Captivating Story About Death, Suffering, Spirituality & Politics!
Lasi, Romania, September 11th 2023: Produced by indie game developers Darkania Works and GrimTalin, the Last Days of Lazarus is a chilling first-person adventure set in a post-soviet Eastern Europe telling the tale of a troubled man, long estranged, returning to his childhood home after his mother’s death to spend some time with his sister Lyudmila. But as the country around him seems to fall apart, so does reality itself, with a series of unexplainable events leading him on a quest to find out more about his family’s disturbing past.
Available today on PC via STEAM™ in addition to PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S, the Last Days of Lazarus has received praise for its chilling gameplay and is the proud recipient of the Best Romanian Indie Game award (ASUS ROG 2021) in addition to the winner of Best Visuals award (DEV.PLAY 2021).
Game Trailer (PS®5):
Last Days of Lazarus is a first-person adventure game with a strong narrative and rich visuals inspired by the post-soviet era with a Gothic vibe and supernatural elements. As the story unravels, you will encounter questionable characters whose corrupted version of the truth you will need to navigate. With a troubled past yourself, you will struggle not only with solving the mysteries laid upon you but also with keeping alive any sliver of hope for salvation. Inspired by the developer’s history and locations, the game offers a story filled with supernatural elements of local belief, laid upon communist and post-communist struggles. In a sick society where everyone cares only about themselves and their survival, can family bonds still be upheld and cherished?
Last Days of Lazarus offers a disturbing story, religious imagery, and the occasional scare, and features eight exciting chapters across five detailed locations inspired by actual places from Romania. Your task is to explore, meet strange characters, find documents, and solve light puzzles to learn about what happened to your troubled family.
KEY FEATURES
Bone chilling setup inspired by Eastern European communism.
Enthralling story about death, suffering, spirituality, and politics.
Optional places to explore and uncover more disturbing facts about your family.
Dread and gore combined with eerie beautiful environments.
The game is currently on sale for PS5 (50% + 10% for PS+) until September 13th and it will be on sale on STEAM™ (50%) between September 18-25, and on Xbox (60%) between October 10-16.
Darkania Works is a one-man indie game studio founded by George Remus Poiana. He has previously worked on Gray Dawn, a similarly styled narrative driven adventure game that has received praise for its beautiful unique visuals and thought-provoking story.
GrimTalin is a one-man indie game studio founded by Catalin Marcu. He has previously released the beloved nostalgia filled retro platformer The Adventures of Elena Temple and the relaxing puzzler Long Ago: A Puzzle Tale.
September 11, 2023 – Skillprint, a pioneer in personalizing games to match the personality, cognitive skills, and motivations of players, today announced that its Chief Product Officer, Davin Miyoshi, will be a distinguished speaker at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki, featuring the game industry’s top thought leaders and authorities. This year’s conference will be held September 12-13 at Wanha Satama. On September 12 at 3:20 PM, Davin will join a panel on “Holistic AI: The Best AI Tools for Game Developers & How To Use Them.”
In this panel, attendees can hear from Davin and other leaders how game developers and marketers are incorporating AI tools into their workflows to streamline processes and reduce workloads – as well as retrain staff on AI tools and navigate the ethical issues and legal challenges that come with using AI.
Skillprint stands at the forefront of innovation in gaming, spearheading the integration of state-of-the-art AI technologies to elevate gaming experiences for global players. Leveraging insights from neuroscience research, player gameplay data, and an exhaustive understanding of game attributes and ratings, Skillprint recently launched the beta version of the AdaptivePlay AI Platform. This cutting-edge platform is designed to assess and cultivate players’ cognitive skills and personality traits, offering them an individualized gaming journey. AdaptivePlay is poised to empower developers with the capability to dynamically fine-tune game difficulty, progression, rewards, and gameplay in response to each player’s distinctive personality, proficiencies, and motivations.
For more information about Skillprint and to schedule a time to meet at PocketGamer Connects Helsinki, please visit www.skillprint.co.
About Skillprint
Skillprint is at the intersection of gaming and cognitive science and uses AI to reveal insights about a player’s talents, mindset, and personality traits. Its mission is to democratize access to insights that empower individuals and game developers to thrive.
Founded in 2019, Skillprint’s Insights are embedded in 40+ games which collect and analyze an average of 1,200+ events per player per game session and predict a player’s personality traits and cognitive skills and help them to achieve their desired mood. Combining neuroscience research, player gameplay data, and over 150+ game characteristics and ratings, Skillprint can vet games for their ability to assess and develop a player’s cognitive skills and personality traits, positively affect their mood, and help them to achieve their goals.
