026: SoraRabbit Does an Anniversary

September 13th, 2019 was a very important day in my life. September 13th was the day that I published my very first blog post here at The SoraRabbit Hole. Although a lot of work led up to that event (buying a domain, designing the site, crafting the concepts, general brainstorming), the date I unleashed my first post upon the world is the date that I truly started my journey in doing what I wanted to do with my creative life. (It was also on Friday the 13th, which I've previously established is a lucky day for me. I did that on purpose, with the intention of having that luck instilled forever in my blog.)

Look out Sora!

It’s been a year. A year full of forays into geekiness, a few deep moments, some genuine feels, and a lot of laughs. I wanted to celebrate my first year as a blogger, and I figured the best way to do that would be to also celebrate the one who made it all possible. The one who believes in me more than anyone else... even more than I believe in myself sometimes.

About four weeks prior to that fateful Friday the 13th there was another important date that occurred in August of 2019. That was the day I married my best friend, the woman known to readers of this blog as Cocoashade. Yes, we were married less than a month before I launched The SoraRabbit Hole. So what better way would there be to commemorate these two momentous events than to tribute them both in one post?

It us.

Being married to a fellow geek is pretty sweet. We share many of the same interests. And those we don’t share, we always give a fair attempt at appreciating. She introduced me to Game of Thrones, Attack on Titan, the Walking Dead comic, China IL, and Welcome to Night Vale. I introduced her to Yu-Gi-Oh, Marvel comics, Battlestar Galactica, Dragon Ball, Animal Crossing, and Adventure Time. I got her hooked on the MCU movies and convinced her to give the Star Wars prequel films a second try. She got me to try the Hobbit movies and Magic the Gathering. Her whims led me to buy a Switch, start getting Black Panther and Moon Girl comics, and try out many games and shows I wouldn’t have given a second look otherwise. Together we experienced legendary events such as Twin Peaks the Return and the end of the Skywalker Saga. I mentioned in a previous post that we had a geek-themed wedding. This included fun details like a homemade Keyblade, a photo area with video game props, and Pokemon terrarium centerpieces.

There are many more examples of the things we’ve introduced to each other and shared over the years, but I think you get the picture. This wouldn’t be a proper SoraRabbit Hole blog post if I didn’t get into detail about some specific nerdy stuff. So in this post I’ll talk about three of the games we’ve been playing together lately.

Heart of the cards! (Credit: Konami, Kazuki Takahashi)

I’ve always been a gamer, but I’ve rarely had a Player Two before. And when I did, our gaming styles or temperaments clashed to the point where it wasn’t always fun. One of the great things about my relationship with Cocoashade is that we can enjoy a wide variety of games together. For tabletop our go-to is usually Yu-Gi-Oh, but I’m saving that for a post all its own. (Sneak peek? Foreshadowing? You decide.) On console we have logged a lot of hours on both Animal Crossing New Horizons and the Mario Party series. (Both of which have posts which are worth a look if you haven’t read them!)

I’m always on the lookout for video games the two of us can play together. We have tried many over the years: Super Smash Bros for Wii U, Mario Kart 8, Pokken Tournament, Kuukiyomi… We get some fun out of them before getting distracted by other games. Some of them don’t work out as well for us. Scott Pilgrim Vs the World The Game, Lego Jurassic World, Contra Shattered Soldier, and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime are a few that come to mind. (I was disappointed that we couldn’t mesh in LDS. That one was a cute game and lots of fun. We’ll probably try it again sometime.) There are also games that we watch each other play: Rogue Legacy, Binding of Isaac, The Witness, the Telltale games. But the most fun is when we can each grab a controller and do some co-op. In my search for one of these games, I discovered Overcooked.

Time to cook under pressure! (Credit: Ghost Town Games)

Overcooked is a local cooperative cooking game developed by Ghost Town Games. We have it on the Nintendo Switch. In this game 1-4 players operate an ever-changing kitchen, working together to fill food orders against a time limit. Each successful order rewards you with coins, and completing them quickly earns you a tip. The amount of coins you have at the end of the level determines the number of stars you earn, from 1 to 3. Stars are needed in increasing numbers to progress to new levels. Making things more challenging, every level has an obstacle to overcome with its own mechanics. In one level a crowd of pedestrians bisects the kitchen, getting in your way. In another level an army of obnoxious rats carry off your ingredients if you leave them unattended.

