% Ebay sale. Case - CM NR200 - $120 - The case everyone seems to be using at the moment for their SFF builds. I had built a few PCs before and was eager to try the challenge of building in a smaller form factor. Same deal, slightly reduced during Ebay sale. Had to wait a couple of weeks for this one due to availability but seems to have cleared up now. PSU - Corsair SF600 Platinum - $215 - By all reports the best in class for itx builds (excepting perhaps the next up model, the SF750). However I was working to a fairly tight budget and have read that 600 watts is sufficient for a 3070 Ryzen 5 machine. Bought reduced on Ebay via Scorptec, I believe Amazon has this down to almost $200 atm. Storage - Kingston A2000 1TB - $140 - Got this from Centrecom, it was a toss up between the Crucial P1 and WD SN550 but this slightly edged it out based on my research. Pretty much retail price, these drives seem to often come on sale though if you feel like waiting. Monitor - Xiaomi 34'' - $425 - Technically not part of the build, though I was eager to upgrade from standard 1440p 144Hz last time to an ultrawide. Very fortunate to find this on clearance at Kmart via an Ozbargain post. Called the store in Sydney and had them hold it for me. Usually retails for around $600 and has pretty good reviews for its specs and price. Hopefully I got a good panel and the 3070 can drive this resolution alright. GPU - ASUS TUF 3070 - Ebay (used) - $870 - This was a bit of a sketchy one, the guy had some suspect reviews on his profile regarding price gouging but I was willing to take a chance with PayPal backing me up in case something went wrong. It took a while to arrive (and I had to ask him twice for a tracking number!) but seems to be in good condition. A good price for that card, which sells for approx. $1100 new, but I can understand some people not wanting to go down the used route. RAM - Corsair LPX Vengeance 16GB 3600MHz C18 - $100 - Used again, I felt a bit better about this one because RAM is generally pretty hardy and the cost was low anyway. From my research 3600MHz is the sweet spot for Ryzen 5000. Retail is $130. CPU - AMD Ryzen 5 3600 - $265 - This was pretty much the only concession I made with the build, which I'm pretty happy about. I had my heart set on a 5600x, but with availability and scalpers I got fed up waiting and pulled the trigger on this used 3600 from Ebay. Comes with the box so I'm pretty confident I can sell it down the road if I find a well priced 5600x or beyond. This rig is mainly used for gaming, for which these two processors are apparently quite similar in performance. I probably made the correct decision from a value perspective here. The lowest I've seen this at the moment is about $310 on Amazon a week ago. It's price seems to fluctuate a bit because of its increased popularity die to 5600x shortages. You may also like to look for used 3700x as an alternative. Fans - 4 x Arctic P12 PWM PST - $60 - Two of these were from Gumtree locally ($15 each new) and two more from Amazon (approximately the same price). Excellent reviews for noise and thermal performance, in line with Noctua's offerings for a fraction of the price. CPU cooler - Scythe Fuma 2 - $120 - Had this posted to me via Facebook Marketplace (please remember to always pay via PayPal). It's most likely overkill for a 3600 but I was initially planning on an overclocked 5600x build so it made sense at the time. Probably one I can keep for a few builds to come. This is about retail price, you can get it on Amazon AU via US. Total - $2610 (I also sold my previous build for $700 so that reduced the price somewhat). Overall I was pretty happy with my purchases. I saved close to $500 compared to buying everything new at retail price, which brought me in line with my budget. I probably could have trimmed a bit more using the stock AMD cooler and going for a B450 board or lower tier PSU. My previous two builds lasted about 4 years each, so I'm expecting to get that kind of life from this one two, at which point the time I'll get out of it more than justifies that price. Even my partner wasn't cross at me! Overall take always for fellow builders is to set alerts for Gumtree, Amazon, Facebook marketplace, everything. Staticice is a great tool for finding the lowest price from Australian retailers. Ozbargain is a good up to the minute source of deals if you're always on your phone or computer. Don't be afraid to buy used sometimes (if the person seems legit and provide you with the info/warranty you need). Most of all, don't forget to factor in the value of your time when looking for all this stuff. I spent three months scouring online and while i'm happy with the final result, I'm also a bit sick of the process and eager to play some games. Happy Hunting!
There are also some links within the first link that discuss indie local multiplayer games as well. Introduction We're all familiar with the Hotline Miami's, Hollow Knight's, and Celeste's of the world. These are some of the indie games that hit the big time. Of course, for every one of these games, there's 100 other indie games that have been glossed over, relegated to a spot in a digital store few people will ever find themselves in. I wanted to bring attention to some of these lesser known indie games once again. Details About the List I'm going to order them according to Metacritic Critic Ratings. Steam is the only one on the list with all 10 games featured (Steam has 10 of them, Switch has 9 of them, PlayStation 4 has 7 of them, and Xbox One has 5 of them), but the Switch gets more reviews than the other platforms, so I will it use the Switch version of all the games for their review scores, except #8, where I will use the Steam version, since that’s the only version of it available. The two bottom games have pretty low critic ratings (60% with 1 Critic Review and 53% with 2 Critic Reviews). I personally disagree with the low scores of these two games, but it's only fair that you hear from more than just me. Keep in mind that games with only one or two User Ratings on Metacritic will not show the score. A game needs at least three User Ratings on Metacritic before the score will be shown. This is not the case for Critic Reviews. Currently 9 of the games are on sale on Steam right now, and 5 of them are on sale on Switch. None of them are on sale on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One at the moment. For the purpose of this post, I’m just going to stick with saying “achievements” and “getting all achievements” instead of “trophies” and “platinum trophy” since Steam has all 10 games on the list. You can basically substitute these with “trophies” and “platinum trophy” if you’re a PlayStation gamer. I will make mention of the two games on here that don’t include a platinum trophy however. Platforms will include a link to the U.S. store page of the game for each platform. Price is in U.S. dollars. 1. Ultra Hat Dimension
Description: Ultra Hat Dimension follows Bea through a series of rooms in a palace on a quest to undo the magical spell that has made the mythical Spluff creatures want to attack one another. There is a little bit of backstory via one sentence thoughts from Bea in between levels, but nothing major here. The gameplay revolves equipping four different types of hats and using them to evade or push Spluffs around to retrieve the key and reach the door. Each Spluff dons one of four different hats which effects their behavior towards other Spluffs and you. You will be punched one tile back by every Spluff unless you’re wearing the same hat as the Spluff. Spluffs interact with one another differently depending on what hat they’re wearing in a rock, paper, scissors kind of way – they may punch a Spluff back one space, get into a scuffle that allows you to get close to them without wearing a hat, or they may temporarily disable them in a way that allows you to access the space the Spluff consumes within eight moves. There are undo and reset buttons included that allow you to quickly rewind mistakes. There are some clever puzzles accompanied by catchy tunes and a charming pixel art aesthetic. The difficulty is about average.
