| Mon 5-11-26
I love my checklists. It gives me a sense of what needs to be done, and a sense of satisfaction when I cross off each item. I'm looking at one right now. Writing in this journal is the last item on it, and I'm looking forward to crossing it off.I've been meaning to get on VRchat more often. I always say I want to with friends, but the truth is setting up my headset is kind of a pain (I have to go through a couple hoops to get my Meta Quest 3 working on Steam) and when I do get it working, I can only play for like an hour or so before I need to stop and lie down. But then I remembered-- wait, I can just go on VRchat on desktop.
Walking around cool maps is my favorite part of VRchat. Hanging out with friends is fun, but it can be exhausting, especially for someone with a very small amount of social stamina. So this evening, I took a stroll around the Willamette Parkview Mall from Dead Rising. I'm so glad that people have made these maps playable in VRchat, it gives me a chance to appreciate the little touches that I wouldn't even notice in their original games. The amount of detail on just the products on the store shelves is really fun to look at.
| Tue 5-12-26
Nothing like a huge tanker of water with you at all times to help you get through the day. When in doubt, sip.Today I played a Yume Nikki fangame I've had downloaded for a while now called Iris. I love Yume Nikki fangames, they're basically playable museums of the dev's art. This one had an interesting mix of hand drawn and mixed media art. Some of which was actually starting to freak me out a bit, as I was playing pretty late at night. I never know what the hell is going to be in the next room.
Here's a link to the game!
| Wed 5-13-26
I've never really been a fan of analogue horror. I really like the art that goes into it, but as a medium to tell a story, it's just not that interesting. I think a part of why I feel that way is that most of it is made by younger people who don't really have a solid story in mind, and are just sort of making things up as they go. Maybe that could be fun for some people, but I dunno.Today I watched an analogue horror series called Nufox. It's about... an OS that can predict the future? I think? I'm honestly not sure, and to be honest the story it presented didn't wow me. I *did* think the art was cool at least. I feel like when it comes to digital horror (or whatever the accepted term is nowadays), I'll be forever chasing that Petscop high.
Here's a link to the playlist of videos in the Nufox series.
| Thu 5-14-26
Didn't really know what to do tonight, so I decided to see if I could find anything else of note in Iris. I found a couple of collectibles, but nothing really new. I can tell this was a smaller project by the dev, a lot smaller than a lot of Yume Nikki games I've played. Still though, it was a good time.
One interesting thing I found was an effect simply called "Dad". "Dad" seems to refer to this strange red figure with a noodly arm I've seen a couple times in the game. With the reucurring themes of strange noodle-like objects, I'm sure one could make a reasonable attempt as dissecting the game's underlying themes. I'll leave that to you though.
I did some snooping in the game files to see if there was anything else I missed, and other than a few collectibles, it seems like I saw most of what the game had to offer. I would've liked to see the ending, but oh well. Yume Nikki fangames are very much about the journey, and it was a fun journey. I definitely need to check out more fangames, which thankfully is easy to do with the Yume Nikki Online project.
| Fri 5-15-26
I was very tired this evening, and didn't really feel like playing any games. So instead, I watched the pilot for Gameoverse, the new show being produced by Glitch.It was pretty good, I could see myself tuning into new episodes. It makes me wonder what the future of Glitch is going to be like after Digital Circus ends. I imagine they'll be fine, but Digital Circus is so huge that it might leave a chasm in the studio once it wraps up. I hope Gameoverse does get greenlit though, along with Knights of Guinevere. Gaslight District I could pass on though, sorry.
| Sat 5-16-26
I tried to go on a fun silly lil shopping trip but it ended up becoming a bummer due to an anxiety spike.Today I played a game called Easy Delivery Co. The gameplay involves taking delivery jobs in a horribly depressing snowy mountain town, while managing resources such as gas, energy, and body temperature.
This game scratches the itch I've been having of a game that's Animal Crossing but depressing. There are NPCs you can talk to that are cute little cats that kind of remind me of Miis, but they're in these dingy stores you pick up deliveries from. The contrast of the cute cat characters and the really lonely, isolated feeling is a unique experience. I'm very sleepy typing this, so apologies for the word salad.
The game doesn't seem to be very long, so I'll probably play it a bit more. The low poly snowy enviroments remind me of some games I played as a kid. Maybe I'm thinking of a racing game like Snowboard Kids? It's a vibe.
| Sun 5-17-26
I was in a cranky mood today, this has not been a good weekend. My anxiety spiked bad yesterday and it killed my mood. So I decided to take it easy and play another Yume Nikki fangame, this time one that was available on the Yume Nikki Online Project.COLD lets you know you're in for an interesting one as soon as it starts. Every piece of text outside of the dream world just says COLD, even on the menus.
This game is a lot more cinematic than your typical YN fangame. There are multiple cutscenes and scripted events, which normally I'm not too crazy about in YN fangames. But I had a good time with this one.
I had to use a guide to find all the effects since this is a fairly cryptic fangame, despite it being pretty short. I think next time I play a fangame, I should at least look up the speed ability to help make the rest of the game easier. In COLD, it takes the form of what I think is a trashbag asphyxiating the main character.
Not a whole lot of screenshot worthy moments in this game, I'm sad to say. Still, it was neat. I think the next YN fangame I'll play is Braingirl. I checked it out a tiny bit and I think I would enjoy it.
| Mon 5-18-26
Still in a cranky mood today.I checked out Braingirl this evening. First of all, this might be the best apartment I've seen in a YN fangame. There's a bathroom, a kitchen, a balcony... all completely pointless, but it just being there feels very cozy, for a lack of a better word.
This is a very nice looking fangame. A lot of YN fangames have areas that utilize simple repeating tiles, but every area I explored felt very natural. The surrealism was kept very low.
Actually, the horror was pretty minor in this game. There was only like a couple areas that gave off a creepy atmosphere, which honestly was a disappointment. I like my YN fangames to lean more into the surreal and creepiness.
Also, this game is very much a work in progress. That's not a bad thing, but it's really disappointing to find what looks like a warp to a new area only to be told it's still being worked on. I would rather there just be nothing there...
Overall, Braingirl didn't do much for me. If I play another YN fangame, I'm going to look more for a horror focused one. COLD was a bit more to my tastes.
