Is The MBTI Pseudo-Science?

After finding out my personality type (and more specifically preferences in the way I perceive and judge things) and finding the MBTI/Jungian concepts of cognitive functions deadly accurate, Google searches into these systems of personalities led to many articles debunking and criticizing MBTI and Jungian personality types as pseudo-science. 

On the flip side, the Big Five Personality Traits are considered scientific and verifiable. 

Indeed, taking the MBTI online tests, my personality flitted between J and P, and even after learning about the Jungian cognitive functions, which is more reliable, I still couldn't tell what my personality type is. 

For instance, I really couldn't tell what my dominant function is, since we use it automatically without thinking. However, it was obvious to me (without having to take the test) that I prefer extroverted intuition for sure, meaning when I think about things I like to come up with tons of ideas, sometimes not necessarily connected. So I'm definitely Ne. As for the other functions of my personality type, introverted sensing and extroverted thinking, I couldn't tell. In fact, in medical school, I could see myself thinking that I was Te dominant since I was on point with the schedules, even exercising 5 times/week.

However, when I took the Big Five Personality Trait at multiple different online sites, the percentage may change by a mere 10% or so, but it was always consistent, leading to the empathic idealist profile. This made me chuckle, since the INFP sounds very much like the empathic idealist.

So is the MBTI and Jungian cognitive functions psuedo-science? 

As I'm not a scientist, I had to go back to the basics. Exactly what is science? Science is a systematic way of organizing empirical data, that can be tested and replicated, to explain and predict patterns of the universe.

The scientist comes up with an idea, and through experiments and collection of replicable data, if the large amount of data confirms the idea, time after time, this idea becomes a theory.

Science is highly esteemed because you can either prove or disprove a theory using the same experiments, over and over again. You can also critique whether the experiments being used are actually testing what you are evaluating. Finally, can the question that you're investigating be measured in the first place?

For instance, supposed I want to prove my idea that cats are superior beings, and because I want to make sure this idea is in fact true, I could "make up"an experiment that really doesn't test that idea, but may "sound" like it does.

In this example, we can say that superior beings don't follow instructions and "do their own thing" since they don't follow the herd. Therefore, my experiment collects data in calling my cat to come to me. They stare blankly at me 100% of the time. We then test that with millions of other cats, and it tends to be true 99% of the time with 5 billion collection points. 

There are the rare cats that do know their names and even so, they may or may not come to their owners (only when they want to), proving even more strongly that cats are "superior" because they do what they want to do, when they want to, on their own terms.

Per scientific methods, this is trash. One, you can't measure if something is in fact superior (i.e. what is superior? how do you measure that?), and the experiment, while easily replicable, doesn't really measure anything.

Using these criteria, the MBTI test itself isn't valid because your personality type constantly changes even when you take the same test twice - I took the official MBTI two times and then the online ones so many times to figure out if I were a J versus P as discussed here.

Even the official MBTI test is problematic. In the typing of Stephen Colbert, who tested as an INFP, you saw how his eyes lit up (which mine did as well) when the tester asked if he's more attracted to witty, creative, imaginative, incisive wit (this is supposed to be "N" or intuition), or if you find someone who can make others comfortable in practical ways ("S" or sensory):



As soon as I heard the second choice, I chose the "wrong" answer for my type. I'm infinitely more impressed by people who make sure that when you come into their homes, that you're warm and toasty, making your favorite cheese and fruit platter, and providing your favorite matching wine.

In fact, almost everyone would be more impressed by someone who is thoughtful and kind, over someone who is "just" a "smart ass". Of course, ideally, someone like my best friend Todd has both where he would combine various statements I would make and instantly come up with a joke, parody, imitation in unexpected surprising ways, but also makes sure that I'm cozy, comfortable and taken care of.

However, if you're forced to be in a relationship with someone who can only have 1 trait, 100% of people would chose the "S" option.

A better way of seeing if someone is an N or S is by asking if they think about things by considering open-ended possibilities (N), or seeing things in a structured, logical systematic manner (S). I'm very "N" so I'm not sure if I used the correct wording for "S" types and how they think.

Indeed, even the much-touted, "psychologist approved" Big Five Personality Traits, you can come up with your wrong personality type. You may notice that it's not "good" to be neurotic and irritable (even if you are) and then answer the questions where you get strongly "agreeable" when you should have scored the opposite, in the high neuroticism range.