Completion Time: ~3 Hours
Extra Content: Since this is published by Ratalaika Games, getting all the achievements can be obtained after only clearing 2/3 of the levels. There are a few custom maps on the PC version of the game but no additional content on consoles.
Description: Bot Vice follows Erin Saver through a dystopian world with anthropomorphic animals and a 1990s arcade aesthetic, complete with cheesy dialogue and an announcer that shouts your item pickups with enthusiasm. Each level takes place on one screen and tasks you with defeating waves of enemies while minimizing damage to yourself. You are always locked behind a barrier at the bottom of the screen and are only able to move left and right. In terms of move set, you have a number of different guns and projectiles, your saber, your roll, and you can duck behind cover to make it through each level. Parts of the barrier can be destroyed, leading to gaps where normal enemy fire can reach you. Weapons and powerups will spawn from hitting a certain type of enemy that you’ll then have to pick up from where they land. The gameplay is fast paced and allows you to unleash a heavy amount of firepower on some very big foes. The levels are all short but will likely take a number of attempts to complete, as there is a lot to take account of on screen. Nearly every level has a mini boss appear at the end, with a main boss featured after every five levels. At the end of every level, you’ll be rated based on your completion time and health points remaining. I only got a few high ratings on my first time through, so there’s an additional challenge there if you want an A rank on every level.
Completion Time: ~3.5 Hours
Extra Content: Beating the main campaign unlocks an additional 25 levels – this is on top of the 25 bridged together in the main campaign. Getting all achievements is somewhat difficulty, as you must beat all 25 levels in the main campaign with at least an A rank.
Description: Valfaris is one of the best run & gun games I've ever played. You play as Prince Therion who returns to his home planet of Valfaris on a quest to kill his father. It's themed around a fictional planet and has a gross alien vibe coupled with heavy metal music. The music doesn't override the other audio in the game, and it does a nice job of upping the ante when you're fighting a boss – of which there are many. You're equipped with a primary gun, a more powerful mana-based gun, a sword, and a shield that can block with mana or parry. There are a number of weapons to acquire throughout the game, and the guns in particular do a great job of feeling different. You’re able to upgrade your weapons with Blood Metals. Some Blood Metals are found in plain sight, others are rewarded for defeating a tough enemy, and some are given for going off the beaten path. These upgrades typically just up the firepower but will sometimes introduce a secondary move to your weapon. There are checkpoints every two minutes or so, and most bosses will have a checkpoint just before them (only the weaker bosses come after a gauntlet of enemies). The game is a little hard at points, but overall it strikes a nice balance of feeling accomplished for overcoming the challenges without getting overly frustrating.
Completion Time: ~8 Hours
Extra Content: There are a few secrets to find throughout the game that are off the beaten path, though I was able to find 2/3 of them on my first playthrough. I found all but one weapon as well. The replayability comes from New Game+, which allows you to take all your upgraded weapons into a harder version of the game. Since the weapons all function a bit differently, this can be lots of fun.
Description: Inertial Drift's distinguishing characteristic is its employment of the right analog stick for drifting. This takes a little getting used to, but it feels great once you get the hang of it, creating some exhilarating moments when perfecting corner turns. The game has 10 unique tracks + 10 reversed tracks, 16 vehicles, and four separate story arcs. Each story arc is only a couple of hours long and features a different protagonist with a different vehicle. Since you’ll be racing on the same track a few times, there are a few gameplay variations that differ from just reaching the finish line at the end, such as racking up a certain number of points that are acquired through longer drift times and other means. There's quite a bit of dialogue between races, and in the races themselves characters will frequently dish out positive commentary on your performance in the form of text in the top left hand corner of the screen. The game's aesthetics are a fusion of anime and synthwave. I've heard many fans liken the game to the manga Initial D, though I'm unfamiliar with that series myself.
Completion Time: ~3 Hours (for 1/4 Story Arcs)
Extra Content: There are a number of different modes including a Story Mode, Challenge Mode, Grand Prix Mode, Arcade Mode, two player Split-Screen, and Online, as well as a Tutorial. Completion of challenges in Challenge Mode allows you to unlock new vehicles for the other non-Story Modes. Grand Prix Mode allows you to race using different characters/vehicles through a connected set of challenges, while Arcade Mode is for one-off races. I wouldn't recommend this game for online play as the user-base is pretty small (hence it being overlooked) and you're unlikely to find a match.
