MrPotatoBrown

I’m going to Cannes TODAY! My minds rattling on about how I’m going to be potentially surrounded by all these rich celeb people and how I won’t jell for I’m basically the Poop under their shoes, so I’m going to write something poopy ‘cause my attentions kinda on that... Thus I’ll literally write about PooP!

Déjà vu!

Last year I wrote about my Potato’ey adventures, with it being left on the moon after flying there post-film festival. Well, tomorrow I’m flying out to another, but this time I’m going to the Cannes Film Festival!

I’ve never been to Cannes or it’s film festival, nor the airport we land at which is optimistically called ‘Nice’. I have been to France though, don’t know where though as lots of my childhood is clouded and unmemorable; not that nothing memorable happened, just that I can’t remember any of it really. 

It’s one of the reasons I thought writing this blog might help me (apart from improving my writing skills and being an undercover attention whore), documenting different milestones and things I perceived, breaking them in as a story and having a “Dear Diary” in the form of a writing exercise I can re-visit. It’s win-win (for me)!

So, in the name of this exercise I’m doing (80 Outlines in 80 days) and to celebrate this sense of Déjà vu, let us make an outline about a Plane Journey!

Right. It’s been decided. That’s it. The end. I have made a decision. Period.

I’m flippant, that’s for sure, but the main reason I started this blog in all its starchy glory was to improve my writing. And when I mean writing I really mean my ability to tell stories. Stories that I can translate to scripts. Scripts I can direct as films.

I am a Director at heart. Always have been. Always will be. But I need to get better and clearer at telling emotional and functional stories. That the real mission.

So, I need to break down stories to their truest beats, their solid bones. This is something I just have to practise. period.

You know that whole idea about 10,000 hours poured into a skill makes you a master (well, if you learn throughout that 10,000 hours and actively try and improve that is), well, it’s GO TIME! And I’m using this blog to chronical this journey. Starting with this post, from now till 80 days time, I will write a stripped down the structure of a story I made up. The aim? To be more practised. 

The ones I write? They can suck. They can literally not work. And that’s cool. I. JUST. NEED. TO. PRACTICE.

I love seeing progress and I like to see it go towards something. So expressing it here in all it’s starchy goodness seems like a match made in heaven.

Let it begin.

On the continuing rant of why this show is so glorious and effective, I want to take a quick detour to speak about text and sub-text, and the beautiful relationship they can have.

Some of my favourite films and Tv shows in the world work wonderfully because they have great TEXT, which is all the stuff on the surface. There’s no reading between the lines, it’s what happens in the plot and what the character’s do. But what distinguishes my fave stuff from my... well... not so fave stuff, (apart from the obvious stuff like great characterization, clear stakes and compelling drama) is how they marry the TEXT to the SUB-TEXT, the sub-text being the themes and ideas the show/film want to present through the text. Think of it as a trojan horse, the horse being the surface level story and the soldiers inside being the ideas the medium actually wants to deliver to you (but hopefully without the bloody massacre in the end).

Now, the best way to show how amazingly Buffy does this and why it’s such an exemplary show is to give an example of something I personally believe fails at this, which is the music video for Sia - Elastic Heart:

https://youtu.be/KWZGAExj-es

I recommend watching a little bit of it, even if it’s just for 10-20 seconds because it’s an incredibly odd video that seems to be suggesting some powerful emotional ideas. Below I’ve copied over a top comment from the Youtube video on their interpretation of the video’s themes:

“Maddie is Sia and Shia is her father. This is about them both being trapped in mental illness and how it caused them to not get along. At one point, the father (Shia) gets better and tries to reconnect with his daughter which causes her to freak out and run away, then making Shia regress. Towards the end, Sia (Maddie) gets better and escapes, leaving her father behind, but they finally reconnect later and are seen playing. She tries to help him get out of his mental illness as well, but he is too big and old to do so. This is not even close to being paedophilia and if you could all get your heads out of your asses, you would see how beautiful the choreo is. (This is just my interpretation!)“

Now the problem I have with this? On my first viewing, I did think the video was about paedophilia! And I don’t think that’s the audience’s fault for thinking that, I think that’s videos fault for communicating its ideas poorly.

And that fault in its communication comes from the clashing of TEXT and SUB-TEXT!

See, the sub-text seems to suggest these ideas very clearly, I can completely see where many of the commenters are coming from, but the text completely undoes any of this nuance, because there’s literally no way around it: This music video is about an almost naked man chasing a vulnerable under-age girl in a cage. 

You can talk about the video discussing these nuanced themes of a Father and Daughter relationship all you like, but then we get a shot like this:

* Cringes into a ball and dies *

See, the TEXT is just too loud and confrontationally opposing to the SUB-TEXT for them to unite and say something. There is a dissonance in what we literally see and what we metaphorically see. Don’t get wrong, a dissonance can be used as a tool to say something as well, but here it just drowns out the real message. We don’t think so much about this beautiful tragic relationship because we’re thinking about Shia LaBeouf in skin-tight pants tossing around an underage girl. THAT’S LITERALLY WHAT’S HAPPENING!

