A New Dawn: Sunshine Blogger Award #2

It’s Saturday once again, and this week we’ve got another tag post! Following on from my first Sunshine Blogger Award tag a few weeks ago, the awesome MagiWasTaken (who has somehow been posting daily for 100 days straight!) has been kind enough to also tag me for it, so it is time for a second entry! Therefore, prepare yourself for another set of intriguing questions for me to answer, including subjects such as detachable body parts, cloning, and time travel. After that description, you have gotta read this, right?!

Same as before, then; I answer the questions, and then make a new set of 11 questions and tag five more people to potentially answer those, thus continuing the never-ending cycle of communal blogging! I shall reiterate, too, that you should go over to my interviewer MagiWasTaken at their blog Indiecator and see the fun content they have to offer; if you like independent games, then you’ll especially find a lot to enjoy. Right – time for questions!

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The Questions

1. What awful movie do you love?

Oof, starting off with a tough one there, aren’t we? See, if I enjoy a film, I am inherently unlikely to also label it as “awful”… However, I understand this question is focused around the idea of guilty pleasures, films you can have a fantastic time with even whilst aware of their flaws. In this sense, one film series that springs to mind is Now You See Me. If you are not aware, it focuses on a group of magicians/con-artists and their escapades; the plots are ridiculous, and by the end of the second film it has escalated to unnecessarily unbelievable levels, but it remains very entertaining; a significant reason for this is the charismatic cast, which includes Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, and Isla Fisher. They are so fun to watch bounce off one another, so if you suspend your disbelief enough, there is a lot of enjoyment to be found. Daniel Radcliffe even shows up in a knowingly-ironic cameo for the sequel (because magic!!)… So it is definitely tongue-in-cheek stuff. I wouldn’t say I love it or that it is awful, but this is the closest I have got for now. Shockingly, it seems a third one is on the way too!

2. Can a society exist without laws?

Definitely – it just might not have good results. I have optimism that most people would continue to be civilised and kind, but you would get groups of people who take it as reason to do the opposite. I think it is inevitable a lack of laws would invite more trouble and acts of violence if the consequences were not there in the same way, but I am not convinced it would all fall apart immediately. I think some sort of system would have to replace it though, to stop us gradually going back to the past of eye for an eye, where people take it upon themselves to impose the rules. Even then, perhaps I am being too optimistic, but I prefer that perspective.

3. If you could only play one game to play for the rest of your life, which game would you absolutely not choose?

When I started reading this question, this was not where I thought it would end up, aha – well played, MagiWasTaken. There are very few games I play and actively think “wow this is bad” as I always attempt to focus on the positives; but one game I played recently and really struggled to make myself continue with was the first Crash Bandicoot within the Switch edition of the N.Sane Trilogy. I know I am asking for trouble from the Crash fanbase with this, but I thought it was quite bad, with unintuitive level design, clunky controls, and an unnecessary habit of trial-and-error punishment. I left it less happy than when I started, so if it was the only game I had for the rest of my life… Well, it wouldn’t be ideal. I have heard the games markedly improve from the second one onwards, though, at least.

4. You can detach one of your body parts. Which one is it and why do you want to detach that body part?

I reckon either arm or hand, but let’s go for the full arm for the extravagant effect of it. Items such as a leg or head would just be an awkward inconvenience, I think, but if we were in a future where you could swap out your arm Cyberpunk-style for different versions that suit various situations, I reckon that’d be really cool, and would stand out visually too. Perhaps a weapon-arm for any combat situation (Samus-style), a strong, grippy arm if you went climbing, or a fancy technological arm that acts as an extension of your smartphone. I don’t know; maybe it is just because I have been watching The Falcon and The Winter Soldier recently (if you haven’t, I really recommend it; trailer below)! I am also very aware that there are limited body parts you could have detachable without it being very disconcerting to others around you…

5. Is there someone of something that you always have time for?

The answer to this would be my amazing black labrador Pippa; she definitely dictates my plans when she so chooses – and she often does, aha, by waltzing into my room whenever she likes and deciding that, no, this is where I am sitting. In all seriousness, she was quite ill recently and it was a case of dropping everything to ensure she got better, which she now seems to have done, I am glad to say!

