Don’t call it a come back, I’ve been here for years…
October is over, so TECHNICALLY drawtrober is over too. I’m conflicted as my prompt list isn’t done, but I’m kinda done, if you know what I mean. Here’s week three:
So, to date, I have completed 19 drawings. And I still want to finish my initial prompt list, but maybe a bit slower. 12 drawings left, maybe I can get them all done over the month of November. But I also want to get back to video games too, and my wrestling comic has been an annoying buzz in the back of my brain. So maybe over the next two months?
Speaking of games…
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What I’m Playing
I jumped back into Death Stranding after a month off. Finished Chapter 6 and 7. Got to brave the mountain during a white-out which was intense, only to find another Super Cell storm that completed chapter 6, and concluded with another dimension/time jump to WWII, and chapter 7.
I briefly took a step into Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which is what I’ll play more consistently once Death Stranding is done. And I’ve been playing Fall Guys, when I get 5-10 minutes to sit down (ie: my lunch break 😉 ).
Back from vacation. Back to work. I believe I can see the future, as I repeat the same routine.
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Still not fully re-activated or re-energized yet. It’s still summer. It’s still hot out. My new computer still sits on the floor, not plugged in or setup in any way. A heavy expensive tripping hazard… Still figuring out what I need to backup off my old computer to transfer over. Photoshop brushes and assets, stuff like that. Everything’s up in the cloud now anyways.
I have been playing some games though, since coming back from vacation. Booted up Darksiders 3 as that had been sitting in my queue for ages. Darksiders: Genesis as well. Also jumped back into Destiny2.
It’s probably been about a year since I last played Destiny. I’ve probably mentioned it before, but I only play Destiny for the story. So I typically jump back in when there’s an expansion. I don’t have friends to play with so I’m locked out of the raids, and multiplayer never really interested me. So I stick exclusively to the campaigns. When I last played, I was going through Shadowkeep. This past week, I bought Beyond Light and The Witch Queen.
Destiny 2 is a solid game with lots of content. If you want story, its there, if you want more, there’s more. End-game, raids, multiplayer, loot, quests – it has it all. And the visuals are amazing. Especially the area/map/level designs and detail. Sure it can feel repetitive at times as you retread a lot of the planets when going through the campaigns, but that just gives you more time to appreciate the level of detail. As I type this, I’m working my way through Beyond Light, before moving on to the latest expansion. And also coincidentally enough, tomorrow at Gamescon there will new Destiny 2 news.
In co-op, played through the latest new level in Human Fall Flat. And playing through Far Cry 6, and Rider’s Republic for fun.
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In the news, I saw that Death Stranding is coming to Xbox Game Pass PC. Somehow the publishers of the PC port got around Sony and got permission from Kojima Games to add the game to PC Game Pass. Not the new Director’s Cut but the original 2020 PC release. So it still remains a Playstation Console Exclusive, but now on the Xbox PC Platform and has Xbox Achievements. Take that Sony.
I’ve had this game for the PS4 since release, and it’s unopened. I honestly just don’t get around to turning on the PlayStation. I still haven’t played Days Gone or Last of Us II and I feel bad. But with this coming to Game Pass, it gives me a reason to try out my new PC as the game rig it was designed to be, play a game I’ve been waiting to play, and get achievements. Win win win.
Also saw that the Saint’s Row reboot releases tomorrow and the reviews have been pretty meh. I got into the Saints Row series with #2, and didn’t make it very far. I did have a lot of fun with #3, and Saint’s Row III was, in my opinion, the best of the series as it had the perfect blend of gang campaign + crazy weird stuff. After III they just went all-in on the weird and it lost a lot of its appeal. Still fun games in co-op though. But, I can understand why they would want to bring it back to its roots. I’ll have to do more digging, read more reviews and actually watch some gameplay before I decide to invest. I got enough in my queue and not enough time, that I don’t really need any new games right now anyways. (Editor’s note: previous paragraphs about Death Stranding notwithstanding – it’s not a new game 😉 )
That, AND I have 18 levels more to unlock in the Season 1 pass of Fall Guys before next week – so I’m busy.
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I’m definitely starting to get a little antsy, feeling the pull to get back to drawing (has it already been a month?), and excited to try out the new rig. So I think that will be my plan this week.
The summer isn’t a very productive time for me. I work all day on the computer, so at the end of the day it’s hard to find the motivation to sit back down in front of the computer again into the late hours of the evening. Plus during the summer, with the heat, I’d rather do anything else than sit in an already warm room.
So I don’t really do a lot. I’ll play games, catch up on TV/movies, or read comics instead.
I did force myself to sit down and draw though, as it had been a month.
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What I’m Drawing
Yeah yeah, another Gwen Stacy / Spider-Gwen, I know. This started out as just a sketching exercise for a warm up – no expectations, and then turned into a painting exercise. Overall I’m happy with it. Her head is a little too round, and I’m not satisfied with the hood shading, but it is what it is. Moving on.
I can always find something I don’t like about a finished drawing, and that’s motivation to start the next one, and do better. And I certainly like starting projects, just not necessarily finishing them. Always have at least 18 work-in-progress pieces I say, so I never get bored. 😉
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What I’m Playing
Fall Guys, and quite a bit. The game recently went free to play and cross-platform, so it’s been my casual go-to when i have some free time. I’m usually good for a few rounds before I move on to something else, but that’s allowed me to rank up to level 40 so far this season, and win a few solo games.
Played and finished a smaller indie game as well, Sea of Solitude. Interesting platforming/exploration/puzzle game like Rime, but simpler. Its about depression and loneliness. Kinda dark, but artistic.
Played through Mortal Kombat 11 main campaign, still got the DLC expansion. Played through Sniper Elite 5 in coop.
Played through Dead Cells after they added the accessibly settings so I can play on easy mode to experience the game through, without struggling. I’m not really a fan of rogue-like games. I prefer to experience the game/story/whatever once through, and move on. So the whole gameplay loop of dying only to start over is tedious.
Also started playing through Hitman 2 – which is frustrating from an achievement competitionist perspective. Hitman 2 includes all of Hitman’s previous campaign levels AND all the achievements all over again. And I really don’t want to play through the game again just to unlock all the achievements. It would be nice if that save just transferred over, which apparently DOES work for Hitman 2 -> 3. But not Hitman 1. Oh well, gamer problems.
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I really need to get back in to the routine of these, but might leave that till after summer vacation. So lets say… September we’ll be back on track. I’ll try my best to update as frequently as I’m able until then.
Idly Playing the Waiting Game 