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I might give it a go.
OK GOOGLE, can you draw me a summary of the situation on a school notebook?

Spoiler

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Stéphane Picq, probably the most famous composer at Cryo Interactive, died earlier this month.
He created some fantastic ambient soundtracks and world music that I often enjoyed more than the games themselves.

Quote from: Creamy on Tue 28/01/2025 22:21:44
- The "downloads to review" counter still shows a game that I've just reviewed.

What game did you review? And what is your definition of a review? Did you give a user rating, a comment, or both?

Sorry for the vagueness. I gave "Carnival of Shadows" a rating (2 cups) and a comment. But it was still present in my "Downloads to review" tab afterwards. It's not such a big deal since we can remove the reminders manually.
EDIT: I've just rated another game that I had recently downloaded and it worked this time - the game disappeared from the "download to review" tab.

Quote from: Creamy on Tue 28/01/2025 22:21:44
- I was logged in when I wrote a review for Carnival of Shadows but the comment is credited to "UNKNOWN".

Fixed!

Thank you

Quote from: Creamy on Tue 28/01/2025 22:21:44
- the right and left arrows don't work when you type a comment in a game page - but the up and down arrows operate.

Do you have a bit more information for me? What browser are you using? I just tried on Google Chrome Desktop and cannot reproduce it.

I use Google Chrome, but I also tried with Mozilla Firefox and got the same problem.
My computer runs on Windows 11 Family and I use a regular keyboard.

Your cursor is in the comment box and you want to move within the text you just typed?

Yes. I can click with the mouse to move the cursor within the box. However the left and right arrows of my keyboard don't move the cursor in the comment box.

Try now?

It works, thanks. I can even edit the whole game page 

I found a couple more bugs:
- The "downloads to review" counter still shows a game that I've just reviewed.
- I was logged in when I wrote a review for Carnival of Shadows but the comment is credited to "UNKNOWN".
- the right and left arrows don't work when you type a comment in a game page - but the up and down arrows operate.
 

The add/edit Pick of the Month doesn't have its own page anymore. If you navigate to the game page you want to add/edit the pick of the month for, you see an "Actions" button under the image carousel. This changes depending on your profile permissions. When you click it, you should see "Pick of the Month", which takes you to the correct section on the game edit page.

I see the "Actions" button, but it only allows me to report a link as broken.

Please be aware that if you select an older game, you may need to complete missing mandatory fields.

OK

The "Play" page is showing the Pick of next month.

On a side note, my links for the Pick of the month don't work any more:
- add a new entry.
- edit an existing entry.
- list of existing entries.

And one more complaint, since I'm letting it all out today Does the constant use of hyperbole on the internet (as in how everything is always "the best X EVER") get on anybody else's nerves? Doesn't it feel exhausting?

Yes. And the titles stopped being informative long ago. Even some newspapers just write clickbaits and teasers in their headlines nowadays.

Is this useable as background? Definitely not!

A ditched Dutch Dutch slope!

Congratulations and good luck for the final stretch!

Congrats Misj', plenty to see in these caves.

I meant to enter, but I couldn't muster the energy to make something worthwhile. Probably a side effect of ferrero rocher abuse. My sketch of an old wine cellar looked pretty boring.

That's the start of glory!

...

ps. yes, the English word 'brackish' is derived from the same origin as the word 'brak'.

I don't understand -- I always thought "brackish" meant salt water mixed with fresh water, like in a salt marsh...

I only knew its very specific meaning of a Mexican adopted into Norwegian turned into American who feels a Mexican.

I don't think Creamy should be allowed to be too creative with the theme. Because that's my thing. 

I found this definition of a gamer:
"a person known for consistently making a strong effort, especially in sport."

And so I drew:

Spoiler

Philippe Croizon, who became the first person without arms and legs to swim across the 33.5 km English Channel.

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Does a sport player count as a gamer?

I supposed not, but then I saw Diddy Kong in your picture.

My 2 cents:

5 cups ratings don't allow too much leeway.
In the whole database, there are only 14 games with 5 cups - truly an exceptional rating.
There are no 0 cup games, probably out of respect for the benevolent creators who took the time to put their games on the database.
That leaves 3 possible ratings for most games.

About the Will and the Order: I've finished both games and I agree on the superiority of the Order.
Graphically and narratively.

The graphics in the Will were only serviceable and its story appeared a bit far-fetched, but it featured acceptable puzzles and I had an okay time with it. Plus it was your first game, so I can see the panel giving it the average to cheer you on.

The Order has a better atmosphere and oozes more personality. The puzzles are good but - as stated in my review - a couple of design choices feel odd.
Also, the conclusion could have been more impactful. The story is nothing to be ashamed of, but we don't get to know the  Nizari Order' leader or the Seljuk Prince. For someone unaware of Iran's History (like me), they are Tweedledee and Tweedledum and I didn't care helping one or the other in the end.
So I'd say The Order is a solid 3 cups.

Congratulations Creamy!

Yay!

It's interesting that everyone went with water anyway.

Spoiler

If you play Botos do Diabo, you may get some blood too 

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Since I hosted the last 2 Background Blitz, I suggest jfrisby takes my turn (if he agrees).

That's an original system.

My main suggestion would be to organize the posts by type or to use a different color for each kind of content - a bit like on Adventure Gamers.
The current icons are not very visible, especially in dark mode.

Good luck for attracting people.

My little ballot:

Spoiler

Concept:
-Rootbound 2
-jFrisby 1

Playability:
-Framganga Games 2
-Cat 1

Artistic Execution:
-Rootbound 2
-jFrisby 1

It was easier to judge Rootbound and jFrisby's concepts with actual games.

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Oh, this is their even earlier stuff. It's from Boces (1993), their second album – and last one with the band's original lead singer, David Baker. The high-pitched vocals on the albums that followed were after Jonathan Donahue took over the role.

My mistake. I mostly remember All is Dream (2001) which was very different.

Mercury Rev - "Sweet Oddysee of a Cancer Cell t' th' Center of Yer Heart"

Not bad at all.

Mercury Rev - "Downs Are Feminine Balloons"

I'm more familiar with their earlier stuff when the singer used a higher pitch.

Clannad recently (finally!) released an expanded version of their Robin of Sherwood OST album Legend, which has got me back into listening to them. This song is not from that album, funnily enough, but rather it's probably the lesser regarded of their 80's hits, behind Harry's Game and In a Lifetime at least, but I prefer it to those songs myself.

Incidentally, I've also been listening to Clannad recently.
This song stuck with me:

Still going strong at 77 is France's Julien Clerc, though this, one of his most famous songs, is from his 1971 album Niagara.

Didn't expect to hear him here.

Here's a song by Françoise Hardy who passed away earlier this year: