TPA 59

I'm proud of myself, I got a lot done yesterday. More than I had hoped for. I wrote a...I don't know what it is...of my Cain story. It's a breakdown of what happened before the story began so maybe a synopsis? I added more to the story which helped flesh it out. I can't believer I'm doing all this work for a short story. I should be doing more for my KIY story but I'm not going to push myself too far. I think I need to be more secure in myself to write more for that story. I wonder if this is how George Martin feels. He's been delaying the next book for years and it must be hard with all that pressure on him. But seriously, getting that summary done was a load off my shoulders. I also got more of Koudelka done. I'm just trying to finish what I started. It's just something I feel I need to do because I'm tired of not leaving games and projects half done. It feels good to say that I'm finished with something no matter how trivial. 

Right now I'm listening to the music from the first Jak and Daxter game. That game series means a lot to me. It's a shame that the developer is a shell of it's former self. They don't even mention Jak and Daxter anymore but focus on their more "realistic" characters. Don't misunderstand me, Nathan Drake and Joel have an important role in the Naughty Dog world and they've won well-deserved awards, but you always look back at the games of your childhood with rose-tinted glasses. Even now I play Jak and Daxter and I'm amazed at all the detail they were able to cram into a PS2 game. The sudden jerk from platformer to open world in the sequels was such a jolt to my brain that it still affects me to this day. The first Jak and Daxter was a platformer with a lot of love put into it. But the sequel, Jak 2, changed the formula to focus on a Grand Theft Auto theme mixed with Tony Hawk skateboarding. Then there was the shooting mechanics which replaced the hand to hand combat from the first game and this feeling of despair that hung over the entire series making Jak more angry and aggressive. I remember seeing interviews with the developers about how they hated the changes they had to make. Maybe that split is what killed the series. To be fair, I wonder if something like Dark Souls had come out before GTA. It might have influenced the Jak series in a different way. 

Moving on, lets finish up Koudelka.

Tamacoss

A strnge doll-like thing that has a name that gives it more mystery than it deserves. The bestarity says that it's an unbaptised infant from limbo that crawls around the monastery looking for affection. It looks like this is something from Dante's Inferno. Why the strange body? It looks like it's wearing a garbage bag.

Valna and Vigna

A pair of sisters who are impossible to defeat. The wiki says you're supposed to find their dolls and get the green key to proceed to the real boss. Valna is a Slavic name just like Koudelka's gypsie name. Valna has strong and power connotations while Vigna refers to beautiful, vineyard, or difficulty. I just thought it would be fun to look up their names. At the end, the game references Koudelka's real gypsie name.

Vine

I've only watched reviews of the game and have yet to watch a full story of Koudelka. There's a lot of references to the Life Tree from alchemy mentioned with the monsters which may tie to the story. I think I'll listen to the full game tonight and give my thoughts on it.

Watcher

Reminds me of another enemy, the Seeker Trio. Maybe this is the smaller version? Or maybe the enemy version. Some games use larger versions of monsters to make bosses. 


Werewolf

I know it says "werwolf" but the picture info lists it as "wendigo." I know people use them interchangeably. I love his design. The rictus grin and the hair around the neck and legs. Wendigo fits better but so far, this is one of my favorite designs. 


Wight


The final bestarity entry. This is the animated flesh of a dead woman. It seeks to eat others to sustain itself. Gastly. I think I'm in better spirits because I've done all the entries. Finally, I'll look at the stars of the story, the characters. This should give me a better understanding of the game. For my final thoughts, this wasn't as useful as I thought it would be. Many monsters were bland and uninspired compared to Final Fantasy. I suppose it takes a lot of people to make a great game and one person who's in love with it isn't going to cut it. Let's see what the story holds for me.

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