Showing posts with label 2020. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2020. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

So...I Played Aggro Crab's Going Under (2020)


If you read my “I’m Back” blog post at the beginning of the year, you’ll know that during my annual break from Our Thoughts Precisely I didn’t do as much reading as I thought I would. The reason for that was simple! Nintendo was having a sale on indie games, and some of the titles I’d had my eye on for a while were marked down to ridiculously good prices. One of the games that kept me preoccupied was Going Under. At the time of the “I’m Back” post, I hadn’t made much progress in the game. However, fast forward to March + a reading slump, I finally beat the main story for Going Under. I had so much fun playing this game!

I liked it, especially for how unusual of a setting it was for a dungeon crawler Roguelike. It was bright, colorful, and the visual design style was very distinct. And the office/ failed startup setting provided the perfect opportunity for plenty of witty/ironic dialogue and commentary. That was combined with the principle storyline. It was a relatively simple straightforward narrative, but with a few surprising (and excellent) twists.

Basically, you play as Jackie, an intern for a drink company (Fizzle), which was acquired by a tech giant. There are three main failed startups to play through—Winkydink, Styxcoin, and Joblin—and each one had its own unique and appropriately business themed environments.

The game drops you right into the first battle then subsequently the first of the dungeons almost immediately, which was a crash course in the game’s battle mechanic. Win or lose the first go around, it was a challenging but fun experience. Weapons don’t last forever, and what you get per room was randomized. There was also the unpredictability of what “Skills” can be applied to the character—only one endorsed skill can be equipped, all others have to be found—which kept a level of interest (and required some strategizing) to the dungeons even after multiple runs. There was also “Business Cards”—which have information about the different monsters and NPCs—and mentors who added extra and helpful perks for navigating the dungeons.

**(Note: there is an assist mode that can be applied to each save profile before logging into the game. You can adjust stats like the amount of hearts you start each dungeon run with, weapon durability, enemy health, and etc..)**

There’s still one other mode to the game, but I can’t speak about that yet since I haven’t delved into it. That being said, overall, I really enjoyed Going Under.


 Check out Going Under's trailer!

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Pencil {October 2020} #4: Happy Halloween!

  

Comments: And, we made it to the end of the month. Happy Halloween! I know it looks a lot different this year, with Covid-19 and all, but I still hope to have a fun day anyway and I wish the same for everyone else. For today’s artwork, I was influenced by an old painting I did a few years back, which I’m certain I referred to as the “spider bride.” I wanted to redraw this character, and I finally got around to doing it. I tried to exaggerate the proportions of the character a little, because I wanted her to appear a little more ghostly (hence there are no feet).


Saturday, October 24, 2020

Pencil {October 2020} #3



  

Comments: Adri and I recently watched Over The Garden Wall. I’ve been hearing about it for a while, and I wanted to watch it this year. So I picked up the DVD while it was on sale at Barnes & Noble. I really loved the series, and it’s one of my favorite shows from Cartoon Network to date. My artwork for today is partly inspired by the spooky and whimsical feel of Over the Garden Wall, but it’s not influenced by any scenes from the show—so you don’t need to worry about spoilers if you haven’t watched it.


Saturday, October 17, 2020

Pencil {October 2020} #2

  

Comments:
Today’s artwork is this pumpkin. It’s kind of a simple one, and it’s based off of a ceramic candy dish I got way back in early September. As soon as I saw the shape of it (a jack-o-lantern), I knew I wanted to draw it with a candle in the opening in place of candy. For reference, here is a picture of the candy dish.

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Pencil {October 2020} #1

 

Comments: Last year, in October, I did a series of pencil drawings. I had a lot of fun with it, and I ultimately decided to break out my pencils and give it another go. So every Saturday in October, starting with today, I will be sharing a piece of Halloween themed artwork from my sketchbook. Today’s image is one of my favorites. As I was thinking of what to do this month, I made approximately three versions of this same scene. One drawn in ink, painted with watercolor, and finally in pencil (which was the image I was most satisfied with).