The company has raised $3.5 million in funding, backed by private investors and leading VCs in the gaming, mental wellness, and future of learning sectors. For more information, visit: www.skillprint.co.
PLAYISM is proud to announce that we will be publishing Maid Cafe at Electric Street, a leisurely maid cafe adventure by the Shanghai-based indie developer Adventurer’s Tavern.
The game is scheduled to release in 2024. Please wishlist it from the brand new Steam page!
Announcement Trailer
About the Game
Maid Cafe at Electric Street is a leisurely maid cafe adventure set in the otaku haven of Nipponbashi, Osaka.
The protagonist of our story quits his job at an extremely toxic workplace and finds himself at a run-down maid cafe tucked away in a quiet part of Nipponbashi. There, he meets the maid Shiro. One thing leads to another, and he eventually gets appointed as the temporary cafe manager and put in charge of the management of the maid cafe. As the new manager, his first task is to scout cute girls to work at the cafe. Time to explore Nipponbashi and all the otaku stuff it has to offer!
Get to know the four unique main girls: Shiro, Miyu, Favna, and Honoka, all voiced.
Immerse yourself in lighthearted stories about everyday life with the cute maids.
Enjoy the modern and gorgeous pixel art graphics depicting even the finest details, including the meat buns next to the convenience store cashier and the figures on the shelves of an anime shop.
Go on fun dates at Nipponbashi, from anime shops to arcades to the cinema!
The Maids of Fuwa Fuwa Cafe
Shiro
A maid who loves Fuwa Fuwa Cafe. A huge otaku for anime and video games, she talks really fast when she’s gushing about the things she loves, and often splurges on merch without thinking whenever she visits an anime shop. A little clumsy, but works hard every day to become the cute maid she’s always wanted to be.
“Um, please be the new manager of the cafe!”
Miyu A game otaku and gyaru with a big appetite. Loves both eating and cooking, and apparently really enjoys serving her cooking to customers at Fuwa Fuwa Cafe. Is actually Shiro’s friend on the online game Magic Angel, so they knew each other before actually meeting in real life.
“Hey Mr. Manager, thanks a bunch for hanging out with me today~☆”
Favna
A mysterious girl dressed in gothic Lolita fashion. Speaks in riddles and demands the protagonist become her familiar. She sometimes accidentally drops the edgy act when she’s taken by surprise though, so maybe she’s just got a serious case of chuunibyou…?
“I am the Slayer of the False God, the Queen of the Kingdom of Darkness, the All-Seeing Oracle, the Guardian of the Dream of All Things—”
Honoka A girl with a Kansaiben dialect who works as a shrine maiden at her family shrine. Practically in charge of the shrine, she is reliable and very good at handling money, and has a strong sense of responsibility to boot. On top of that, she’s also the only glasses girl at Fuwa Fuwa Cafe!
“Ya want a thrivin’ business? That there sounds like a job for our shrine!”
Game Features
Support Your Maid Cafe Employees as the Manager!
As the cafe manager, it’s your job to allocate work to your maids. Make sure to give the right girl the right job! For example, Shiro is always enthusiastic to serve customers, and Miyu is great in the kitchen.
Of course, you can’t just sit there while they work. During opening hours, you’ll also have to make coffee and help out on the floor, so it’s not as easy as it sounds!
The Stunning Sights of Nipponbashi
In order to recreate the atmosphere of the real Nipponbashi, the game features several real stores you can find there, such as Surugaya, Sofmap, Dragon Star, Super Potato, and Karaoke Rainbow, among many others. Don’t forget to pay them a visit when you’re shopping or taking one of your maids on a date!
Collectable Gachapon
If you’ve been to the real Nipponbashi, you’ll know that there are gachapon machines all over the area. In this game, you can also try your hand at collecting your favorite gachapon series and experience that unique gacha thrill of not knowing what you’re getting. As you collect more gachapon, you can even bring them up in conversations with the girls. Keep cranking those machines until you’ve collected them all!
Word from the Developer – Adventurer’s Tavern
Thank you so much for waiting!
Maid Cafe at Electric Street is the most ambitious and most time-consuming project Adventurer’s Tavern has ever tackled. Even though we’ve faced many difficulties and limitations, we’re working hard and doing our best in order to provide players with the best game we can make.