My raccoon may have be in a wheelchair and have a foul mouth, but he’s a damn fine chef. (Credit: Ghost Town Games)

As with many video games these days, I learned about Overcooked from Evan and Katelyn, a streamer couple I watch on YouTube. When I saw their videos for this game I knew I wanted to try it, but I had my doubts that it would be a good match for me and Cocoa. Still, one night we gave it a try and after a few levels we found our groove. We ended up playing for a couple of hours. We have yet to get back to it, but some day we’ll finish it.

I tried this game first on single player, but didn’t have nearly as much fun. It’s a much more difficult game for a single player, since you have to toggle back and forth between chefs and do all the work yourself. In multi player you can delegate responsibilities. You are able to make a plan, change that plan as situations change, and fully use your teamwork skills. This is a game truly designed for multiplayer, and it relies heavily on communication and cooperation. It also gets really chaotic, but with practice, it’s not prohibitively difficult.

I recommend giving this game a try if you haven’t. It’s tense, enjoyable, and helps develop communication skills.

Much neater than my desktop. (Credit: Sam Barlow, Furious Bee)

Telling Lies is a narrative video game developed by Sam Barlow and Furious Bee. We have it on PlayStation 4. One night Cocoa and I were cruising the PlayStation Store watching game trailers and generally just exploring. The trailer for this game peaked our collective interest so we got it. It was Cocoa’s idea to play it cooperatively, and it was a great idea. We’ve been having a blast playing it together, trying to piece together the mystery, and discussing each new revelation the game reveals to us.

The game plays out over hundreds of brief video clips involving several characters. The game centers on a desktop and a detachable storage drive filled with the aforementioned clips. Using the desktop’s software, you must search for specific keywords and view the video clips to gather information. You can also search on words in the clip’s subtitles and bookmark clips that catch your interest. Doing this allows you to piece together events and interactions over a two year period, involving four central people. The hitch is that the video clips only provide one side of the conversation, making the task a bit challenging. Sometimes you can locate the other side of the conversation, other times you can only guess at who the characters are talking with.

As the game continues, you start to make connections between the characters, uncovering secrets and relationships. The title suggests the characters are not altogether honest… a fact which becomes evident the more clips you review.

David Miller. Or Jones, or Smith. (Credit: Sam Barlow, Furious Bee)

This game has proven to be very enjoyable for us. With our conflicting work schedules we have only been able to play a couple of hours a week, but we’re making progress where we can, taking notes as we go. We each have our theories as to what the conclusion will be and we’re looking forward to seeing what ending we get. There are three possible endings depending on which videos you watch the most, and its not possible to watch all the videos in one play through. The night progresses in the game as you go, and you only have a limited amount of time. And it seems like something bad may happen when the night reaches its end…

We were drawn in by the premise and the cinematic quality of the performances. The mystery is a good one, and there have already been several moments of surprise as connections are made and secrets are discovered. If this sounds like your sort of thing, check out the trailer and see if it’s something you might enjoy.

Killer Bunnies can get pretty epic. (Credit: Creative Team Alpha and Jeffrey Neil Bellinger)

Now we turn our focus to tabletop games. We have an ever-growing collection of board games and card games in our basement game room. There are way too many to go over here, and it’s possible some of them may turn up in posts in the future. I’ve already talked about Marvel Champions in a post (twice actually!) and I have at least three more tabletop posts in the works. A couple of our favorites to play together are Killer Bunnies and Dominion. There’s also Machi Koro, Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle, and Marvel Legendary. Even though we had regular game nights with our friends and family… before the Great Plague of 2020 that is… the majority of our tabletop experiences ends up being two player. So every time we get a new game, we make sure it supports two players. We have noticed that some games are not properly balanced for only two players (I’m looking disapprovingly at you Marvel Legendary!) but we make due.

