Timothy goes to School is Anime in Disguise (#1)

"Us?  Anime?"
"YUKYUKYUKYUKYUK."

Yeah, I just went there.

Chobits Demonstrates the most Fundamental Story Structure

Over the course of my college program thus far, I feel I've learned absolutely nothing, and if I wasn't on scholarship right now, I'd feel cheated out of lots of money.  Thank god I didn't actually pay for this crap.

However, the area of story structures was an awesome journey, exploring concepts you can't even find on the Internet!  Here, I'll teach you all a fundamental storytelling skill through the example of an awesome cartoon from Japan.

Because, hey, it's what I do.

WILL Talks GAMES: Playing on the Defense

I just finished playing through what would be the bulk of Knights of Pen and Paper (Which is a gosh-darn glorious retro RPG, if anyone wants to pick it up for a measly $10 here).  The expansive world is easily traversed, the die rolls are a simple but effective touch, the dialogue and cultural references are hilarious, and to top it off, the battles are challenging, in-depth takes on the turn-based standard established by mainstream RPGs.

WILL Talks GAMES: IS it Obvious?

As I sit here, gazing across to the other end of my college hallway, I tend to think of a lot of things as I stall for time to go home, dodging assignments and procrastinating like a smooth criminal.  A lot of my time sitting and thinking is dedicated to my personal projects, not my schooling: "I need some ideas for CrookedFingers articles", "What angle should I take to my next Let's Play?", or the ever-so-lovely "...isn't it weird that Mario games have a counter timing down, whereas Sonic games have a timer counting up?"

Y'know, just sittin' here...hanging out!

Isn't that weird, though?  Sonic the Hedgehog was birthed from the concept of finishing Mario's world 1-1 as fast as possible.  Why does the game record your time rather than rush you?  Why is there even a time limit in a slower-paced game like Super Mario Bros.?

WILL talks GAMES: The (Final) Fantasy Debacle

If I was created for the sole purpose of starring in overhyped garbage, I'd probably sport that face as well.

CLAMP is also the Singularity of a Real(ist?) Universe

Uhhh...smile and say, "cheese?"

So in the previous Here's an Idea! article, I made a post about how a simple Japanese manga echoed messages of nostalgic idealism - a childlike longing for the past to avoid facing the truth of age and death.  Of course, whether or not that's true is totally up to the word of CLAMP, and those ladies usually keep pretty tight-lipped about any sort of release or PR.  The nature of Here's an Idea! isn't necessarily to convey facts and be correct.  The real point is clear in the title: it's an idea; an interpretation, if you will!

WILL Talks GAMES: Three Indie Games Being Funded by FANS

If you were to tell somebody that you opened a charity fund to go toward the development of your arcade game, people would think you were nuts.

WILL Talks GAMES: Less can be More

I can't believe I'm writing about this.  It's so obvious,
yet so many people don't realize it...

When I talk to people about games and stuff, usually people will share with me upcoming games they’re excited for.  Nine times out of ten, these gamers are nuts for the next game in their favourite series – they’ll back up their claim with, “It’s got updated graphics, lots of new features and game modes, and the developers promised monthly DLC!”, and they’ll blabber on and on and on about the game, singing its praises for as long as they can for as many reasons as they can come up with.

…Remember when you wanted to play a game because it looked “fun?”

CLAMP is the Singularity of the Ideal(ist?) Universe

HERE'S AN IDEA:

A cartoon produced by a studio named CLAMP has done something quite astounding with a simple story.

Sorry for the lack of posts. Guess I slept in a little bit...

Does Animal Crossing Promote Otaku Citizenship?

It's kinda funny that my entire Here's an Idea! series on this blog was inspired by Idea Channel, and by some coincidence, Idea Channel covers a thesis related to one of my WILL Talks GAMES articles.  The latest discussion to come from the web series revolves around Animal Crossing and its promotion of an Otaku citizenship.  It was a very intriguing and new way of looking at a video game about...well, a village full of talking animals.

The Alpha, the Omega; the Beginning and the End

WILL Talks GAMES: The Xbox One...Step Back

The glossiest cable box on the market.  It plays games too!

The Story of CrookedFingers

"It's a long story...worth telling."

Alright, then let's tell that story!

WILL Talks GAMES: Defining Genres

Why is it that games have their genres categorized differently than music and movies do?  It is an interactive medium, but that means it has more potential than others as a form of entertainment, expression, and creativity, not less.  So why is it that we categorize games' genres in such a shallow manner?  To discuss a matter such as this, it'd be best for me to explain how we view games in comparison to other mediums, and from there, the real issue at hand will be rather obvious.

"Girly" is the Epitomic Webcomic

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Due to the mature undertones behind what we'll be talking about, I will NOT be 

providing a link to the following comic...Gotta keep things clean for school, sorry!
Also, there are minor spoilers for the material of discussion, so be aware of that
before you read this.

HERE'S AN IDEA:

Girly is an example of a webcomic done right.

WILL Talks GAMES: Top 5 "Everyone Games"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This article is long.  And I mean reaaaaaally long.  Proceed with caution!

Video games, love 'em or hate 'em, are only continuing to evolve and prosper as an entertainment medium – there's no denying that.  Every year, North America nets about $28 billion annually from the development and sales of games; that's a lot of income, and a resultant heap of available jobs.  Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, on its first day of release, grossed $500 million in sales revenue in the U.S. alone – this video game outsold every Harry Potter movie's American theatre lifespan in one day, and only missed Titanic's first-day sales by about $150 million.  If that doesn't convince you gaming is an huge part of our economy, I don't know what will – that's only one game, after all. Imagine all the titles released by Sega, Nintendo, Microsoft, Capcom, Konami, and so many more developers, including independently-made games.  The video game industry, in its simplest perspective, really is a beautiful thing.

Some Real-Talk, for what it's Worth:

Three Islanders were badly injured at this passing disaster.  That being said, kinship toward people who live where I do wasn't what drove me to write this - the fact that misfortune hit Boston means that those affected deserve their respective support.  In short: I'm very, sincerely sorry to those who were affected by this passing event. For the longer version, well, you can read on past the break.

Youtube's Slogan is a Contradiction

  HERE'S AN IDEA:

Youtube's full of crap.

The Boondocks is the Political Statement of the Century

HERE'S AN IDEA:

The Boondocks is the greatest political cartoon in history, and produces more of a world statement than any before it.

Welcome to CrookedFingers!

If you're reading this, then chances are you managed to stumble upon this website through Facebook or through my school's website.  If you're here, then feel free to take a load off and read on through my aimless babbling - I tend to do that a lot more than someone should. My name is Will, and this is CrookedFingers.