The Shining Potential Of Shinies – Call Of Light

If you adore casual games that take you to a beautiful new world that provides some mesmerizingly tranquil essences if you wish to mellow out, along with a theme of friendship you can empathise with, Shinies : Call Of Light could be right up your alley [5] [6]. Two months ago, I was contacted by Tristan Edel, also known as “Asalfin” who informed me about the project on Wix.com where my portfolio and GamesEnquirer lie [14] [35]. As my curiosity sparked, I discovered that it was a crowdfunded project [5] [6]. As I mentioned when discussing my thoughts on Alice: Asylum three years ago, not all crowdfunded projects are acclaimed [39] [40]. However, Edel believes that crowdfunding can benefit creative freedom and allow the production of a project to be more laid back [5] [6]. I agree with his opinion as art cannot be rushed, according to the toy repairman from Toy Story 2 [31]. I see a lot of potential in Edel’s project as shown on his Indiegogo and Kickstarter pages [5] [6]. From what I have seen, there is a lot of dedication passionately put into it [9] [10] [11]. Moreover, a little analysis of what Shinies : Call Of Light has to offer ought to be enlightening.

Congratulations to Edel on reaching his goal to receive the budget for this project. It looks like there is a need for more currency for some upgrades though [5] [6]. Will the Shinies outshine Shiny Pokémon [2]? [5] [6] [7] [11]

Oh wow! A celestial Pac-Man [5]! [6]

The project was announced within the first concept trailer that was uploaded in 2019 [9]. The game is about two yellow beams of energy named “Shinies” finding their purpose as they face their fears in a mysterious world they wake up in [5] [6] [7]. It is not every day the main characters of a story are simply two beams of light, but there is something about such simplicity that leads to some deep potential, considering that the story is meant to be emotional. The way the Shinies slowly regain their memories and befriend creatures in the world they end up in ought to lead to some effective character development, whether there will be any voice acting in the game or not. Quite like the morals in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic [21] [22], the story in Shinies : Call Of Light will be centred on the importance of friendship, as well as some forms of heroism, as shown by the companionship of the Shinies in samples of gameplay footage and according to some character descriptions on the Kickstarter and Indiegogo pages [5] [6]. Will they regain memories of the past? Will the call be answered? Call me weird, but I think the English theme song for Pokémon: Ultimate Journeys would suit the game’s premise to a T [17].

It sure is far more acceptable to let your imagination run wild when it comes to developing an original property instead of mooching off the appeal of an already established franchise with a knockoff slapped on a slot or ticket machine [29] [30]. [9]

The most important aspect of a game is how engaging the gameplay is. There will be puzzles to be solved [5] [6] [7], quite similar to some of the puzzles shown in the gameplay reveal of Sonic Frontiers [36] [37], which I believe would make the game seem rather casual. As for the Shinies’ abilities, they can defend themselves with a dash to dodge attacks and a shield to deflect them as part of the aspects of learning to face fears within the story [5] [6] [7].There are Energy Crystals that will grant the Shinies energy for their abilities. The way Politeness Gate requires the cooperation of the duo vaguely reminds me of the aspects of Clank cooperation with copies of himself in Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time [28]. How there are weaker walls and gates for the Shinies to destroy is sure to further increase their empowerment [5] [6] [7]. It would be essential to gradually increase the challenge throughout the experience to keep the player motivated, especially during a boss battle as that was an aspect Edward McMillen aimed for during the development of Super Meat Boy [18]. Besides that, the vibes of Shinies : Call Of Light’s gameplay ought to remain mostly tranquil [5] [6] [7] [10], especially for the causal players who want to chill out after a rough day.