Sadly, our work schedules do not line up the way they used to, so our game play has dropped off. When we do have time to play, we get in a few rounds of Yu-Gi-Oh or Muffin Time. (Which is an upcoming Short Hop!) But to round out this post’s theme of cooperation and sharing, I decided we would talk about Fog of Love.

Fog of Love… Rom-Com, the Game! (Credit: Hush Hush Projects)

Fog of Love is a romantic comedy as a board game. It was developed by Hush Hush Projects and originally funded on Kickstarter. This was actually one of our wedding gifts… we got the base game and the Paranormal Romance expansion. We first tried it about a week after our wedding, and most recently a couple of weeks ago. This is a very creative and well-designed game. Every aspect of it shows incredible attention to detail. The board, cards, and pieces are all very sturdy and well laid out. It’s one of the most attractive and eye-catching game designs I’ve seen.

At its heart Fog of Love is a role-playing game for two players. You each take the role of a fictional partner in a fictional relationship. (Note that gender is not specified throughout the game, making it very inclusive.) The game is played in chapters by drawing and playing scene cards and resolving the text on the cards through choices. The choices between the two partners may clash or match, altering the course of the game as you go. You work towards secret goals, a fact which may effect your choices in certain scenes. Each partner has a satisfaction score that goes up or down depending on the choices made. There are also personality traits like sensitivity or curiosity. Choices made during the scenes add points to either the positive or negative side of these traits. Each player has a hand of destiny cards that determine the fate of the relationship at the end of the game. These cards are swapped or discarded as dictated by the scenes and chapter text. Each partner has a job and features which help shape who the character is. It is also possible to draw and tuck away Secret cards that can greatly impact the game play if the secret is revealed.

This is an extremely well-designed game. (Credit: Hush Hush Projects)

There is a lot more to the game, but that’s a brief overview. Basically you each create a character and step into the role of that character. The way you play the game, the scenes you choose to act out, and the secret goals you work towards all shape the relationship. Depending on your satisfaction score and destiny cards at the end of the game you may break up, stay together in happiness, or stay together and live a miserable life.

We have played this game three times so far, the first game being the tutorial. This game has a fantastic tutorial that plays out as your first game. It gradually walks you through all the basics as you play. More games need that sort of feature! It’s much more gratifying to learn as you play than to spend forever scouring over a rule book. We have found this game very challenging, but we get better each time we play it. It’s fun to throw yourself into the character. The hardest part for both of us has been separating ourselves from the fictional characters we create. I find myself wanting to answer the scene choices as I would in real life, not as my character would. It also makes it hard to anticipate what your partner would choose in the scenes where you want to match your answers. Since this is a relationship, you’re getting to know each other over the course of the game… and getting to know yourself.

There are currently three expansions, each one adding new cards and scenarios to play through. We’re still on the base scenarios that came with the game, but I’m looking forward to diving into the expansions when we have time to sit down and play some more. It’s really fun to explore these relationships and delve into the characters we create, trying to make their relationships last.

I cannot recommend this game enough. It’s filled with humor, awkward moments, and tough choices. It’s a unique psychological role-playing experience.

TREASURE! (Credit: Nintendo)

So yeah. Those are three games Cocoashade and I are enjoying currently. In the beginning of this post I said I wanted to talk about Cocoashade because she’s supported me through this whole endeavor. She’s usually the first one to read my posts after I put them up. I bounce ideas off her, get her input. I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback from her. Things she liked, things she felt didn’t quite work. It’s been invaluable. She’s my biggest fan, and that means everything.

I knew I wanted to do something for an anniversary post, but for the longest time I didn’t know just what to do. Then I thought about Telling Lies and how we’ve been playing that together. The more I thought about it, the more the ideas clicked into place. That’s how it always seems to happen. The ideas come up out of nowhere and I’m down another rabbit hole. There are always new rabbit holes. There are always more ideas.

Way back when I started this blog I quickly became aware that I was never going to run out of content. I have many topics I still want to cover. Cocoashade has suggested several as well. And as my readership grows, more suggestions will come. This is the first year of The SoraRabbit Hole, but certainly not the last. I started off with a simple task, and that simple task has grown and will continue to grow. But through it all I have stayed true to my initial vision.