We’re very thankful to PLAYISM, who have supported us throughout the development process!
Please look forward to the game, because we’ve poured our souls into it!
Playable Demo at TOKYO GAME SHOW 2023!
We will be showing a playable demo for Maid Cafe at Electric Street at the PLAYISM booth at TOKYO GAME SHOW 2023!
In this demo, you can walk around the city and see the sights of in-game Nipponbashi.
Those who play the demo at the event will receive a photocard of one of the four maids (selected randomly) and a stamp card for Fuwa Fuwa Cafe, the cafe you’ll be managing in the game!*
Don’t forget to stop by to try out the demo and get some Fuwa Fuwa goodies!
SEGA has released a special video showcasing new music and colourful sights from Sonic Superstars that fans can look forward to when the game launches on the 17th of October!
The track by composer Rintaro Soma features sounds from the Northstar Islands, specifically, Pinball Carnival Zone Act 1, alongside visuals from the Zone to give fans a sneak peek into the wide variety of music players will experience when playing.
If you want to experience it for yourself, tune into the sounds of Pinball Carnival Act 1 here!
Sonic fans can pre-order Sonic Superstars ahead of launch at local retailers to receive an exclusive in-game LEGO Eggman character skin.
Sea of Stars is a retro-style fantasy RPG that pays tribute to iconic games like Chrono Trigger and earlier Final Fantasy titles. The game is a successor to Sabotage Studio’s The Messenger, and takes place in the same universe, but long before the events in the aforementioned 2018 title. With magnetic visuals and lots of catering toward nostalgia, the game has garnered a lot of hype and praise during its recent release – but it’s worth considering whether the game will stand the test of time and remain popular as the years go on, or fade into obscurity and fail to remain relevant.
Story
Sea of Stars follows the journey of two young Solstice Warriors named Valere and Zale. They explore the world, travel with different companions, and vanquish enemies as they prepare to defeat the minions and followers of the evil alchemist, known as the Fleshmancer. Valere and Zale each practice magical powers under the umbrella of Eclipse Magic, with Valere mastering the moon, and Zale the sun.
The fantasy adventure follows the flow of a traditional Hero’s Journey, making a lot of the story beats predictable but still enjoyable. The characters are charming and each has a unique trait, and the game can be really humorous at its best moments. At the beginning of the game, you can choose which protagonist to play as, which unfortunately makes them quite interchangeable in the narrative and their personalities seem nearly identical to one another.
The game takes awhile to start introducing twists and subverting expectations, which it definitely does well – however, sometimes things feel slow-moving narratively, particularly near the beginning.
As a player who hasn’t experienced the first title in the game, this was a great standalone and I would love to check out the prior game. Still, being a fan of the original game would probably add to the experience, as a lot of questions about the world and its rules would already be answered for you. Much of the lore takes time to be introduced properly for new players in this game.
Gameplay
Walking around the lush, gorgeous environments of Sea of Stars is always satisfying, and I always loved entering a new area and having the opportunity to explore. The only thing missing is more interactivity present in each level/walkable area. Sometimes, you climb up a ladder, or jump into a small crevice, only to find there is nothing there to interact with or loot. This can be frustrating particularly when you have to backtrack to where you started.
The turn-based combat is done well and is easy to learn. Once you get into the rhythm of things with your party’s attacking order, attacking and defending becomes somewhat mindless outside of major boss battles. However, combat can be a bit tedious, particularly when it comes to the lock-breaking mechanic that party members use to shut down enemy spells. Breaking these locks requires multiple attacks, and you often only have 1-2 turns before they attack, making it nearly impossible to successfully stop the enemy spell. You have to settle for weakening their attack by only breaking some of the lock, which doesn’t feel as satisfying.
Luckily, the game has numerous relics that players collect throughout the game, which function as game difficulty options that you can toggle throughout the experience. Some of these allow for easier combat, more opportunities to break locks, and keep your party alive longer. This lets players easily set their expectations for the game’s challenges.
Like many RPGs, this game has fishing and other mini games, but predictably and unfortunately, these are rather boring and don’t have much payoff in comparison to exploring and continuing the main story.
Visuals
The graphics and animation in Sea of Stars were definitely the highlight of the experience for me. With detailed constantly moving environments reminiscent of calming, serene games like Stardew Valley, I wanted to spend more time just standing around in awe of where I was. The character portraits and animations were so specific and detail-oriented. The campfire scenes where the party would rest were always fun and didn’t get old to participate in. As you pick what items to cook, you get to see a cute slideshow of images as the food was made.
