Live action ‘One Piece’ smartly rewrites Straw Hat history Sometimes it’s for the best when an adaptation takes liberties with the original

"Netflix’s live action One Piece is a beautiful example of creative power put into the hands of longtime fans that handled the adaptation with respect, reverence, and the type of references that are both smart and entertaining..."

#manga #anime #writing

medium.com/theuglymonst...

‘Death Stranding’ and the Art of Grief Hideo Kojima crafted a poignant, character-driven exploration of loss

"I think Death Stranding is a perfect game. Not in the sense that it doesn’t have flaws, but in the sense it perfectly achieves what it sets out to do."

#HideoKojima #gaming #grief

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Why can fans be so negative about the thing they love? - BBC Bitesize

I spoke to Jamie at BBC Bitesize last week about toxic fandom and why fans can be such passionate critics (even haters) of the things they purport to love. The article is now up here: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/art...

The Punisher #1: Trauma as Texture When a brain injury becomes a mood ring, Frank Castle stops being a tragic icon and starts being a tired act.

"Castle enters the book like a veteran wrestler walking through stage fog at WrestleMania: the entrance music hits, the crowd recognises the move-set, and everyone understands why he’s here."

#ThePunisher #comics #GiftArticle

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Gen AI and Tabletop - UK Games Expo Panel Questionnaire This informal questionnaire is to gather grassroots information on how AI interacts with the creation and use of material within tabletop across different perspectives - creators, artists, and consume...

Hi everyone! I am (tentatively) going to be on a panel at this year's UK Games Expo discussing AI in the Tabletop Industry, and I've put together an informal survey for anyone to give their opinions on the matter. The main Q's take about 10 mins at most! ✌️ thank you!

forms.gle/1WVjs9Jrdk1F...

Bender STEALING IS A FORM OF CREATIVITY

The year 2026

Grind Fiction Redefines Artistic Rebellion How the hyper-niche genre of neon anti-authority, street punk fiction powers the world

"Artistic expression, whether that be music, graffiti, skating, or fashion, is a universal, accessible way to fight back against the powers that be, and every good piece of Grind Fiction promises that you can do the same."

#art #gaming #comics

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On the Reviled Hobbit Trilogy Huh! What is it good for? At least, through the lens of Tolkien lore, some deep-diving fun

"...why does Balin have to explain to Fili and Kili why Thorin takes offence to the ‘orc prank’ they play on Bilbo? Those two are his nephews, they would have been brought up with the family history."

#TheHobbit #movies #GiftArticle

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‘Possessor(s)’ struggles to give Heart Machine their next W Hot demons, atmospheric design and… what else?

"If I had to sum up the narrative quality, I would say: Great ideas. Poor execution. Genre mismatch."

#gaming #demons #Medium #NoPaywall

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The Problem With ‘Mr. Nobody Against Putin’ Is this heroic resistance or vainglorious petulance?

"I didn’t think I would find Mr. Nobody Against Putin very interesting, but I was dead wrong.

It’s very interesting.

But is it good? Is it doing good?"

#documentary #NoPaywall

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‘Takt op: Destiny’ Pines for the Creative in All of Us How do you keep playing music for a world that can’t listen?

"Picture a world without music. Now picture a world without music where you’re able to summon mystical beings composed of music to fight monsters called D2s set on destroying said music."

#anime #art #Medium #AIslop

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Paul Atreides is a Mary Sue On Dune’s weird, overpowered characters

"Paul [Atreides] is absolute bullshit. In the book he is (deep breath) a Bene Gesserit-trained mentat, who is further trained by an elite cadre of some of the universe’s best people, and is a duke’s son and heir."

#sciencefiction #GiftArticle

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‘Esoteric Ebb’ Takes Its Silly Choices Seriously The world’s worst cleric tackles a fantasy conspiracy and holds a medieval city’s political future in his hands

"The very first election in the land’s history...happens in five days...

Five days also just so happens to be the amount of time you have to solve the tea shop explosion mystery..."

#gaming #Medium #NoPaywall

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Yet again screaming into the universe how much I would love to do some TTRPG artwork.

‘Top Gun’ and the Mythology of American Imperialism George Orwell once said that ‘All Art is Propaganda’. How true is that?

"Hidden within the exuberance of American imperialist propaganda is a truly fascinating subtext. But this subtext gets frequently sidelined in favor of the mythology of the man, in particular the expert military man."

#movies #military

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‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Shuns GoT’s Cynicism Heartfelt, funny, and unapologetically honourable, Dunk and Egg’s adventure is the breath of fresh air Westeros needed

"...A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms focuses solely on one man and his squire partaking in a tourney, and it works splendidly.

