Catching Up
It's been quite some time since I have updated the site, so this is going to be quite a hefty blog post. I'll try to put the more important stuf towards the beginning but no promises.
This site
I have been quite distanced from not only sponduliocity but neocities as a whole for a few months, checking in here and there but largely away. I have not been up to much in my absence so the update to the site is not especially massive this time. There is one brand new page to archive my Mario Paint art. I saw some streamers playing mario paint recently, as it just got added to the Nintendo Switch Online service, and I had seen mario Paint plenty of times before (Joel's iconic video, Grayfruit's more recent visit, etc) but I had never tried it for myself. As someone who likes to draw silly pictures and compose silly music, I figured it was about time I fiddle around with mario paint myself. I never would have expected that I'd enjoy it as much as I did. I made quite a bit of art in mario paint all in the span of a few weeks. I Have yet to compose a new song in the composer, but I did spend a little time remaking one of my songs in it. Unfortunately, short of opening OBS and recording it that way, there is no real way to get the songs out of mario paint, so I have been hesitant to invest any real time into it. That is the issue I ran into with Warioware DIY when I made a lot of songs there. I found myself wishing I could just export them as an audio file and have them on my pc. Mario Paint is also less robust of a composing software, with 3 note polyphony, as warioware offers 3 main channels AND percussion, allowing a fuller arrangement. Regardless though, my experience with mario paint has been extremely positive and I imagine I'll continue to make a few more drawings in it, as it is a very satisfying experience and one with basically no pressure. One thing I have found when working with video game soundfonts, when your tools are rudimentary, there is less of an expectation to produce something amazing, and if you do, it's all the more impressive.
Beyond the mario paint art page, small adjustments to the site are planned, maybe they'll even be implemented by the time anyone reads this. One of the games on my game recommendations page has released. It was only a demo when I recommended it, so I will adjust the description to reflect the game's release. Also, since last I've worked on this site, I have made an account on Backloggd, a website similar to Letterboxd, but for video games. Essentially, a service for tracking and rating every video game one has played. My list is surely not comprehensive, but I have listed over 1000 games so far and hope to keep up with it as I play new games. I will link it on my gaming page to provide a more comprehensive list of games I like than is currently available.
The next episode of the podcast I cohost, Ankylos Game Club, should be airing soon. Along with Ted (Ankylos), I played through Advance Wars for the GBA. We recorded the episode already and it is just in the editing process, then it should be up soon. The next game has been decided already but I think that should be left to be announced when episode 2 airs. I have already finished playing episode 3's subject, so stay tuned for that if you are interested in the podcast.
-End of sponduliocity related topics-
What I have been up to
Gaming
I have been steadily gaming as usual. As mentioned earlier in this entry, the game Artis Impact has released. I had been waiting years for this game, and had played the demo repeatedly in the lead up to the game's release. I think the game has incredible strengths and am glad it finally released, however, I do think there are certain shortcomings that unfortunately keep the game from living up to what I had thought possible with a full release. The narrative as a whole feels largely unrewarding, which is such a bummer because I feel like a lot was set up very well, but just never really executed on. That being said, I enjoyed my time with the game and still recommend it, especially if you haven't been anticipating this game for years like I have. Other than Artis, I replayed some of Tears of the Kingdom again, which is very funny for a game I supposedly have great disdain for LOL. I played about 60 hours this time I think, and never did a single main story dungeon because I really do hate all the mandatory progression parts of the game. Also played the Demos for Mina the Hollower and the new Shinobi game from SEGA. I hated the Mina demo quite a bit. I don't think the game really works. There are a lot of different ideas and gameplay elements here from different inspirations and I do not believe they blend into a cohesive experience. The demo was also remarkably short. The Shinobi demo on the other hand was quite excellent. I have never played the old Shinobi games, but this one looked quite different and fast paced, which it in fact is. Other than that, a lot of the gaming I was doing is related to the next episode of my podcast, which I shouldn't spoil.