When new characters are introduced, we’re treated with fully-drawn and animated cutscenes. These are incredibly beautiful, but the transition from them back into the game environment is sometimes stark considering they are completely different art styles.
Audio
The soundtrack of Sea of Stars is whimsical and classic eight-bit RPG style, with few surprises and a lot sounding very familiar. Some of the more memorable pieces are from the battle soundtracks, but overall, there weren’t many audio moments that stood out.
Overall
Sea of Stars is a solid game that can be a lot of fun. Players who love the RPG genre will likely enjoy this new title a lot, but it doesn’t necessarily do anything groundbreaking or new. However, there’s nothing wrong with sticking to a formula, especially when you understand what needs to be done well. This is a worthy adventure for those who are interested, and the beautiful environments and level design alone make for a fulfilling experience.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Touhou New World is the latest fan game based on the Touhou Project series of indie games. It’s a top-down-view action RPG reminiscent of the Ys series. We play as both Marisa and Reimu in our gameplay coverage, which includes a bit of exploration, encounters with many established characters, and lots of battles against youkai.
Delve back into the world of Touhou in this bullet hell action-RPG adventure! The boundary between Gensokyo and the outside world has been breached, and it falls to Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame to discover why. Level up skills, forge new equipment, and explore Gensokyo to uncover the truth!
Touhou: New World Developer: Ankake Spa, Team Shanghai Alice Publisher: XSEED Games, Marvelous USA, Inc. Platform: Windows, PlayStation 5/4 Release Date: 14 Jul, 2023 Price: $24.99 USD
Marvel, Disney, Nick – they all don’t seem to get “it”. Everyone wants the “metaverse”, or whatever they want to call it these days, but they don’t really know what that means. Ok, so maybe that is out of the genre we are speaking about, but I feel it still as some relevance. Sometimes things can be forced, and that also means entertainment. When you get a bunch of egos in one room that have a few hours to enforce their identities while appeasing their record labels, you get a mess that is not only entertaining, but iconic. MTV‘s Video Music Awards is pushing 40, and I think its time to talk about the award show that allowed pop culture to throw up on itself. Open your mind and let’s explore the greatest award show of all time in this edition of Pop Capsule.
Make no mistake, this isn’t an origin piece. You can go Wiki the VMAs and get your history there, or by surfiing Youtube as a bunch of 20 year olds try to monetize their channels by reacting to what their parents found entertaining. This is a reflection as I remember it, a chubby kid from Arkansas who was easily influenced by whatever a television set had to offer.
My older sister was always one of the cool kids. She followed trends, listened to whatever music her friends were listening to, and I…didn’t. Or I didn’t do it well anyway. I was into video games, Xena, and drawing. When it came to music in 1997 I was still spinning the wheels of my much older parents’ favorite tunes, which included a lot of country and oldies from the 50’s and 60’s. As my sibling’s tastes got more “wild” by our household’s standards, I was introduced to MTV, and being around ten years old, it was a lot. There were full on music videos, teenagers who all seemed either angry or way too happy, and a ton of shows like Daria that kind of painted a more realistic picture of how the “real world” was outside of the little bubble I lived in. It was exciting and stupid noise and I was hooked almost instantly. I think Tom Green was the personality that got me hooked the most, but that tale of appreciation is for another day.
My sister was starting to become obsessed with the latest trend, which at the time was boy bands. In particular, she was head over heels for the Backstreet Boys, and had Tiger Beat posters covering her walls. I wanted that type of focus and obsession, and while I had my crushes (Shania Twain and LeAnn Rimes), they were not that kind of act. With that, I stumbled into TLC and the Spice Girls. Yep, that was my entry into both bands, and while TLC was rather familiar in our household due to their longstanding popularity, the Spice Girls were something else. They were over-the-top, dressed crazy, and all had personalities that reminded me of the Power Rangers but in a girl musical group form. Yes, collecting for them in the same fashion as my sister would drive me to popularity for sure, right? Well, no, but I did it anyway and honestly – it was a blast. I spent every dollar I had on stickers, magazines, cassette tapes, and so on because it was all so loud and colorful. This was music, right? That fad for myself went on for three years, by the way – and its something I don’t speak a lot about, but remember fondly as it was one of my happy places at the time.
