The drawings above are little concept sketches - snapshots of what some of the other characters might be doing right now. I wont explain what's going on, i'll leave you to ponder. Think of it as 'story tidbits' to make up for the deviation from the MT story this week. ^_^

Yet again, we deal with Largo's obsession with Neverwinter Nights. There is a part of me that wonders if I should turn Largo in for 'comic stalking' the esteemed Mr. Oster. I am very curious about the game, but it is Largo who has the obsession. When he gets like this, i back away slowly and look for the nearest exit, then something heavy and preferably sharp. Now that I think about it, it's about the same reaction he has when I start going on about True Love Stories 3. I tend to make sure all the doors are locked before i start ranting - thus preventing Largo's escape. I hope he never picks up on this trick. At least the Bioware people liked the car. ^_^

I have a lot of respect for Largo's obsessions. I don't understand all of them, but i respect them - they are a lot like mine, only over different things. The world would come to an abrupt, violent end if both of us ever obsessed over the same game. I don't even want to think about what would transpire if that were to happen.

The image for today is from the game 'Sense Off', which tsubasa was nice enough to send me in a recent package. I started playing it last night. Basically, 'Sense Off' is a visual novel that tells the story of a group of ESPers who were placed into protection by the Japanese Government. These people are considered the most powerful ESPers in the country, and the story takes place at what appears to be a school, but is in fact an institute of ESP studies. Basically, as the protagonist you interact with the girls and find out some sort of shocking truth behind the institute. The world quite literally relies on your actions - do the wrong thing, and it all ends. The game is an 18 and over title, but I think the H content is much like that of Kanon - secondary to the story. (i have this bad habit of digging into the PDT files and looking at the game images ^^;;) Tragic stories are all the rage these days in Visual Novels, and this one is no exception. I'm sure it will help solidify my demented bent on things. ^_^

What I particularly like about the game is that the game has a little more visual depth than I am used to seeing. A typical dating sim game has two modes - 'play' mode, where characters are images that sit in front of a background (much like a green screen concept). The character image will change expressions, pose, etc, but the background stays the same. Then there are 'CG Events' - which are stand alone images, usually of much higher quality and detail where the character is actually interacting with the background in some way. In "Sense Off", the way characters are place on the backgrounds in 'play' modes is very interesting - you get a much better sense of space with the way they are set in the frame than I am used to seeing. Very impressive indeed. I like this game so far. It has a very interesting mood to it. It's kind of hard to describe. Oh, that's Minage Sanjou walking along in the image, in case you were wondering.

As far as ESP goes, mine is very blurry. Trying to make everyone happy is part of what I do for a living. Architecture is the art of compromise with direction. The final product is always the result of many people banging their heads together trying to make the massive amounts of money used to make a building work. There is a fine art to listening to what people want and doing what is best for the project. Imagine telling someone who is paying you lotsa money that he/she is wrong. ^_^

I suppose I apply some of the same principals to Megatokyo. I take in a lot of feedback, I listen to it, then do what I think is best. Since Largo and I are partners, we have to work out what we are doing amongst ourselves. This is not always an easy process, but it is the kind of process that produces the best work. I can maintain my own vision, tempered by the reality of what works. Without that process, you end up with the last episode of Evangelion, which pissed just about everyone off. ^_^ *I* know these characters and story better than anyone. I have to try to remember just how much people know, and how to let the story unfold in ways that allow you to learn about them.

So the experiment continues. With any luck, it won't blow up in my face again. ^_^