Of Writing and Ruin

     This week is not about distractions, although, I am conceding defeat in this Nanowrimo. Yes, for the first November since I started taking part in 2007. Why? Well, I've mentioned that book 5 was just not coming together and while I've gotten nearly 20k on it, I hit a point where I need to have that plot figured out prior to writing it. Normally, if I was having this problem, I would just write through it and fix all of those issues later. Here though, I noticed a particular theme. All of my decisions to make kept returning to prior ones made in books 3 and 4. That was when I realized that I really need Fox's Facade and Noble's Choice solid before I continue writing book 5. 

     This doesn't mean that I won't be working on it... it means that I'll probably finish the next draft for it next year, when I'm more prepared to write it and have those issues worked out and a great plot to keep you guys interested. 

     Fortunately, it isn't as if I have nothing else to work on right now and I'm not just talking about Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin on the Switch. For right now, I am back to editing Fox's Facade and planning out what changes here will lead to in Noble's Choice. Also, while it's still a little hush-hush, I'm currently making a few plans for the new year. If all goes to plan, I should have more information on those big plans a little further into December. 

     All that said, I do want to talk about Sakuna. I've been playing for six or seven hours now and feel that I can make an educated review on it. 

     Firstly, know that my review is good. This game is fun as hell. Sakuna is a bit of an unsympathetic bitch when you start, but even just six hours in, I can tell that she's improving. Its part of her growth as a character; something that I can really appreciate. She starts off as a Goddess that has always had the world held out to her on a silver plate. She's never had to work for it. And while her parents have gone missing, its clear that she doesn't let it bother her. The game starts when a group of humans find the bridge to the celestial realm and sneak into Sakuna's donation of rice and sake to the head Goddess looking for food. Upon catching them, she attacks and accidentally lights the sake and rice on fire. In punishment, she and the humans are sent to the Isle of Demons and charged with clearing it of evil. 

     The gameplay is really fun, a mix of rice farming sim and sidescrolling combat. I will say that the first year of growing rice, you feel out of your element and wish they would just tell you how to be a master like they do in other games. This, like Sakura's maturity and growth, is deliberate. When you first arrive on the isle, Sakuna has never had to grow rice before, she's just always had it done for her. Learning how to grow rice in minute detail isn't easy and I applaud the game for not making it feel like it is. The combat is very cool and despite being side-scrolling is difficult without being impossible. I'm playing on average, because I don't generally do combat in games, but I am enjoying this one. I just met my first real boss fight and am losing horribly. But with every failed attempt, I learn more about the bad guys and plot how to destroy him and thus, I get farther each time. Because there are multiple levels, you don't need to be forever fighting the same battle. If this one is too tough right now, choose other levels and improve your gear before going back. 

     I will say that if the idea of growing rice, day by day, doesn't interest you, then this may not be the game for you. A lot of this game is growing rice. You need to pick weeds daily, check on how much water is in your paddy each day, fertilize your stalks, and even chaff and hull your rice yourself. I am finding it impossible to put down, even with its difficulty though. It's a different type of game and I for one am here for it.

     The game is entirely voice-acted and I have to say, they didn't skimp here either. The cast really comes through, making you feel like you're personally getting to know all of the characters. Also, the art is incredibly gorgeous and the character design is beautiful. If you're looking for a game to pick up this holiday season, I can heartily suggest this game. 

5 out of 5 stars 

     Offhand, the Divine edition is amazing. It comes with an omomori charm showing Sakuna, a three-disc soundtrack, and a 128-page artbook in addition to the game. Totally worth the additional $20 or bucks.

CD Case Front Cover

Inner CD's contain different pictures on each album

Artbook; and the art is amazing

Omomori charm with a picture of Sakuna

Back of the omomori charm

Distractions

     It's Friday again, and this time, I have some good news. I have actually been writing again. Not as much as I would like, but it's coming and that makes me happy. I think I have nearly 10k of words on book 5, which is pretty darn good considering that I'm still working on some of the character motivations. It means that this book could end up being a lot like book 4 was. When I worked on book 4 during NaNoWriMo, the story just wasn't coming. I finished 50k, but the story didn't make sense till I worked over the plot again. I ended up rewriting all of it, but book 4 was way better as a result. 

     Of course, I can't guarantee that this one won't end up being pretty perfect as well in the end. That's the thing with drafts; a lot of the time, you just don't know till you go back and read it again. 

     That said, there has been a lot to distract all of us this month. The Boys is out on Amazon Prime and while I refuse to pay Amazon every month for Prime (their streaming service leaves a lot to be desired), I don't mind paying for it a month to get this show. As well, K/DA has been gracing all of us with their music and I'm here for it. Villain had an amazing video for it... I can't wait to see Drum Go Dum later today. Lastly, Sakuna of Rice and Ruin has finally been released. It's a video game about an adorable goddess, daughter of a harvest deity and a warrior deity. You are the goddess, banished to an island and tasked with clearing the isle of dangerous oni. It's a mix of side-scrolling adventure and Story of Season farm sim. Because while you may be a goddess of Ruin, you cannot forget that you are also a goddess of Rice. You have to grow rice, take care of the humans in your care, and become the goddess you were always meant to be. I haven't played it yet, but I can't wait to. 

Picture was taken from XSeed's website... The art is phenomenal as you can see.

     So, while I get back to writing, tell me what's distracting you this November. Or are you just as diligent and on the job as ever and I'm just a slacker? Let me know.

Whoops!

Every Nanowrimo is different. Some I whiz through, never slowing down. And some, I have to run my way all the way to the end, playing catch up the whole way. 

This year is going to be one of the later. Seriously, if it isn't one thing, it's another. 

However, instead of whining about it, I am going to celebrate my wins and introduce you guys to a new-to-me original song from Amalee and Divide Music created for Hazbin Hotel. This song could make me ship Charlie and Alastor all on its own, though I certainly hadn't even considered it before I heard this and saw the art. 

What do you guys think? Also, let me know who your favourite characters from Hazbin Hotel are? Personally, I love Cherry Bomb and Angel, though Vaggie is up there as well. I love her fiery personality. Oh, and definitely don't stop at just this song. Amalee does amazing covers and I have more than a few of her songs on my playlists. 

Whelp... That Did Not Go According To Plan...

In defiance of all my posturing, life decided that it did have to throw one more monkey wrench into my plans for Nano. My tendonitis flared. Since then, I've been resting my wrists. I did get 2k before I had to stop though. And all of that was on story. I do have basic ideas about where this book is going and in fact, the first quarter of the book is essentially figured out. I'm missing some motivations, but I have no worries that I won't figure out what I'm missing there. And I can work on planning out the story even with that missing bit. 

Also, having that beginning figured out is a relief in and of itself. I have ideas for the rest of the novel as well, including a very interesting storyline specifically for Kuzunoha and Isashi, which is awesome. 

And while the plotting part is always tough, I love seeing a story come together. That moment when everything starts working is amazing. So, My Day 5 total is 2091 words. Let's see if I can't add some more to that before the end of the day, yes?

Let me know if you're doing Nanowrimo this year? If so, what is your word count at? 

OH!!! 

Back on the 28th, KDA put out their new video finally! If you haven't seen the brilliant video or amazing song yet, check it out below. This time, Riot is giving us a full album being released tomorrow and has teased that we may get up to four more music videos for the group, essentially coming out the new few Friday's starting on the 13th. I am out and out stoked for this and cannot wait to see what they have in store.