In my very first post I declared that I wanted The SoraRabbit Hole to be a place for entertainment, education, and fun. I am all about Pop Culture Positivity, and over the past year I have tried to include as much positivity and open-mindedness as I could. There is enough negativity and gate-keeping in fandom these days. I believe we should revel in what we love, and welcome newcomers to the fandoms with open arms. The more the merrier! Not everyone has to enjoy things the same way. The world has more than enough negativity. Video games, tabletop games, movies, television, comic books… these things should bring us joy, not more negativity. Art is meant to enrich life. Enjoy what you enjoy, let others enjoy what they enjoy. If you keep an open mind, you may find out your interests are not so different.

One of my biggest driving motivations in this blog is to share with you the treasures I find. I want to change your mind about things, show you a perspective you may not have had otherwise. (That can go both ways too, so seriously, give me recommendations!) I have taken the time to research and fully explore some of the things that I love, and other things that I didn’t even know existed. In this exploration, I’ve given some people new appreciation for things they either didn’t know about, or haven’t given a chance to. That is an accomplishment for me. That fulfills me and makes me happy.

In the past year I feel like I have laid a good, solid foundation for what I want The SoraRabbit Hole to be. I shared with you my love of Godzilla and Ultraman. I spent some time reminiscing about my favorite television show of all time. I’ve talked about video games, comic books, cartoons, and awkward dancing. I have embarked on an exhaustive exploration of Kingdom Hearts, revealed the existence of banana-cat hybrids, and lost many a brain cell to the adventures of a psychotic alien-killing boy.

Not even kidding. I will never be the same. Chargeman Ken changed me forever. (Credit: Knack Productions)

And much, much more. 25 full posts, 7 Short Hops. That was all in one year. It boggles my mind that I was able to do this, and am continuing to do it. It’s been challenging, it’s been exhausting, it’s been so much fun. I feel like I have improved over the course of the year and I’m refining my style. And this is just the start. What’s ahead for The SoraRabbit Hole? I have a couple dozen posts in varying stages of completion. A folder and notebook full of notes. I have lined up my first two guest posts. I’m toying with the idea of starting a Patreon. And those of you that don’t yet follow me on Twitter likely have missed this big announcement, but we might as well make it official. My next big project is to venture into the world of YouTube!

There we go. No turning back. It’s canon now.

That’s right, I am currently getting my plans together and studying YouTube on Skillshare. I hope to launch before the end of the year. Don’t worry, the YouTube SoraRabbit Hole channel will not replace this blog, it will supplement it. I’m still in the early stages of development, so I’m keeping it all classified for now, but I have many plans that would translate well into a video format. I still have a lot of work to do, but I have a good proof of concept. I hope to do something a bit different over there in video-land while continuing to crank out quality posts here. My world is growing! And I hope you will all come with me into this fun new expanded world.

Ultra Q had no idea what 2020 would really be like. But they knew it would be challenging. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions )

I really hope you continue to read my posts and will check out my videos when I start posting them. I have big plans in the pipelines and I can’t do it without all of you. I just want to close this post out by saying that I am so, so very grateful to all of you who have read and enjoyed my posts over the past year. I hope that you continue to do so. I promise to keep getting better at what I do. I promise to keep providing entertaining, informative, and positive content for years to come.

My ultimate goal is to be able to do this for a living so I can devote more time and energy to it. That’s what I’m working towards. That’s the goal that YouTube and Patreon will help me achieve. Your support and encouragement helps me get to where I need to be. And I will never forget to be grateful to you. I have so much more I want to share, so many more treasures to seek out. Let’s continue this journey together.. into the future!

It has brought me so much joy to write these posts for you all. Of course, I also write them for myself, but I’ve been writing for myself all my life. Now I have a place to share these writings. That is the greatest treasure I’ve found.

As always, thank you for reading, and thank you for a fantastic first year of The SoraRabbit Hole. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to get a running start into Year Two!