My parents were older, and disagreed with almost everything from the current climate on all fronts. That said, my sister was a powerful force and could convince them of almost anything, and being the huge MTV watcher she was (and I was at the time), we somehow got them to put on the 1997 VMAs at the time, which was supposed to have appearances by both of the acts we followed, plus a lot more. When you’re a kid, you kind of take in everything, and I don’t think I was ready for what that show had to offer. I actually have very little memories of a lot of the show itself. I do remember Fionna Apple saying “this world is bullshit” in her now famous speech, I remember seeing the Spice Girls perform, and of course the main thing that stuck out was Marilyn Manson on stage. There was nothing like that act. It started with Manson on a podium giving a speech, condemning Christianity and fascism, which quickly lead into him singing “The Beautiful People” half naked on stage for three minutes while doing those Marilyn Manson type things on stage. It was kind of jaw dropping. I just went from eating cotton candy to gumballs laced with barbed wire, and of course my parents were not amused whatsoever. Little did I know I just witnessed my first ever live “VMA moment”, which I will talk more on as we progress.
That was the thing with this show. I didn’t know who Beck was but I instantly wanted to know more. I didn’t know anything about Fiona Apple, or anything hip hop other than Puff Daddy and TLC and all of that finally seemed accessible. Its as if combining all of these things in one room worked to get people to open up their minds and palate to allow things in that they may have not given a chance in another instance. A year later and I was hooked on the channel. I was now watching TRL daily, and forget country – I had moved on completely. The Spice Girls were now four instead of five, the Backstreet Boys were bigger than ever, and now that I finally was getting an understanding of who these artists were, and a little about how quickly fame rises and falls. VMA season was back, and I was ready to take the plunge. If viewers thought the ’97 VMAs were polarizing, ’98 VMAs were there to double down on everything.
Marilyn Manson was now a huge act for the channel and celebrated often. At that time he still was a bit too much for me as I wasn’t even allowed to listen to his music, but if you had friends, you knew the legends that were starting to pop up. “He doesn’t have ribs!” and “He was born a woman” and so may other myths kind of made him into an enigma. It didn’t help that he showed up to the red carpet with fake boobs and a naked Rose McGowan at his side, wearing a completely see-through outfit. Back on the more grounded level, we got acts like Beastie Boys, who were on a high from making a huge comeback that summer as “Intergalactic” was everywhere. Backstreet Boys were of course still my sister’s thing so there was that, but now the cynicism in music was dying, being replaced by something louder on multiple fronts. Instead of Beck and Fiona Apple, we were getting more pop music than ever with acts like NSYNC. Hip Hop had started to rise up again with Missy Elliot and Outkast, and rock was going through a change with punk re-entering the mainstream, along with another genre branded Nu Metal that was becoming strong amongst everyone due to acts like Korn and Limp Bizkit breaking out. Regardless of trends, I do remember the now “one hit wonder” song Torn (by Natalie Imbruglia) being a big thing at that particular show, winning her Best New Artist. Weird memory out of that whole show, but alas, all of these things were spun up and spit out in three hours of entertainment that kept the ball rolling along.
By the next year, my music tastes were turning teen. Finally, right? I was super into Limp Bizkit and Blink 182, secretly still loved some pop music, and a lot of the trends from years before were dying down. The ’99 show was a lot more “pop”, but still had a fair bit of controversy. While a fairly innocent Britney Spears debuted on that stage, we also had a lot of hi jinks that would continue a trend for news reporters the day after as artists started utilizing this stage to get noticed and become household names. I haven’t mentioned this much yet, but Madonna was always a mainstay at most shows that I had seen to date, and this was the year she was celebrated with a tribute of sorts. That wasn’t the talk of the show though, as Diana Ross would bounce Lil Kim’s exposed breast in a shocking moment that was talked about for years afterwards. Its those little things, right?
Forget Tupac and Biggie’s moms coming out on stage together, the loudest in the room went home with the headline, and in an age before social media, this was the way to get attention that would keep your fame clock running even longer. I know a lot of people say “MTV isn’t about the music anymore”. They said it back then, too – and looking back as an adult they were sort of right. Music was still being played, but it was all about fame in excess, and celebrating all these genres by putting them on one stage. Someone would explode within those circumstances, and MTV knew that. The show was getting bigger every year, and would only continue to try to top itself as the years passed.