6. If Earth was only populated by you and clones of you… what would life, society and the world be like?

That sounds awful – and that isn’t because of a sense of self-pity, but variety really is the spice of life and if everyone was the same as me it would be incredibly dull. A lot of the fun of life is meeting new people and experiencing new perspectives. Also, I would have no one to be sarcastic and exasperated to, so much of my power would be diluted. Going by the comparisons people make, imagine it as a world of Jim Halperts from The Office. You need the Michael Scotts and Dwight Schrutes of the world to bounce off of, right?

7. Would you rather only be able to drink your least favourite drink in the world or only be able to eat your least favourite food?

Oh, wow, that is mean! That’s a choice between only eating tomatoes forever (ugh) or probably only drinking some sort of non-refreshing bitter coffee. As much as I dislike the former, I think I’d have to choose only eating tomatoes, as then I can at least wash the texture and taste away with a refreshing cold drink. If you could only drink a dense liquid after, say, an exhausting run, that’d be incredibly distressing. Also, this would mean I could keep drinking Lucozade, which is a crucial factor!

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8. What is something you’ve never tried out because you think you’d be horrible at it?

These questions really have me racking my brain! Probably drama and acting. I am really not one for being in front of a crowd, so the idea of performing in that way instils a certain sense of terror in me. I do think I would be really bad at it, too, aha, which makes it different from the idea of public speaking or playing music. There is probably the potential in me for those latter two, but embodying different personalities in a drama format just isn’t something I have ever been great at. I’m not that sad about it, though; we all have different skills, right?

9. A time traveller from 200 years in the future appears before you. His time machine’s core-thingy is unstable, so he only has time to answer one question by you. What do you ask him?

So the questions don’t get any easier! If I was feeling frivolous, it would probably be something like, “so does Metroid Prime 4 ever actually release?” or “when is the next Tomb Raider game?” but I’d probably feel a certain sense of responsibility and ask whether our current efforts to change how we treat the planet work, or if there needs to be something extremely drastic done. Sadly, I feel as though I may know the answer already…

10. What was your first-ever crush from a video game?

Whew. Hmm… It was probably around the time I really started getting into games, around the Wii/DS era. Indeed, Princess Zelda in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has a certain radiance that I was definitely drawn to, but it was probably not until playing the Metroid Prime games and Other M that I was very aware of having a crush on Samus Aran: strong, pretty, and independent. Who can blame me, right? I know I am not the only one…

11. If you were a vegetable, you’d be a cutecumber. How does that make you feel?

Appreciative of the compliment, slightly concerned at being likened to food. I’ll take it!

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Time to Tag (Again)

Compared to last time, I have started to realise that this Award circles around again and again and people end up answering it multiple times, so I am less conscious of tagging people who have already been tagged before. As usual, this is more a suggestion than an obligation, so feel free to answer my questions or not depending on how you feel! Five brilliant bloggers, coming right up:

Meghan Plays Games
Gaming Diaries
A Fox’s Wanderings
allthefujoshiunite
The Gamer With Glasses

My questions:

1. Welcome! Let’s start off relatively easy. Are you a morning person, or more nocturnal?
2. In non-lockdown times, where are you most excited to be able to go frequently again?
3. If you could be a fly on the wall for the development process of any game, which would it be?
4. Which is the best type of crisp? Explain your reasoning in detail.
5. How do you feel about remakes? Are there certain times you feel they are either necessary or unnecessary?
6. You can take one item with you on a one-way trip to the far future. Which do you take?
7. Which game would you most like to see turned into a film?
8. Same question as I sent out before, to continue this fierce battle: Pancakes or donuts?
9. Do you prefer built-up urban areas or quieter rural ones?
10. You can listen to one album for the rest of your life. Which do you choose?
11. It’s important to recognise our strengths! Tell me something awesome about yourself. 🙂

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As always, it is a lot of fun to do these tag posts and I really appreciate people thinking of me when choosing who to tag. They hopefully offer some fun knowledge about me, even when they subject matter is, shall we say… Unexpected, aha! Now, back to watching anime, playing games, writing up my many post ideas, and more. Have an awesome day!