Feedback during the alpha and beta testing of the game can help Edel figure out how to make the gameplay experience even more engaging [5] [6]. [7]

What can I say about the gorgeous graphics aside from how the two protagonists put the “shine” in Shinies? The blue beams of energy near the blue gates illuminate the paths through them, making them a real treat for dreamers [10]. The fox, lakrans and the eeloos are majestically animated, elevating the mood of a journey through a new world to discover [5] [6]. Another example of gorgeously rendered animation is the beams of purple light that gush all the way down during a scene at what appears to be a canyon [11]. According to the concept trailers, there appear to be a variety of locations, such as a void full of glowing tints of purple and a field with long grass, which leads to further creative potential [9] [10]. The colour palettes of each location are easing in association with combining a portion of realism with wonderous fantasy. The overall atmosphere of the game reminds me of Flower [27]. I do not doubt that the visuals will look more amazing with enough money for an upgrade as there are times when the visuals in a trailer are not the same as the visuals in the final outcome [5] [6]. Several changes to scenes in the first season of Helluva Boss are a prime example of that [1]. 

Although the graphics are splendidly rendered in the recent trailer and the samples with descriptions on the Indiegogo and Kickstarter pages [5] [6], I am sure they will look even more beautiful after an upgrade for the final outcome. It may not be as drastic and needed as the redesign of Sonic the Hedgehog in his first movie from Paramount, but still [15]. [10]

There are friends to aid and foes to face throughout the call of light. The way the Pronats are designed makes them resemble a futuristic version of Mr. I from Super Mario 64 [25]. The Lakrans seem to have specific traits of a wolf pack, making them appear to be menacing enemies [10]. How the fox is simply a parent yearning to find a lost child reminds me of the portrayal of Tuxie’s mother from Super Mario 64 [25]. As the only one of his kind and the King of the elks, could the character development of The Elkeran be centred on expressing loneliness? I am rather curious about the Eeloos as I cannot help but be vaguely reminded of Moltres in Pokémon Snap by how they glow and how they are animated [24]. I wonder if there will be a major antagonist responsible for the Shinies’ amnesia. Besides, one of the samples of music for the game hints that there will be plenty of boss battles [8]. As the author of two novellas set in a fictional universe [38], I shall root for the two Shinies maintaining their alliance, as well as their alliances with the other characters, especially the fox [5] [6]. 

Could the budget for upgrading the creatures result in a bigger variety of species, including more enemies to confront, besides some very slight redesigns for the already established ones? [10]

This concept art not only briefly reminds me of Stolas from Helluva Boss but is of the character who will be the first boss of the game [20]. Who knows what the other bosses will look like? [6]

What can I say about some other aspects of the project? I am unmistakably amazed that Edel can skillfully produce some original music for the game, as shown by how he can play a melody on a keyboard attached to his computer and his samples of original music on SoundCloud [8] [11]. Fittingly, the music for Shinies : Call Of Light sounds exactly like the kind of music you would hear if you were playing a game set in a fantasy world, providing that essence of stress relief as the player can tune into the adventure, away from reality for a little while [9] [10] [11]. I am rather curious about the eventual bigger upgrade for the soundtrack as it leads me to wonder if there will be any remastered recordings, a bigger variety or just slightly crisper quality [5] [6]. Considering Edel can also compose original music [8] [11], I believe that he has the potential to help compose a soundtrack for other gaming projects in a reliable manner. Perhaps the super upgrade for Shinies : Call Of Light can include a theme song with the vocals of a singer with an angelic voice and some emotional lyrics about the value of friendship [5] [6].

Aside from how impressed I am at his skills in composing music, I can empathise with Edel’s speech as someone who studied games design at college and university before deciding to become a gaming journalist and the author of two novellas [35] [38]. [11]

I am impressed by what has been revealed about Shinies : Call Of Light [5] [6] [7], from a premise of two inseparable beams of light discovering their purpose together to a soundtrack composed by a solo developer [10] [11]. The proposed alpha release date of the game is September 2023 [4]. Care to add it to your wishlists, Steamers [7]? Who knows? I might as well write a song parody about it in honour of its legacy. What else will we see at that time? The trailer for a third Sonic the Hedgehog movie co-starring Shadow the Hedgehog [25]? A revival of the Sonic Riders series with notable improvements [16] [36] [37]? A second season of Baymax! on Disney Plus [3]? Edel has mentioned a sequel to the game he is already working on, further proving his ambitious passion for developing what is best for his original intellectual property [5] [6]. As well as being infatuated with new instalments of beloved mainstream franchises from big companies, including Bowser in a new LEGO form [19], we ought to humble ourselves to brand new ideas within a brand new intellectual property from indie development teams and even a single independent creator [11]. I hope Edel will continue to follow his passions and I wish him the best of luck on the release of his project next year [4].