In other words, it's hard to measure personality, because the person may second-guess, or may not know themselves very well, making personality inventory testing problematic. Even more highly tauted "psychologist approved" tests such as the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory,  though that is used to screen mental disorders) can be problematic.

You can see how an extremely intelligent Narcissist or Antisocial person would answer such that they're healthy. Which is why psychologists use this as a screening tool, not as a diagnostic tool.

Perhaps the question should be, given all the problems of knowing yourself, or knowing yourself, but preferring the opposite since "opposites attract" leading to incorrect choices and wrong typing, the question should be this instead:

If you're in fact typed correctly, is the MBTI useful?  At least for me, it's extremely useful, because I can use my personality to accomplish what's most important to me, that's natural to who I am, without backlash.

When I try to solve things by being so fed up by my disorganization that I set up very rigid schedules and trying to organize my living space "to perfection", I end up being very critical of myself because I invariably fail and get overwhelmed.

Because of the failure and overwhelm, I get very grouchy and irritable, which leads to me becoming critical of others who aren't "pulling their weight" in terms of organizing and cleaning. Being critical and judgmental of others, as opposed to being accepting and open-minded, is one of the traits I hate the most about myself.

In MBTI/Jungian terms, this is my inferior Te function at work when I use it as my primary, ignoring my dominant and auxiliary functions that I use naturally (Fi and Ne). Forcing yourself to be something you're not almost always leads to disaster and/or is short-lived, because you can't be someone you're not.

On the flip side, if you find out that you're the opposite of me where you have extremely strong Te, using your Te dominant is the right thing to do, because you're good at it, and you use Te in a mature, healthy manner that's actually quite compelling and refreshing.

However, if I use my cognitive functions based on who I truly am, I tend to be very successful. For instance, when I was in a rut and every day's the same and there's a sense of dissatisfaction, I was able to come up with solutions.

One of my values (the jargon is Fi, introverted feeling at work) is to grow and be challenged, it makes sense to use my auxiliary Ne (extroverted intuition) to come up with possibilities and to think outside the box. I came up with Twitch streaming due to love of video games, and the extreme challenge of being entertaining (since I never had to use that skill), and wanting to create a warm, accepting community all fit my values (Fi) and what I found right to me based on my past experiences (Si).

Then, I use Te in the "right manner". Knowing that streaming fits my values and the challenge will jolt me out of the daily grind, I know I need a schedule, otherwise I would never stream. I set up a schedule, researched the in's and out's of streaming, finding practical ways to make streaming work for me.

The burn-out indeed came when I used my Te in the wrong way where I was results-oriented thinking about numbers. But renewed interest in streaming came about when I thought deeply about whether streaming is meaningful and fun. Does it make me happy, does it fit my values, and once I realize it has been helpful and rewarding, and ignore the number-driven results, I stopped being burned-out.

Another way in which knowing your personality type is seeing your blind-spots. I'm basically a slug, because I know myself very well. I know I'm 100% going to like something or not, so I close myself off to dreadful experiences such as going to frat parties, learning how to cook, learning how to garden, because I know 100% that these activities will lead to dread. 

However, using my auxiliary extroverted intuition (Ne) and being open to things, I force myself to do them because I see the value of experiencing these things, confirming what I already know, and using these experiences to laugh about with friends. 

As a complete introvert, I can go months without talking to my friends. This is a huge blind-spot and is definitely hurtful to others because they think, appropriately, that if you don't call them, you must hate them, don't value their friendship at all, and/or they did something wrong, even though that's far from the case. Strangely, I think about my friends all the time, but never call (talking on the phone makes me cringe), and I'm content to be alone for weeks on end.

As this causes clear problems in relationships, I use my inferior Te this week in fact, and actually set up a schedule to check my messages daily. I hate schedules, but this is meaningful to me, so it's been working. My daily activity list has things I want to do because they're meaningful to me and adds value to my life.

So I add things to that list such as making my bed. At night, I like the immediate gratification of crawling into sheet and blankets perfectly smoothed and evened out, distributing the warmth equally, as opposed to pulling the blankets on me, and ending up with clumps of warmth and cold spots. Since I highly value being comfortable, making my bed makes sense.

However, if you find that making your bed is a hassle, and you don't care about comfort, then do not make your bed, do not even waste your time thinking about it and feeling guilty about not doing so. In fact, there are scientific studies showing that making your bed may increase dust mites. Luckily, since I'm getting allergy shots, I've been making my bed so dust mites aren't going to cause problems.