And this isn’t some argument against strongly symbolic pieces either, because functionally metaphoric film/TV pieces work very hard to make sure the TEXT marries the message. Just look at such things as UNDER THE SKIN, where a woman is literally hunting down men and abducting them or THIS IS AMERICA, where it’s shot like every rap video, a rapper centre stage rapping about money, but the background shows shooting and riots to appose this. A great deal of thought has been put into how the TEXT and the SUB-TEXT interact because THAT’S THE POINT! It doesn’t matter what your “secret message” is, the TEXT will get involved because it’s got all these signifiers attached that will suggest their own ideas, which very well could oppose what you’re trying to say.

Which is why I’m so head over heels for Buffy The Vampire! I have just finished SEASON 3 - EPISODE 6: BAND CANDY! (Yes, I kinda skipped talking about season 2 because I got too engrossed and forgot to write about it - my bad)

Now, SPOILERS BELOW (obviously) but this episode is an absolute masterpiece in delivering theme through the story. 

It begins with boxes of candy being handed out for students to sell. Buffy, not interested in the what or why, just bulk sells them to Giles and her Mother, then lies to both of them that she’ll be with the other so she can go out and do whatever she wants.

She’s caught out though, with this wonderfully punchy reveal:

RUMBLED!

They scorn her for being irresponsible, which she doesn’t seem to understand.

Then the episode kicks into gear. All the chocolates these adults have been eating has been tampered with and reverts them back into irresponsible kids.

This episode then turns into Buffy and the gang trying to sort out all the crazy consequences while the adults don’t have a care in the world and just want to party.

It’s through this that Buffy sees where they’re coming from. She understands responsibility. 

And this is why this episode is so great, and why so many other episodes are so wonderfully precise in what they’re trying to say, for they all know the relationship between TEXT and SUB-TEXT.

See, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is - on a thematic level - about a girl growing up. On the surface though, yes she’s killing vampires, but she’s also in school trying to - you guessed it - grow up! And every conflict that happens normally has the message of the episode embedded into its core and is expressed through its characters, through their mistakes and growth. So, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the text and sub-text become one and the same.

Now, that’s not to say you can’t have things where the text and sub-text don’t mesh into one. I don’t believe Childish Gambino actually wanted to shoot the choir in THIS IS AMERICA, but it’s having that understanding on how these two different things relate and how an audience might perceive them.

If you don’t understand how to communicate to your audience, then you don’t understand the medium, for film and television are all about communicating with an audience.

Mr Potato Brown has decided that this blog, in the name of great Telly, shall be used to discuss the greatness of Buffy The Vampire Slayer for the foreseeable future.

So, backtracking to earlier today, I’ve been going back and watching - you guessed it - Buffy The Vampire Slayer! I haven't watched it since I was a kid, and can barely remember a thing that happened, so it’s as good as fresh!

Now, in the name of great telly (and in the name of becoming a better writer), it seems for solid reason and growth that I chronicle each day as I watch Buffy.

So, each binge session I have I shall write a short blog that sings the praises of whatever episodes I watched that day. It’s not some kind of deep analyse or deconstructing or any shit like that, I just want to chart my fave lines and bits in a fragmented listed kinda way. 

Basically, each episode I’ll chronical what I believe was “Buffy’s Best Bit”.

So, it starts today! (Potential Spoilers Below!!)

The season and episode I’m starting from is- 

Season 1, episode 7: Angel.

Awesome reveal and great speech that opens up Angel’s history to reveal a tormented tragic character that gives understanding to everything he’s done prior, but not in a way of “WoW LoOk HoW ClEvEr tHeSe WrItErS ArE”, just in an organic way that structures this episode around his reveal and shows why Buffy and Angel can’t be together. 

But the best bit comes from the closing image: A Close Up of Angels face after they kissed and a pan down to show the burnt wound where Buffy’s cross has just been. An amazing way to drum in why they can’t be together, but still shows she’s embedded on him. Perfect!

Then I watched- 

Episode 8: I Robot, You Jane.

Loooved the way they played with the theme of being stuck in the past, battling with technology and understanding it’s dangers while dealing with the fact it’s here to stay. So clear and god damn concise, with an intro that sets it up so dramatically! I don’t think I’ve seen a ‘battle with technology’ episode in any show that’s as interesting as this (save maybe Community perhaps). 

It wraps up perfectly too, with the best bit being the librarian’s speech of how books should smell, in trusting that by them having a musty whiff then they are real tangible things. He’s then shown up when he comments on the IT Teacher’s corkscrew earrings, explaining they’re old fashioned, in which she remarks “They don’t hang from my ears”. Awesome!

Episode 9: The Puppet Show.

Great episode. Left a little confused at some parts, but it all came together preeeetty cool, with a few great reversals. I suppose that’s the Best Bit, with us finding out who’s side the puppet is on, because for most of the episode I was waiting for the characters to catch up on what I knew- Which is totally cool, me being savvy on info they aren't, but for some reason the wait grinded on me a bit more on this one. I think it was some red herrings which are still throwing me off, with the principle sneaking round- which I suppose might be set up for later on.

Anyway, great episode. I retract my last statement on the Best Bit because that might belong to the horny Puppet’s dirty jokes. He’s a winner!

Episode 10: Nightmares.

The best episode so far! Incredible! Everything was the best bit!

It shows all the character’s psychologies and fears, mixes them up in crazy surreal scenarios while dramatizing all of it, with clear stakes and a fantastic cathartic resolution that clearly states through character and story that you should face your fears!