If you followed the show on a yearly basis or even tuned in, it wasn’t about what we would hear, it was “what will happen?”. That is what attracted viewers, and the “moments” began to be more produced. In 2000, we saw that first hand with the explosion of Britney Spears. Before “the kiss”, it was all about Britney stripping down to a flesh colored outfit and singing “Oops! I did it again” in a spinning…thing. We also watched the rise of Eminem and that is kind of hard to re-watch. I’ll admit it, I was an Eminem fan of sorts back then, but I find his whole act much more cringey these days as he kind of reminds me of those kids who would randomly flip off people and be angry at everything for no reason. Not trying to insult his fans by any means, I just think that phase of music has aged a bit poorly, even in comparison to the goofy pop acts of the time.
If you were to ask about the peak for this entire awards show in my memory, it would be 2001. This was the year Britney had the snake, so I guess that was the moment, but I still don’t see how that is still so memorable for so many. It was just a snake. It was also a celebration of Aaliyah, who just died in a tragic plane crash. The world was now acquainted with Beyonce through Destiny’s Child and those VMA moments could write themselves. We had Andy Dick doing random comedy bits on Christina Aguilera, NSYNC basically battling Fatboy Slim on nomination and award counts, and acts like Pink and Alicia Keys finally getting a foothold in pop music, which they would eventually act as a change in the tone of pop as viewers began to mature, looking for artists with substance. I still remember Gwen Stefani and her “ROCK STEADY” rings she had on each hand, as that marketing trick worked and I bought that CD shortly after its release due to the hype that band made for the album that night.
It was probably the greatest VMA set to date honestly, and five days later – things would change drastically. The September 11th attacks kind of brought us all together, but it also shifted music a little more as viewers looked towards sentiment. That 2001 show for some reason sticks out to me as it was just such loud, care-free fun, followed by something so horrific in just a days time, and in the same city, no less.
Even though it was a whole year later, the next year would still have a somber feeling in the air. At the time, pop music was fading quickly. Britney and Christina were all grown up and doing much more mature content, while artists like Pink, Michelle Branch, and the newly crowned princess of punk Avril Lavigne were topping the charts as most teens preferred artists that wrote their own stuff. It was a different time, even though it was just a year later. I think as you become a teenager, which that generation was certainly doing, you move on from things. MTV in 2002 was still relevant as it had no competition, but I remember in school it was kind of starting to be looked down on to even mention the channel. Things in music shift quickly, and Eminem kind of opened the flood gates for hip hop to be more accessible, with artists like Nelly and Ludacris blowing up and taking over the airwaves. After a soft year, the VMAs would come back bigger than ever by paying tribute to its 20th anniversary by opening with Madonna, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake’s reaction to Britney Spears.
That’s right. A same sex kiss on television. Just saying it now seems so silly, but that moment has to be the most talked about moment that went down at the 2003 Video Music Awards. Forget this being Beyonce’s solo debut year, or anything else that year had to offer. That little moment was gold for MTV, and they made sure it was on replay for months afterwards, as it was on every channel the next day. As bad of a reputation as Christina had for being a bit of an ego from others, I always kind of felt bad for her in a humorous way. They cut her camera while she was kissing Madonna to Timberlake, who just went through a breakup with Spears, to show him fake raising an eyebrow and trying to look interested in a performance that honestly was rather tame compared to even some of the stuff we had seen on the show to date. It was an odd infamous moment that gets a bit too much credit, but I am sure will still be talked about for years to come. Just a few months after this show, MTV may have tried to push the envelope a little too much with their Superbowl production of Janet Jackson’s halftime show – banning them from ever producing the event again and changing the way censorship would approach live events permanently. Sure, they are probably not connected in any way whatsoever, but its kind of obvious that the little controversial kiss walked so the exposed boob of Janet could run.
Years passed and I continued to watch the VMAs. I was starting to get into more rock like Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance, and other acts, which were still featured – so I had something to still tune into even though my love of pop music was starting to wane a bit with age. It was kind of like growing up with a family in a weird way, watching these artists debut, evolve, and sometimes just disappear. The VMAs would be a way for them to continue to make moments for themselves to attempt at staying relevant. Just a few years later we saw the implosion of Britney Spears with her less than stellar “Gimme More” performance. Rihanna and Taylor Swift were starting to become the household names of the show as they would seem to conquer a few years themselves, while Beyonce slowly pushed Madonna to the side and became the most celebrated artist for the network. We also saw Lady Gaga go from a random artist with a unique sound to being the political voice for a generation, with her meat dress and performance where she bled from the stomach while hanging afterwards. There was a lot in the decade that followed. MTV tried hard to keep the spirit of its show alive, but it never really lived up to its own success as the internet grew larger.