I am still saddened that ICU Gamer had to be shut down before being rebranded as “Games Enquirer” a year ago [12] [13], but for what we have lost, we will gain something else. Shinies : Call Of Light could be a shining example [5] [6]. And yes, the Splatoon 3 edition of the OLED model of the Nintendo Switch would be another example too [23]. Now, how about we jam to the theme song of the The Delicious Last Course, the brand new DLC for Cuphead [29] [30]? [10]

References

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4. Edel, T. (2022). Available: https://twitter.com/ShiniesTheGame/status/1532734399652974595. Last accessed 10th Jul 2022.
5. Edel, T. (2021). Shinies : Call of Light. Available: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shinies-call-of-light#/. Last accessed 8th Jul 2022.
6. Edel, T. (2019). Shinies - Call of Light. Available: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/asalfingames/shinies-call-of-light-0. Last accessed 10th Jul 2022.
7. Edel, T. (2022). Shinies : Call of Light. Available: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466360/Shinies__Call_of_Light/. Last accessed 4th Jul 2022.
8. Edel, T. (2022). Shinies - Call of Light : BossFight 1. Available: https://soundcloud.com/user-700797822/shinies-call-of-light-bossfight-1. Last accessed 6th Jul 2022.
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34. Williams, L. (2022). Four More KnockOffs Of Iconic Characters On Arcade Machines. Available: https://laurawritesanarticle.blogspot.com/2022/06/arcade-knockoffs-2.html. Last accessed 1st Jul 2022.
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Four More KnockOffs Of Iconic Characters On Arcade Machines

It has been over a year since I was rather baffled as I analysed five knock-offs of iconic fictional characters that can be seen in arcades or casinos, from Cash Bandiloot to The Winsons [35] [36]. When I was gaming at the South Pier in Blackpool back in February, I encountered a “community play” edition of Ticket Raider [29]. You know, the one starring the awfully familiar heroine mooching off the legacies of two famous experts in archaeology [35] [36]. As an arcade admirer, I have seen her several times. As I have mentioned before, I am not fond of plagiarising an intellectual property and profiting off it unless it is clearly a parody under fair use [27], but a blatant knockoff would be fascinating to analyse to an extent. I am looking at you, Fur Fun, also known as “Kewpie-Jazzy” [33]. Did you know that there are about four more corny wannabes? Besides Freddie, who else is a Yabba Dabba Don’t for the sake of not having to pay companies for permission to legally use real deals [35] [36]? Prepare to be unamused at four more knockoffs that you might encounter at the next arcade you visit on your next holiday.

Lara Jones is gorgeous and self-empowered, despite her blatant lack of originally [35] [36]. Who else is amusingly unoriginal? [Williams, 2021]

Aladdin
During the week I spent in North Wales back in Summer 2021, I have encountered about two of these arcade machines that feature some of these knockoffs. One of them was “Disney’s” Aladdin-themed [2]. Pffft. Disney, my bum. There is no sign of the Disney logo anywhere. The fake Aladdin within the cabinet’s artwork looks like a younger Jafar cosplaying as the real deal. The genie’s facial features resemble Jafar if he were a loyal sidekick instead of the main antagonist. The Iago reject looks cheerful enough to be considered a good guy. The Abu reject seems happy enough near a pot loaded with gold coins. The overall design of this cabinet did not try to hide the fact that it is trying to capitalise on the iconic animated film in the slightest. The utter lack of subtly in ripping him off is stupendous! At least Cash Bandiloot and The Winsons were more subtle with highly notable differences in character design and names that sound like parodies [35] [36]. I guess the true Disney Aladdin forgot to wish for this to not ever happen as the design of the cabinet probably never had a friend like originality [2]. Of course, this is not the only time this has happened [3] [6].