I couldn’t even start to pick a favourite moment. Maybe it’s the comedic moments from the superficial bully’s nightmares, perhaps the brilliant homage to A Nightmare On Elm Street, or it could be how the over-arching villain attempts to twists the scenario to his advantage is an incredibly dramatic and terrifying way; but, to be honest, I might well cheat and state - out of all the episodes I have watched so far - this whole episode is the BEST BIT! 

Was given this writing prompt:

"When people think about reincarnation, they imagine they'll become a wolf, ant, dog or an animal like that, but they never imagine they'll reincarnate in some unknown form of life billions of light years away or in an other dimension"

So this is what I wrote:

Wiggle wiggle, in my eye. Little floater that swims across my vision. I wonder what life it lives, a life that can't be as interesting as mine for all it can do is watch what I do, while I get the glory of carrying out my actions and reaping the rewards. What would this little floater see now? Why, it'd spy me carrying a large cubicle across a street.

I'm returning my Grandmother's turtle for - quiet tragically - she passed last month. I no longer have any room, as I clear years of junk that has built up in my flat, but the guilt overwhelms as I enter the pet store. Grandma had this belief, that after we pass we inhabit the stuff nearest to us, life forces that we were emotionally or physically connected to. And she believed that by buying a turtle and nurturing it with love, it'd house her soul when she passed.

Grannie was a woman of action, a person who always had more to do. As a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut - a ridiculous notion - but one she seemed disappointed I never achieved. I have no idea how a man like me is expected to reach such greatness, but Grandma believed, not just in me but herself. She was a woman of action, and she wanted to carry on, even after death. And that was the one thing she was sure of - an ‘after death’.

I don't care for such ideas, but I do care about my Grandma and so - as I stand watching the manager look over the wriggling shell on legs - I think about the torture of her soul being imprisoned into that turtle. Forever she shall look out through a glass box. Forever she shall be an observer and never a liver. But I suppose that's what happens after life, you watch others live instead. And I can't sit there every day, watching Grandma's turtle watch me as I do nothing with my life.

I'm a hoarder, a man who collects, the kind of guy who soaks up instead of uses. Having a relic of something I've lost which judges me even after death? It's too much. Let this be the first step of many, let this be the start of the new me, the kind of guy who can now shed this junk which holds me back. I could get rid of my empty packing boxes next, they're literally empty, and then remove that spare sofa, there's no room for it and it smells. In a strange kind of way, Grandma would be proud I'm doing this.

"It's dieing", said the manager. I freeze. It's dieing? he goes on the explain this turtle has all these symptoms and stuff, which basically means it wouldn't live long enough for them to be able to sell it. That's fair, I thought, for imagine receiving that on your 11th birthday and it dieing the week after.

I walk home, lugging the big box, and once again see that little floater cross my vision. Wiggle Wiggle. How dare you mock me, I think, reminding me perhaps that I am a mere watcher and not a man of action. I'll make Grandma proud yet.

I settle down at a nearby park and open up the box for the turtle to go free. I scan the area, see people kicking footballs, kids throwing rocks and a homeless man wearing a thick trench coat with, perhaps, nothing else underneath. I look down and see the turtle racing off, hurtling out into the unknown. Grandma's turtle might be dead in a week, and this final episode of its life will be spent in some poop filled park with homeless men and reckless kids. No. If it's not got long left to live, it's going to live like a king. I pick it back up and close up the box.

Arriving back home, I place the box on the second sofa - only place for it. The flat is getting musty, and I could pin this down to many things; it could be the sandwich I lost last week; perhaps all my space posters pinned to the ceiling, for I suspect there's a damp cladding behind the walls I've pinned through; or, I worry, maybe it's a gas leak? Who knows, and who will find out, for while I sweat over such issues, I never seem to solve them.

As I assemble a sandwich I look over to catch Grandma's turtle watching me from the other room. I wander what Grandma would be thinking of me now if she could see me. This thought circled my head for a moment as I finished assembling lunch and started biting into what - I soon found out - will be my final sandwich. Two mouthfuls later and I'm on the floor. I think I'm having a heart attack, and before I can reach for my phone, I start choking on the food. I sit back, struggling at my throat, and the last thing I see as the darkness rushes in is Grandma's turtle, static, watching me.

Darkness. Nothingness. Emptiness. Then BANG! I'm flying through rocks, space, stars and fire. Endless oceans of everything at once. There's something after death, life after life, another chance to do what I should of done. Galaxys, universes and endless light pass by - too much information to even perceive. I’m finally doing what I always wanted to do, explore beyond my grasp, infinite worlds at my fingertips, out in the mysteries of space-

Then it’s dark. I'm moving. flowing. Swimming. I see small red canals that floor the fluid I'm passing through, glossy surfaces below and darkness above. An alien planet, somewhere far away. I know for sure, wherever I am, Grandma would be proud.

I see light in the distance. I swim closer. Soon the glossy surfaces below reveal themselves to be white and the ceiling opens up to reveal bright skies that stretch out endlessly. It's hard to take in at first, but my sight adapts and I can start to make out what is beyond the light. It's... a room. A small room... with something moving... far in the distance. The light dies down and I can see more clearly. The thing that's moving has eyes. It's watching me back. It's... a turtle.

It’s a strange night I’m having tonight. I’ve spent the last few nights at my parents house, helping out with odd jobs, seeing that the new dog settles in okay and being there as emotional support for a big day. The strangeness doesn’t stem from the abnormality of these events though, but rather how they’re currently being dealt with.

