#degica

[flowerbarrel-art]

(Very long post with rambles)

Animator Vs Animation and Oneshot both have concepts of AI being “tamed”, but have different ways they’re carried out.

Chosen being tamed meant he was a prisoner and he wasn’t treated well at all. If it weren’t for him being trapped, the “taming” wouldn’t stick. Later Chosen has a chance and frees himself, fighting back against Alan again.

But in Oneshot taming means someone took the time to become friends and care about the robots, and it sticks because they want it to. This type of taming somehow allows them to break out of their programming. They’re “tamed” by friendship because someone cares about them. They probably don’t have to follow the Laws of Robotics anymore (the three laws are brought up in the game).

ProphetBot says there wasn’t time to tame him, since everyone was evacuating the area. He was left behind and I don’t think becomes tamed during the game (but potentially does or could be after it’s over).

Alan tamed Chosen by force. I don’t know what it would’ve been like if Alan had been able to calm Chosen down or talk to him. Chosen started destroying Alan’s desktop, which I think is because he couldn’t control his powers. Maybe there was no chance to talk to Chosen. He might not have wanted to listen even before Alan started fighting him. Definitely didn’t want to after Alan caught him.

Maybe if there had been more time, it could’ve been possible to tame Chosen without force. The programmer seemed to be pretty optimistic about whatever way he had to stop Chosen—whatever it was. We probably won’t know exactly.

Maybe catching Chosen and disabling his powers, which Alan did on his own. After the antivirus program caught Chosen, Alan may have contacted the programmer again and was able to hear the advice this time.

But I wonder, if Alan and Chosen had become friends, maybe Chosen would’ve been able to grow past his “destructive Chosen One” programming. Alan wouldn’t have drawn Dark to stop Chosen since there would be no need.

Chosen would’ve gradually warmed up to Alan over time, becoming friends with him despite the rough start, because Alan cared and tried to make up for everything. Alan would’ve felt bad for making Cho a Chosen One, realizing how scared and confused he probably was and not just destructive. Alan realized it was hard to be a Chosen One and that he should’ve been more responsible and not creating a Stick just for fun.

Though I guess Alan might’ve decided to draw Chosen a friend after a while, and it would’ve been Dark. Maybe even Orange some time down the line. Chosen at first would be wary, not liking Alan drew Sticks just to be his friends, just a different way of seeing what would happen when making a new Stick (why he’s initially angry when Reconfigured Dark draws Macaroni and accidentally brings him to life). But Chosen would be glad to have Dark and later Orange as friends, and Alan knew he wanted other Stick friends.

If I ever wrote an AvA/OneShot crossover I could make that happen. Or just AvA with a different idea of how Chosen was tamed. I might. Possibly not right at the moment since even though I want to, I know I’d get incredibly carried away and I want to make some progress on other projects first. 😅 But I’m going to keep it in mind.

[knucklesamwichart]

Niko discovering the Keyblade!

[gamer-chick-reviews]

OneShot (PC) Minor-Spoiler Review

Hey! This time I will be reviewing a PC game, OneShot that I discovered on Steam in early April. It was on sale and the description intrigued me, so I decided to give it a go. I think players who have played other RPG maker games will like this indie game because it has the same feel.

For this review, there will be minor spoilers. I will layout my thoughts on certain aspects of the game, but will not reveal major plot points such as the ending. In the plot/gameplay section, I will be discussing the games setting or the world of the game to a minimum.

Hope you guys enjoy the review!

Description: (Quoting from Steam)

“OneShot is a surreal top down Puzzle/Adventure game with unique gameplay capabilities. You are to guide a child through a mysterious world on a mission to restore its long-dead sun. The world knows you exist.”

The world is set up into four locations: the barrens, glen, refuge, and tower. The barrens is the outer most location that consists of abandoned structures, a factory, and toxic fumes in certain parts of the area. The glen is a forest like setting that consists of a village, the ruins, and some buildings for research purposes. The refuge is a city area that consists of the library and is also where your final destination is: the tower where the child you guide needs to put the new sun.

Plot/Gameplay: (10/10)

OneShot can also be described as a save the world type of game. The player is guiding a cat-like character named Niko, who is said to be the messiah of the world. Prophecy says that Niko is the one who will restore the world’s sun by bringing the new sun, the light bulb, to the tower.

When the description says that “The world knows you exist,” it means literally. This aspect was one of the coolest and most fun in the game because I really appreciate it when a game can put the player into the world. It creates a lot of interactive gameplay mechanics, and OneShot did just that.

The name the player uses in their Steam account will be the name used in the game. Players can also change their name in the game at a certain scene if their Steam account name is not the one they want to use.

See below…

Furthermore, the gameplay is easy with simple controls. The player can open up the menu to see these controls whenever they want. I always like that they do this because sometimes RPG maker games will show you the controls once and then never bring them up in the menu again.