From about 2015 onward, artists didn’t need MTV anymore. If they wanted to say something controversial or garner attention, they just posted online on social media. Performances didn’t matter as much as a simple post could do the same for their careers as an entire night of drunken fun at the VMAs, and MTV never managed to keep up with the cycle of the internet. Music also changed dramatically as we all grew up and moved on. Billboard charts now just track algorithms, meaning your top 40 are just videos that are being watched, meaning it can be artists who are making a “meme” song at number one or just with a passionate fan base who build that count, so a lot more manufactured artists have come into the picture, changing what pop music even is. Music is also different as its harder for modern artists to sound better live due to the amount of production and computer modified audio that goes into both voice work and instruments. Sure, the VMAs lives on, but those are for today’s kids, and I just don’t fit the audience demographic anymore.
I’m in my mid-thirties now and prefer to just listen to Billy Joel rather than most modern artists as my tastes have went backwards a bit, and my own cynicism will probably not allow me to feel normal watching a modern VMA production. That’s fine though. I’ve gotten older and things change, but I still smile thinking about those VMA nights and how much fun they were. It was almost like everything from one entire scope of pop culture could fit into a room and somehow, for better or worse, it all worked and made the viewer feel like they were a part of something special, because lets face it, we were.
The VMAs started long before 1997 and I am sure there were older fans of the channel then who were as cynical then as I am now, and that is just growing up I guess. Either way, whether it be Britney Spears, or Green Day, Marilyn Manson, and so on – I have a lot of gratitude for MTV and all of that over-the-top fanfare that made this production sing as it truly sculpted my own musical identity and what it is today by introducing me to artists I would have never gave a chance otherwise. That’s a pretty great parting prize to walk away with from what was the greatest and most controversial awards show to ever exist.
LOS ANGELES – September 8, 2023 – Netmarble, a leading developer and publisher of high-quality mobile games, has launched the first update for its new strategy title GRAND CROSS: AGE OF TITANS. This Cross Dimension game update includes a variety of new content and features that will bring players to extraordinary experience.
Starting today, players can join one of 3 factions (Past, Present, and Future) to fight against formidable monsters located at various points on the map. Each faction is created, regardless of Kingdom or Alliance affiliation, to provide an opportunity to cooperate with a variety of other players. The ultimate goal is to defeat the final boss who resides at the center of the map. The boss appears every 15 hours and can only be attacked with Titans. Certain parts of the map can only be accessed with Air units, which provide an advantage on the battlefield to those players that utilize these units.
Cross Dimension Coins are provided as the main reward for completing daily and season missions which include defeating the final Boss. Cross Dimension Coins can be used to purchase items and resources at the exchange shop exclusive to the content. Requirements to participate in this content include a 15 Castle Level or above and Kingdom has to be at least a 20-day old. This content will be held every two weeks, Friday through Sunday.
Developed by Netmarble F&C, the maker of the popular RPG game Seven Deadly Sins: GRAND CROSS, players will enter a thrilling new strategy game experience at GRAND CROSS: AGE OF TITANS. Large-scale, immersive siege wars engulf the world of Skyna, across land and air, presented in beautiful anime art style graphics. Using a dynamic combat system, players will have the ability to plan and execute their unique strategies to overcome their opponent. Multiple troop-types are at the player’s disposal including Infantry, Archers, Cavalry, and Siege Weapons as well as Ranged Archers and Air Units.
Established in Korea in 2000, Netmarble Corporation is a leading developer and publisher of top-grossing mobile games worldwide. Through powerful franchises and collaborations with acclaimed IP holders, Netmarble strives to elevate the gaming experience and entertain audiences globally. As a parent company of Kabam and SpinX Games, and a major shareholder of Jam City and HYBE (formerly Big Hit Entertainment), Netmarble’s diverse portfolio includes Lineage 2: Revolution, MARVEL Future Fight, Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds, The King of Fighters ALLSTAR, The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, and forthcoming PC games like Paragon: The Overprime. More information can be found at http://company.netmarble.com.