Folding clothes adds no meaning to me, because it's just as easy to fish out the clothes I need, then spend hours folding. Further, the clothes are clean so it's not going to cause any sanitary problems if you don't fold. 

However, if you find organization truly soothes your soul and gives you peace of mind (clutter can be soul-sucking), and you love it when all your clothes are neatly hung up and in drawers, then by all means fold the laundry!

Washing dishes, vacuuming, steam mopping the floors, washing the bathrooms are a must for sanitary reasons.

Knowing who you are, and accepting who you are, you can find ways that lead to happiness, productivity and meaning. 

The MBTI/Jungian classification seems to be the one personality inventory that helped me figure this all out in a systematic, logical manner. As opposed to my having a hunch that being rigid doesn't work for me, but why not!, there must be something wrong with me, because it works for almost everyone else.

Indeed, American society operates this way, where being productive is to make sure you show up on time at work, follow the regimented schedule, and you find out if you're doing well if you get the results (this is very Te). So naturally, I think that if it works for the majority of Americans, it should work for me...but it never does.

Now knowing why using my Te (extroverted thinking) out of order is problematic, I know how to use my Te in the right order, thanks to understanding cognitive functions and stacking.

So it's very difficult to find your true MBTI type, unless you're very honest with yourself and insightful, but once you do, you see how it can be extremely helpful. But is it pseudo-science?

I'm not sure how to characterize the MBTI, except that at least for me (n=1), it's extremely accurate, and a very helpful therapeutic tool. Perhaps the MBTI is more philosophical in that it seeks to explain how you perceive and think about things. That doesn't mean that there's no truth and no value in MBTI. Just the opposite, it seems to be very accurate and honest. In fact, I found that the Taoist philosophy is in many ways more truthful than a lot of science. But, you can technically say that Taoism is a pseudo-science, because you can't really use experiments to prove if Taoism is scientific.

Everyone uses things that can't be proved by science, but nevertheless hold truths. Controversial topics such as people finding meaning and purpose in having faith and going to your place of worship for affirmation, love, support, interdependence, even though spiritual matters, can't be proved to be "correct" by science. And, controversy again, quite a few people find religion and spirituality "psuedo-science", which is the code, pejorative word for "bull-shit".

However, for a lot of people, having faith is not only extremely valuable but life-affirming, and leads to positive community building, lifting people out of depression, despair and despondency that can come from being disconnected.

Likewise, why throw MBTI out the window? For me at least, it's the personality system that not only makes the most sense to me, but also the most useful. I finally understand why I do the things I do in a systematic manner. As opposed to having a vague hunch about why I fail if I operate in the typical "American" results-driven way and berate myself as a result.

I can now leverage this concrete information to be a more productive and happy person, as opposed to using the cookie cutter method of "just be more organized" and "just do it" which would work for quite a lot of people, but not for me.

In fact, I was often critical of myself because of my procrastination and how I can't just plunge in and do the things that I need to do! Now I am better able to accept myself, and solve problems in a more cohesive and enduring manner.

Conclusion:
The question, "Is the MBTI Pseudo-science?" is the wrong question to ask. Rather, the question posed should be, "is it helpful?" If you manage to get consistent results even on the flawed online MBTI tests, knowing your cognitive function and stacking will help you to accept yourself, and find more cohesive and effective ways to solve problems based on how you operate.

The answer is yes, it has been helpful to me and many others, which is why MBTI still endures despite all the flack.

The How of Happiness Review

Oceanhorn 2: First Gameplay Video And Screenshots!

Since many of you can't make it to the Nordic Game conference in Malmö, Sweden – we decided to capture a video of our demo! The video is unedited footage that is captured on an actual iPhone 7 Plus.

If you happen to be in Nordic Game, come visit us at Epic's booth and try out the demo yourself! I will keep it short and let the video and screenshots speak for themselves.

 

Oceanhorn 2's Hero lives near ancient structure called Beacon.

Try and catch me!

Home sweet home and trusty old training dummy

So this is why the treasure is still here!

Arne Village is the starting location of Hero's adventures

Hero can carry and throw all sorts of objects

Owru houses

Journey will take Hero around the world

Galactoss will not suffer fools. Watch out for your healthbar!

Insurance (Tradecraft)

A nuts and bolts post? Sure, why not.