I feel my family is different in many ways, which is a complicated way of seeing them really for two big reasons:

1) Everyone’s family is different. The idea of a normality is just this image presented by POP culture in an attempt of being able to reach their audience with an accessible (and admittedly optimistic) view of family life. An idea marinated in it’s own lofty romanticised unrealness, which simultaneously gives us a goal to aspire to, while also creating this build up of toxicity and resentment for not reaching these impossible goals. Long story short: If you sent the worlds greatest detective out to find the worlds most ‘normal’ family he’d come back empty handed. It’s a myth.

2) In some ways I think my family is the most normal family there is, because I’ve been brought up with them so I’m desensitised to all their quirks, and in many ways taken on many of their strange habits myself, making the quirks seem only more normalised. 

But, even when taking both previously mentioned points into consideration, I’m still left looking at the way they deal with problems... weird. And even stopping to discuss what weird even means requires me explaining a whole lot of context, who I am, who they are and why it’s weird to me, because weird also means a whole lot of different things for different people. This relativism thing is a head scratcher, but I suppose that’s the point of writing: to express something so personal to you in such a clear way that it doesn’t matter who reads it, the notion has been communicated and they understand.

I don’t think I could clearly communicate this though, and maybe that’s a failing on my part (scratch that: It is a failing on my part), but right now I think I’d rather spin round in this whirlpool of thought about the idea that I can’t discuss this idea.

And so here I am, sitting at home waiting for my Father to return. It’s almost midnight and I’m not sure when he’s coming back. I don’t think this is normal, not that I would know what normal is, but I know these aren't normal circumstances, even thought perhaps they are, but I know one thing for sure: Dinner shouldn’t be toasted Naans. Well, it isn’t a regular thing for me anyway. Well, okay, maybe it is.

I guess the point I’m slowly arriving at, a point that's being boiling inside me for years now and is only just coming to fruition as a conscious understandable thought I’m ready to discuss, is how much I’d love a normal family dinner. My Father, Mother and Sister all around the table sharing food and stories, or perhaps just a bog-standard TV dinner, food on place-mats as we fight over the TV remote to watch what every other family might well also be watching that night. Just any Dinner together as a family, Because I know that’s meant to be normal. But I can’t resent them for that not being a reality.

After all: What is normal?

And after all: This is as normal is it gets for me.

So I love my family, and I have to love them for what they’re are. Because to do it any other way is like comparing your girlfriend to the airbrushed models on the front of fashion weekly. But it still leaves me desperately trying to understand why me eating Naan as Dinner should be considered normal, and how I can possibly change it if I don’t even know what other’s family's are like and if this is even a problem in the first place. 

Because there are two things I know for certain:

1) Everyone’s family is different.

And

75th Post!!! Happy to hit this milestone, but there’s nothing worse than writing about writing, so to celebrate I threw together a quick script just for here. Here’s to the next 25! <3

This Blog’s main function has been for the purposes of improving my writing, and so without further a due: Practicing commas.

The function of these little guys have always been a tad abstract for me, but no longer will this be the case (perhaps):

Quick note: Many thanks to ‘BusinessInsider’, an internet-based platform for journalists, whose article I harvested for the headlining Bullet points listed below. This post is designed as a writing task for me, but as I feel guilty I have linked the article here: http://uk.businessinsider.com/a-guide-to-proper-comma-use-2013-9

1. Use a comma before any coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet) that links two independent clauses.

“I ate the biggest sandwich ever, but then I got Herpes.”

2. Use a Comma after a dependent clause that starts a sentence.

“When I got Herpes, I went to the Doctors.”

3. Use commas to offset appositives from the rest of the sentence.

“While at the Doctors, he said I did indeed have Herpes, a sandwich transmitted disease.”

4. Use commas to separate items in a series.

“Gloves, foil, and a tongue condom are all precautions that I’ve been recommended to use from now on.”

5. Use a comma after introductory adverbs.

“Unsurprisingly, I continued to eat them ‘bareback’.”

6. Use a comma when attributing quotes.

“Until one day, a massive pain erupted from my mouth causing me to squeal, “Where’s the nearest Emergency room?”.

7. Use a comma to separate each element in an address. Also (sic, Grammarly is telling me a Comma should be placed here. Did BusinessInsider mess up their Comma usage in an article focused on Comma usage?) use a comma after a city-state combination within a sentence.

“The neighbour shouted from his side of the wall, “The Mouth Hospital, London,  E1 1BB.””(sic, I suppose ending quotes can work like brackets right? Just stack those Mother’s up).

8. Also use a comma to separate the elements in a full date (weekday, month and day, and year). Also (Sic, Grammarly is waving its finger again? Who’s in the wrong?) separate a combination of those elements from the rest of the sentence with commas.

“November 2nd, 2018, was an uncomfortable day.”

9. Use a comma when the first word of the sentence is freestanding "yes" or "no."

“Yes, I never ate a sandwich again.”

10. Use a comma when directly addressing someone or something in a sentence.

“You’re probably thinking, “Mr Potato, is that actually true?”.

11. Use a comma between two adjectives that modify the same noun.

“I’m insulted that you’d doubt my dedication as if I was some big, fat liar.”

12. Use a comma to offset negation in a sentence.

“I maybe ate a baguette, not a sandwich, when I went out for lunch.”

13. Use commas before every sequence of three numbers when writing a number larger than 999. (Two exceptions are writing years and house numbers.)

