Dewdrop Dynasty
I’ve been watching the development of Dewdrop Dynasty on YouTube for the last 3 years. Devlogs are one of my favorite things to watch on YouTube. They make me think I could start coding things again, maybe start my own lil projects. But they also show me all the different ways that people create things. I was watching a video from a friend (and fellow Lexi) BlackGirlMage who was talking about wanting to live a creative life, needing to live a creative life. And watching devlogs shows me the different ways that creativity shows up in people. But I digress, this is about Dewdrop Dynasty lol.
Dewdrop is a metroidvania where you play as Poe Lin, a bee who’s lost his wings after a huge fall. You go on an adventure to collect dewdrops that might be able to grant you the ability to fly again. Like many metroidvanias, you collect movement abilities, fight bosses, and get lost trying to find your way back to different areas (maybe that’s just me in that last one). While it’s a little rough around the edges right now, I’ve really enjoyed my time with the game so far. It just had a price drop to $11.99 USD because people online were saying that the game cost too much. It also sounds like there will be a lot of updates and polishing that happens in the next few weeks/months. I’m excited to see the game grow and looking forward to finishing my adventure in this world.
Restore Your Wings:https://store.steampowered.com/app/1444080/Dewdrop_Dynasty/
On My Own
Elementallis
I have some pretty mixed feelings about this game. I backed Elementallis on Kickstarter because it looks exactly like the kind of game I love. It’s a Zelda-like, you get to learn how to use the elements, and it reminds me a lil of the Minish Cap art style. The world is interesting, but the game as a whole feels a little flat. It’s populated by different peoples and, if I’m honest, most of the people groups are a bit dislikable. There’s a lot of what feels like unnecessary fantasy bigotry and elitism within the different peoples. As a player, it made me question a bit who I was really helping in each region and what I was helping to reinforce with the actions I was taking. By the end of the game, I was questioning if I was even really the “hero” in the story. I certainly didn’t feel like it. I know that this is a bit vague, but I’m struggling to find the words to write about this game. I didn’t fully dislike it and I’m not upset that I played it. However, I’m also not sure if I would recommend it.
Gameplay wise, things are fine. There are different interactions in combat with the elements that you wield that can help you make it through tough fights (I was relying pretty heavily on the water and nature combo to get health back during fights). The boss fights left a little to be desired. The designs for each boss were clever and matched the dungeon themes, but the fights themselves were often more frustrating than fun. This is is a game that I think could have been great, but for me it sits more in the just okay category.
Restore the Elements : https://store.steampowered.com/app/1304280/Elementallis/
Be Curious and Create
Earlier in the newsletter, I started talking about living a creative life. Lexi was talking about it in the context of starting the Artist Way, which is something that I haven’t interacted with before. But I’ve been thinking about it a lot just in general. I’m a person who’s been making things since I was a kid. Adventure stories in my backyard fighting evil wizards, lego structures, writing stories in all the journals that my parents were willing to buy me (thanks Mom and Dad, forever grateful for you both). As an adult, clearly that’s continued, but it looks a lot different than a younger me thought it would.
I started getting a little into TTRPGs (thanks Sis, for trusting me with something you love and getting me hooked), I still sometimes write stories, and now I’ve added taking pictures and cooking to the mix. And yet, I would still say that I’m not sure if I live a creative life. Because I’ve told myself that it only counts if I do it all the time. I think thinks like “I’m not currently working on a creative project, so maybe I’m not actually that creative of a person.”
But you know what I am doing? I’m learning how to make latte art at my barista job (I’ve almost got a heart locked in). I’m making a little photo album using one of my many field notes notebooks. I’m outlining new writing on games and life and the world. And is that not still creative? It’s something that I know I need to be more gentle with myself about. The last few weeks have been rough. The last few years have been rough. And still I have persisted and still I have created things that I am proud of, some have been just for me and some are things I have shared. And, for me, I think that should be enough. I don’t always need to follow every single thing I think about in order to view my life as one that’s creative. I just need to be making. something.
So I encourage you to do the same. Find the things that make you pause and want to think about them more and then let yourself create something based on that. Find your starting point to creating something, food, photos, games, writing, paintings, drawings, anything. Just make something. You can do it. We can do it.
My Content for this Month
Slice of Calm Club
Thanks to everyone who’s a part of Slice of Calm! I sent out the postcards today and I’m hoping they make it to everyone safe. If you’re interested in learning more (and signing up), you can visit my Ko-Fi page for more info! https://ko-fi.com/pizza_yeti/tiers. This is a monthly snail mail club where you get a postcard version of a picture I’ve taken and a letter (with some occasional goodies). I may also be brainstorming another snail mail club, so stay tuned for that.
Streams
In July, I streamed once lol! You can check the VODs on YouTube if you missed it.
YouTube Videos - Gaming Channel
YouTube has been on hold for the moment. My days off have all been filled since I started my barista job, so I’m still figuring out the pace that I talked about last month. Hopefully these will be returning soon.
YouTube Videos - Main Channel
I want to bring this back before the end of this year. I’ve been bouncing around some ideas, but if you have anything you’d like to see me make over here, please let me know!
If you want to subscribe on YouTube, I’d really appreciate it. You can check out the Gaming Channel and the Vlogs / Chatting Channel by clicking on the hyperlinks!
Writing
If I’m honest, this section always feels a bit harder to write in lol. I am a writer at my core. It’s not something that I always feel comfortable saying, but it’s true. And sometimes, that makes it the hardest thing for me to create. I’ve got expectations for myself around it, ya know? But I’ve been working on a piece that I’m really excited to finish. I don’t wanna give a lot of details yet, but hopefully it’ll be out soon. You’ll find it on my website. Until then, if you read anything over there, let me know what you think? Or let me know what you’d like to read more about.
See y’all next month.
Keep telling stories. Keep creating. You are important for the world that we want to create. I look forward to continuing to build a better world and better stories for us all. Thank you for joining me on this journey. I’ll see y’all around the Internet.