I can be a knockoff. No, they can’t tell the difference. Tell me, Player. When did you last let a coin inside [2]? [Williams, 2021]

Manic Mushrooms
All the way from Reflex Gaming, a slot machine popped out of a blue pipe and into the gambling section of every arcade [26]. I also encountered this specimen in North Wales back in 2021. The name “Manic Mushrooms” may have a nice ring to it, but it does not cover up that fact that it is ripping-off Super Mario. Is this guy wearing yellow gloves instead of white ones to match his scarf the long-lost brother of the real Mario? Well, that would be rather doubtful due to Nintendo’s history of harshly taking down fanmade games [5]. The rosy-cheeked Princess Peach wannabe is holding a gold staff but she is still part of the copying and pasting [26]. Could the rip-off of Yoshi be an unknown breed of Yoshi or something? Seeing the mushrooms with smiles is rather unnerving as they could have been the decapitated heads of Toads! Seriously! I thought this cabinet was ripping off the Super Mario series, not the Mortal Kombat series [32]! There was quite a missed opportunity to include a Luigi reject too, considering he was employed at a casino once [17]. However, wouldn’t it be more fitting to rip-off Wario due to his money-hungry personality [18]? Thank you, Not Mario. But I guess originality was in another castle [26]. 

It’s-a him! A rip-off! Have we learned nothing from the two Mole Cart games and The Great Giana Sisters [33]? And some of us thought Bugs Bunny wearing yellow gloves was a bit awkward [25]. [Williams, 2021]

JNC’s Super Heroes
During my second time away at Isle of Wight, I have encountered a new league of superheroes printed on a ticket machine that operates like a fruit machine [12]. I bet you can imagine my reaction to its design. There is a man in attire that just shrieks “Classic Thor” in your face in a pretentious tone, along with Superman vibes by the way he is posing [31]. You can tell that the green guy is blatant Hulk wannabe without much subtlety by his fit of rage [12], even though his face and lack of hair remind me of Piccolo from the DragonBall Z franchise [10]. The superheroine appears to be a fusion of Black Widow and Wonder Woman, oddly consisting of potential to be a completely original character without having to be part of a cheesy rip-off of DC’s Justice League and Marvel’s Avengers [12]. Well, at least there are only three of these superzeroes. No reference to the Powerpuff Girls’ alter-egos, Liberty Belle, Harmony Bunny and Mange intended [14] [22]. I just wonder if their arch nemesis is a lawyer wearing a Marvel or DC Comics badge on one of his lapels yearning to sue them, as harsh as that sounds [12]. 

Wannabes assemble! [Williams, 2022]

Flying Tickets 
Flappy Bird was the huge hit that irritated so many mobile gamers with its rather basic yet intensely challenging gameplay from mid-2013 to early 2014 [7] [9] [24]. So many Flappy Bird clones were released, including a minigame in My Talking Tom named “Flappy Tom” [20], even after the real deal was taken off the App Store. To this day, I can still an unofficial arcade adaption named “Flying Tickets” at Hollywood Bowl [1]. Despite how the game’s premise is a shameless copy of Flappy Bird, the only thing that seems original is that two players can play the game at the same times. Player One takes control of a yellow bird wearing a blue helmet by pressing the blue button at the left side and Player Two controls a white bird wearing a red helmet by the power of a red button at the right side, similar to how Player One controls a chicken and Player Two moves a duck in the multiplayer arcade version of Crossy Road [11]. I will at least cut the birds some slack as they at least wear helmets during risky flights when Flappy Bird’s protagonist did not [1] [9]. I just wonder if Not Mario from Manic Mushrooms ever bumped into either bird while going down a green pipe [26]. 

Here is me playing Flying Tickets in 2021 [1]. Talk about a rehash of early 2014 [7] [9] [24]. Pity the real Flappy Bird is no longer available to download and is so early 2014, but at least some clones can still be played to this day, including Flying Tickets and Flappy Tom [1] [20]. At least the two birds in Flying Tickets are more visually pleasing than the flappy bird that started the thankfully outdated trend. [Williams, 2021]