A business requires insurance. At the minimum, you need liability insurance. There are other types of insurance though. I've got liability insurance, workers comp insurance, key man life insurance, and for years we had vehicle insurance on our van. Insurance is one of those things new store owners don't always think about.

My second year in business I went to a seminar where a store owner had someone drive through their front window into their store. Twice. He was the likely guy to give a presentation on business insurance and for many, needing such a thing was an eye opener. When I started I had a home and assets and made sure the store was incorporated and insured and far away from my personal life. For most young people without a pot to relieve themselves, that might not be a consideration. 

So how do you get insurance? Find a human. I'm not sure if you can get business liability insurance online, but if so, it's a bad idea. You want to talk to a human about your particular business needs and exactly what you do and where you do it. For example, my store went from a regular retail environment to an improved, two story monstrosity in need of rebuilding if it burned down. It probably wouldn't be rebuilt there, but they'll pay to rebuild it somewhere.  If I had just gotten regular liability insurance, I would be left with no protection and a ton of outstanding loans for a burnt out shell. 

Other considerations include insuring Magic singles. My policy has a "fine art" clause that includes those. What you don't want are surprises. Insurance companies are all about taking as much money from you as they can and paying out as little as possible. It's better to be up front, find angles to cover everything necessary, and avoid surprises. Look at your lease and see what you're responsible for.  Plate glass insurance is often inexpensive, but if someone breaks all your windows, you could be out thousands of dollars. Over time, revisit your policy and up your limits when you add inventory or fixtures.

Who is that human? I have a customer who jumps from job to job, and one of his latest was insurance agent. He was an agent for about four months before he moved on. Do not use a green agent. Find someone experienced. I had a new agent misclassify my company for my workers comp policy, thinking I didn't need to be covered as an owner, when in fact it was necessary. A company audit revealed the mistake, and rather than admitting their agent error, they charged me $3,500 in back premiums. Insurance companies exist to do two things: take as much money as possible while denying your claims. 

Personal insurance agents tend not to handle commercial insurance, so you probably won't be able to use your Aunt Kathy's agency to handle your commercial needs (my Aunt K does my personal insurance). Attempt to find a well regarded commercial agent who has been doing this for a while and lay all your cards on the table.

Classification is tricky as there is no "game store" category for liability insurance. You might be classified as a toy store, a book store, a hobby store, whatever is close, and the cost between agencies and within each agency could be enormous. As long as you don't get cute, something reasonable should be fine.

Avoid buying a policy based entirely on price. Ask what's not covered in your case. Have a good heart to heart with the agent. These policies are really cheap compared to what could happen. I once transitioned between agencies and in a 30 day overlap period, someone broke into my store, doing a lot of damage and stealing a lot of cash (foolish me).  I talked to my new agent who walked me through my old coverage, which sucked, and my new coverage, which was great. I filed a claim with the better coverage, and yeah, they canceled me exactly a year later, but I saved $900. 

Make sure you have extensive business interruption insurance, which is usually standard. Knowing that my store could burn down and I have months to find a new place while paying employees allows me to sleep at night. When you get bigger, losing all your employees can destroy your business as easily as fire. 

What's a Good Company? I don't know! They're all terrible! I can't even remember who I have now. Let me check: Travelers for liability, State Farm for key man life insurance, and AP Intego for workers compensation insurance (pay as you go). Farmers burned me on that workers comp policy I mentioned, so maybe avoid them. 

Ween : The Prophecy - WON! (No More Strawberries)

Written by Alfred n the Fettuc

At last, I have vanquished Ween! It took me long enough, not because it's a particularly long game but especially because I have had a few extremely busy months, and very little time to play or write about it. I apologize for my fellow readers (and to the ones who were playing along and have probably finished the game by last October). But we are closing in on KRAAL and the REVUSS! Last time we stopped, we were entering the heart of the Volcano and been greeted by a menacing gargoyle resembling a Ghostbusters demon dog.

Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!

Let's look at this new room. A drawbridge blocking my path with some letters above it, a bowl (that I take) and five alcoves, one lit and four dark. In the lit hideaway, I find a lever. If I pull it, a stone rises from the ground. Pulling it again makes the stone get back in the ground and some of the letters light up. In the statue itself, a greyish spot attracts my attention. Clicking on it brings me a close-up of an ornament stuck into the stone skin of the statue. Not one to use violence to solve my problems, I turn my cauldron into a sword and hit the statue. It works and the ornament is freed from its stone grasp.