“Okay, I might have eaten one Sandwich. Perhaps I ate two Sandwhichs. Fine, I ate over 2,000.”

And so, to ‘sandwich’ this Post, I’d ask out to anyone and everyone: Did I do it right? Any Comma based errors? Or any general errors? 

My one goal is to improve so any feedback would be awesome! Also, I researched the “Also error” from above. Apparently starting a sentence with “Also” if it’s the second part of a compound sentence requires a Comma.

“I hope I don’t get herpes again. Also, I can’t feel my tongue.”

3... 2... 1... Blast Off! And the drawing’s Done. I’m most of all happy with how fast I doodled it out using Microsoft’s free ‘Notebook’ drawing/writing software on my Tablet, and that’s truly down to the app’s accessibility. Could I have used more powerful sketching software? Yes. Would it have resulted in a better drawing? Probably. But trying to juggle layers in Sketchbook or fight with the insufferable clunkiness of Photoshop is just something I don’t enjoy facing, and so I’ll stick to my quick simple doodles. And I’m happy with that.

Because making it all result oriented can sometimes destroy the enjoyment of the process, (not that I’m saying a result isn’t important, rather the journey is equally crucial) and I openly admit that I sketch away on Notebook because I enjoy it for many of the same reasons I adore writing: It’s the fastest way to get my ideas down.

Throughout my entire childhood, my imagination was fast and fickle, Ideas rushing in faster than I could output them, which resulted in a short attention span on any projects that took longer than, well, a sit-down. And so when a tool pops up that allows me to get ideas down faster, which potentially cuts out that “Photoshop” middleman, it ALWAYS draws my attention, especially if it yields the same high-end results.

But, as a filmmaker who wants to dabble in music, Game design and anything and everything, these tools seldom pop up. Sure, everything’s most certainly become more user-friendly, especially with such game engines like ‘Unity’ and ‘Unreal 4′ now becoming freely accessible, cutting out a lot of Dev. time/hurdles. But these advancements have never articulated in the form of tools that make animating, game design, music and everything in-between feel as intuitive as the sketch I did above on my Tablet or the essay I’m plonking out on my keyboard as we speak (or read). 

Until recently, most notably announcements of an upcoming Tool made at the last Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

But let us jump back a moment for there’s an origin to this great new tool; an earlier iteration that’s celebrating it’s Ten-year anniversary right now, a birthday I’m personally celebrating with the way it changed games/creativity forever. I know that sounds hyperbole, but trust me when I say this comes from the most Sincere place in my heart, a heart that yearned throughout my entire childhood as I stuck together simple stick men levels in Alien Hominid (Ps2, 2004) or laid out cookie cutter racetracks in RC Revenge Pro (Ps2, 2000) for the game I speak of next brought that childlike wonder back into my heart. I’m speaking of the warm, fuzzy, ambitious and very successful:

Released Ten years ago by Media Molecule (also known as Mm), a small team compiled of such visionaries like Alex Evans and Mark Healy which was founded in 2006*, their first outing on Ps3 from a distance looks like a simple fabric styled platformer. But sown (excuse the pun) deep into the fabric (sorry) of its very roots were creative ideas that grew larger than life.

* 2006 also being the year they released ‘Rag Doll Kung Fu’ which was the first third-party game to be distributed on Steam. Their progressive thinking was there from the start.  

The articulation of these ideologies can be best expressed through Mark Healy’s early foray into game development when he programmed titles for the Commodore 64 (Console, 1982, also known as C64). The C64 was the Guinness Record champion for most units sold at 10-17 million units, a record laid to rest with future consoles such as PS2 hitting over 155 Million. Yet, in recent interviews, Mark has spoken of those open source tools that allowed him to create with relative ease, and how as future consoles rolled out into people's homes which ended up selling more and more with each passing generation, that accessibility to create was lost. I mention the word ‘accessibility’ like a broken record because that’s the very word Media Molecule seem to have as their unofficial modus operandi. It’s their very soul!

And it was this very soul that was poured into their 2008 juggernaut, Little Big Planet (Also known as LBP), which was teased far earlier than it’s release (to my impatient frustration); I saw the announcement perhaps a year before, the game post-phoned, but I had a taste of the potential and it was the only thing my heart called out for every day leading up to its release*. Finally, a game that gave me the tools to make my very own games. 

* This part was actually true. Extreme? Sure, but I was stuck on an Farm growing up so it was the light in my tunnel.

The Puzzle Platformer’s official slogan was “Play, Create, Share”, basically boiling down to a Gaming Youtube with the tools ready built in. Here’s a cute 10-year-old trailer that best expressed this warm fun collaborative charm and it’s progressive stance on creativity (as well as one of the funkiest Game soundtracks from recent memory). You could make levels with ease, publish, get “views” (in this case, plays) and “likes” (expressed through Hearts) and then surf Mm’s servers to play other's creations. The first worry expressed by Critic’s was that no one would want to make levels, but Youtube as a creative platform was already the monolith of proof that this was not the case; people wanted creative output, and once the game was released with Metacritic scores averaging around 95% the Game sold well and the coMmunity was born.