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery [28], but when it comes to imitating an iconic franchise on an arcade game cabinet or casino slot machine in a shameless and rather cheesy way, it would be the sincerest form of unoriginality [35] [36]. That would not always be the case though as The Lion King is one of the most acclaimed animated Disney films of all time, despite the accusations of Simba being a rip-off of Kimba the White Lion and how its plot is a rehash of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet [8] [39]. At least we can tune into new adventures with real deals, such as a mysterious female equivalent of Count Dracula as part of the Monster High Skullector doll collection and Lightyear, the cinematic origin of Buzz Lightyear from the timelessly adored Toy Story franchise, in spite of its mixed reception and unfortunate failure at the box office [4] [16] [17] [23] [37] [38]. With all of these interestingly cringey knock-off characters combined, they can all have a whacky race for an insanely large amount of tickets for a big prize [35] [36]. Until then, fellow arcade admirers. I guess a certain song sung by the Watterson family ought to teach these knockoffs a lesson [27]. 

As I have mentioned before, there is a difference between an inspiration and a blatant knockoff when it comes to identifying similarities [34]. If you prefer Kimba over Simba, that is no problem at all [39]. The same goes for if you prefer Simba over Kimba. I hope you liked my spoofing of theme songs that take the mick out of the knockoffs I described [35] [36]. [13]

References

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Could Bunny Park Be The Cutest Console Port Of 2022?

Eh, what’s up, reader [38] [39]? A forthcoming port of a PC game with its latest update about managing a park for bunnies was announced on a Monday [30] [31], despite how much Garfield hates them [13]. I absolutely adore the game’s concept, along with the idea of two cake topper brides falling in a seemingly forbidden love in the upcoming animated film directed by Sophie Feher titled “Piece Of Cake” [11]. And yes, Bunny Park is not the only game developed by Cozy Bee Games and published by SOEDESCO Studios to be available for consoles this September [24] [33]. Lemon Cake’s legacy was firstly baked on Steam back in February 2021 [32], much like how Bunny Park first hopped into playability back in January 2020 [14] [31]. Keep those noses twitching and refrain from raving like the Rabbids as I shall proceed to express my belief of this possibly being the cutest console port of a PC game of 2022 [36]. Well, at least to me, someone who has reminded a fellow gamer of Cream the Rabbit from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise [1]. He sure knows that I adore cute bunnies as he witnessed how I desperately tried to get one of the secret stars from MIPS in Super Mario 64 [22].

To those who have not played the PC port before [3], you know this game is going to be utterly adorable on a modern-day console when you noticed to it is developed by Cozy Bee Games [6]. I sure bee-lieve it! [30] 

Remember that one adorable moment of the Powerpuff Girls chanting “bunny” over and over after the birth of their sister in the second season of their classic series [17] [26]? Just imagine their chanting being played as you see this image from the launch trailer or the updated equivalent for just a moment before we begin. [14]

As some who had played the original PC port on Steam back in 2020 know [3] [14] [31], the goal of the game is to build an empire for bunnies to be cared for [23] [30] [45]. The way areas are constructed reminds me of how buildings can be built in any way the player would like in the Nintendo Wii version of MySims [9]. How the park can be expanded at the cost of a certain price reminds me of when the number of Pokémon is reached, resulting in an expansion of the ranch the next day in My Pokémon Ranch [20]. Lastly, how the park requires a bit of a clean-up for the sake of its image, similar to how the bakery in Lemon Cake ought to be kept clean is quite like how Lisa Simpson takes six seconds to clean up some mess in a new expansion of a gradually regenerating Springfield in The Simpsons: Tapped Out [10]. I strongly believe the forthcoming ports of Bunny Park and Lemon Cake can increase their appeal with ports for consoles, much like how The Sims 4 soon became available for consoles to potentially appeal to Xbox One warriors and PlayStation 4 players in late 2017 [35].