Description: Golf Peaks is a card-base puzzle game that plays nothing like the actual sport of golf outside of getting a tiny ball in a hole. Instead you’ll choose your moves by using the cards at the bottom of the screen. They have different numbers and trajectory that result in hitting the bar different distances and different heights. You aim the ball up, down, left, or right, and then select the card you want to use. There are a number of different tiles that have their own effects that you have to account for. Ramps, for example, will force your ball down unless you’re able to have your ball travel to the top in one move. There were a number of times when I thought I had tried every solution just to finally find the right solution. The minimalist visual style and relaxing music service the game’s simple but engaging premise. The difficulty is about average.
Completion Time: ~3 Hours
Extra Content: There are three extra levels in each world which will add about another two hours of game time, as they are typically harder than the nine levels found in their respective world. Getting all achievements requires beating all regular levels and bonus levels, plus finding a secret in the credits section.
Description: This is actually a sequel to the Steam exclusive Horizon Shift, which sports a different aesthetic and isn’t quite as good from what I’ve read. Horizon Shift ’81 mimics the look of a fixed screen shoot ‘em up from the early 1980s but comes with a few twists of its own. Your ship is positioned in the middle of the screen on a horizontal line rather than the bottom, and you have to flip between sides to deal with enemies coming from both the top and the bottom. The line can be broken in different places – leaving a gap where you can fall to your death – by asteroids and certain projectiles. This is where the expanded moveset comes into play: you can jump between gaps and also over enemies who attach themselves to the line. Enemies on the line can also be taken out with a horizontal shield bash that regenerates after a few seconds. There is a boss after every five stages, some of which will actually bring the line down to the bottom of the screen, while others retain it in the middle. Horizon Shift ’81 has a number of customizable settings that change everything from the aesthetics, to the difficulty, to the checkpoint/lives system, to the speed of the game, and more. The two main modes are a choice between three lives with a checkpoint before and after every boss, or a checkpoint at the beginning of every level but only one life.
Completion Time: ~3.5 Hours (Normal Mode on Arcade Style)
Extra Content: There are a number of ways to customize your future playthroughs, and there’s an unlockable boss rush mode after finishing the game. You can also try to outdo your previous score(s). The few achievements are relatively easy to obtain. There is no platinum trophy for this game.
Description: Pato Box follows an anthropomorphic duck boxer on an adventure through a stylistic noir comic book world. “Pato” is a Spanish word that translates to “Duck” in English (the game was developed by a Mexican studio). The boss fights are heavily inspired by Punch-Out’s gameplay, but there are levels outside of these fights to help differentiate it. Most of the levels can be selected in any order you choose and typically serve as a leadup to the boss fight. Bosses are usually introduced by a cutscene followed by some dialogue taunting Pato Box. The levels play entirely differently from the fights, but the themes of the level match those of the bosses. The levels will employ various elements of evasion, stealth, exploration, and a few time-based mini-games. The casino level, for example, will have you walk around the casino looking for chips and punching the slot machines to earn enough to pay entrance to the fight, while the food factory has you evading stompers, sawblades, and butcher knives as you work your way through the level. There are variety of things to find throughout the levels: tokens for decorations in Pato Box’s room, backstory on the boss of the level and the world, and tips on how to win the upcoming fight. The fights themselves lock Pato Box in the middle of the screen, allowing you to block, juke left or right, and perform a low or high jab to the left or right. The game foregoes a HUD in favor of a visual representation of your health via scars on your body, which I thought was a nice touch. While the levels and bosses play pretty differently from each other, they’re weaved together by a dark and intriguing story that follows Pato Box’s quest for retribution against an evil corporation.
Completion Time: ~7 Hours
Extra Content: There are motion controls for the boss fights exclusive to the Switch version of the game. There’s also an Arcade Mode that lets you replay boss fights and some collectibles to find. The achievements are very difficult, and many ask you to beat a boss without taking a single hit.
Description: Primal Light follows an alien caveman through a mostly linear series of 10 levels and 10 bosses. There are some hidden paths that lead to health and health potion upgrades, charms, and lives, with usually a challenge between you and the collectible. Charms grant passive effects, like boosting strength after taking a hit from an enemy, and allow for some player choice – there are 12 of them but only two can be wielded at a time. Health potions function similarly to Estus Flask in Dark Souls, in that they regenerate upon death, and finding the right time to use one is a game in itself. As you progress through the game, you get a few mandatory upgrades to your moveset that allow for slightly more complex platforming. The game dons a 16-bit aesthetic but controls feel modern and smooth. You can attack in four directions, and your character has some midair control. Bosses are a particular highlight, both in the visual department and from a gameplay standpoint. There is a lives system, so losing all of them at the end of a level or boss will put you back in the beginning. This is only for the two harder difficulty options – the easiest difficulty option has lives disabled. That said, I played on Normal Mode and only got one Game Over for about three to five of the levels. There is some future DLC planned for the game that will add more levels.
Extra Content: I only got 7/12 charms on my first playthrough, so there are likely a few secrets to go back for. Outside of that, if you played it on one of the lower difficulties you can try your hand at Hardcore Mode. The achievements ask you to do challenging things to get 100%, like collecting all upgrades, beating the game without dying once, and beating Hardcore Mode without using any Continues.
Description: Reportedly inspired by obscure Japanese games from the late 1980s and 1990s, Tamashii blends puzzle platforming together with an oppressive atmosphere. The introduction starts with the character being willed into existence by a godlike character that tasks him with destroying the macabre forces that have taken control of and corrupted his chambers. Your character is able to spawn three inanimate clones of himself which is the primary source for most of the platforming and some of the boss fights – you’ll use them to trigger switches and open up new paths. There’s about an even mix of puzzle solving and platforming, and there’s a whole eight bosses in this short adventure (though one is a secret) that are probably the most visually interesting moments in the game. The creatures and backgrounds are effective in selling the dark presentation of the game. The difficulty is about average – maybe slightly easier than most indie puzzle platformers. There is a sequel currently in the works.
