#basic tips

I would generally recommend starting from the center of the circle, then drawing four straight lines towards the points where you want the circle to be placed. Make sure the lines are of equal length to maintain symmetry.

Then go to https://minecraftcirclesgenerator.com/, enter the size needed and voilà:

It turned out as round as possible in Minecraft! :)

I used it to build my water fountain. (Tip: When building a spiral staircase, start with the smallest circle on the inner side to ensure it's connected, then work your way out, arranging the rest of the stairs around it.)

1. You will notice that either your control stick or the W key have the ability to make your character walk forward. This is important while you are on attack, I recommend using it.

2. The giant glowing circle is actually a good thing! Try standing in it before I stand on your balls!

3. In this game (and in life) there is more than 1 dimension! Try looking to the left or right if you notice you’re taking damage. ADVANCED TIP: there is a 3rd dimension too, it’s called up. You should look there sometimes before storm or iron man- never mind you’re dead again.

4. Do you notice how nobody on their team is dying? That’s because they are being healed. You can stop that by aiming at the woman, shark, glowing golden man, or evil raccoon.

5. I see that there is someone in our back line. How about rather than all of us chasing them, we leave that to one person and the rest of us put pressure on the rest of the team so they can’t shoot us in the back?

6. Do you notice you aren’t getting healed? Look around to see if you can see your healer! If you can’t, that means they can’t heal you! Because walls are solid objects! And respawning takes 15 seconds!

7. Do you remember tip 4? Well the enemy team may try to use that tip as well. This can be prevented by standing in front of your woman, shark, glowing golden man, or evil raccoon, when you notice a hail of bullets headed their way!

8. So you’ve decided to play support to prove it’s not that hard. Great! Stop aiming at the enemy. Your Storm and Thor can take on 4 of the enemy team if they have your support, and 0 if you decide dagger is a dps now.

9. You may notice some extra objects on the ground around you such as floating demon squids, a giant fuck off turret, a revive beacon, or a mechanical nest of spider bombs. You should shoot those.

10. For the final tip, you may notice that there are glowing bubbles around the map. If they are blue, you should stand in them/pick them up. This will keep you alive. They are not decoration as some may try to suggest, but actually ways to get constant or bursts of healing!

So... You wanna throw some characters at other characters and tell them to kill each other, huh? Well, in order to make all that interesting, ya gotta consider these tips first.

1. I've been in martial arts for over six years and animation for just as long. So of course I'm going to suggest you plebs do a little research first. Wanna know how it feels to punch someone? Punch someone. Wanna know how it feels to get punched? Come over to my place.

Even learning simple stuff like rolls, stretches, differing exercises, and the most basic of techniques can help out a ton. At the very least, it'll keep people from making this face at you: ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ

You don't have to go all out like me, but at least learning the fundamentals of physics and how certain injuries will affect the fight can help. Take these fun little tip for example: there's a vein on the neck that, when hit properly, will make you instantly pass out. It only takes eight seconds to choke someone out to the point of fainting as long as you're holding them right..and if you keep it up, then just wait five minutes and they'll be dead. Anywhere in-between can give them serious head injuries they'll likely never recover from. There are a thousand more, but I'll stop there. Trust me. I've learned more about biology from karate than from actual Biology class.

2. I feel like this is also a given, but at the very least, know what your surroundings are. Find ways to implement the setting into the fight creatively.

Example: two people are fighting in the desert and one tosses sand into the other's eyes. Or, two people are fighting in that same desert, but the one currently losing is being shoved into the sand, choked alive by all the granules.

Also please remember that when your characters are in extreme heat or freezing settings, they will fight differently. Maybe it's even the setting itself that is slowly killing the fighters, and the battle is really all about who can last the longest.

At the very least, I'd suggest you do two things in case you have a hard time with this one. (1) gather images of the setting, or at least settings like it. Then, take note of all the elements, obstacles, and even ambiance involved. (2) pick out objects to scatter about the setting that your characters can later pick up and use in the fight. Just make sure they have to do with the setting.

3. The destination of the fight can greatly impact the "vibe."

In the sky: superman level fights, typically very grandiose, larger than life, and impressive (even if written realistically). These are great locations for if/when you're trying to make your character look cool in some way.

On top of buildings/canyons: similarly grand but with more emphasis on stakes. You typically want that sense of uneasiness every time the main character sways or is knocked a little too far away. These scenes are often used around a climax thanks to the perfect level of grandiose tension and realism. It's a great way to get your character on edge and reveal their true feelings, mainly fear.

On the ground, outside: these fights are often much more grounded than most. Often deals with a lot of running/trying out other options beyond fighting. Typically, you're trying to establish what kind of a fighter your character is in these fights + what their morals may be.

On the ground, inside: oddly enough, this is where it gets personal. Mostly because I usually think of someone's home or a grocery store where every action means something. This is typically where the most drama takes place. I'd definitely suggest you lean into the importance of the setting they are fighting in much more than the setting of other fights. (This is also where every word counts.)

Underground: by far one of my personal favorites. The claustrophobia one can draw from these settings is truly something else. The most grounded of any other fight setting. This is where I like to strip the flashy powers and magic from my characters and let them brawl the old fashioned way, getting dirty and going all out. Down here, every punch matters.

There are of course more, but these are the basics!

4. Similar to the first step, please know how the weapons your characters are using work!

5. And of course no fight is complete without (A) build up, (B) understandable reasons for the characters to fight, and (C) clear stakes/what would be lost or gained if either were to lose. Remember, a fight is just an argument acted out. Keeping that in mind will make the whole process so much easier.

Anyways, that's just about it. I could ramble some more, but these are supposed to be the basics!

Hi!

Firstly, don’t hesitate to write what you imagine and what appeals to you. Don’t worry that your idea isn’t original; don’t worry that your material is too dark; don’t worry that you’re the wrong person to tell your story, or that it’s not the right time. It’s your story, the time is now, and you should write it however you want.

When you’re first spinning out your story and expanding on all your ideas, don’t share them with anyone – if you think better out loud, like I do, then look into a mirror and talk yourself through your ideas, but don’t let the cat out of the bag until your idea is entirely down on paper. Your story, to begin with, is entirely yours, and no one else should influence it until it’s entirely out of your head and tangible.

Don’t go back and edit anything – anything – until about six weeks after you finish your rough draft. If you keep going back to fix scenes before the entire thing is done, you’ll never finish.

Once you start editing, retype it (or, if you wrote it longhand, type it out). It may sound crazy, but it really helps with cutting unneeded words – when you have to type the entire thing again, you really stay mindful of what words you need and what words you don’t. Also, it’ll keep you more alert about sentences that don’t sound right, or that could be phrased better. As for any big plot holes or problems with the storyline rather than the grammar/wording, keep a notebook specifically for keeping a record of what you need to fix and what ideas you have to do it.

I would also advise you to read your work – especially your dialogue – aloud to yourself when editing. If something sounds bad, you’ll hear it best if you hear it out loud.

There are certain mistakes that are very common and you'll look like an idiot if you make them. And now, they're included in the tutorial!

Newbie Tip #1: Don't run while holding scissors.

Newbie Tip #2: Don't put pineapple on pizza.

Newbie Tip #3: Don't recognize the bodies in the water

Newbie Tip #4: Make sure to wear a seatbelt (or equivalent) in your vehicle.