The creative tools were easy to grasp but hard to master, the layers of ways to utilise them for more complicated contraptions and professionally polished levels took time to learn; fumbling around to mediocre results might draw you to the conclusion that quality couldn’t be obtained, but Mm cleverly put those anxieties to rest by including a campaign that was built exclusively with those very same tools. You had no excuse apart from “lack of practice”, and this pushed the coMmunity to make all kinds of contraptions from Mm’s physics-based engine, including someone building a fully functioning Calculator (the Creator even allowing you to fly around Jet-pack style to see how complicated the mechanisms were; turns out, very). 

LBP 2 built on that success, implementing a new refined tool called ‘Logic’ (among other improvements) which was an array of different microchips with simple functions that could be wired together to essentially ‘code’ objects to do your bidding. It was deceptively simple and never bogged down the ease that was at the heart of LBP’s Creative tool-set. The step up between games showed up past ‘peak’ coMmunity created inventions (namely the previously mentioned calculator) as bare-bones in what you could achieve with this new instalment.

I poured hours into these games, playing every LBP sequel; the future iterations were handled well by Sumo Digital (LBP 3) and Tarsier Studios, Double Eleven and XDev (LBP Vita). Mm also produced the Bafta-winning Vita/Ps4 Tearaway which I’m part way through now, enjoying endlessly in an attempt to fill the void till their next highly anticipated game.

For once again they’ve teased a pipeline title which the public await with bated breath; their next instalment in their Creative franchise (and the very reason I’m writing this article) doesn’t just build on their previous efforts of community-based tools but fully realises them. They finally made what I and many others have always wanted, a Gaming engine with the ease of drawing; a level creator that’s as simple as me typing on this keyboard; the true Youtube of gaming:

I love the LBP franchise a whole lot (still play it now), but whatever I built always felt a construct of ‘LBP’; the most approachable expressive tools I’ve ever used still restricted by the 2.5D realm of Sackboy’s recognisably cloth based world, and while you could creatively open up the borders to reveal new perspectives and ways to make games there was always the nagging feeling that you weren’t truly making YOUR game, you were making a game for Mm. This wasn’t their fault, and it’s not like you could point at any other accessible tool to exemplify these faults, because Mm was leading the charge, and still are. But this upcoming release of their new title aptly named Dreams (Beta 2018, full release TBA) shows with ease that Mm doesn’t just continue to lead this push forward, but are doing so with such an extent as to potentially shake up the gaming industry; for you truly are now making YOUR game.

Strong words are easily backed up with results I’ll show further down, but the final hurdle on their next instalment’s success isn’t just the quality or function of the final output (which Mm shows with confidence on their near-weekly streams and collaborations with other gaming developers via Twitch/Youtube) but with how the market will react to it, or if they even will react at all considering a relatively quiet reception in the wake of AAA games like Red Dead 2 and other heavyweights.

But before we discuss that further, speaking of a game like this with mere words doesn’t really do Dreams justice. I’ve watched nearly every video they’ve released across this last year so here are, in my opinion, the videos that best exemplify what their upcoming game/tool has to offer:

Trailer (TGA 2017 Trailer), which is the shortest of the bunch, quickly highlighting the general feel and look of Dreams.

Game Informer’s playthrough of campaign levels, which is fantastically demoed by Veteran Mm founder and C64 programmer Mark Healey.

A run through of fun bite-sized levels made by their team, showing off the astounding variety and how each level flows into the next like a Youtube playlist. 

And should you choose to watch only one of these videos, choose this next one; Game Informer’s Rapid-Fire Q sesh (with other Mm Founder Alex Evans), which isn’t just informative but should also be commended as creative and engaging journalism at it’s finest, running at the speed of a scripted TomSka Sketch* (It should be noted that Game Informer has been hitting it out of the park over the last month with their fun and insightful cover of Dreams).

* ’TomSka’: a popular Youtuber, famous for the ASDF Cartoon sketches and his fast and frentic comedic sketches. He’s done much, and with such a consistently recognisable style and tone across all projects it could be argued he’s an auteur, which excites me greatly that Youtube can own such a phrase and that ‘auteur’ could also translate to the users on Dreams (the platform I indulgently want to be referenced coining the term ‘Youtube of Gaming’. I’ll stop saying it when everyone else starts.)

TL;DR to sum up those clips: Dream’s works. Not just in regards to it building on LBP in every conceivable way (especially in being fully 3 dimensional) but also being easier to use, with motion controls utilised to essentially free-mould the level around you, and the jump between creative and playing being even more seamless; I was previously going to link three individual videos, title-ing them ‘PLAY’, ‘CREATE’ and ‘SHARE’ respectively, knowing there are such videos that focus on each aspect out there (shown at this year’s E3), but the Videos linked above demonstrate far clearer how the boundaries between those three different worlds are getting harder and harder to define; less “Play, create, share” and more “placrehare”... which isn’t as catchy but you get the idea.

Above: Picture of the Mm Team taken by Game Informer during their visit.

Everything about this game covers all aspects of game creation, even in terms of building a CV the defines your best skills (Animator, Modeler, Musician etc.) and then allowing you to allocate different roles to different creators (if you so wish). Objects/characters/music/levels etc. can be shared and remixed, creating a library of never-ending stock objects which either help fill in your weaknesses or set up a foundation to build on. Everything is built around a coMmunity which is so heartwarming considering an industry which, much like the film industry, is very clicky and “who you know”.

To prove how Mm appose this, and help highlight their deep-set sincerity, online creators from some of the finest levels on LBP were later hired by Mm to work in their company on future projects based on how well they grasped the tools. Mm recognised them for their talents and allowed these artists to flourish, artists who may have never broken into their dream profession without that much-needed step up.