Completion Time: ~2.5 Hours
Extra Content: There are a few obscure secrets to discover. You can also play through the chambers again with a score meter, and there are certain achievements associated with getting a good score. Getting all achievements isn’t too difficult, but you’ll probably need a guide for some of the secrets.
Description: Neon Drive is a challenging rhythm game with a synthwave aesthetic and appropriately matching music. The objective of the game is to evade the obstacles coming at you by transitioning between four lanes at the right moment using either two of the face buttons, D-Pad, or shoulder buttons. Personally I found the shoulder buttons worked best. The game will occasionally transform you into other vehicles that mix the gameplay up a bit - one notable example is when you turn into a plane and transition between eight lanes in a 360 degree orientation. There are only eight levels that are all about three minutes in length if you were to beat them with no deaths, with two checkpoints and two health points that regenerate between checkpoints. While this all sounds very generous, most of these levels will still take you dozens of tries, though the life reset is almost immediate so you can get back into the action right away.
Completion Time: ~3 Hours
Extra Content: There are two harder difficulties, an endurance mode that sees how long you can go without dying, a free run mode that allows you to play through the game without reset (only unlocked after beating each level), and online leaderboards. The achievements are very difficult. There is no platinum trophy for this game.
Special shoutout to Valfaris which is my favorite game on the list and, again, one my favorite 2D run & guns ever. Have you played any of these games? What are some other overlooked single player indie games?
The Blacknickel Guide to Famous Landmarks: The Thing on the Greenwich Steps (Part One)
Travel Tip: Don’t Take Coins From the Greenwich Steps Location: A Long, Red Brick Stair Near Coit Tower, San Francisco Fond of urban hikes? Coit Tower is one of the most popular day-hike destinations for travelers in San Francisco. Don’t worry; even if you fail to reach the tower before closing time, there’s a spectacular urban-ocean view from the parking lot. Collectors will want to stop by Coit Tower’s glowing penny-press machine to get a coin stamped with the iconic tower silhouette. There’s nothing wrong with doing this. In fact, I encourage it if you are traveling with children. Visitors also leave pennies scattered on the wide stone slab window ledges on top of Coit Tower, itself. As with most coin-based rituals, it’s better to leave a penny than to take one . . . but these specific coins are not the ones that do harm. A three-minute stroll from the tower, you may notice a secluded stair. This red brick stairway, called the Greenwich Steps, is actually a landmark “street” offering travelers a shortcut down a lush hillside garden. Even in summertime, the cool green shade on the steps may prompt you to pull up your jacket collar. I say shortcut, but at 387 steps, the stair won’t feel that short. It descends the hill in crooked segments, and the brick gives way to concrete halfway down. At the bottom, you will be unceremoniously deposited between a residential garage and a frank Slippery When Wet sign. But from there it’s an easy twelve minutes on foot to the Embarcadero, the historic Ferry Building with its clock tower, shopping, restaurants, and a science museum that sells adults-only tickets on certain Thursday nights-- for those of you not traveling with children. I only meant to walk the Greenwich Steps twice during my stay. Once up. Once down. You should be fine so long as you simply keep moving. If you encounter a local tending the flowers, it’s okay to nod in passing. Just don’t stop to pick up any coins. I don’t care if you see coins on the steps, by the steps, in the foliage, or piled on top of an old-fashioned brick pillar at the halfway point. It might look like pennies, dimes, or a bright silver dollar. Do not pick up any of it. If your child finds a Greenwich Coin, stay calm. Consequences are rarely severe for children. The problem lies in what you’ll have to do to keep it that way. There’s one way to deflect the consequences of taking a Greenwich Coin. Trade. Use a trinket, a piece of candy, make a promise-- whatever gets the coin out of their hands. Then discreetly toss it into the underbrush. Your child won’t carry the onus of the Coin after trading it away. The downside is that you will. You touched it; you took possession of it for a short time. You aren’t the prey it wants, but by the laws that govern it, you’re still fair game. If a stranger approaches you or your child directly after you’ve thrown away a Greenwich Coin, don’t get ruffled. Stick to your travel plans and do not deviate. Don’t listen, don’t give them anything, do not confront. Pretend they aren’t even there. Trust me, if there’s ever been a tourist trap, con, or scam artist that you’d want to avoid, it’s this one. They’re after more than your wallet. Collectors, look. You’re going to be in the most trouble here. I’m sorry. I know it’ll really test your self-restraint when that Steel Wheat Cent or whatever turns up underfoot. Just keep in mind that the steeper the value of the coin, the deeper the shit you’re in if you grab it. Best thing you can do is kick it off the stairs to protect the next traveler who ventures along. A stranger will come for you if you’ve taken a Greenwich Coin. Usually it happens on the steps, but you can’t rule out the garden, the parking lot, or the tower grounds. Careful, because locals often go jogging up the Greenwich Steps, and sometimes the stranger will pose as just another jogger. It’s unnerving how fast it closes the distance. If being pursued, seek shelter in the popular mermaid-themed cafe near the bottom of the Steps. Yeah, I mean it. Order a drink you’ve ordered many times before-- that’s important, it helps. Trust me when I say this is better than the alternative. In the old days you’d need a church. A lot of travelers would fail to reach one in time. Now we have other options. Any place that is iconic, ritualized, and identical wherever you go can function as a sanctuary in a pinch. If you still have the Greenwich Coin on you, I’m sorry, but you have to drop it in the tip jar now. If you don’t, you’re going to need more help than a barista can provide. (If you are a barista working near the Greenwich Steps, don’t be alarmed. You’ve probably taken home a Greenwich Coin at least once, but it’s lost the power to hurt you. Ritual