Vol. 1 October 2011
Spooky Halloween Cosplay
The Importance of Graphics in Video Games Game Feature: Knytt
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Knytt
Contents
Page 8
Literature Section Book review: Green Angel by Alice Hoffman Book Art
Game Section Featured Game: Knytt Game Art
Film and Animation Section Movie Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes TV Show: My Little Pony
The DC Team Contact Us Credits
Literature Groups on DA Page 5
The Importance of Graphics in Video Games Page 12
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Halloween Cosplay Feature Page 14
We here at the DC are proud to bring you the first ever issue of our web magazine. Everything you see has been put together by a team of only a few people. The links you see are fully functional, and we encourage you to visit the pages of the artists and sites featured. We hope you enjoy reading our articles and come back for more next month! -The Dragon’s Claw Team
My Little Pony Page 20
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[THE DRAGON’S CLAW] Book Review
Green Angel by Alice Hoffman Reviewed by AJ Green Angel is a really interesting sort of book. Though you’ll find it in the young adult section, I wouldn’t consider it strictly a teenager’s novel. The story is a first-person narrative told by a girl named Green, whose family dies in a catastrophe of some sort. The setting is surreal and nearly postapocalyptic, with the bleak landscape, ashes, and everyone either trying to survive or trying to forget everything that had happened. There’s no indication as to where or when this story takes place, and that makes it all the more interesting; it’s a story that could happen to anyone. Alice Hoffman’s writing style for this story is unique, and personally, I loved it. The wording is simple, yet powerful and effective. It gives the reader just enough detail to picture a scene without cluttering the text with descriptions. Dialogue is italicized rather than written in quotes, and in the setting, it makes you wonder whether the words were really spoken or if they were figments of a depressed imagination. The overall plot of Green Angel delivers a message of healing and recovery, both as a society and as an individual. You see characters deal with the tragedy differently, some taking it in stride, and others spiraling towards self-destruction. There are a lot of metaphors, and the vague descriptions really heighten that surreal feeling the book has. You never truly know if Green’s experiences are mystical or complete chance. Overall, I think Green Angel is very well done. It’s not a long story by any means, and it’s certainly worth the time to read.
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Literature Groups on DeviantART Looking for a place to share your fantasy and sci-fi stories? Here are a few groups from around DeviantART that are great for that sort of literature! #FantasyAuthorsGuild Follow Your Imagination “Do you love fantasy? Do you love sci fi? Do you love literature? Then this is the place for you! We are a group where all you fantasy and sci fi authors out there can post your work.” #FiendishFates The Lighter Side of Dark “Fiendish-Fates was started as a group for readers and writers of dark literature, to join, read, and share their works and the works of others with similar writing talents. Though we focus primarily on dark prose of the mysterious and maybe philosophical nature, we also accept poems and stories of horror and other esoteric subjects.”
#We-Write-Fantasy Magical Storytelling “Do you have a fantasy story that nobody's reading because they can't take the time too? Wanting to break free, but nobody's listening? Well here's a group ready to give feedback. ”
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Join AJ and thousands of other writers for National Novel Writing Month! The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days. With a community full of support and encouragement, it’s a challenge that’s fun to take on together!
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Book Art Feature
←Undead Much? Got Zombie II by Velvet-Moonlight Commissioned by author Stacey Jay for her books You Are So UNDEAD To Me and UNDEAD Much?
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[THE DRAGON’S CLAW] Featured Game
Knytt and Knytt Stories By AJ Knytt is a freeware platformer made by Swedish game designer Nifflas. The game follows a little creature called the Knytt, who gets abducted by an alien. When the ship crashes into an asteroid and lands in pieces on an alien planet, it’s up to the Knytt to collect the pieces from around the world so he can get home. The world is very colorful and well-designed, with some puzzles and secrets along the way. Enemies are present, but there is no fighting – only avoidance. The Knytt can only move, jump, and climb up walls, so the player has to figure out ways to traverse the map using limited functions.
The world is very open, but still small enough that it’s not intimidating. There are people sitting around fishing and doing other routine tasks as you wander around. The music is soft and sort of whimsical. The world has a generally pleasant and relaxed feel to it. Knytt Stories builds upon the original game, taking a new character named Juni on a bunch of new adventures. Juni’s story introduces some extra functionality, allowing double jumps, slow falls, and jumping higher, among other things. Features are collected as you progress through the game, and there are often places where you will need to return once you have better upgrades.
