#ess rambles

what if I do it gradually instead? slowly change the artstyle, the plot, the gameplay, just a tiny bit at a time. is it still the same game if it's broadly the same? if I can still kinda give the same blurb to describe it?

I'm mostly thinking about this because of Final Fantasy I (I'm always thinking of this game it seems), and how every successive port of the game changes things little by little. I find it hard to believe that "Final Fantasy" on the PSP and "Final Fantasy" on NES are in any meaningful way the same game.

like, say you took all the map data from Super Mario Bros and copied it over to Super Mario Maker. is it still Super Mario Bros? why or why not? what if I copied it over a different game, like Super Mario Bros 3 or Super Mario World or Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. is it still the same game then? when did it stop being the same game?

what if I remade the game from scratch based on what I can see playing it? everything looks largely the same, but if you're experienced enough with the original you can clearly tell things are off. certain movement constants or enemy behaviors don't quite match. some secrets are missing because I didn't find them. to an average player it might seem identical but anyone that's played the game for long enough can tell its not the same. so is it the same game? what if I managed to convince Nintendo to sell it, is your answer the same? this one's not a hypothetical. I'm talking about a real game here

following back to Final Fantasy I, can any of the later versions of the game be said to be "the same game" if they don't share the artstyle? if the combat system has been fully redone? if the gameplay loop no longer resembles the original? the story is broadly the same, but characters are there now who didn't exists. characters have different motivations behind their actions as before. is it really the same game still?

and if not, when did it stop being the same game? when the graphics got changed? when the battle system got redone? that happened twice, do you feel the same about both of them? when the story stated drifting? what even makes the game "the game"? I'm unsure myself

Final Fantasy I is a weird game. Final Fantasy I is a weird series of games. No game is truly Final Fantasy I, unless they are. Final Fantasy I is like if the Ship of Theseus was a game.

I'll try to post the follow up for Asiné's story today or tomorrow! And maybe some more world building stuff?

skdjsiwjxn lowkey losing my mind over here. I’m trying desperately to work on the new chapter for Between You and I, but my brain is not in it.

And it’s not even because there’s something else I’d rather be writing. I love the concept of writing this, but it just isn’t coming out.

Work has been incredibly stressful yesterday and today, and I didn’t sleep hardly at all…so maybe it’s just my focus, but damn. It sucks because writing is usually how I manage my stress. 😭

Tagged by @unrelaxing <3

1. Origins of your blog's name: It was my name and then rambles because I had no direction for this blog (which is still its thing a la my bio) and then I changed it to essrambles because I didn't want my name on any social media and my name starts with S

2: My 'I'll always order this food': If lasagna or mushroom risotto is on the menu, it's going in my stomach. I love carbs and I love sauce

3. Overused emoji: 😂

4. Current comfort movie, show and book: Corpse Bride (twisted its gnarly fingers into my soul when it first came out), Brooklyn 99 (I don't have strong feelings about it but I can ignore it for 7 minutes and the plot still makes sense) and Heidi (I have a falling-apart copy from primary school)

5. Song on repeat: Bad Omens. Either 'Death of Peace of Mind' or 'Glass Houses' because they're my faves

6. My current hyperfixation: I'm just easing off Call of Duty HAHA but my god what is it about masked men and scottish accents

7. Oddly specific thing that brings me joy: Pressing my face into my cat's fur (esp her fluffy cloud belly) and inhaling because her cat smell brings me so much joy

8. What smell makes me happy: Another smell that makes me happy would be freshly baked bread or laundry detergent. I INHALE when I pass a bakery or walk down the cleaning aisle in the supermarket

9. Something i loved as a kid and secretly still do: No secret here, I fucking love Garfield and Scooby-Doo. I read every Garfield comic I could get my hands on and had a plushie that's been lost to time. Scooby was the last cartoon my dad let me watch before bedtime and I found so much joy in it as a kid

10. Phone wallpaper right now: I have changing wallpapers of all the pets I have/had and my niece (they're all animals)

11. Are you an early bird or night owl? Night owl but unfortunately my job forces me to be a morning owl, rendering me a permanently useless pigeon

12. If you work, what is your profession and do you like it? I'm a teacher. Yes, I love my job when it's about teaching and building relationships with students and their families. I've had more than one person say it's genuinely a calling for me and I'm super proud of that