Thursday, January 16, 2020

I'm Back + Some 2019 Thoughts, Blogging Goals, & 2020 Book Books I'm Looking Forward To


It’s been a while, but I’m finally ready to get back to blogging. I have quite a list of things I need to cover today including: some of my thoughts from 2019, my blogging goals for the year, and a list of the 2020 releases and other books that I’m looking forward to reading.

A lesson from 2019

I had originally wanted to post this before 2019 was over, I, however, never got around to finishing it. By the time I did, it was already January, and what I had to say was easily edited down to about an incredibly short paragraph. So it goes: one of the main things I learned and accepted about last year was that plans fall through. No matter how good the plan is, how well thought-out it was, there’s always some variable that’s waiting to throw the proverbial monkeys-wrench into it. It happens. It does. On another similar note, I also realized it’s also okay if my priorities weren’t on the blog. I know in November and December of 2019, my priorities weren’t on Our Thoughts Precisely. I had other more important things to worry about, and as a result, a lot of the posts I thought I would write are still sitting unwritten. It happens, and that’s okay.

2020 Goals

I want to read The Hobbit and the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. That’s it. I don’t have any other blogging goal besides getting those books off my TBR list before 2020 is over.

2020 Books I’m Looking Forward To
  • Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire (January 7, 2020): in the latter half of 2019, I really got into the Wayward Children series, and I ended up reading all four books in preparation for Come Tumbling Down. The book is already out, and I hope to read it sometime soon.
  • The Last Emperox by John Scalzi (April 14, 2020): The Interdependency is one of the science fiction series I’m currently reading. After the end of The Consuming Fire, I’m really looking forward to seeing what Scalzi does with the series in the third book.
  • A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn (March 10, 2020): I’ve a read a couple of books from this series, and I’ve liked them. The synopsis for A Murderous Relation seems exciting, so I’m looking forward to it.
  • The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman (January 7, 2020): The Secret Chapter is another book that’s already been released. I’m looking forward to it, and I hope to read it soon.
  • Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings (July 28, 2020): This is one of the novellas I’m looking forward to. I mean, the synopsis on Goodreads says “gothic delights,” which pretty much sold the story to me.
  • A Crown So Cursed by L.L. McKinney (sometime in 2020?): A Dream So Dark was one of my favorite sequels released in 2019, and I’m really looking forward to the third book in The Nightmare-Verse series.
  • The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home by Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor (March 24, 2020): So far I have enjoyed the Welcome to Night Vale books, and I’m looking forward to the third one in the series.
  • Prosper’s Demon by K.J. Parker (January 28, 2020): Prosper’s Demon has an intriguing cover and synopsis, and I’m really looking forward to it.
  • The Memory of Babel by Christelle Dabos (May 12, 2020): I have enjoyed the series so far, so The Memory of Babel is one of the 2020 book releases I’m most excited about.
  • Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (June 30, 2020): I finally read Gods of Jade and Shadow, and I loved it as much as I thought it would. So I'm looking forward to Moreno-Garcia's next novel, Mexican Gothic. 
  • Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis (July 21, 2020): The synopsis is interesting, so Axiom's End has to be on this list.
Backlist Series & Book I Want To Try
  • Lord of the Rings + The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch
  • Tensorate series by J.Y. Yang
  • East by Edith Pattou
Comments from Andrea 
Over the past couple of years, my life has been full of unexpected evens. So my goal for 2020 is to get back into blogging. One of the books I'm looking forward to this year is The Last Odyssey by James Rollins. Cheers to new adventures!
This post is long enough as it is, so for now I’m going to leave it at that. Regular blog posts resume next week. What are some of your 2020 goals? And what are some of the 2020 new releases or backlist books you’re looking forward to?
 

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Happy New Year! It's 2020...

Happy New Year! It's 2020. We're not back to blogging yet, but we will be sooner or later. We hope everyone has a great day today.


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