The Blog In Yellow

I've been meaning to read this manga for a while and I waited until it was finished so I didn't have to wait for updates. The series was well-recieved for a while and even got a short anime adaptation. The question is, what makes it different from other shows like Chainsaw Man or similar shows? The fact is, it doesn't differ. In fact, it's a weaker version of Chainsaw Man. I should start with what I like first, the protagonist is named Kafka (after the author) Hibino who works with the clean up crew who take care after a kaiju, or monster, is defeated. Someone's got to clean up after Godzilla bites the dust and Kafka is the man to do it. He does this despite wanting to be on the other side of the coin, the extermination squad. But he's failed the test several times and is barely compatable with the devices that humans use to combat kaiju. So he's a lost cause, until one day he accidentally swallows a small kaiju and transforms into a human-sized version of o...

Recently, a game called Highguard came out to...less than stellar reviews. The game is a hero shooter where you pick a character and use their abilities to fight other players on the battlefield. When it was announced, it came at the tailend of the Game Awards which is a spot usually reserved for the best of the best. Highguard was not that type of game. The market is flooded with live service games many of which are hero shooters. So this game had little to no chance of lasting too long in this crowded market. It was also compared to a previous live service game called Concord which was a four hundred million dollar flop. All this attention was given to Highguard and what do they do? They go radio silent online. And for good reason, the gaming world can be cruel to game designers. One developer in particular, named Josh, was singled out on Twitter for being autistic. For his own sanity he blocked everyone who was posting threats and comparing his work to the Concord flop. When Highgua...

I'll be upfront and tell you that I never got far with these ideas. These were entertainment I created while listening to Spanish class which might explain the mediocre grades I received. The first character was a faceless man I called Blue Hood. I can't remember what I was watching or reading at that time so I can't trace the source. Hidden behind a blue hood was a man who used weapons for...something. The plot's details have long been lost in the dust in my brain's file cabinets. I still have the old drawings of the character but all I drew was his hood and mentioned that he was muscular. Muscular and overbuilt like one of those professional body builders set to the extreme. It's strange where my mind goes when it wanders off into unknown lands. I can't even remember what his purpose was supposed to be or why he fought. That was one of those things that never came up in my imagination. It's probably why I thought it would be a good idea to let others w...

Back when I was in high school, I had this idea for a game I called Darrk and Recouse. It was based on the games I was currently playing which were the Jak and Daxter series and Ratchet and Clank. Both featured a team up of protagonists with one doing more work than the other. Jak and Daxter was about a elf-like boy named Jak who went on adventures with Daxter, an "ottsel" which was a mix between a weasel and otter with red fur, who sat on Jak's shoulder. Ratchet and Clank was about a long-eared furry alien "lombax" named Ratchet who had Clank on his back and used him like a tool. Both games let you play each hero in different capacities. Daxter played like a mini version of Jak with the same moveset which made his short levels seem more like a gimmick than an actual stage. Clank sat on Ratchet's back and served as a hovering device after Ratchet jumped. Clank could also solve puzzles solo and could grow to a tremendous size eighteen times larger than his sm...

Yesterday I went over to a friend's house and brought my gaming PC. We played this game called Chicken Horse where you jump on platforms that you make as the game hands you different items and traps to use. The game's fun with three players, but it's even better with four. I've never heard us all laugh so hard before which was a lot of fun. The last time I think we laughed this hard was when one of us was playing one of the Alone in the Dark games. There's a scene in that "horror" game where the player character says to a woman "I thought you were dead." She responds "So did I." I don't know why but that got us all busting out laughing. But that was a long time ago. I don't have those friends from back then, they don't contact me anymore since we all broke up. It's sad but that kind of thing happens from time to time. So yesterday was a bittersweet day since it reminded me of those good times. My other friend who's w...

In the past week I restarted my efforts to work on the KIY series by reintroducing myself to the themes and stories of Lovecraft. Two games popped up on my radar, Worshippers of Cthulhu and Morimens. Worshippers is the definition of a classic colony game. You're given an island frought with eldritch connections and an abundance of mist and are tasked to lead a group of cultists to build a town befitting of their god. You manage food production, worship ceremonies and mark your cultist's backs with markings like a bloody etch a sketch. I don't know why the game has such poor reviews on Steam. It doesn't do anything particularly bad but it doesn't do anything new either. Take away the haunting atmosphere and the rituals and you'd have a normal colony sim. There's nothing new in terms of expanding the lore of Lovecraft. The game follows the strictest paths towards Eldritch horrors with a lead towards darker aspects. As in similar games you're given tasks to...