The premise of Bunny Park could be one of the most wholesome experiences of a gamer’s life, especially if they happen to have a pet bunny in real life. How the park is customisable is very much like how I can freely arrange buildings, stalls and trees in Hako-Hako! My Mall [7]. [30]

As shown in the trailer, there are about twenty-five cute bunnies to collect [3] [31] [45]. There appear to have their own names, such as “Snow”, “Panda” and “Button” [23], yet I think it would have been cool if the player could choose a name for each of them, much like how the pets can be named by the player in Littlest Pet Shop: Winter, Littlest Pet Shop: Jungle and Littlest Pet Shop: Garden [8] [14]. The bunnies in the gradually blossoming park react to crops for them to snack on and toys for them to play with by hearts and such in speech bubbles above them [3] [23] [31] [45], which shows that there are elements of caring for a pet from a pet simulation game Bunny Park includes [21]. Coins are also collected within a rewards system [23], which is very common, but always legitimate. The game reeks of those My Little Pony freemium app vibes, doesn’t it [12]? That scent sure is sweet, but with a hint of carrot! I do not doubt that some fellow gamers who have played the game on Steam are up for faintly comparing their experience with it to what it feels like to play it on a console [3] [4], quite like how my significant other would faintly compare all three ports of Shadow the Hedgehog [27] [28] [29].

Quite like in Pokémon, especially and most preferably in the first generation, you gotta catch ‘em all [33]! The player can also be determined to boost the ranking of the park apart from its general popularity, making it cosier and cuter. [30]

What can I say about the graphics? There is a lot of greenery, especially a nice shade of green for fresh grass, as well as another tint for bushes to help them somewhat stand out [3] [23] [31] [45]. There are also some murky, but fairly convincing textures for wood and soil. The art style is indeed not full-on realism, but a nice vibrant 3D cartoon one encased in quite an entrancing palette. I especially love how the cherry blossom trees look! Could there be more updates for the game with new content soon, especially after the eventual console port’s release this September? I am sure there could be some new decorations and such for seasonal events throughout 2023, including a frostier Christmas tree, a pink heart-shaped fountain, or a darker Jack-O-Lantern patch [4]. I also bet there would be a new list of bunnies to collect with colourful and rather surreal designs to increase the creativity of the premise, such as a pastel pink bunny named “Blossom” and an icy blue bunny named “Blizzard”. Alternatively, I am sure that a sequel to Bunny Park possibly titled “Bunny Park 2” can not only consist of similar cartoony graphics but bring new ideas, such as newly designed bunnies into action throughout occasional updates.

It sure is great that there have been seasonal updates for Bunny Park on Steam [4], kind of like how Minecraft has been updated occasionally for years [18] [19] [25]. On the other paw, more time spent on developing other games with different premises shows a little more ambition to an extent. [4]

But still, I am always up for updates for a game other than busting glitches like a glitchbuster after its release [40] [41], especially if it is decently developed and has gained some positive critical reception. New ideas and missed opportunities can always be saved for a sequel. [4]

As previously mentioned, the peaceful duty of building a safe and happy place for bunnies awaits all the rabbit-loving gamers out there outside of PC gaming this September and will be available for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S [30] [31] [45]. Are you up for a sequel possibly titled “Bunny Park 2” with the same charming premise of building an adorable and nurturing empire and with new fresh elements, such as specific things for more seasonal events besides Summer and Christmas, even more achievements and new breeds of bunnies [4]? I guess that can be established by Cozy Bee Games someday. What else could be next? A game about hosting a tea party for teddy bears? Another about running a flight school for owlets? There is still hope for forthcoming additions to mainstream game franchises, such as Sonic Frontiers and Sonic Prime doing well to greatly reduce the chances of staleness [40] [41] [42]. As for the upcoming port of Bunny Park for consoles, I am sure its cuteness will cute out some of our dear console players soon [30] [31], leading to even more potential from Cozy Bee Games after its foundation last year [2].

Shout-out to Éloïse Laroche, the founder of Cozy Bee Games [2] [14] [15]! I quite like the samples of simple yet charming creativity she and her creative team have put into games, such as Capybara Spa [5] [6] [15]. I hope she will continue to bee-lieve in herself and keep following her passion for game development. I also believe that the studio with a cute bee as its mascot ought to gradually expand its technical capabilities and creativity within storytelling for new projects throughout the rest of the 2020s and so on. [2]

It sure is interesting to be older poster designs, by the way [3] [14]. The game has come quite a long way since its announcement back in 2019. Very wholesome indeed. Hop on, fellow gamers! [37]

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