acts of selflessness are powerful like that). Here’s the thing about sanctuary: it’s temporary. The thing hunting you will have difficulty crossing the threshold, though, so once you’re in, you’ve got a brief grace period to work with. I have to admit, I’ve been that traveler feverishly searching the internet for advice while a cold drink sweats in my hand and a monstrosity paces outside. The last time this happened, it casually slid a finger along the window to distract me. It looked human. They often do. It was even pretending to talk on the phone. Or . . . thinking back, that phone call might’ve been real. Muffled, but I could still make out the words: “Quite close. Yes, it’s that one.” Said while arrhythmically tapping the glass in front of my head. Shit. I think I know who it called that day. Back on track: the thing coming after your Greenwich Coin might look like anyone. Could be that man in a business suit, or that woman in sweats. Whatever you’re most attracted to. And no, it’s not necessarily carnal attraction . . . although it could easily exploit that. No. It’s whatever best draws you astray. You involved in a niche hobby? Got a favorite show, a band, or a game you can’t resist talking about? It’ll paint itself in your stripes, sing out to you in a voice familiar. For me, it appeared as an older woman: denim jacket, bangles, sitting across the historic brick steps with one bare foot. She held her ankle as if it hurt. Her race and other details are not important. You shouldn’t expect any of that to be the same when it comes for you. I can’t say she reminded me of someone specific (I have suspicions). That tug of concern, though: I felt it, crisp as torn paper. The wind tugged silver hair about her shoulders as she called out. “Please, help me up?” Of course I knelt by her and asked what happened. Look, I’d read up on travel hazards before leaving home. No book, blog, or article ever warned me about a thing that doesn’t have its own face. Most travel guides deal in bog-standard reality. Which bus to catch, local eats, how much tickets cost. I had faith in my wits and good fortune. After all, I’d just picked up a rare nickel at the bottom of the Greenwich Steps. I’m not going to tell you the specific nickel, but it was good. The buy a house with cash kind. I’ve always wanted my own land. A place to call mine. You know what happens to your brain when you get hit with that kind of euphoria, jet-lagged in a strange city? Yeah. I was daydreaming up those steps. I offered the stranger my hand. She pointed up through the green canopy. I thought it meant she lived in one of the square-topped residential buildings on the other side. She leaned on me as she hobbled. I kept a few fingers free to cover the sling-bag containing my passport, phone, and all my money. Yeah, I thought myself quite clever for making sure no one could pick my pocket, even as the stranger literally led me up the garden path. “Here,” she said. The stair is steep, and most of it’s framed by safety rails. But there are gaps. She passed through one, still gripping my hand, and limped right into the humps of yellow sorrel and baby’s tears. I tried not to let her pull me off the stair. I made all the usual protests. I don’t think there’s a path here. Ma’am? I’m not comfortable doing this. Please, stop. Let go of my hand. Hey! She didn’t even look back. Her grip tightened, and she dragged me over the edge before I could scrabble for a handhold. I lurched. You know those dreams where something has grabbed you, and your attempts to struggle make no difference? You just flail, and the teeth sink deeper. Her nails bit into my hand. She stepped out of her remaining shoe and kicked it aside. Her limp was gone. We plunged under the myriad arms of an Angel’s Trumpet. That’s a tree you’ll see more than one of, here. The tined ivory blossoms whisked over my head and shoulders, dusting me in its sticky-sugar scent. I’ve hated that smell ever since. I fumbled my phone out of my travel bag with my free hand. But I unlocked it sloppy-- right into camera mode. The second try got me a transit map. Third: home screen. No signal. Don’t give up if you can’t get a signal. Emergency services might work anyway (might). But don’t squander your chance. I kept making false starts, hunched against the stranger’s pull. Everyone thinks they can dial for help as easy as 3-2-1. But you’d be surprised how wrong-handed you get in a crisis. You thumb open your work contacts, because that’s how you’re used to starting calls. Or you get as far as the keypad and mash the numbers in wrong. Ever had shaky hands? Just save emergency service lines into your phone. Even the easy ones. When I finally got a call out, it rang twice. The first trill was scratchy. The second slid off-pitch, as though falling into the distance. Then the call disconnected. The ground dipped. It shouldn’t have; we’d been going uphill in a steady, inexorable climb. A sylvan hollow spread before us. Ancient cedars and spruce repeated into the gloom, all festooned in lichen. Far off lay the mossy corpse of a tree-- where tourists and concrete should have been. Golden strings caught sun in its branches. Spider silk. There’s a primeval rainforest hidden between the shadows of the Greenwich Steps. Not a jungle. The cold kind, with evergreens and fog. The stranger flung me into it. My phone bounced out of my grip. I caught my footing, wheeling to face her. But she-- she inhaled her nose. Sucked it into her skull like it was made of tissue paper. Her eyes wrinkled and her head curled up. No blood. Bones collapsed, nothing but spider-skin. Arms and legs shriveled off. For a moment the clothing held together. Then it settled into a pile of sticky leaves and silk. Not even the denim was real. “You took my coin,” gasped the husk at my feet. “Now I shall exact the balance. My prize.” I stomped on it. I wear combat boots, and I kick hard. That thing should have died under my heel. Invisible fingers twined around my throat-- from behind me. “No arguments.” It’s voice still emanated from the webby mess on the ground, even as its unseen counterpart-- its other half? Its true form?