Yeah, we'll ask KRAAL to send us the bill.

Picking up the jewel tells me it's missing a piece, so it didn't really solve anything. I realise that I can use the sword again to make the hole in the statue bigger so I hit it three times and the hole reveals a ruby. And we know what to do with rubies, don't we? I turn my sword back into a cauldron and mix a Luciferys potion. I light the ruby up because the place is probably not hot enough already with the lava river. The ruby consumes itself and reveals… another jewel. This one seems intact however. It's shaped as an insect of sorts. Not knowing what to do with my insect jewels, I search the dark hideaways. Three of them don't do anything but the fourth hides a weird looking monster.

Yes. With teeth.

Trying to use the jewel on the monster doesn't work and clicking around doesn't seem to reveal a lot. It's time to ask old man PETROY for some clues. When asked about the letters, PETROY tells me to "never lose sight of your enemy". Asking him about the different hideaways, he tells me numbers, one to five. More interesting, asking him about the jewel tells me that "the sculpture is so good that the animal seems real". Facepalm moment! Of course, a stone sculpture of an animal may as well be a real animal turned to stone. I make some Vitalys potion and use it on the jewel. It works! And now I have… errr… some kind of little firefly thingy flying around. Yay. Considering it's flying around the letters, I try my bow to shoot it and realise I can actually shoot arrows at the letters!

Yes, I'm confident enough about my archery abilities to try and shoot a firefly 50 feet away.

As PETROY has told me not to lose sight of my enemy, I shoot the letters KRAAL in order but nothing happens. I guess I have to light all the letters before trying again, so I have to find a way to light up these hideaways. Pixel-hunting the whole place, I find a hotspot hidden in the lower-left corner of the screen labeled "crack". Clicking on it tells me that I can hear a bubbling noise behind it. I turn the cauldron back into the sword (grr again) and smash the crack. Some lava starts flowing out of it. More interestingly, the firefly stops flapping around and lands near the lava, allowing me to catch it!

No fireflies were harmed in the making of this game.

I try using the firefly in one of the dark hideaways and the little wretch flies away. However, I think I'm on the right track because in the close up it looks remarkably like the light in the lit alcove. I have to find a way to make the little bugger stay. I try to mix another Vitalys potion but it doesn't work in reverse. I spend quite a lot of time trying different things to no avail. After that, I go back to the monster in the fifth alcove and bug it several more times until it vomits something onto me! Turns out it's glue... I get some with the help of the bowl, trying very hard not to think about the way this game looks quite centered about different types of monster vomits.

Yeah because the first thing you want to do when a monster vomits on you is keep a sample. (Maybe it's another Ghostbusters reference?)

Putting the glue on the firefly (because putting the firefly on the glue doesn't work for some reason), I can make it stick! I go to the first hideaway on the right and glue the little bugger into it. It reveals another lever and another piece of broken jewel. I put glue on the part of broken jewel and stick it to the other part. I now have to turn back my sword into a cauldron, make another Vitalys potion and turn the jewel back into a firefly. Then I have to turn the cauldron into a sword in order to hit the crack (because the lava seals it back every time) and catch the firefly. Considering I'll probably have to do it four times, it's gonna be a long screen.

I think I have seen this animation a million times now.

I also try to pull the lever in the alcove that was labelled as "one" by PETROY. This time, the rock lifts and the letters light up simultaneously. I'm guessing that the number is the number of times you have to pull the lever for the letter to light up, but maybe I have to make all the stones rise at the same time? We'll see about that once we have lit all the alcoves.

Too bad the bad guy isn't called LEVATT or VATELT...

Putting my new firefly in the third alcove, I reveal another lever and another jewel falls from the ceiling. Sigh. At least I can verify my theory by pulling the lever three times and lighting up more letters. Now I turn back the sword into the cauldron and bla bla bla until I have another firefly-with-glue-on-it to light up another alcove. In order to break the monotony, I light up the fifth alcove instead of the fourth one (ain't we crazy?), which is the alcove where the vomiting monster was hiding.

The fabulous invisible vomiting monster!

No monster here but another lever (which I pull 4 times to make the letters ORT appear) and a twig. The monster statue is holding a vial of sorts with which I tried several things before but wasn't able to achieve anything with it. But the twig is the perfect item to try again. I use the twig in the vial and I get… another jewel! Oh joy! Oh variety! I do the whole ordeal again to get another glued firefly and light up the fourth and final alcove! But there… no lever!