[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] The Knytt Stories download comes with an adventure called “The Machine.” It’s not terribly long, but it is slightly more challenging than the original Knytt. Also available is the level “A Strange Dream,” which has a very large world with many secrets. There are several ways to reach the objectives in the Knytt Stories levels. Doing things the difficult, round-a-bout way gets you a secret ending.
One of the best parts of the Knytt Stories downloads is the level editor. There are hundreds of user-made tile sets and backgrounds to make custom levels. There are user-made tutorials around the Internet to help get you started, and user-made levels to play once you’ve beaten the official content.
Knytt is overall a wonderful little game. Download it here and try it for yourself!
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Game Art Feature ←Skyrim Dragon by fullbashreturns
↓Pixel Sword by pacifierboy
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↓Fallout 3 by randomrobskii ↓survive and conquer by Vybeosa
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The Importance of Graphics in Games By AJ The games today look great. There are games with super realistic faces, others with really smooth movements, and some with fields of grass that look like photographs. It's all very good at immersing you in the game play - but is it really necessary? Let's take The Elder Scrolls for instance. I'm a huge fan of Morrowind. The whole world is so thoroughly developed, with a massive assortment of items and tons of NPC's to encounter, all of whom are named. Then we have Oblivion. It's by no means bad. It looks fantastic if your computer can handle it, and the fully voiced dialogue is really nice. The quests are interesting, and you get to do a bunch of fun stuff you didn't have in Morrowind. I was disappointed, however, in how many items, skills, and even how much land Bethesda left out. Personally, I would have enjoyed the game a lot more if they hadn't put so much time into the graphics and instead focused on making a world as detailed as Morrowind.
[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] Even with Morrowind’s graphics so far behind Oblivion’s, I still thought the world looked great. The sky changes as the day goes on, the giant crystals in caves glow, and there are plants everywhere. They don’t move, but that doesn’t seem to make it any less immersive. I hear a lot of people say similar things about Final Fantasy XIII. I've never played it myself, but I have seen it. When my friends list the great features it has, they say one thing: "It's pretty." As nice as it looks, that doesn't make me want to play it. I don't think enough games try for unique-looking graphics. In the end, most have the same goal, and that is to look as real as possible. Okami is a good example of an interesting graphic style. The painted look is still very attractive while making the game stand out. Furthermore, those graphics are much easier to run, so there's more room to work on the plot and mechanics and such.
I'm not saying that graphics are unimportant and that we should revert to pixel art (though pixel art is gaining popularity among indie developers). It'll be really cool to eventually play games where the characters look like real people. I do think, though, that we should focus just a little less on making our games look incredible and put a little more into making them incredibly fun.
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Halloween Cosplay Feature Halloween is a great excuse to get dressed up in a fancy costume. We’ve collected some photos from a few great spooky cosplayers to celebrate the scariest, sweetest, pumpkin-filled day of the year! Follow the links to the artists’ DeviantART pages for even more great cosplay.
The Nightmare Before Christmas By MiYo
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Witch – Left 4 Dead By TraumaCentreGrrl
By NekosRocks
Corpse Bride –Emily and Victor 16 [THE DRAGON’S CLAW]
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Treak and Treat- Kagamine
By Ariru-lunaticOo
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[THE DRAGON’S CLAW] Movie Review
Rise of the Planet of the Apes Reviewed by Tim First, let me just say that I thought Rise of the Planet of the Apes was one of the best movies I’ve seen in years. Here’s a breakdown of the movie, without giving out any important spoilers. The premise of the movie is that the main (human) character is doing genetic research, and he and his team are testing their drug on apes. Through a series of events, which would be big spoilers to reveal, the main character ends up with a baby ape born with the drug already in its system and decides to keep it as a pet. This ape ends up growing up to be more intelligent than most adult humans. All events from this point on lead up to the ape growing in abilities and trying to get himself - and many other primates - to freedom. This movie easily makes the watcher learn to love and root for the primates throughout it, all of them with distinct, unique, and accurate personalities. It was riveting, and a truly great watch. The plot grabs your attention easily and never loses it, and it generates a lot of appropriate emotions to the scenes in the audience, which all movies should do. The CGI graphics are also easily some of the best I’ve ever seen. The apes look 100% real, and you can’t tell that they’re computer generated at all, which is incredible. All in all, this movie was very well made, and I would happily watch it again and I highly recommend it. I felt it was exceptional, and I give it a 9/10. If you’re looking for a well made movie with a well made plot, well made characters, and a feel that can grab and keep your attention, then this is a movie for you.