-- nuzzled the back of my head with an appendage that humans lack. Does it hurt when something eats your name? I remember my legs shook. I know I begged it to stop, more than once. After the first sip, when you finally quicken to what’s happening, the physical discomfort just seems incidental. Let’s be clear: I don’t have amnesia. It wasn’t that surgical. That thing guzzled down every intonation, every sigh, every tag, award, shout, and signature. There was once a small corner of the world that knew me. A family. I had classmates, peers, a disappointing boss. Maybe I had a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend. I think I did. If you could somehow track them down, not a single one of them would know my name. Everywhere my name should be, there is nothing. Every instance of that identity is gone. The thing on the Greenwich Steps took it all. “Do you think you’ve paid enough to bear my currency?” it asked. I gibbered. “Yes. Yes, I’ve paid.” “So sure of your worth. Should you be? Your entire life so far is pennies to me.” Then it took my face. Afterward, I sprawled among the ferns. The leaves dripped. I could still see. That was the first thing I became conscious of. Watching dew slide through the moss. Then came rustling and croons overhead. It sounded like parrots. I slowly canted my head back. Trees came into focus. There they were, crowding a branch. Red masks, leafy bodies, flicking their heads left and right to study me. A wild flock of cherry-headed conures right in San Francisco. They are actually one of the features that draw tourists to the Greenwich Steps. I didn’t know that at the time, though. I wept in bewilderment at the parrots. Then I reached up to touch my face. It was gone. Just like reaching into a bag of static. I sat up with a jolt. Just a meter to my right: a long, red brick stair cut through the teeming vines. No sign of other people. Nor of my captor. I staggered down the Greenwich Steps. Maybe three hundred of them, one or two at a time, with all the grace of a dazed animal. I gripped the safety rail so hard it squeezed the blood out of my fingers. There was a coin on the second-to-last step. I stepped on it, then went back and kicked it away. I’m not ashamed to admit that I sobbed after that. Right next to the yellow sign that says Slippery When Wet. Yes, I still shed real tears. They appear like raindrops on my hands and shirt. It was a long walk back to my hotel to assess the damage. I passed dozens of people on the way. No one reacted as if anything were out of place. A man even nodded to me. I hesitated, wondering if he recognized me, if he could somehow help-- but it turned out he just wanted me to hurry on through the hotel doors so that he could go next. Up in my room, I discovered that my reflection now gives me vertigo and screaming fits-- unless I focus below the neck. Then it’s ok. My passport and driver’s license are not ok. Maybe it’s because both my name and face are supposed to be there. I can barely pick them up. I can’t look at them. Other people can, but I don’t think they actually perceive a specific name, face, or number. What they see, I’m not sure. Any time I present my signature (a line) or one of my ID, people just accept it. Routine, casual. But only if they don’t really try to look. They get upset if they really look. Early on, I insisted that a man check my passport. “Do you think the picture looks like me?” is what I actually asked. He nodded without looking at it. “Nice picture.” “What color are my eyes?” I asked. The man opened his mouth. Stopped. He blinked at the passport, then up at me, before he blanched and backed away. Fast. As if I’d flashed a weapon at him. “What’s wrong?” I was angry, I admit. Not at him. He was just some unlucky hotel staffer. I feel really bad about it, now, but I stalked after him, passport open in my hand like a bible. “Just tell me what my photo looks like. Is my signature legible?” “I don’t, I can’t--” he stammered, still backpedaling. “Just go away. Please, oh fuck. Fuck.” “Is my name easy to pronounce, John?” His sleek black nametag said John. John backed right into one of his coworkers, who winced. She addressed me stiffly. You know how people talk when they’re forced to handle a belligerent customer. “Is there something we can do for you . . . ” She got no further. Her customer service smile drained away and her gaze settled somewhere in the safety of the middle distance. Not alarmed, or anything. Not like John, who was still scrambling to put distance between us. I swept past the other staffer, still after John’s unsatisfactory answers. People were turning to stare at him by then. (Him. Not me). John ran himself into a large potted tree in the lobby. Probably left a bruise on his leg. “Don’t ask me that,” he begged. “I can’t look again. I can’t.” “Are you ok?” called one of the hotel guests, anxious. At that point, shame caught up with me. I folded my passport and broke eye contact. “I’m sorry.” The words came out rough, at first, but softened as my hope gave way. The pain in my chest dwindled into a brittle dry thing, like webby leaves. “Sorry for-- for asking you a confusing question. You were very helpful. John. It’s not your fault. You understand that? I’ll put in a good word for you.” Someone ran over to John. At first he didn’t answer any of their questions. Then he said that he lost his balance. “I don’t even know why. My heart’s racing. I’m so cold . . . ” I walked away. No one stopped me. I did glance back, once. Two people stood over John, who sat on the floor with his head cradled over his knees. He was shaking. Crying. One of the people near him was on the phone. I caught the word ambulance. I’ve since put colored tape on my passport and all my cards so I can identify them by just the edges. People rarely ask me for identification, though. It can happen if someone’s distracted when I approach. Oh. You’re probably curious what became of the coin. My lucky nickel. It’s gone. Or, pervasive. I have no idea where I used to bank, but now, it’s whatever bank I happen to walk into. My presence unsettles the tellers. They get antsy as soon as they have to ask for my account number. I can say any string of numbers that come to mind, and they punch it in. Once I just said, “I don’t know my account number.” The teller nodded and typed in . . . that, I guess. Their computers usually start to whirr with effort at that point. Sometimes the video advertisements in the background get screen-rips or flicker off. Another time, the casing on an overhead light cracked. The tellers ask if I want to make a withdrawal today, and when the drawer finally springs open, they can’t get rid of the coins fast enough. Yep. Banks never leave me empty-handed. All the coins in the drawer, all for me. Doesn’t matter what amount I request, what bills I specify. I walk out with pockets full of metal. I have asked after my account balance. But only twice. I swear, I was just curious. The first time, the teller covered his mouth, said, “Excuse me, I-- I don’t believe I can . . . Certainly, I’ll write it down for you.” His pen-hand