VinnyVideo's Tumblr

The random musings of a random Floridian who makes fake Mario games, surreal music, and other strange things.

[vinnyvideo]

I finally made an indie RPG! Career Fantasy is a turn-based RPG set in a modern-day college town in the American South. I hope you'll find it to be a unique take on the genre - after all, it's the only RPG I know of where you can pummel foes with the power of Kinesiology or Political Science!

Download it here: https://bibbyteam.jaxboards.com/?act=vt1763

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Hola

Apparently this is the one day of the year when I remember I still have a Tumblr account.

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I haven't been on Tumblr in many moons. I don't have much to say right now, but here's a governor action figure I saw last year, because "governor action figure" is a great combination of words.

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Vinny was here

He made a Tumblr post. The end.

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This week's amateur sociological research

"They" (a fuzzy, ill-defined group) claim that "Millennials" (another fuzzy, ill-defined group) are getting married later in life than previous generations and are apathetic toward marriage as an institution. Maybe that's true, but the people I know seem to get married pretty young. Looking through my Google contacts*, of all the people who are within a decade of my age, I realized that I know a grand total of one female person who is single and hasn't been in jail before. This is the full breakdown: 54% are currently married. All of them got married at age 30 or younger, and most tied the knot in their early 20s. 32% are in a serious relationship, and most (maybe all) of them intend to get married very soon. 7% are of an uncertain relationship status. It's also worth noting that they've both been in jail before. 4% have been married but are now divorced. 4% are fully single and haven't been to the pokey. Is this unusual? Jacksonville has a lot of military families, a group that often seems to get married young. Still, I find it interesting that pretty much everyone I know is either married or planning to get married by their mid-20s. This seems to be the exact opposite of what "they" say. (Lastly, while these stats make me feel really old, it's important to remember that there's nothing wrong about getting married later or not at all.) * In addition to the list of people I've e-mailed, called, or texted during the calendar year of 2015, this also includes a handful of other people I've spoken to in recent months, and someone I follow on Twitter. This list does not include online friends.

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Flags don't kill people - people do

A flag is a piece of cloth. On its own, it doesn't do a lot. It won't grow crops, it won't play music for you, and it won't give you an endless supply of cheap, renewable energy. If you were an impolite fashion designer, you could make a miniskirt or scarf out of it, or maybe a cape if you were an ultra-patriotic superhero. But that's about it. A flag is a symbol, and like all symbols, it must be interpreted by humans in order for it to have meaning. There's been a lot of debate in recent weeks about the Confederate battle flag that, until yesterday morning, flew over the South Carolina Capitol, and debate about symbol in general. The flag means a lot of things to a lot of people, and while the flag is an important part of South Carolina's history, the flag has sometimes been used to represent some not-very-nice things. Governments shouldn't display a symbol unless the symbol reflects the beliefs and values of the majority of the populace, while not causing harm or offesnse to any substantial minority group. (I say "substantial" because you can find one or two people who are offended by literally anything.) Since the flag offends a sizable number of people, I can understand why they decided to remove it. However, it's foolish - and downright dangerous - to believe that removing an abstract symbol is going to solve concrete problems. Retiring the Stars & Bars might make politicians feel better about themselves, but it does nothing to solve problems that touch the daily lives of black people, including economic inequality, a broken education system, or police brutality. Moreover, blaming a horrible massacre on a piece of fabric diverts attention away from problems that would help prevent similar acts of terror from happening in the future - like providing adequate mental healthcare to those who need it, and keeping firearms away from mentally disturbed individuals with substance abuse issues. Another consideration is that most people are oblivious to history even when it's right under their noses. Here in Jacksonville, 80,000 went to a Confederate war memorial on the 150th anniversary of the end of the U.S. Civil War. No one expressed awareness of the date's significance, and no one even seemed to notice or care about the presence of the historical marker, erected back when many Confederate veterans were still alive. This wasn't a Civil War re-enactment or other historical event - it was the "global crowdfunding festival" whose epicenter was a park with a Confederate memorial. If 80,000 people can be oblivious to a Confederate memorial, I'm pretty sure that the average person isn't going to be paying attention to a flag flying over a building that they've never visited before. I'm not trying to condone racism, slavery, prejudice, or other injustices that the flag symbolizes to some people. But it's important to remember that the problem - and solution - stems from people, not a piece of colorful cloth. Lastly, South Carolina interstates are really, really boring. This will not change regardless of the flag flying over their Capitol.