This harks back to that phrase I’m trying to coin: “A Youtube of Gaming”. Film-making has gotten far more approachable over the last 10 years with equipment becoming progressively more affordable and every PC/MAC coming pre-loaded with editing software. The ability to share with ease online has helped many Video creators land roles in the industry or even create their own*.

* Youtube channels FreddieW (now named Rocketjump) and Corridor Digital (founded by Niko and Sam) springing to mind; their effects driven action/comedic shorts is what made many even consider film-making as an option (they even put out free tutorials/BTS) and their channels frequently collaborate with each other, other channels and even known names (Smosh, Key and Peele, and Jimmy Kimmel to name a few).

And so this is what makes Dreams so special; a chance to lower down the industries’ impenetrable defences and highlight player’s hidden talents with a tool that’s grown beyond ‘making levels for Mm’s games’ and matured (while retaining its essential charm) into a fully fledged game engine*.

* Many of you might think I’m counting eggs before they’ve hatched; understandable, but even if the game came out as a mere shadow of it’s intentions (which at this lately developed stage I doubt considering their showcases), the idea is already there. With VR and motion controls improving across all platforms there will doubtlessly be an imitator who can pick up where they left, improving from their failures. Failures I believe unlikely due to Mm’s track record of achievement and future support (they’re very involved with their CoMmunity, hence why I’ve placed a Mm in every use of the word CoMmunity (not my idea btw, Mm do this themselves)).

But more importantly than this future engine’s apparent depth is it’s accessibility, which cleans the slate of any straight up coding (LBP’s ’Logic’ is still there in spirit), rubs away clunky creation and puts all the tools under one roof with a platform to share and collaborate on. An infinite world of infinite creations that you can join your friends to play, Sofa sharing or online, streaming through playlists or creating, new content or remixed, in infinite combinations with infinite flexibility with an accessibility that has been unheard of until this game/engine.

Above: Front Cover Mm did for Game Informer’s November issue, which was created entirely within Dreams.

Which brings me to why I’m writing this article. I’m not writing extensively of the tools you can use, I’m linking other journalists’ work and mostly speaking of Mm’s past and what their new game could mean; so what’s the function of this? Well, as mentioned earlier, their success on something so CoMmunity led will be based on how the CoMmunity utilise it, which first and foremost means they need a CoMmunity to start with. And as also mentioned earlier, I think the reception for this game is relatively quiet compared to larger AAA games; this feels wrong to me in so many ways, as Dreams with the right support could literally shake up the gaming industry and influx a new wave of creative talent, showcasing an entourage of new ideas; a French New Wave of Games but, well, British (at least in origin). And I want this to be heard. I’m writing this article because I want to support them, in an attempt to build awareness. Because I want them to succeed. For their success will change so much in so many innovative ways.

When I saw all this beautiful creative potential oozing from their E3 trailers earlier this year something inside me changed. It wasn’t a new feeling, not at all, rather a familiar one; one I missed. It was that childlike wonder I had so long ago; that awe and glee when I watched the announcement trailer for LBP; the many days I sat scribbling and doodling on the floor as a child in those long stretched out Summer holidays; those 3 hour long GCSE English Language exams where I would write out whatever story popped into my head (honestly, only exam I ever enjoyed). Those are some of the happiest days of my life: pure unchained creativity with seamless tools.

Finally, those days are returning. Finally, I can be a child once more. And hopefully, so can you <3

Only on first essay, but love the style and viewpoint of Mr. Wallace. Sincerity and informed: Deffo read <3

Afternoon to all... or morning perhaps, depending on where you're based; which brings me head on to what I want to chat about: Relativism.

See, I don’t get numbers. I mean, not the literal function of numbers, like, how they can be applied with the power of maths. I 100% understand the value of them (hehe, get it? Value) but I also understand the almost cold application numbers can have, like rating a girl out of ten which is... unsettling.

Which makes me only more mystified when numbers are applied to Movies. Don’t think I’m comparing movies and girls now, but I guess maybe I'm comparing movies and people (which I’ll touch on later). Most of all I’m talking about movies in the realm of Relativism.

Yes, we’ve all heard the term “But that’s your opinion”, and I do kinda jam in that court, but it also super makes my eyes roll when that’s someone’s retort in a discussion, so let's roll back for a second because ‘discussion’ is kind of my endpoint. First, let's talk numbers.

I don’t get numbers. My Ten isn’t your Ten is an obvious start. Sometimes the opinion of me loving a movie tonnes just doesn’t meet eye to eye with a fellow moviegoer. I get that, super fine, which already makes the number rating kinda fall out of the window. There’s nothing worse than scrolling through opinions on the web and spotting people saying “alright film, 6/10″; that means nothing to me. I don’t know that guy, I don't know what he likes/dislikes. I don’t know what he wants out of a film: 6/10 is meaningless. 

So yes, this is going down an “actually discuss your feelings about a film” route, because that’s the only way right? I mean, films (much like people) are emotional beings that can be seen in so many different lights. If my mate says “What do you think of my new friend, Tony”, I can’t just say “He’s alright, 6/10″. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?

But let's go deeper into this. Let's say everyone knows exactly what my 6/10 means... it still doesn’t work, because my 6/10, for one thing, can’t be the same to a 6/10 I give another thing. “That’s a 6/10 cat”, “That’s a 7/10 Toaster”, so what, you want a Toaster more than a cat? There’s just too many comparable factors.

