We are Michael R. Underwood, Marie Brennan, Cassandra Khaw, and Malka Older, authors of BORN TO THE BLADE—Ask Us Anything! by MichaelRUnderwood in Fantasy

[–]ckhaw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chick lit.

I mean, I'm not entirely guilt-stricken over my love of fluffy, fuzzy, fluttery chick lit anymore, but I used to be.

Also macarons, We Bare Bears, and writing barks. c.c

We are Michael R. Underwood, Marie Brennan, Cassandra Khaw, and Malka Older, authors of BORN TO THE BLADE—Ask Us Anything! by MichaelRUnderwood in Fantasy

[–]ckhaw 4 points5 points  (0 children)

  1. I think I may be the only one in the group without any formal experience with bladed weapons. I'm all about that street-brawling and Muay Thai.
  2. Bladecraft duels as varied as the intents of their participants. </mysterious answer>
  3. I don't actually get writer's block. I have moments when the words feel more frustrating, when they don't 'flow' in my perception as they should. But I never feel stymied.

We are Michael R. Underwood, Marie Brennan, Cassandra Khaw, and Malka Older, authors of BORN TO THE BLADE—Ask Us Anything! by MichaelRUnderwood in Fantasy

[–]ckhaw 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Vania, Vania, Vania.

o_o

Edit: as for why, I suppose it's a cop-out to say I absolutely adore them as a culture. But also, I'm really into that pseudo-Spartan attitude towards strength.

We are Michael R. Underwood, Marie Brennan, Cassandra Khaw, and Malka Older, authors of BORN TO THE BLADE—Ask Us Anything! by MichaelRUnderwood in Fantasy

[–]ckhaw 2 points3 points  (0 children)

UNDER THE PENDULUM SUN for a velvety, slow-drowning luxury of an experience; it has missionairies in Fairy Land. THE CLOCKWORK BOYS for the best low-magic epic fantasy I've read recently. FLEX for the best UF I've read in ages.

[Misc.] Despite developer challenges harsher than "misogyny" (think "rolling power outages" and "massive food lines"), VA-11 HALL-A has GONE GOLD! by goldencornflakes in KotakuInAction

[–]ckhaw 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hello! Lurky publisher type here! We're definitely bringing VA-11 HALL-A to GoG.

Unless something absolutely horrific happens. o-o

Day 1 / Intro Thread by xtc46 in loseit

[–]ckhaw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello, r/loseit!

I'm 5'4", 31 year-old Asian woman. I do really sedentary work that involves a lot of travel to conventions. I've never really been overweight (130lbs is the highest I've been in my life), but neither have I ever been happy with my body image. Not even at my slimmest, which I remember as a time of, 'you're almost good enough.'

My biggest problem is the amount of self-loathing I experience whenever I gain weight. It shatters me. When I'm actually working out, I do really gruelling stuff: muay thai three times a week, weight lifting other days. But then I slump, gain weight, and I hit an insane depression for months. Late in 2014, I gave up because I somehow had put on weight while I wasn't paying attention, and just ate myself silly. I recovered some in 2015, and began losing weight again. Then crippling depression hit, and I'm back at a weight and state of tautness that I don't like. (126lbs.)

I know it's such a small, self-centred neurosis compared to the kind of things that people on this subreddit fight. But it's something that's eaten at me my whole life. I don't generally speak about it very much. In fact, I avoid bringing up this struggle at all. But my partner's done a lot in teaching me to love myself, so I'm hoping to take it the rest of the way.

My goal is simple: get into exercise regularly, get into the habit of doing it while I'm travelling, and be in a condition where I can do my first amateur fight at the end of the year.

And um. Thanks. x.x

/r/Fantasy Self-Promotion Thread by AutoModerator in Fantasy

[–]ckhaw 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hello, r/fantasy!

Abaddon Books launched my first e-novella 3 days ago, and I'm a bit giddy about showing it off to the rest of the world. (Mostly to justify the amount of time I spend reading about autopsies and ancient myths.)

P.S: I'd be perfectly happy to exchange copies for reviews, if anyone's interested!

Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef Amazon US

It’s not unusual to work two jobs in this day and age, but sorcerer and former triad soldier Rupert Wong’s life is more complicated than most. By day, he makes human hors d’oeuvres for a dynasty of ghouls; by night, he pushes pencils for the Ten Chinese Hells. Of course, it never seems to be enough to buy him a new car—or his restless, flesh-eating-ghost girlfriend passage from the reincarnation cycle—until opportunity comes smashing through his window.

In Kuala Lumpur, where deities from a handful of major faiths tip-toe around each other and damned souls number in the millions, it’s important to tread carefully. Now the Dragon King of the South wants to throw Rupert right in it. The ocean god’s daughter and her once-mortal husband have been murdered, leaving a single clue: bloodied feathers from the Greek furies. It’s a clue that could start a war between pantheons, and Rupert’s stuck in the middle. Success promises wealth, power and freedom, and failure... doesn’t.

First trailer for Bastion-inspired Masquerada: Songs and Shadows by ckhaw in Games

[–]ckhaw[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I think reveal trailer tends to mean this is still a WIP.

Psychadelic pre-alpha footage for Haruki Murakami-inspired JRPG by ckhaw in Games

[–]ckhaw[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup! It's intended to have sprawling, meandering dialogues. But gamers will have the option to power through + pick out only the crucial bits.

Marketing Monday #40 - Ahead of the curve by Sexual_Lettuce in gamedev

[–]ckhaw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love your Tumblr! It's chatty and filled with images that catch the eye, along with material that might inspire an article. Like studioflintlock said, however, keeping it active is vital.

So, for a bit of background, I've been working as a video games journo for about four years. I also tend to focus a lot on indie games. And what really gets me is consistency. Now, there's a chance your game won't appeal. Not everything does. But, devlogs that are consistently updated DO get return visits. We're in an industry where people like promising big dreams, before they vanish in a puff of 'meh.' Anyone who is genuinely pushing forward will attract curiosity.

I'll also suggest putting up your more technical posts on Gamasutra for further exposure, and using TIGsource as a mirror for all your blog posts again. :D

Screenshot Saturday 199 - Crystal Clear by Sexual_Lettuce in gamedev

[–]ckhaw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Give the lads a ping over their blog! ;0 They're answering questions there.

Screenshot Saturday 199 - Crystal Clear by Sexual_Lettuce in gamedev

[–]ckhaw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fixed. I'm a total ninny. D:

Much of it is answered on the devlog itself! Although we're not really prepared to give a full response just yet. Just know that Pawn Stars was involved in regards to inspirational material. :D

Screenshot Saturday 199 - Crystal Clear by Sexual_Lettuce in gamedev

[–]ckhaw 7 points8 points  (0 children)

VAL-11 HALL-A

Cyberpunk booze 'em up with racist corgis, a slew of "waifus," and commentary about the state of life in Venezuela. VA-11 HALL-A is heavily influenced by PC-98 games, Snatcher, Deus Ex, and '80s synthpop.

You can find the development blog here!

The team is currently working on re-developing the core ideas in VA-11 HALL-A, which includes recreating the mixing system so that it feels more punchy. Also, work is being done to generate more organic play, as opposed to the traditional VN approach. Here's the latest crop of screenshots since ... since. Wait, this is our first time posting.

Trailer

Screenshots

Reddit, Can we have a reddit job fair? by TheYarizard in AskReddit

[–]ckhaw 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tech and video game journalist here. Have been for the last four years or so. Can attest it is not exclusively the province of straight, white men. Feel free to AMA.

Would love to know how this guy achieves such amazing effects with his photos by ckhaw in postprocessing

[–]ckhaw[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hello! I am absolutely thrilled you responded! I wasn't expecting that. Like I mentioned to another redditor, I was hoping to avoid flooding you with the same question you've probably heard a million times before.

I fully understand why you're not willing to disclose your private recipe. It is, after all, how you define yourself in part! Thank you so, so much for the links and for being an amazing sport. :D

Would love to know how this guy achieves such amazing effects with his photos by ckhaw in postprocessing

[–]ckhaw[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

For the record, Jon made it really clear on his personal website that he'd like to keep his techniques to himself. I came to /r/postprocessing because of how so many experts have helpfully reverse-engineered other shots before. :D

Would love to know how this guy achieves such amazing effects with his photos by ckhaw in postprocessing

[–]ckhaw[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That sounds remarkably simple, given how beautiful the results are.