trembled. I wondered if my account had somehow been filled to an impressive sum, since it took him so long to write. But the paper he slid across the counter had no numbers on it at all. It was an unintelligible scribble. I said thank you and the teller swayed on his feet. A bead of spittle formed at the side of his mouth. I asked him if he was ok, to which he started hyperventilating. I felt awful for that, and started to leave, but another teller took over. Stupidly, I slid the paper back across to her. The note with the jagged scribbles. I asked her if what was written on the paper matched the amount of money in my account. She stared at the note, frowning. Then at the computer. “Yngh . . .” When she spoke again, her voice came out hoarse, as if invisible fingers had crowded around her windpipe. She looked absolutely terrified. No eye-contact, of course. “Thank you . . . so much . . . for banking with us,” she told the air right next to me. The tip of her nose turned translucent grey. Bloodless. I did not like that at all. I bolted. Anyway, I prefer to use ATMs. It’s much easier to watch a machine clatter, churn, groan, or smoke (the smoke only happened once). I can insert my card, but if I’m not feeling up to handling my wallet, then I can usually get away with a tap-tap-tap on the machine chassis. ATMs always spit out coins for me. Most of them aren’t equipped to handle coinage, of course. So there’s a lot of digging, wrenching, and groping involved on my part. I’ve had enough practice now that I can tickle out a few bills as well. I don’t think I’m technically supposed to do that, but when I poke around and a chewed-up benjamin crams itself between my fingers, I get the sense the ATM is equally pissed off about the rules. I understand, given what it must endure to deliver what I’m owed. I try not to bother the same machine more than once. Yeah, I regret the one that started smoking. There was a line of customers behind me, too. I accidentally hit the green button when it prompted me for a receipt. The screen flashed. for(; ;){ ẅ̶̛̠̖́̀ẻ̶̟̊̍r̶̗̔e̸͉̤̊͊g̵̫̰̜͌ì̵̠̚l̴̨͘d̶̢̲̭̐̅͘ } Carbon paper erupted from the horizontal slot by the card reader. It was covered in more of the same, but with the text blown out in soot. The machine began to squeal as more and more receipt paper ribboned out of it. Smoke puffed from the inbuilt security camera pointed at my face, and the lens shattered. Then alarms went off inside the bank, mechanical wails overlapping. Anyway, the fire department put the automated teller out of its misery before too much of the building was damaged. I watched it go down from a safer distance: a sticky red bench at the muni stop. When a bus pulled up and hissed open, my hands were still shaking. I reached into my pockets and annoyed the driver by dropping coin after coin while I tried to count out the cost of my ticket. Envious of my endless money? If you haven’t figured it out already, the boon of the coin doesn’t make you rich. I survived the early days thanks to what was already in my travel-bag. Of course, I then multiplied my very good fortune by going back to the Greenwich Steps. It was hunting. Yes, for whatever reason, it stood out to me at once. I caught it pretending to photograph bees with a blocky vintage camera. Just a man in a fleece sweater, digesting my name in his belly. A gaggle of European tourists crowded down the steps between us, drawing that hungry gaze around to follow, until he looked past them and noticed me. He sauntered down the steps, pausing just before the landing where I had (effectively) cornered myself. At this point, my brain cells jump-started. This honey-eyed, fatherly figure made the perfect counterpart to the woman in denim. He wasn’t ambushing any European tourists in that face. (What they saw when they passed him, I don’t know). This face, this specific face, was just for me. “Your expression right now,” he chuckled. He raised the camera and snapped my portrait. Click. Flash. The camera whirred, and a glossy square of film slid out of the bottom. He removed the film and shook it gently in the dappled light. He looked me steadily in the eye as he did it, too. “The answer is no.” “What?” my voice broke on the way out. “No, you can’t have back what you traded away, you greedy thing. That is what you’re here to demand, isn’t it? Unless you come to me with a separate deal.” He smiled. Took the final, languid step down to my platform. He wore both shoes today. “Though,” he continued, “I question whether you fully apprehend the deal you’ve already struck. You do understand that what I took, I ate? There’s no stuffing life back in the bird after you’ve chopped its head off and fried its legs for dinner.” “Who are you?” I asked. He loomed before me, smelling of Angel’s Trumpets. The white square in his hand had begun to transform into a photograph, thin shapes spreading over the surface and tarnishing with color. “Oh, if you beheld my face you’d fall in seven pieces, little pie. Pronouncing my name would burn all other words out of your skull. My sword pierces the Invisible Hand and tilts the scales. E pluribus unum is what I am. I am an American miracle.” Close enough. I blew his knee out with my heel. Bone snapped like stick. Pigeons startled off the nearest rooftop. From him, just a wet gasp as he collapsed, eyes rolling up. Then I kicked him down the stairs. His body tumbled around and down. Skull crunched on brick: spatter-sap. A leg bent the wrong way around a metal post. The sweater unspooled. Cobweb, hairy twigs (legs?), and spore clung to the stair in his wake. Ex uno, detritus, I thought to myself. Now you are mulch and smear of insect. The vintage camera lay busted at my feet. Must have been the real thing. Looted off another victim, no doubt. Which meant that he’d taken a real picture of me. Even in my fury, I couldn’t entirely wall off the questions pooling in a corner of my heart. The thing had to be stronger than this, surely. I still had five crescent-shaped marks in my hand, from when I had dangled in the grasp of the denim woman. I followed it down. I was unable to look directly at it-- at the spindly, many-jointed thing hatching like a mayfly out of the sweater-man’s skin. Have to wonder if it meant what it said, earlier: about splitting into pieces if you ever saw it for real. By the time I reached the vacant husk, it no longer resembled a human at all. It was a cocoon of rushes and grass, shredded down the back as easy as newspaper in the rain. (If you’re curious, the photograph of me was conspicuously absent. Guess it got nabbed). “So, how does this usually go?” I asked it. “Do your