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I've finally started my other blog

http://collegestufftheydidnttellme.tumblr.com/ Read it. Follow it. Sing its praises from the rooftops of the city. All that good stuff. In all seriousness, I encourage you to check it out. There might be a few posts that are overly obvious, and perhaps a few things that are specific to my country/region, but I promise you that if you stick with it, you'll learn something that'll help you out someday!

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Stuff they didn't tell you before you started college

I'm just one semester away from (finally) earning my bachelor's degree, if all goes well. I've thought about starting a blog to share some insights about my college experience and the things I wish I'd known before I started. Does this concept sound interesting to any of you? Or does it sound like the pinnacle of boredom?

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This Kong has a funny face

I find it amusing that Donkey Kong 64 has been occupying so much space on my dashboard lately. I have a lot of good memories playing DK64 near the turn of the millennium, back when everyone inserted the word "millennium" into every sentence possible. Yet DK64 has always seemed like the black sheep of the main DK series, getting less attention than the DKC games for the Super NES, and getting overshadowed by some of Rare's other 3-D platformer "collectathons" for the Nintendo 64 (namely, Banjo-Kazooie). If I knew where to find the "infinite free time" cheat code in real life, it would be fun to give Donkey Kong 64 another playthrough and see how it's aged. I have a feeling that I'd be annoyed by some of the game design shortcomings, the blocky N64 graphics (even if they were impressive for its time), and the inconsistent quality of the minigames. On the other hand, maybe I'd find the excellent soundtrack (there are some memorable songs besides a certain rap!), the intense boss fights, and the handful of outstanding minigames would outweigh DK64's flaws. I don't know.

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We still exist!

Contrary to popular belief, independent forums still exist! We might not have bacoodles of dollars coming in from venture capitalists searching for The Next Big Thing, and we might not have the resources to perfect every aspect of our SEO, but we're still a thing! Even if most forums are smaller and less active than they were 5-10 years ago, there's lots of vibrant independent communities out there, and they continue to serve as an outstanding source of information, especially for specialized topics. I'll admit that some forums aren't run as well as they could be, and many are seriously under-promoted, but there's also a lot of forums that are run by amazingly smart and friendly folks. Unfortunately, these days we get about as much attention as MySpace. This concludes my brief rant, also known as "random forum admin thinks his Technology Marketing Management textbook should acknowledge our existence."

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Live from his garage...

I never really got into The Amanda Show, even if I was probably about the right age to be a fan of the show. However, I recently realized that one of my group partners in one of my classes is Totally Kyle, minus the long hair: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaQNdnQTcpM

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Sea Gull

The original photos were taken back in March. The best thing I've done all year.

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Tumbler

So Tumblr thinks I ought to follow Ashley Tisdale. Unfortunately, Ashley Tisdale needs to not misspell a mispelled word! (And yes, my typo was intentional.)

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Social media and the MBTI

If Tumblr were a person, it would definitely have an INFP personality type.

I think Facebook has an ISFJ personality. Facebook's comparatively broad audience might defy classification, but it's definitely an F and not a T.

Twitter has an ENTP personality (there's even been a study on this!).

Instagram probably has to be ESFP.

LinkedIn is an ENTJ if there ever was one.

Pinterest has a stereotypically ESFJ personality.

DeviantArt is an INFJ.

If people still cared about Myspace, it would be an ESTP.

Old-fashioned forums and newsgroups are still a thing, and they'd probably be INTP.

There's little or no scientific rigor behind this, but this is Tumblr and we don't do scientific rigor here!

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Would anybody like to help with an RPG project?