The other part of the interactive gameplay that I enjoyed was that it has players solve puzzles using your computer. Documents will show up in different places in your computer for you to find and help Niko in each area. This was something I had never seen in a game, so that was a very satisfying feature. The puzzles themselves were not very difficult, but I still found them fun. I felt that the creator put a lot of thought into them and there was a good variety as well.         

Another feature that I liked was the save function. In the game, the player can either exit out of the game anywhere or use the bed to put Niko to sleep. The bed function is used regardless for story purposes because Niko can get tired after each area is complete. I think these were great times to just take a break from the game, but it is also a good addition because it gives the player more background on Niko. I actually found these new scenes adorable and deep because the player gets to interact more with Niko. Both the player and Niko are in this journey together where there is a sense of urgency to complete the mission to restore the sun. However, these scenes create a more relaxing and calm atmosphere where we can take a break from that urgency.

Overall, the story itself was fun and bittersweet because of all the interactions between the player, Niko, and the other characters that you will both meet along the way. There is no doubt that you will get attached to Niko. Niko is a simple character, but is also very lovable and caring towards others. I was definitely absorbed with the game mechanics and story.

Music/Sound: (8.5/10)

I thought the music in this game was pleasant. It created an ambiance to the different areas. I wouldn’t say it is an OST that I would listen to frequently, but I do think the music matched the game well.  

The game also comes with two sound tracks one being the original and the other being the Solstice OST that was released when the Solstice DLC patch was released.

Graphics: (10/10)

The artwork in this game is very satisfying. It’s all in a 2D style, but incorporates both 8-bit graphics and drawn graphics.

The 8-bit graphics are throughout the regular gameplay but are also in some CGs. They really bring out the dark ambiance because of the loss of the world’s sun. It feels like a very dystopian kind of setting, where the areas are dark and muted. The brighter colors bring out more of this neon effect to show that the world still has some light in the darkness.

There are a good variety of backgrounds because of the four different areas. They all have that dark look while others have more of the neon colors. The barrens had the least amount of light, where only lanterns and the water were brighter colors. One of my favorite areas was the glen because I liked seeing the greenery and lights on the trees. The villagers in the glen all wore different colors, so I thought that was nice to see in contrast to the darker setting.

Lastly, the other CGs of the game revolve around Niko’s dreams. This happens when using the bed save function mention in the gameplay section. The colors in these scenes are much softer, which was nice and very dream like. They brought out a lot of nostalgic feels and a heartwarming atmosphere. I honestly love the drawing style they did for Niko’s dreams.

Verdict: (10/10)

I give OneShot a 10/10.

The player involvement in this game really sold it for me. It was a fantastic idea and story that made you become attached to Niko and the world. The story plot twists were very satisfying. I found myself absorbed with how the story would play out and if the player and Niko were really making a difference in fulfilling this mission to help this world.

I hope reading this review gets more people to play the game. Thank you to those who read this review as always. If you know anyone who enjoys playing video games, feel free to share this review with them. Happy gaming!

[p-v-c-r-world]

So, this a drawing I made when a was playing OneShot (not long ago). I love so much the game and all the characters you interact. I'm going to draw a lot of them very soon.

OneShot created by Degica

Drawing by Me

[fridge-reviews]

OneShot

Developer: Little Cat Feet Publisher: Degica Rrp: £6.99 (Steam) Released: 9th December 2016 Available on: Steam Played Using: An Xbox 360 Control pad Approximate game length: 5 hours So you've just discovered you're the saviour, the messiah of a dying world, a world that isn't your own. You'd argue but even the god of that world is calling you that. All you want is to go home but apparently that means saving the world. At face value OneShot looks like a top down puzzle game that has been made with RPG Maker and you'd be absolutely right it is a top down puzzle game that was indeed made with RPG Maker. But there's also far more to it than that. You control a cute cat-like character called Niko, note that I didn't say you play as Niko, the game is quite specific about that. You are you, Niko is Niko, you merely guide Niko through the world and help him solve the puzzles on his quest to save the world and return home. Why make that distinction? Because the game and even Niko will occasionally address you, by name.

This is a game that plays best (and even says so itself) in windowed mode rather than full screen and I advise you do as the game asks. The reason for this being that sometimes the game will sometimes put things required to progress outside of the game. As in it will leave clues, hints etc within your computers folders (nothing invasive just a few text documents and images). While not an amazing looker this game oozes charm. I fell in love with Niko and really wanted to help him with his plight. In fact it wasn't just Niko that I developed a bond for, most of the characters had something about them that made me care which in turn made me want to strive to help them.