treats just hobble off and die nameless? No customer complaints at the corporate office?” “Sometimes they come back, as you did.” The words drifted from the discarded body, rather than the thing itself (wherever it was). Two dandelion clocks stood where sweater-man used to have eyes. His broken-bark jaw hung open in a permanent grimace against the brick. “My worshippers.” “They worship you?” “Call me Prosperity. Call me Profit. I’m your only hope of either, now. Don’t worry, I drive a reasonable deal for the desperate.” “I’m not-- I don’t want anything from you.” “For now, yes. You wrung more out of me than most. That face-- mm, well worth silver. It may be some time before you come back to feed me.” I stepped on what used to be sweater-man’s neck. It hissed-- but not in pain, as I first thought. It was laughing. “You should know that no matter how far you wander, I’ll always recognize you. By taste, if nothing else.” Something that was not fingers flicked the nape of my neck. Yeah, here’s a travel tip for you: when a freshly-molted greedfly kisses the back of your neck, run. I sure as fuck ran. For three nights after that, I dreamt I was lost in a crowd. No one knew me. No one could help. No, I wasn’t just lost. I had to find someone, to warn them-- but flies kept trying to crawl into my mouth. Travelers, turn your attention to the Embarcadero. Late afternoon, cusp of evening. A throng of brightly-dressed tourists. Yes, just like my dreams. My pockets swelled with coin. Money is so damned heavy. You forget about that when it’s just a number chained to your name. You forget how important a name is. I let the crowd eddy me into the Ferry Building. The inside: a golden medley of ways to spend too much money. I was exhausted. My nose-- my . . . sense of smell drew me into an artisanal bakery, and then to the famed local coffee with the alliterative name. This stuff is not brewed under the sign of the mermaid. I ordered a small. Eating and drinking works just fine if I don’t overthink it. Even so, I spill things down my shirt as often as I get a bite in. I lost half a croissant right outside of a charming bookstore. But the espresso shot through me like a bullet train to full daylight. Despite the darkening sky, I woke all the way up. Shook off my woes, all that. Espresso nuts, I think you’d like this stuff. Cup in hand, I wandered the broad arcade with, shall we say, new eyes. I peered at tote bags stamped by Golden Gates, wire-stand postcards, kitchen keepsakes, exfoliants with rare ingredients, all the usual. Then I glimpsed a yellow shirt and a beat-up traveler’s backpack bobbing ahead of me toward the dock. That one. Espresso and cream stung my hand as I hastened after the shirt of yellow. Why? Call it a compulsion, a deep lizard-brain directive. Yeah. I just didn’t want this one to end in flies. I caught up just outside the ferry terminal. We weren’t alone: a line was already forming for the next crossing. The man in the yellow shirt stood by the ticket machines. He swigged from a water bottle and wiped his mouth. Something bad was about to happen. I knew it like a wild animal senses earthquake, impending. I followed his gaze to a wooden sign, hand-painted and hung right next to the ticket machines. It offered Private Boat Tour, Sunset! Just minutes from now. The curves of each s were bigger on top than on bottom. An arrow pointed away into the gathering dusk. Yellow Shirt teetered for a moment, then spun to follow it. When I glanced back at the wooden sign, it was gone. Nothing left but a faint imprint of grease on the wall. The certainty hit me as hard as the coffee, but equal and opposite. I didn’t know what laid the trap, or what he’d suffer after he was lured in. Just that my fellow traveler was about to fall down a hole there was no climbing out of. Strings of his life yanked out, snapped. Maybe worse. He was alone, like I had been. I ran, pockets jingling and slapping (damn it) to catch up. “Hey. Sir, sir?” He strode ten more steps before he could no longer pretend I was talking to anyone else. The look he cast over his shoulder was annoyed. But at least he stopped. “I don’t have money for you. Well, maybe a little.” He jammed a hand into crusty jeans and fished out a blackened nickel. He plopped it right into the dregs of my coffee. God, fucking da-- whatever. “Thanks, man.” I made an effort to sound thankful. Then I blurted, “That tour’s a rip-off. Go back and catch the ferry. It’s the only safe water-crossing tonight.” “Um. What?” he squinted at me. I backed away, averting my eyes. With any luck, he would see something normal-adjacent where my face was supposed to be. “Don’t miss the ferry,” I warned him. “Don’t stray. Go straight back where you belong. And then call someone and tell them where you are.” After a silence that lasted too long, the man adjusted his backpack. He didn’t look happy. To be specific, he looked as if he’d just glimpsed a nightmare enfleshed. One of his knees started trembling. “Right on.” His voice came out an octave shriller. He seemed weirdly reluctant to turn his back on me, but after stumbling back a few steps he wheeled around. I watched him go all the way back to join the ferry queue. He walked much faster than before. Ran, actually. (The water bottle fell out of his backpack as he sprinted away, keening between each gasp of air). I meandered the pier for a while, after. At one point, a seal broke the surface of the sea. Its dark head bobbed on the waves. Watching me? Harbor seals nose around here from time to time. Especially outside waterfront seafood restaurants. But this . . . this was not that. The back of my neck prickled. Its head was too narrow, its jaws the wrong shape. It had no eyes, but it kept pace with me as I walked. I got it, then. Yellow Shirt. I had cut loose its prey. I stopped, my heart struggling like a moth under a claw. It slipped back under. The water chopped violently in its wake. I shuddered. Yeah, I don’t plan on napping on the beach anytime soon. No boat rides, either. But when you do, that blind gaze promised. Oh, right. You should probably hear this now: every famous landmark has a snare set just for you. It makes a kind of sense, doesn’t it? Everyone wants to trap tourists. But there are traps not laid by human hands, and the cost of falling into them can’t be paid out of your wallet. What I lost, I can’t replace. What I gained in return-- I’m still figuring out. The least I can do is warn people. I have to, actually. We’ll get to that. For now, I’m avoiding the sea. --the Blacknickel Guide Part two: forthcoming
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