No! Just when I thought I was on a roll!

Nothing but a hole in it. I try several things on the hole (mainly the sword and the pipe) but nothing works. Considering I only have the NIA letters to light up, maybe I don't need them after all. I may use the letter A for the upper left twice? But no, it doesn't work (as it was somewhat expected, I may have found the empty alcove way earlier if I had chosen another order for my fireflies). But what to do now? I try everything. Pouring the glue in the hole, calling URM (only to hear that without any kind of fruit, I can get lost. Ingrateful flying rodent). I spend a lot of time there. Finally, a bit by accident during an umpteenth transformation of cauldron-sword-pipe, I use the copper ball in the hole and it works!!!

Facepalm moment #237

I admit I had completely forgotten the copper ball at this point despite transforming it every five minutes. This is the first time I actually use it as an item since the very beginning of the game and at no point it occurred to me I could use it as is. Well I did do it eventually but I spent a lot of time on this screen and I kinda stumbled upon the answer. Anyway, pressing the ball in the hole reveals another lever and another jewel (confirming the fact that you could do the alcoves in any order and not that the alcoves would change depending on the order you light them). I pull the lever 5 times and light the remaining letters. We're getting close! I shoot the letters KRAAL and the drawbridge lowers… revealing… KRAAL himself!

I had literally a bow and arrows in my hands… how exactly did he get the upper hand?

KRAAL thanks me for bringing him the three grains of sand and he tells me he will put them himself in the REVUSS, so the prophecy won't be fulfilled and he'll gain more powers. However, he tells me he has designed a mechanism for the grains of sand to be automatically put inside the REVUSS while he is getting married with OPALE. Why he doesn't put them now in the REVUSS is anyone's guess, but I think this is a James Bond villain thing : design an overly-complicated Rube Goldberg device in order to let the hero win in the end. OPALE appears to me and confirms I still have one chance. However, I'm now locked inside KRAAL's jail.

Is that Djel or Azeulisse in the lower left corner?

Graffiti on the wall says "None will leave here without the help of the blazing star". There is also another carving. A D and an A with a heart-shaped hole in the middle, telling that Djel and Azeulisse have also spent some time in KRAAL's cells. The question is whose skeleton is this? Anyway, searching the skeleton in the corner brings me a heart of stone, which I can insert inside the heart-shaped hole but it doesn't do anything. Another carving on the left shows me two suns, with an arrow in the middle and I can reach the lock through the bars.

Miracle or very bad prison design?

Fiddling with the locks, I can make the needle spin around but it doesn't do anything. Pixel-hunting thoroughly the walls, I find a nail stuck between two cinderblocks. I rip it out with several clickings (despite WEEN whining "it's impossible to rip it out" twice which is a fine example of a protagonist trying to lure the player away from the right solution) and can use it to play with the locks. Putting the nail inside any hole on the two clock-like diagrams lift one bar and one bar only. If you remove the nail, the needle goes back into the up position. Whatever you do, even if you wait a few seconds, the bar goes down again and blocks the exit.

The only clue available.

Following the clue, I try to put the needle in the 9 of the second lock, then remove it and put it in the 3 of the first lock but it doesn't work. It's becoming pretty obvious that I need a second nail to make any progress but no amount of pixel-hunting gives me anything. I try lifting several different bars in order to make something happen but nothing works. Everytime a bar lifts, there is a hole in the ground that becomes atteignable. Considering it's not a hotspot of any kind, I dismiss it quite quickly because it's tedious to try every clock position… but after a while I eventually go back there and test every hole under every bar, and what do you know?

It was a hard clue to pin down.

Considering you have to randomly try to look under every bar, this puzzle is quite infuriating, but once the second pin in my possession, the rest was quite easy. Following the clue, I put the nail in the western position of the right clock and the pin in the eastern position of the left clock and tadaaa. The door opens!

Good thing KRAAL didn't think to put the lock three feet further from the door.

Leaving the cell behind me, I go up the stairs and finally discover the REVUSS! And the overly-complicated contraption designed to put three grains of sand inside an hourglass in the most ridiculously complex way possible.

