This is totally a post about Sonic Mania and not about Super Tuesday

So I've been playing Sonic Mania the past few days--

You know, from a series that has been long thought left for dead with its poor performance, I have been very surprised about the series comeback. The way Mania brought Sonic back from the dead and exceeded everyone's expectations.

In recent times I thought Sonic was very incoherent and lacked a lot of direction, and was sure that he was going to drop out. And then people came together to endorse Sonic... to bring Sonic back from the ashes at the last minute. It's been very surprising to see Sonic doing so well.

Just to be clear, we're talking about Sonic Mania.

Sonic Mania. ...*twitch*

End of 2010's

If I had to sum up the 2010's for me in one word, it would be "growth".

Ten years ago I was a bitter arrogant college student (with no smartphone), then met some really creative people. With these creative people, we made a group that created YouTube skits together, we eventually evolved into making games together after founding a business with two close friends of mine. It was through the studio that I was fortunate to meet even more talented and passionate people and it set the seeds for a lot of internships, degrees, and career opportunities for us.

For the second half of the decade I've been splitting my time between Southern California and Las Vegas trying to grow the studio while having a normal desk software career. I got to work for Mozilla Firefox for four years and helped them with their Quantum version that better competes with Google Chrome on load times, CPU usage and reliablity. (I'm still using Firefox as I write this.) I got to fly in an airplane for the first time and see Japan, Canada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Northwest and some of the midwest. Travelling has since become a hobby for me, and since 2015 I've made a point to see somewhere new every year. PS: I don't recommend going to Oregon. I re-established a dormant IGDA in Las Vegas and with the help of even more talented and experienced people expanding it to become one of the fastest growing chapters in the organization.

I wouldn't have expected the political climate to become as divisive as it has, and while some friendships did have to come to an end, I believe there is still a bright future ahead. Despite what political figures and certain celebrities and authors may think, I feel we as a society are becoming more accepting of each others cultures, identities, preferences and tastes as a whole than in any time prior.

Here's to the 2020's. (And yes I have a smartphone now.)

I'm doing great! I'm doing fine! But I am taking a break from blogging for a little while. I've been going all in on the indie game business and we're finally starting to take off.

I may come back to this at some point -- But for now, the best thing I can do mentally is work on my projects and relax with my Nintendo Switch to wind down the day. Also, exercise and healthier eating.

Stay well, and hopefully I'll come back soon when I have a bit more free time.

Pokémon Sword and Shield thoughts - E3 2019

So for that late night Pokémon Sword/Shield rant I promised...

I think restricting the game to only the ones that appear in the regional Pokédex is not a great idea. The designers put themselves into a hole by having 800+ Pokémon and now not enough resources to model and animate them all for the new generation.

You can cite gameplay balance and development concerns for not including them all, but they simply should just be restricted from competitive play if that's the case.

If this is the trend they're going in to combat the growing amount of available Pokémon, then I think it's time for me to move on to other series. It seems hypocritical to play and get attached to Pokémon you've leveled up and trained for 15+ years only to not see it in the newest games based on seemingly random factors or preferences by the developers.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - E3 2019 Thoughts

Link's Awakening on the Switch plays faithfully similar to the Game Boy version aside from having a few extra buttons and some quality of life improvements - It looks cute but it feels the same and that's really great
Probably my favorite game of E3 2019, with VII Remake a close second. Ended up getting some neat swag too.

I have thoughts on Pokémon Sword and Shield but that will require my full keyboard because I have a lot to say about it -- Maybe later tonight

FFXIV Shadowbringers thoughts at E3 2019

I got hands on with Paladin and Red Mage for FFXIV Shadowbringers - I really enjoy the simplified gameplay and how the actions are merged together, especially for Halone/Royal Authority and Verthunder now automatically changing to Verflare Also: Not sure if it was just the party or if it was the boss, but everything hits a lot harder, and Red Mage can't chain Raise as much since it takes a bigger chunk of MP

Final Fantasy VII Remake Thoughts from E3 2019

Played FFVIIR. No photos or videos were allowed. Plays like FFXV but more tactical and more mechanics. Also hi again FFXIII staggers. The reactor is smaller than original FFVII but the boss battle is significantly longer