Anime
I have really been enjoying this season of anime. There are a few series I have been keeping up with weekly, which is unusual for me. I got caught up on One Piece around the time Egghead started, and have been current ever since. I think this arc has some considerable pacing issues, but that's par for the course with one piece at this point. Dandadan season 2 is airing now, which is largely very good. I think the series's humor can miss the mark for me sometimes, but other than that, it's pretty solid. Since Mob Psycho 100 is my favorite anime, Dandadan is up against some heavy scrutiny since it occupies a similar space as an occult/psychic powers/exorcism type anime. One of the shows I have been anticipating that is airing now it City the Animation. This series is essentially a successor to Nichijou, which is very dear to my heart. So far, City has been exclusively excellent and worth the wait for. The last series I am currently watching is My Dress Up Darling. This series is a romance anime about a cosplayer, and I watched season 1 as it aired and really enjoyed it. I have been enjoying season 2 as much if not more and I think it's rather well made and compelling.
Umamusume
Now that I have talked about gaming and anime, how about an anime game? I started playing Umamusume Pretty Derby at the beginning of July and have been very into it since. I watched a few episodes of the anime back when it was airing, but did not stick with it. So I was familiar with the source material going int, but not especially sure I'd like the game. That being said, the game is pretty incredible. The gameplay loop is engaging and stimulating for many runs through the carrer mode. If you have heard about the game and dismissed it, I sincerely suggest you reconsider and just give it a try. In addition to the gameplay being great, the characters are great. My favorites are Maruzensky and Mayano Top Gun, but I also really like Mejiro McQueen, Silence Suzuka, and Narita Brian.
EVO
Since my last update, the fighting game tournament EVO happened. I watched a good deal of it, some of it with Ted. and then top 8 on Sunday of City of the Wolves and Guilty Gear Strive. I was busy later that night and missed Tekken and SF6, but I am very happy I was able to catch City of the Wolves especially. Top 8 was really cool and the game looks awesome. In addition to watching EVO, that week, I played fighting games with some friends of mine. I played BlazBlue Centralfiction with Ted, then old miscellaneous fighting games with O-Range in Fightcade. The standout game of that session was absolutely Avengers in Galactic Storm. The game was incredibly funny and very charming. I have not seen an abundance of fighting game content on Neocities, so I am curious, if you are reading this, are there any fighting game players here? Let me know if you play fighting games/what your favorites are.
Wrapping up
Thank you to anyone still supporting Sponduliocity, I really appreciate how kind everyone has been throughout my entire experience with neocities. I can't promise a renaissance, or Sponduliocity 2.0 any time soon, but I doubt this is anywhere near the site's final form. We are coming up on 20k views, which is staggering. A few months out sitll is Sponduliocity's one year anniversary which is very cool. I know a lot of sites have been on here WAY longer, but even one full year feels like such a milestone. Also how do you pronounce Sponduliocity? The right way or the wrong way? There is a way I personally intend for it to be proncounced obviously, but I do like leaving it uncertain in case there are any avid believers in either option. Maybe when we hit one year, I'll make a Sponduliocity discord server, if there is any demand for that. Maybe I should call that Sponduliocity City LOL that'll really throw a wrench into the pronunciation discussion.
With that all said, I think that's all I have for you for today.
If you made it this far and read all of this: Wow! You must be kind of a creep! Thanks for being that interested in my ramblings. As always, in addition to the things I have talked about, there are a few more secret projects in the works that should be coming to fruition somewhat soon, stay tuned, I'll keep you posted.
Site of the day: Ovengoats
Site of the day is usually chosen randomly, but for this one, just yesterday I was looking at the fanart booru for grayfruit, my favorite streamer, and I stumbled upon this. Small world! Fanart submission from one of my neocities mutuals, so as such, check out the fanart, their site, and grayfruit!
-Jake Spondulio
