PoOTing along

 I am so sorry that it took me so long to get back to you! It's that time of year when my tendinitis acts up and I've had more than a few days when my wrist has been way too swollen to write. Fortunately for me, a new video game came out which lets me use those muscles in a way that's easier on them than writing (and forces me to rest when the battery runs out). 

Of course, I'm talking about Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town (SOS:PoOT. I'm not that far into the game but I am loving it so far. Then again, I got into the series back in the early 2000's When it was still known as Harvest Moon. Still, the series didn't hit its stride until they became Story of Seasons a few years back.

So, what do you in this game? Well, it's a farming sim, so on the surface, you're raising crops and animals. Generally, there is some helping of the nearby towns and some sort of spiritual connection to the land, usually through a Harvest Goddess, sometimes through a Witch, and once through the God, Inari. Still, this barely touches the surface. I love this game for the people you meet in the games, for clearing the land, raising the crops, befriending your animals... there's so much more that you'll never see if you just dismiss it as a farming sim. In this game there are multiple little islands of land for you to care for, wild animals to tame (like cows and chickens left running around from when your grandfather died years before) and a mystery to solve (so far shown in the guise of a young-looking woman in a torn black dress and a skull mask, decorated like the Día de Los Muertos masks. Also, in a new "twist", partially seen in Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (released last year), you can choose your pronouns (male or female) and wear any outfit/hairstyle in the game, allowing you to really customize a character to be your avatar. All of the marriage candidates are bisexual, meaning that whatever you choose, they are romanceable so long as you spent the time hanging out with them. 

Which doesn't mean that they made a perfect game, no matter how much I am adoring the gameplay. There are a few noticeable bugs and the loading screens can run a bit too long, but there is only one item where they really dropped the ball (the dozens of maker machines need too much micromanaging to be fun). Also, the townsfolk really need more comments. So far, everyone has maybe three things to say in everyday conversation, plus the extra two dialog pieces that they use around the festivals, one for before the event and one for after. Still, the conversations in the cut scenes are fun, if a bit contrived. Now, the company has already addressed all of these concerns, promising that they already have the team working on fixing bugs, adding new dialog, and such. Right now, it means that I would give the game a solid 7/10 stars right now, most likely raising that higher when the updates start fixing these issues. 

So do I suggest you run out and buy it now or should you wait for those fixes first? Honestly, I'd suggest running out to get it. Right now, it is very playable and the core fun of the game is obviously there. I can easily see myself spending a few hundred hours playing this game. Right now, I'm romancing two of the marriage candidates, the young traditionally Japanese lord, Iori, and the tourist information girl, Laura. One is clearly more carefree and fun than the other, but despite that Iori is definitely holding his own by having a storyline that includes ninja who seem to want him dead. Clearly, that is something that I'm looking forward to finding more about later. 

And that's all I have for you today. Will you be picking up the game? Would you be interested in seeing a bit of a Let's Play for it? If you're playing, who are you romancing and what is your biggest project on the go in your game? I'm still trying desperately to clear my second island. See you next week. 

When Moving Ahead Doesn't Feel Like It

 Well, my first editing program was a bust, but I do have editing programs that I'm trying to learn. The first one I tried has a killer learning curve, but fortunately, I have other programs I'm working with. In addition to that, I've bought myself a few new toys to help record. Mainly, a new light, which is surprisingly important, even if you're never showing your face on the video, and a new microphone. Honestly, while the light is snazzy, I am much more excited by the microphone. I've never owned a real one that wasn't found at a garage sale and broken within days of getting it. 

In addition, I've been accepted into a beta program for Animaze using my character which is the thing I am super excited about! Why, you ask? Well, I originally wanted to use Animaze to put out these videos. I had used them in the past under the name Facerig and knew that they were adding the ability to add your characters into it with the upgrade, which was originally what I was planning to use. Unfortunately, when they came out, while you could add characters to the system, you couldn't do it with a character from VRoid, where I'd made created my character. What does this mean for you guys? Well, it means that I am definitely planning on having a video up on Monday, even if its just a quick one using their system. It may end up just being me playing with the system and introducing myself. 

Essentially, I do have an introduction to the channel recorded on a different program, but if the Animaze works, then I will be using that one. The most difficult thing right now has actually been the editing programs. I was hoping for an easy introduction since what I'm really looking for is a simple cut and paste program that I can add pictures onto. Not a very difficult list you'd think, but it still means that I have to go through the programs I can afford, spending hours trying to learn how to use the programs, to see if I can use them at all or if they're just far beyond my skill level. I'm not afraid of hard work, but at this point, I really want to get stuff out to you and I'll do what I need to get that going. 

Of course, I'm still working on my novel. I'm about 75% of the way through this edit, which means that as soon as I can spend all my time on it again, I should have it finished soon. I'm hoping that at this point, I don't have a lot that's going to need to be rewritten from scratch again. 

And that's what's been keeping me busy this week. It doesn't feel like I've done a lot of work, even if I can look back and defend every choice with reasons it was important. Meh. Sometimes, you just have to keep moving, trusting that you are making headway, even if it doesn't feel that way. 

Oh! Also, I'm not going to talk about it here, but if you haven't already seen WandaVision on Disney+, my quick review is "Amazing, 5 stars, go see it." For more, keep your eyes peeled. I'm planning on writing a longer, more in-depth review later. 

Name Redacted

Sorry for the delay everyone! 

I have been super busy getting everything ready for the Youtube show I've been planning. I have been working on finding the right technology to run the avatar, which also required finding myself a recording program that wasn't attached to anything else. That said, I am exceptionally excited to finally give the update that I am going to be starting the recording process later today. To make sure that you get a good weekly experience, I'm going to be recording a few episodes in advance to make sure that I always have something ready for you!

That said, it has been a ride figuring all this out. When I started this last year, I honestly thought that learning to use the program to create an avatar would be the hardest part of the deal. Instead, my natural art skill made that part fun and games compared to researching all of the programs I could use, testing all of them out and figuring out the pros and cons of using each would be. As it is, I'm still getting comfortable using it, but at least that is simply using now, rather than constantly looking for "how-to" and tutorial videos every time I open one of the programs up.

Name Redacted is obviously not going to be the name. Anyone want to guess what name I have in mind instead?

I’m hoping to have a full introduction video loaded and ready to go by next Monday, but I should be able to tell you Friday if that’s going to be feasible or not. As always, keep an eye here and on my social media accounts for the latest updates!