Now, I know what your thinking, you can’t compare cats and toasters. Well, that’s how I feel about films, you can’t compare an adrenaline pumped thrill ride to a period based character piece. You can’t compare an unchronological Horror film to an emotionally driven Art House Comedy. I love some flawed films for the gems inside, I feel weird about expertly crafted sagas with strange sexist undertones. I like first halves to some films, other movies are slogs but by god do they pay off. Some films teach me things, others I know exactly where they’re taking me but OH BOY, WHAT A RIDE!

You can’t compare movies like those. They can’t be reduced to mere numbers.

Don’t get me wrong, I get it, like, I’m not alien to the concept. I totally 100% understand why we do it. I’ve done it. I wish I could still do it. It’s so simple. It lets us look at a film, quick glance, boom: should we watch it or not? They can be 90 minutes long, heck, some are over 3 hours. Is it worth the risk to waste that amount of time on a film you’re not going to enjoy?

That became the focus of most of my friend's discussions when we all went to the Venice film festival this year. We were some of the first people, public and critics, to see some films. We had no bearings, not even an inkling, on if a film would be good or not. Sometimes a trailer might help, or a name attached to it, but many films didn’t even have those. We were blind. And a lot of films? We didn't enjoy. Did we think them a waste of time? Some of us did. To be honest, I was watching so many films, getting to bed late and waking up so early in the morning that I had to pick and choose which ones I would fall asleep through. 

So, I’m with everyone on that: I would love a numeric fair objective rating that actually helped me out on if I am going to enjoy a film or not.

Sadly, this shoots my hopes down of that existing for me:

The title of this post is aptly named after what is associated with the number 69.

And that’s pretty much all I’ll discuss with, it’s just an aesthetic thing really. You can’t go past 69 without pointing at it because, well, I’m never going past it again. That’s the thing with numbers holding significance, they have power of you because like an eclipse, when you miss them that’s it... Which is all a bit silly really.

Anyway, here’s some great numbers for us to think about:

Second day, second post. I’m not trying to get used to this rhythm, but as I’m in the mood: Here’s another post.

And it starts with me writing from a prompt, A ‘Word of the Day’ to be exact:

For the last few months I’ve been writing from the perspective of a Potato, and I did it on a daily basis; every single day for 70 days, never missed a beat, and I was really proud of that! (Note: I know it isn’t titled 71, but the early posts weren’t numbered, so it super counts).

The character Mr Potato was something I hold dear to me, a way of expressing myself through mini narratives that take quirky takes, tales that went from working at a Safari Park, talking of a Post Maker 3000, a trip to Venice Film Festival and flying up to he Moon in Suitcase City. But I then I stopped. 

After a long hiatus I looked back at this Tumblr page. Sure, there was regret that I ground to a halt, I was happy I stayed motivated to write every day and it got my creative cogs running, which is healthy. But that steam ran out, my little mind on wheels ran out of fuel.

Feeling reinvigorated, I came back to the page, but I didn’t feel like writing from the perspective of a Potato anymore, and while it’s great that I write every day it wasn’t great forcing myself to create complete Potato based narratives for it tainted the experience.

Never the less, I want to return. I want to keep writing. It’s healthy, for all I want to do is to improve writing. It’s not about “getting likes” or what ever the internet currency is this side (even though, not going to lie, getting a thumbs up from a stranger is always nice). It has to be about being a better writer.

So, I shall continue this blog, but two things will change:

1) I won’t write on this at a daily basis; just as much as I can (when it feels right/not forcing it)

2) While I will keep writing under the name “Mr Potato”, I’m not going to be a “Potato” anymore.

The First reason is so I do it because I want to. I mean, I always want to because I always want to improve, but I want to write with sincerity and thoughtfulness, and those qualities don’t mesh with something that is mass produced. It starts with me caring about what I write.

The second, and more important reason, comes down to what I’ll title:

Mr Potato has finally ripened!

That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong about writing about a Potato, or that I look down on it; I love writing about absurd things, they allow you to discuss serious themes in a trogan horse of emotion: Super cool!

It’s just... I want to write about stuff that’s dear to me without hiding it under layers of fun quirky Potato themed shenanigans. I do that enough with the other stuff I write, the scripts and other scribbled down stories, I should be more upfront on a blog about how I feel about things; once again, it comes down to sincerity, and letting my metaphorical hair down when I write about said honest emotions.

Mr Potato has empathy and sincerity, I will always stand by that (hence why all previous posts are staying up and I’m continuing on this Tumblr) but to progress, to improve and open up, I’m writing from me. 

Yes, I feel like I’m on the moon sometimes, yes I still feel green, yet to ripen, but now I’ll just write anyway I like; hell, maybe I’ll write another Potato themed story, WHO KNOWS! (I probably won’t).

But what ever I do, it won’t be under a disguise... apart from my username that is, that is most certainly is a disguise. 

So, as I put up my 71st post: Here is my first blog entry as me. Maybe this isn’t about maturity, maybe it’s just fatigue of writing Spud based yarns, who knows (well, me, secretly somewhere deep in my brain). Either way, I know it’s the right step.

Sometimes Mr Potato doesn’t have much to say in regards of volume but rather wants to express it in something short and sweet.