PARIS – Sept. 8, 2023– Today, Focus Entertainment and Pathea Games released a new trailer for My Time at Sandrock, the much-anticipated follow-up to the award-winning sandbox simulation RPG My Time at Portia. Currently available on PC via Steam Early Access and the Epic Games Store, the game will launch in V1.0 on Nov. 2, 2023. As the date approaches, a new gameplay trailer entitled “A Builder’s Life” gives insight into the engrossing construction and farming activities that will soon fill your busy-yet-cozy days as a newly arrived Builder in Sandrock.
Build the future of Sandrock
Welcome to Sandrock, a fascinating little city nestled deep within the Wild West. Ravaged years ago, it is now up to you, your tools and your Builder’s skills to restore Sandrock to its former glory.
Your experience will be as adventurous as it will be wholesome. When you are not searching for mysteries and hidden treasures on a galloping horse, use all the resources you’ve found to vigorously reconstruct the city and cultivate its land. Build and customize your headquarters and city buildings, craft and upgrade modern tools and machinery, revive farming and ranching, and fix damaged Sandrock technologies. Discover, buy or unlock new designs to always expand your builder’s crafting book and prove yourself by earning the most enviable title of all: Builder of the Month!
Explore the lives of a huge cast of characters who inhabit the town, each with their own story to tell. Help them all with their personal hopes and desires as well as embarking on your quest to save their home from bandits, monsters, and anything else the Eufaula Desert can throw at you.
Get the Collector’s Edition!
The addictive sandbox experience gets even bigger with the exclusive content of the Collector’s Edition:
“Pensky” plush toy: Friendly and incredibly cute, he loves sliding on the dunes.
Wooden workshop to assemble: A wooden replica of your Builder’s Workshop.
40-page comic book in English: A comic book about the story of Logan the outlaw.
Logan and Nia Standees: Two wooden Standees of Logan and Nia.
Builder’s License to fill out, with an envelope.
A digital copy of the game with a digital download code for Steam.
Additional digital content including two cosmetics: a costume and a swimsuit.
My Time at Sandrock is currently available on Steam Early Access and the Epic Games Store. My Time at Sandrock v1.0 releases Nov. 2 on Bilibili, WeGame, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. Stay tuned for PlayStation 4 release news from My Time at Sandrock social media. Sign up as a Focus member to get exclusive news and upcoming special offers for My Time at Sandrock and the whole Focus catalog.
NEOWIZ, a leading game developer and publisher in South Korea, shared a showcase video today highlighting the eight Legion Arms in Lies of P.Legion Arms are a unique gameplay mechanic in Lies of P where players can equip and upgrade various mechanical arms, each with distinctive abilities and uses in combat. The Legion Arms include “Falcon Eyes”, which shoots out an explosive charge that implants itself into enemies, “Flamberge”, which emits a continuous wave of fire, “Aegis”, which allows players to guard attacks using an incendiary shield, and five others. The Legion Arms provide players with even more freedom during combat encounters by introducing greater character customization to suit multiple playstyles.
Eager fans can pre-order the title now to receive exclusive bonuses! Pre-orders for the digital standard edition come with the “Mischievous Puppet’s Set” outfit, while the deluxe edition adds the “Great Venigni’s Set” outfit, a unique mask, and grants players access to the game three days early. The physical version is presented in an exclusive SteelBook® tome-inspired collector’s box alongside a 92-page artbook. Bonus digital items include the original soundtrack and “The Great Venigni’s Set” outfit and a unique mask to be worn to the festival. A physical standard edition is also available.
Inspired by the familiar story of Pinocchio, Lies of P is an action Souls-like game set in the dark, Belle Époque-inspired city of Krat. Once a beautiful city, Krat has become a living nightmare as deadly puppets run amok and a plague sweeps the land. Play as P, a puppet who must fight his way through the city on his unrelenting journey to find Geppetto and finally become human. Lies of P presents an elegant world filled with tension, deep combat and character customization systems, and a gripping story with interesting narrative choices where the more lies told, the more human P becomes. Just remember: in a world filled with lies, no one can be trusted…
NEOWIZ will launch Lies of P on Sept. 19, 2023. The standard and deluxe editions are available for pre-order for $59.99 and $69.99 respectively, in digital or physical format on PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and participating retailers. The standard edition of Lies of P will also be available via the Mac App Store for models with Apple silicon at launch for $59.99. Supported Mac systems and recommended specs to be announced soon. This game is rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB, PEGI 16, and USK 16.
Fans interested in learning more can follow the game on Twitter, Facebook, and Steam, or join the community on the official Discord server.