I think this deathtrap lacks a shark or two…

So what do we have here? The REVUSS itself appears to be locked under some kind of glass tube, while the three grains of sand are suspended above it in some kind of container, held in place by a rope that's getting slowly cut by a blade on a pendulum going back and forth (19,95$ at Villains'r'Us). Beneath the hourglass, three levers above an engraving representing three snakes. Finally, two stone slabs, probably hiding some caches. Under the left slab is an engraving with letters I can click on : DEUS, J*LL, Z. In place of the * is a hole where a letter is obviously missing. My first instinct is to spell DJEL on the letters but it doesn't work at first. Turns out you have to exit the close up view of the letters then go back in and spell DJEL for it to work if you've fiddled with the letters before that. Done properly, the word DJEL reveals a cache containing a statue behind it.

I've spent long enough on this caption then decided I couldn't write anything that's family-friendly

The statue is holding a knife and putting the heart into the chest orifice does… well absolutely nothing. I think this will be useful at some point but not right now. Not finding anything else to do, I sweep the place to find what I had missed and I find a bamboo stick behind the REVUSS. This is perfect to make another flute to call URM, even if I can't find any strawberries, I hope he will be useful at something… I use the knife to carve the bamboo but blowing it doesn't work. I have to use the knife a second time to finish the carving.

Good thing I remember my boy scout training.

URM arrives and makes a stone fall from the ceiling while flying around. He tells me KRAAL has put a spell on him and he can't help me because it would make the three grains of sand fall immediately inside the REVUSS (again : why didn't KRAAL simply put the grains of sand inside the REVUSS?). Anyway, I look at the stone URM dropped and it shows the letter A! Now I know what to do. I go back to the carving with the missing letter and put the A inside the hole. Now I can spell Azeulisse! Good thing I paid attention during the game because if you're at that point and don't remember how it's spelled, well it's reload time for you.

Ahzelis? Aseullise?

So I spell correctly AZEULISSE and the second stone slab opens! And… time's up. The rope finally gives way and the grains of sand fall in the REVUSS! What? A real-time puzzle?

You mean "you can still reload a save"

So there is a Game Over screen after all!

No problem at all, I told myself, naively. I spent quite some time looking around, so I just have to be faster and to the point. I reloaded a save, I did everything much faster and… well no idea why but this time, the rope gave way even faster. I first thought that I needed to mess with the internal clock revolutions of my computer or whatever magic mumbo-jumbo (yes I'm very fluent in technical lingo) like in the old Sierra games when suddenly a puzzle was unwinnable because my computer was way faster than it was supposed to be. (I have moving souvenirs from the beginning sequence of Space Quest IV notably) However, I noticed something on my third try. I just clicked a few times on the levers beneath the REVUSS to see if they did anything and it made the blade go notably faster.

Snake centipede?

If the blade could be accelerated by the levers, it could be slowed as well. However, I didn't find any clue whatsoever other than the three snakes drawing under the levers. I thought that if it was the only clue, I should try the first thing that came to mind just looking at the drawing. So I pulled the levers all the way down then all the way up, one by one, from right to left, following the wave pattern of the snakes. It visibly slowed down the blade! Well, to be honest, I had to try it once again from the start because you have to do the lever action immediately when you enter the room or you're doomed from the start.

Oh and when you try this four or five times in a row, the part when you talk with URM is sooooo slow under a strict time limit

So once you've entered AZEULISSE in the carving, the second niche opens and reveals a woman statue. You have to take it and use it on the first statue. The two merge and a fairy appears.

I thought I was the one born of the love between DJEL and AZEULISSE?

The fairy flies to the receptacle and gets back the three grains of sand. She gives them to me, allowing me to put them myself inside the REVUSS and finally fulfill the prophecy and destroy KRAAL!!!

Now THAT's what I call a rushed ending!

Three screens, one of pure text and the exact same screen than the game over screen only with letters of different colors. Earlier in the game, there used to be a cutscene every five minutes or so because a worm had stomach ache or because UKI and ORBI had some little dance moves to show. I can't help but think the whole ending was seriously rushed. That's weird considering the rest of the production values in the game seemed pretty high until now...

But anyway, here it is, we vanquished KRAAL the sinister wizard and fulfilled the prophecy! This was a pretty nice ride, even if an inconsistent one in some ways, but overall, I really enjoyed my time with the game! Join us next time as we explore the alternative paths to see what we missed in this playthrough and then apply a PISSED rating to the game. Hopefully, the stupid twins won't cost too many points to the rating!