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Among the People Lost A novel by Audrey J. Ross
Commissions by ismbella
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[THE DRAGON’S CLAW] Show Talk
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic by AJ The newest incarnation of My Little Pony amassed a huge amount of fans with its first season. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic follows a scholarly, somewhat antisocial pony named Twilight Sparkle and her friends through the magical land of Equestria. The first season kicked off with a two-part episode in which Equestria is threatened by an evil pony named Nightmare Moon. The main six ponies wield magical “Elements of Harmony” to save the day, and the rest of the season consists of fun, episodic adventures that have nothing to do with the Elements of Harmony. In September 2011, season two began much the same way. A new enemy, Discord, was brought in, and it was time for the main ponies to do their harmonious magic once again. Discord is a bunch of different creatures, and he’s essentially the embodiment of chaos. He enjoys playing cruel games with the ponies for his own entertainment. He was well-received by avid pony fans everywhere.
[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] In October, fans were ecstatic to see the return of Princess Luna, who appeared in the two-part series premier and then vanished. Her appearance was different this time around, but she contributed very well to a Halloween (or Nightmare Night for you ponies) episode.
Despite being a show aimed at little girls who want to be princesses, My Little Pony has proven to be extremely popular with a variety of fans, most notably among the crowd of men in their twenties who earned the title “bronies.” The smooth vector-style animation and comedy reminiscent of the old Looney Toons cartoons set the show apart from the majority of other children’s shows on television, which is likely part of the reason it caught on so quickly. Whatever the reason, creator Lauren Faust has acknowledged the fan base and thanked them for their continuing support. The pony fan base puts out tons of fan art, stories, and dubovers every day. There’s pony cosplay, human versions of ponies, and pony snacks. It seems that a new rule has emerged from the Internet: if it exists, there’s a pony version. To the bronies out there, that is totally okay.
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The DC Team
AJ
Tim Geary is an avid gamer and eater of spicy things. He’s often spotted leaving his natural habitat with a bag full of snacks and a bottle of hot sauce. He hopes to attend college to pursue interests on wildlife biology and psychology. He is currently researching metaphysical and paranormal phenomena and beliefs from all over the world. His favorite pony is Photo Finish.
Audrey J. Ross spends much of her time on various art projects. She sells jewelry, crafts, and art prints, and she has a book published on Kindle. She plans on going to college for visual arts to further her artistic studies. When not being artistic, she is often cooking, listening to metal, and/or browsing the Internet for hours on end. Her favorite pony is Princess Celestia.
Tim
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The DC on the Web
Facebook Twitter Blogger DeviantART
THE DRAGON’S CLAW WEBSITE
Submit Artwork Get in touch through any of the above sites or email AJ directly if you’re interested in having your art featured in our magazine! What We’re Looking For We accept fan art and original works that incorporate fantasy, science fiction, or gaming. No nudity or extreme violence, please. More info can be found in our DeviantART group. Advertising Contact AJ if you would like to place an advertisement in our magazine. You can message her on any of the above places or email her directly. Join the Team Think you can do what we do here? We’re looking for team mates! Fill out our application if interested. Email AJ at eternal_night11@yahoo.com
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Credits Cover made in Knytt Stories Level Editor by Nifflas; Screenshots from Knytt and Knytt Stories by Nifflas http://nifflas.ni2.se/?page=Knytt+Stories Green Angel cover © Scholastic http://www.scholastic.com Book Art Artist http://velvet-moonlight.deviantart.com/ Morrowind screencapped by AJ, © Bethesda Softworks http://www.bethsoft.com Okami screenshot from Game Cola http://gamecola.net Game Art Artists http://fullbashreturns.deviantart.com/ http://pacifierboy.deviantart.com/ http://randomrobskii.deviantart.com/ http://vybeosa.deviantart.com/ Cosplay Artists http://ariru-lunaticoo.deviantart.com/ http://traumacentregrrl.deviantart.com/ http://miyoaldy.deviantart.com/
[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] http://nekosrocks.deviantart.com/ Rise of the Planet of the Apes image from Entertainment Weekly http://www.ew.com/ew/ My Little Pony images from the MLP Wikia, screencapped from the Hub http://mlp.wikia.com http://www.hubworld.com/ Pony characters made with Pony Creator http://generalzoi.deviantart.com/art/Pony-Creator-Full-Version254295904 Advertisements http://www.shapeways.com/shops/sprocketsandpistons http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005F620IY/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk http://ismbella.deviantart.com/ This entire webzine was made in Microsoft Word 2007 http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Word-2007-OldVersion/dp/B000HCZ8GW
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