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I Miss the Sunrise

At the end of everything, hold on to anything.
(Comment on AOOO and not here if you can please I have invites if anyone needs them)

My review series has concluded. An RMN review should follow shortly.

Despite my cantankerousness, I do want to say: thank you for making this game. It was genuinely fun and you clearly put a lot of effort into all the beautiful unique assets, which is more than can be said for a lot of RPG Maker games. Analyzing it has given me a lot to think about regarding writing, characterization, and science fiction, which is part of why it got me into writing fanfic again. I had hoped there would be more depth to it, but maybe that's me judging it as something it was never intended to be.

Good luck on The Tenth Line! (And How Far, I hope!)

Born Under the Rain

Congratulations! I had a review planned, and it seems it will be well-timed.

Pokémon RMN Version Review

I think there's also a matter of expectations. When you label something as Pokemon, I do expect something in the vein of the original's tone unless you say otherwise, and as far as I recall there was nothing in the promotional media leading up to the release to imply the game would include this type of middle school humor. Being more up-front about the game, like explicitly saying "Do you like Pokemon but wish it was more SERIOUS and had REAL HUMOR you could relate to?!?!?" somewhere in the blurb, would be helpful here. Even in a freeware game, it's nice to give the audience an idea of what they're going to get in advance.

Pokémon RMN Version Review

If I may add my log to the bonfire... I think the biggest issue with the Afropup line is the connection to animals. Black people have a long history of being dehumanized and compared to animals, so using a black caricature as the basis for an animal is awkward in ways that the Ralts or Gothita lines aren't. If you want to include a jazz singer, a human character might be a wiser choice.

Edit: For the record, I don't mean to single out the designer here. I dislike Scraggy and Scrafty for the same reasons, and they're far more offensive stereotypes.

Pokémon RMN Version Review

I wonder if it's possible to put an afro on a pokemon at all without cries of racism? It should be. Afros are cool. I want an afro pokemon pls.


Afros are cool, but unfortunately they are overwhelmingly associated with black culture and used as cultural shorthand for blackness in characters, so it would be pretty difficult to dissociate the two. I suppose that's why these sorts of conversations are useful!

author=Liberty
On the other hand, if it had been any other colour than brown, would people then be screaming white-washing and appropriation of culture? (Probably. People like to complain and make mountains out of molehills).


Maybe, maybe not. But I still think that opinions like that are worth considering, instead of being dismissed on the grounds they'd never be satisfied. Social issues are complicated and there may not be an answer that satisfies everyone, but it's still worth weighing the options.

author=Liberty
which, argh, was toned down a little from his original one which is on his site and is much more inflammatory and drama-inducing so yes, it was made for the sake of drama


...So she purposefully toned the review down from the version on her personal blog when publishing it for a larger audience? That seems like the opposite of drama-inducing. :p

Pokémon RMN Version Review

author=Seiromem
Yes yes, I understand, I don't control the stereotypes, I don't control what people think, I don't control jack shit in the world, etc.
I'm not saying you're wrong, or that your perspective doesn't matter and that it's not helpful.
I'm saying you shouldn't get so hung up on a misunderstanding, or even if it's completely intentional, you shouldn't lose your head(and your opinion of a game) and drip venom on one aspect of a game. That one thing shouldn't ruin your whole experience; it's pointless to allow such a thing to happen; It's worthless to you and not worth your precious time getting heated over. Can you be mad? Sure, it's harmful not to get angry at something that angers you and express that anger in this manner (The review was actually pretty well articulated with little out-right flaming, but to have that one aspect be one of your main points on why a game should get a 1 star score? To let that thing drive you absolutely crazy? That's close-minded.


If you're reading an otherwise nice story that constantly reminds you that it considers you subhuman garbage and constantly reminds you that real society treats you like subhuman garbage, I do think that could ruin your whole experience regardless of the work's other merits. People tend to play games for escapism, and being reminded of the hurtful stereotypes experienced in the real world is... kind of the opposite of that.

Pokémon RMN Version Review

They aren't always and can be positive in the at least the vaguest of a sense.

Perhaps, but that's not your call to make. As Solitayre said, it's important to get outside perspectives from the people actually affected by this. Even if you're not trying to be racist, it's still possible to be unintentionally hurtful. Someone hurt by ignorance rather than malice still has a perspective worth considering.

Pokémon RMN Version Review

author=Seiromem
author=argh
I suppose I should have seen this coming when the Jazz Singer pokemon was unveiled.
Because a Jazz Singer Pokemon could only ever be racist, right?
Oh, wait, if it had been a White Jazz Singer Pokemon, would you not have thought so?

Yes, stereotypes are always at least... shall we say questionable. It's demeaning to reduce a group of people to a single trait, especially since that single trait is so often negative. Afropup, in particular, evokes imagery that was historically used to mock black people and compare them to animals, so, yes, I think it's reasonable for people to be offended by that. The fact that they're literally animals you catch and own just compounds the awkwardness further.

Pokémon RMN Version Review

author=Liberty
Giving this review attention means that you'll be causing the drama they want you to.


I see no reason to assume this is all the reviewer wants. Can we not instantly assume the worst of people, please?

Hm, it's a shame the game goes to this extreme. I admit I was hoping it would preserve the feel of the original games at least a little, since I actually like that. I suppose I should have seen this coming when the Jazz Singer pokemon was unveiled.

Dark2.png

author=Housekeeping
Yeah, the ceiling is dropping as well. Inside this tunnel, you can only move left/right, so I'm hoping it reads more like a profile view when you're actually there. Having a ceiling drop in a top-down view is tough since the ceiling is normally invisible, so I hope I'm conveying that clearly enough.


Hm, yeah, the stripes on the maroon part make it look primarily wall-like, but it doesn't get much shorter in the narrower section, which I think is what's confusing me. Maybe if the wall gets chopped down more than the yellow floor(?) it would be clearer? Or maybe it's just clearer in action.