A bed of roses

 So, I've been watching a YouTuber known as PixiePoison90 do a Let's Play of a game I had on the PS2 called 'Pirates: the Legend of Black Kat', which I bought mainly because of the female protagonist.  It's a Western RPG, so battle is real time and you have a growing list of objectives to fulfil.  Also, the story is minimal.  Whilst I enjoyed elements of the game (the minimal story is still interesting and the graphics look pretty good even now), there were things I didn't like/were too far out of my comfort zone, the real time battles being the most obvious example.  I found some cheat codes on line and used them to upgrade to the best ship and to make myself and my ship invulnerable.  I did not indulge in the ones that dressed Kat in a bikini...  Anyway, for all these reasons, I only played the game once but it was nice to watch someone else playing it (much better than I did 10+ years ago!) and to feel a bit of nostalgia.

Then I discovered that Pixie also had a Let's Play for 'Primal' (not to be confused with 'Far Cry: Primal' or 'Primal Fear'!).  Again, a Western RPG, played before I understood the distinction or how to tackle real time battles.  This one I know I played more than once but it developed a glitch in one of the boss battles and I couldn't get past it.  I did also have a cheat code for invulnerability that I used in the final boss battle.  The story is pretty linear and the only sidequest I can remember is collecting Tarot cards but it has a lot of charm.  The relationship between the MC, Jen, and her sidekick, Scree the Gargoyle, the fact that it's a 'real' companion game where each character has their part to play, AND the fact that the MC is female.  So, imagine my delight when I found out it is available to buy on the PlayStation Store for the PS4!  If only I'd known that when I came to the end of Witcher 3.  Anyway, the plan is to buy it on pay day whilst it's still available (because I missed 'Legend of Dragoon' - ;( ) and play it when I finish FFXII:ZA.

Speaking of FFXII:ZA, I am about four hours in and rotting in Nalbina Dungeon.  So far, I've given Vaan Shikari, Penelo White Mage, Balthier Machinist, and Fran Archer.  I'm undecided about whether Ashe or Basch should get Knight, but I think it'll probably be the latter because I'll get the opportunity sooner.  I made Penelo a White Mage because she'd already learned Cure - but, of course, I hadn't bought it, so she couldn't use it. Duh!  I am just in awe of how beautiful - how even MORE beautiful - it is.  The texture on Old Dalan's rugs is ridiculous - they're the background for a (fairly) minor character but they look amazing.  It all feels a bit easier than I remember but maybe I'm just a better gamer, now!

Well, that's enough gamer-talk.  Time to check emails and then get this day underway.

 I am REALLY enjoying Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, much more than the main game. I'm actually seeking out sidequests and getting quite excited about my home improvements. And the Big Bad looks like a VERY interesting character. Of course, the home improvements require cash, so I'm back to looting everything and everyone to get stuff to sell.

Even on 'story only' (ie VERY easy) and with Geralt at level 40+ the battles are challenging. I've improved my swords but I haven't found any armour I like better than the stuff I got about 3/4 of the way through the main game. But I am using my potions and signs, and dodging. So, yeah, it's all good.

All of the sidequests in Witcher 3 have an interesting little story behind them and one of the ones in B&W (The Hunger Game) is actually heart breaking. Geralt is a true defender of the weak and I'm enjoying making those choices for him.

And another (Great Balls of Granite) was just silly. But hey, who doesn't like a bit of silly?

Enjoyed this week's Doctor Who, 'The Empress of Mars'. The actress playing the Ice Warrior Queen did a great job, considering most of her face was covered. And Ben Kingsley's son did an excellent job of playing a cad :D Partly it was an exploration of the British attitude of 'we see it, we like it, we take it', which has led to so many of the problems we face today. And partly it was about how getting to know someone very different to you can lead to co-operation. And boy do we need some of that!

OK, that'll do for now. Bye, DW.

 So, the cast list for DOAICS is pretty long, even though the story only focusses on a few of them. But that's going to change now that Brad has such a pivotal role in the revised version. And Susaal seems to want in on the action - just not sure how to manage him. Hmmm... need to think about that.

Anyway, using the writing.com flash fiction prompts is really interesting. They are totally random (today's was 'write a story including the words window, whistle, pin') but the selection of the character isn't - it's just whoever is next in the list. Of course, the list was compiled rather randomly in the first place - it was just whichever character I thought of, rather than their importance to the plot! So, Susaal and his father appear before Brad, even though Brad was arguably more important to the story (certainly as far as Langley's state of mind went) even in the original version. But, Brad is now going to have a much more prominent role.

But I am finding out some interesting stuff about them. With flash fiction pieces, I don't usually have much of an idea of where the story is going. I pick a character, a location, and a bit of a scenario - and see where it goes. So far, they have all turned out pretty coherent and, as I say, interesting.

The plan is: finish the flash fiction pieces for each character; rewrite the plot sheet; insert the new words; smooth it all out; do a plot edit (does this REALLY make sense?); do an edit per character (or, at least, for each major character); possibly do a tech edit; do a final smoothing out edit. This is going to take a while!

Work-wise, I'm actually getting into this quality stuff. It is definitely 'what we do' but we aren't explicit about it. At the very least, tracking it for myself will a) give me something to do and b) boost my skill set.

It's Quantico on the telly tonight, so finishing FFXV will probably happen tomorrow. Then it's W3 DLCs, here I come!

Saturday could not have gone any better. The husband liked all of his prezzies, the daughter, grandson and I did some shopping together without falling out, and we got to the restaurant in plenty of time.

The food at Meet was really good. Everyone had what they wanted and came away replete. Everyone had a good time and there was no grumbling or falling out. And the bill was quite a bit smaller than I was expecting.

We finished off with a little stroll along the river, which blew away some cobwebs and livened us all up again. It wasn't warm but it wasn't really cold, either. Then daughter and grandson came back to ours for a bit before going home.

I then watched Doctor Who, which was brilliant (of course!). Slamming up against Bill's ethnicity was handled very well. I'm glad they're making something of it, because trying to ignore it in the case of Martha was, I think, a mistake.

Yesterday was supposed to be a 'chill out day', including some FFXV. I hadn't had a chance to play since Wednesday, so hadn't downloaded the update. It took HOURS! This gave me chance to watch a couple of things on the Tivo, but it wasn't what I had planned. I did eventually get to it (beating Leviathan and getting to the part where Ignis is blind), but it wasn't quite the day I had planned.

Today is the May Day Bank Holiday, so I shall be cleaning the bathroom, mowing the grass, and hoovering upstairs. And gaming.