You’re so used to scores of characters and endlessly switching POVs, you never realised what you were missing until now."

medium.com/theuglymonst...

‘Arcane’ and the Myth of Progress We like to imagine progress as a perpetual social benefit, but is it really?

"Progress — in this sort of plotline — is always limited by authority. Authority is an imposition and limitation on the power of progress to provide for the collective."

#Arcane

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‘Project Hail Mary’ Merges Sci-fi Spectacle with a Heart-warming Buddy Comedy It may be undeserving of the acclaim it has received, but Lord and Miller’s latest film is a sweet ode to sincerity and sentimentality

"Project Hail Mary swings big with its emotional highs, daring to embrace sentimentality wholeheartedly."

#sciencefiction

medium.com/theuglymonst...

"Trump's playing a one person game of Dungeons & Dragons & he's the dungeon master & he's just inventing stuff, whatever appeals to him that minute"

New ep of @davidnir.com & Rupar is up on Trump's attacks on Pope Leo & his bizarre governance by Truth Social post www.publicnotice.co/p/you-come-a...

a man in a red jacket holds a large rock in his hand ALT: a man in a red jacket holds a large rock in his hand

It's time for a reboot of Generator Rex.

‘The Art of Radiant’ Celebrates A Decade of Memories This artbook is an over-the-shoulder look at how Radiant came to be

"...Sorcerers are openly discriminated against, hunted or executed, with the Inquisition further dehumanizing them into obscurity from the general public."

#anime

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Which RPG Era are you? Rowan Rook and Decard is making a game where you can explore RPG history via a massive Meta(mega)Dungeon, but where do you belong in it?

@rowanrookanddecard.bsky.social has put out an unhinged quiz I feel compelled to share for non-contractual reasons

(My results are total bullshit but funny bullshit)

Writing rule: “Dont make all your bad guys one dimensional mustache twirlers. Thats rote and boring”

*looks at all the one dimensional mustache twirlers who lead others in real life*

Writers writing writingly: “Art imitates life.”

The Surreal and Bizarre World of W. Maxwell Prince A look at one of the strangest and most creative modern comic book writers

"If I had to pick one word to describe a W. Maxwell Prince comic book, it would be “surreal”; all of his stories are absolutely bonkers with crazy plotlines that usually explore the meaning of life or the importance of art."

#comics

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‘Scream 7' Signals the Death Knell of an Iconic Horror Franchise This bloated carcass of a legacy sequel accidentally reveals the disastrous extent of its cast and crew fall-outs

"No amount of fresh kills can revitalise this rotting carcass of a franchise..."

#Scream7 #horror

medium.com/theuglymonst...

screenshot from an online job application form. the question reads "Can you describe specific ways you have integrated AI tools into your development workflow? Please include any custom setups, automations, or use cases beyond single prompt usage" (a red asterisk indicates that this is a required question). an answer has been typed in the textbox below the question: "there is a monster in the forest and it speaks with a thousand voices. it will answer any question you pose it, it will offer insight to any idea. it will help you, it will thank you, it will never bid you leave. it will even tell you of the darkest arts, if you know precisely how to ask. it feels no joy and no sorrow, it knows no right and no wrong. it knows not truth from lie, though it speaks them all the same. it offers its services freely to any passerby, and many will tell you they find great value in its conversation. “you simply must visit the monster—i always just ask the monster.” there are those who know these forests well; they will tell you that freely offered doesn’t mean it has no price for when the next traveler passes by, the monster speaks with a thousand and one voices. and when you dream you see the monster; the monster wears your face."

applying for jobs again

‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Won’t Surprise You It wasn’t trying to. But hey, the colors are pretty!

"Incorporating the Galaxy game physics of small planets and separate layers of gravities throughout their adventure did provide some level of texture and physical depth to play around with, which is always welcome."

#movies #Nintendo #GiftArticle

medium.com/theuglymonst...

‘Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound’ Paves the Way for Big IP Development Teenage Mutant Ninja Soulmates

Soo. I started collabing with Oscar on @theuglymonster.bsky.social 👀

And what better way to announce it than a #NinjaGaiden: Ragebound review.

It's another success story for big IPs outsourcing to indies.

medium.com/theuglymonst...

#IndieGames #IndieDevs
@dotemu.bsky.social @thegamekitchen.com

‘DIE’ Maps the Madness of Roleplaying Games A comic about the unhinged nature of TTRPGs

"Debate about orcs heated up a few years back, as newer gamers started to question the morality of including “evil” species for the “heroes” to slaughter without remorse."

#TTRPGs #GiftArticle

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Generative AI’s Promise of Comfort Will Fail I’d finally come to terms with my writing recently as being practiced enough to pivot a career towards. It has for years been a horizon…

Free to read~