Um Jammer Heather

today is the last day you're able to purchase Sonic Generations standalone on steam. it's not on sale or anything, still full-price before it gets locked behind a bundle of unrelated sonic games. what a scummy move.

don't fall for the FOMO. it's tempting but remember: this is exactly what "certain user-end alternatives" are meant to combat. the last thing sega needs is vindication for this and a reason to set precedents.

MLP season 5 is a marked change in writing direction so far. previous seasons had a mix of adventurous and slice-of-life episodes for the cast to bounce off of, usually for comedy and simple morals at the end. it's been a core part of the show from the start, as expected for its target audience, and S4 felt like the pinnacle of this approach. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Daring Don't, Pinkie Pride and Pinkie Apple Pie were bigger, grander (and higher budgeted) versions of what came before, which is why i constantly see S4 as just, Maximum MLP. the furthest this series' blueprint could be pushed; the basic abstract of friendship taught innumerable ways but now in its best form.

season 5, from its opener Cutie Map, is much lower key and even introspective at times, taking a deconstructive look at previously established elements. Cutie Map downplays the dramatic heft expected of a two-parter and instead raises a worldbuilding question: why have a Cutie Mark? what benefit does it offer socially? if we're all uniquely special, does that not create division? i love how the episode/s answer this too, simply restating the show's message - Friendship Is Magic - but applying it to a new context. Twilight and co. have learned to recognize and love their differences and by doing so, have grown stronger bonds for it. Friendship Is Magic and here's the counter as to why, as opposed to Friendship Is Magic because friends are great and we all know that's a good thing. it's a noticeable step-up in viewer trust for MLP to analyse its own in-universe rules for the sake of specificity, we're not relying on broad understanding anymore.

this isn't to say MLP's suddenly become The Wire or anything, it's still the fun, charming, cozy cartoon i fell in love with from the first. it's just interesting to see it turn inward, like the show's starting to grow alongside its demographic and is now looking for slightly more complex avenues to take itself down.

SAGExpo 2024 has opened, which means naturally there's a new demo of the game out!

Help Nadine save Turquoise Island from a robot invasion.

This new demo refines a lot of the existing content from the previous demos, while also adding language support (Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish) and cutscenes for the very first time! There's really a lot to enjoy!

Grab it here!

I worked super hard on the demo for the past 2 months! Please enjoy!