Now that my summer classes are over, I finally have some of that magical thing called "free time," and if all goes well, I'll be spending some of this free time working on my trio of dormant game projects. One of them is an RPG concept that's relatively original (and not just because it takes place in the modern world instead of Generic JRPG Pseudo-Medieval Kingdom). I have most of the ideas down on paper, a good chunk of the soundtrack is in place, and I've made decent progress on the engine. I can elaborate further if anyone's interested. The hard part of making an indie game is finding an artist who's willing to make graphics for it. And that's where you can help! If you're the kind of person who enjoys drawing characters or places, but you're struggling to find inspiration, this might be exactly the thing for you. Because this game has a lot of characters and places. While pixel art is fine, I would prefer to use a hand-drawn style. This might sound intimidating, but I don't need a lot of frames of animation - the less significant NPCs might look fine with as few as one or two frames, and many characters can reuse pieces of other characters. Once I have a few base characters, most of the work will simply be faces. What's more, I don't need characters to be colored, which also saves time. At this point, I can't pay you anything. I'm not awash in spare funds, especially after my "paid" summer internship turned into an unpaid one! If I ever sell this game on Steam or a similar medium, though, I'll definitely pay everyone who contributes (because I'd be a scoundrel if I didn't!). I'm not a world-famous game developer by any stretch of the imagination, although I've made some games that have gotten a fair amount of attention (including about 20,000 hits on MFGG, a site where I'm the most active administrator). I'm good at finishing what I start, and if I can find someone who's committed to helping with the graphics, I'll make sure that this project sees the light of day. If you'd like to help, or you'd like to learn more about this project, please send me a message! And even if you don't think you have the ability or the inclination to help, you could always hit that cute little "Reblog" button if you think you know someone else who'd like to make this game a reality.

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My bad left-handed Kirby

Something Fujiko (a.k.a. Lennonhead) got us to draw over on MFGG. Fun was had, at the expense of everyone's favorite marshmallow guy who starts as a circle. http://forums.mfgg.net/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=16392&p=412625#p412625

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Romance: Because why not

While I've enjoyed little success in this department, someone wiser than myself once said that you should think about what you wanted in a lover, so you'd recognize that person if they ever came along. I could plaster the following list with a catchy title like "The Three Ways to Find Your Soul Mate" and pass it off as sage advice, but I'll admit that I'm not the most qualified person to discuss this topic. Besides, if I wanted lists, I'd probably just check out the featured articles on my LinkedIn stream instead. That said, here's my catchy alliterative three points anyway, even if they should be taken with a grain of salt: Possible A good starting point is being single, straight, and desiring a relationship. It's mighty hard to change these three factors in another person, and if you try, you're more likely to break your heart than to change someone else's. Practical History shows that courting someone who's radically different from oneself isn't the brainiest move. A few deal-breakers that come to mind: Big age gaps - Even when you omit the predators, psychopaths, and gold-diggers that exist on this planet, these relationships seldom end well. Age is just a number, but marrying someone who's in a very different stage of their educational or professional development is a bad idea. Radically different cultures - It would be a big plus if my future wife could at least speak English so I could talk to her. Radically different religious backgrounds - While this may be a rarity among Tumblr users, I actually go to church, and it would be nice if her beliefs were similar to mine. At the bare minimum, she shouldn't be the kind of girl who spends her evenings stirring eye of newt and tongue of dog in a great big cauldron. Radically different social views - I hate to break the hearts of any Tumblr commies reading this, but being a communist, a fascist, or anyone else who possesses extreme or excessively offbeat political viewpoints means you won't get to marry me. Oh well. Excessive baggage - Everyone has skeletons in their closets, but people with too many underlying issues generally make poor spouses. Pleasant Possessing sound judgment and good sense are two other prerequisites for finding an Amen Kind of Love, although these factors are a bit more subjective. That said, some things have a strong positive correlation with good judgment and good sense: communication skills, educational success, positive relationships with family and friends, community service, religious participation, and chastity. Meanwhile, other things have a strong negative correlation with good judgment and good sense: substance abuse, active warrants, debilitating mental or emotional issues, and inability to speak a complete sentence without cussing. Most of the other details are negotiable - I don't really care what someone's hair color or favorite letter of the alphabet is. Unfortunately, I haven't found a lovely lady who comes close to meeting the above criteria, so I still haven't ruled out a life at the monastery if my budding IT career doesn't pan out. Then again, living on the contested frontier between a retirement community and the 'hood isn't the most fertile soil for finding one's life partner, and most (if not all) of my classmates are either married or have underlying issues that raise immediate red flags. Maybe I'm too picky, or maybe I possess that old-fashioned idea called "standards." I don't know.