The game saves automatically when you shut down the game. However there are some in game beds that also save the game and will give a small piece of the story when you reload. You can only use these beds once though. If you want a game that is heartfelt, gets you to play beyond the usual confines of a game and features no combat at all then I highly recommend OneShot. I do have to mention that this is a game that really requires more than one playthrough to fully understand everything that's going on. I know that sounds like work but it really is worth it. The game is quite short, even with several playthroughs but I loved every moment I spent with it, to the point that I kind of don't want to delete the program even though I likely won't play it again for quite some time. If this appeals to you perhaps try; Undertale ICEY Pony Island

[visualnovelmaker-blog]

Matt from Digitally Downloaded interviewed VNM's creator, Andre about Visual Novel Maker! You can read about it over here! https://buff.ly/2ziGCb7 

[shy-mel]

I finished this game over a week ago but I am finally getting around to my write up of it.  The spoiler free version of my write up is that the game isn’t really compelling during the common route and starts throwing in several twists during three character routes, which dilutes their impact as you’re waiting for another twist to “upstage” the previous one.  Below there will be spoilers and disturbing content so read at your own risk.

As much as I dislike teacher student relationships, the route with Kaede is honestly the best one because it doesn’t seem like the writer was trying to be edgy with any reveals and while the bad is ending of course bad (it has cheating), it doesn’t turn Asuka into a danger to others.

Nao’s route has the player learn that the two are not biological siblings, that they were both part of lab experiments (Sakuya and were also involved)in which Asuka was found to be unable to use her powers while Nao was kept by herself because she was the strongest user, that after a lab fire Nao used her powers to get her and Asuka adopted by the same family, the phrase Nao says when Asuka gets headaches is Nao actually preventing Asuka’s lab memories from coming back, and that Nao’s powers are growing weaker, so she starts taking drugs that don’t end up helping.

Ew.  So in the good end, Asuka doesn’t forgive Nao for being a manipulator.  The two get together and I guess we’re supposed to pretend that it’s not creepy, just like in Period Cube (these two games share many negative qualities).  In the bad end, Asuka does forgive Nao, which causes Nao to feel bad, drop out of nursing school, and turn into Asuka’s sex slave.  

During Sakuya’s route we learn about the lab again, that Asuka and Sakuya were in love, that Sakuya had a twin sister and the following: Sakuya’s sister Kyoko died in the fire and is sharing Sakuya’s head space, which then turns out to be untrue as it turns out Sakuya died and has been lingering around in Kyoko’s head.  Sakuya is starting to fade away because she is using her powers.  Also Kyoko is really angry that Asuka forgot about Sakuya so she does very reasonable things like this:

So in the good ending, Asuka tells Kyoko that she picks her over Sakuya.  Before Saukya fades away though, the two have a school rooftop wedding.  Time then passes and we get this scene:

Now this is supposed to be a sweet scene, but how does Sakuya’s consciousness get into the kid?  I can’t think of any good ways for that to happen.  In the bad ending, Asuka picks Sakuya and basically tells Kyoko she doesn’t care about her.  Saukya (and Kyoko) end up passing on, but Asuka gets the body up to the school roof and has a corpse bride wedding.

Last but not least, in  Itsuki’s route we learn most of the stuff from the previous routes, along with the fact that Asuka used to be a brat and that Itsuki seemed to have her current personality to cope with the loss of Asuka.

The two get together in the good ending after Itsuki fees Asuka from being kidnapped.  Nao and Sakuya do not like this, with the latter becoming violent about it.  The bad ending though, oh boy.

Cannibalism!  

So after playing the entire game, I really wish a different yuri game was the first one to hit the Vita.  This one has pacing issues, plot issues, and Asuka acting entirely out of character in three of the bad endings.  The latter point makes the endings more “wut” than disturbing because the jumps they take to reach the endings make no sense with what we know of Asuka.  

She is a hard to motivate, dependent, forgetful, naive, and barely over 100 pounds.  Do we really think she would get wedding dresses on her own and drag Sakuya’s body up the stairs?  Does Asuka sexually abusing her sister seem like a reasonable act with her personality traits?  Buying a new fridge, chopping up another student, and eating said student to “become one” seems more like a horror version of Amelia Bedelia than Asuka.  Not going to lie though, Nao walking in during that ending and basically “Nope”-ing out was probably the best part of the ending.

On another note, I wish more characters had sprite work than just Asuka and her love interests.  A couple characters do show up in CGs, but sprites as well would have been nice.  I don’t remember the music, so not much to say here.  The character design is okay, but I wish they gave Asuka different colors in her outfit so she isn’t one pink blob.

Nurse Love Addiction feels like it was trying to out-edge School Days, but with less of the buildup that makes School Days’ pacing flow better and I would argue memorable.  For another example, imagine if Modoka Magica placed all of the plot revelations towards the last two episodes versus having them paced out over the series.

In the end, the game did not satisfy me, and I think it tries to do several clashing things at once versus picking one and sticking with it.

[flowerbarrel-art]

I still need to catch up on AvG but I watched the OneShot one a while back and it was pretty cute. Alan seemed to appreciate being called a God. 😆