Session time : 2 hours
Final Total time : 9 hours
Final Inventory : Flute
Companions : PETROY, URM (after their stunt with the grains of sand, the twins were never seen again)
Number of times the fast travel option was available : Zero

Tabula Rattata

You could say this all started back when I met Professor Oak in Pallet Town. My story doesn't start out much different from the stories of many other young aspiring Pokémon enthusiasts. The idea to build a Pokémon preserve and sanctuary came to me much earlier, of course, but I didn't start working on it in earnest until after a very long discussion with the original Pokémon Professor. His research on the natural relationships between humans and Pokémon, particularly his work on shared habitats and habitats in close proximity, really inspired some of my early ideas of building a park that people and Pokémon could both enjoy.
I had wanted to meet Professor Oak in person for quite some time, but travel to the Kanto region was quite expensive for me as a teenager. I was seventeen when I first read some of Professor Oak's articles in current Pokémon journals. I learned that the professor was working on a revolutionary new device that was capable of recording and studying Pokémon both in the wild and in captivity. We know this device today as the Pokédex, and back then it really ignited my budding desire to capture, catalog and build an environment in which Pokémon could thrive and people could come study or otherwise spend time with them. The Pokédex is exactly what I felt I needed to set things into motion and so I began corresponding with Professor Oak several months before we actually met in person.
Through our correspondence, the professor was more than happy to keep me up to date on his progress with the Pokédex. When it was finally ready for field testing he sent me a personal invitation to Kanto. The idea was to form a mutually beneficial relationship where I helped him test the Pokédex while he and the Pokédex itself would help me begin my arduous task that lay ahead. I spent almost all I had saved to get myself to Kanto, but it was completely worth it looking back. The Pokédex proved to be invaluable to my task, and Professor Oak himself was an amazing mentor.
The day I arrived in Pallet Town, Professor Oak and I spoke about Pokémon passionately for several hours. I understood the fundamentals of catching and battling Pokémon, of course, but the professor was shocked to know that I'd never caught or trained a Pokémon myself. During the course of our talk, he convinced me that in order to build my Pokémon Sanctuary, I would need to know all I could about Pokémon and that there was no less certain way than to begin my journey as a Pokémon Trainer. He entrusted me with one of his earliest versions of the Pokédex which was rudimentary compared to what we see nowadays, but still unbelievably advanced at the time. Then he took me out to a field just beyond the boundaries of Pallet Town where we waited patiently for an opportunity to catch my first Pokémon.
While we were sitting out in that field, Professor Oak told me that he had recently given away his last remaining Pokémon, so we would have to wait for a Pokémon significantly weakened and unable to resist capture. He also told me that if I were successful at field testing his Pokédex in Kanto, he would make sure to acquire the three beginner Pokémon that he'd recently given away to young Kanto trainers from Pallet Town. The Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur native to Kanto were extremely rare and Professor Oak was one of the few ways to get ahold of such unique Pokémon. It was a rare opportunity for me to get some exclusive Pokémon into my Sanctuary when I was able to open it. Sitting there in the tall grass with Professor Oak, I knew that this was one of those important moments in my life where everything was about to change forever. I took a great risk coming to Pallet Town with my life's savings, but I would eventually leave with my first Pokémon companion and the very tool I would need to catch, catalog, study and care for every new Pokémon I could find. It felt amazing.

Now, catching that first Pokémon was not at all what I was expecting. It's safe to say that my first Pokémon was quite possibly the most feeble and sickly Rattata within three miles. We saw many healthy Pidgey and Rattata soaring through the air or scurrying through the grasses, but the professor assured me that we'd only be wasting our Pokéballs on them unless they were weakened. It was a daunting test of patience, but finally the most pathetic Rattata the world has ever known crossed our paths and was easily captured. He was scrawny and weak, but he was mine and I really did adore that little fellow. I named him Rascal and we were instant friends. Once I was armed with my own captured Pokémon and a Pokédex, Professor Oak and I parted ways. He told me to head north towards Viridian City - a bit of a sleepy hamlet compared to the cities I was used to back home. Along the way I could train Rascal and I would be able to find a gym in Viridian where I could continue the training.
Some of my toughest challenges as a trainer were those first few days with Rascal. He was honestly much too weak to face a full strength Pidgey or Rattata, so again we had to choose our battles carefully. I made sure he was well fed, rested and groomed, but actually getting battle experience and building up his strength was a tedious job. Although your first Pokémon is intended to keep you safe from wild Pokémon that have a tendency to be territorial, Rascal couldn't really protect me from much of anything on that initial trip up to Viridian City. We made our way very slowly and carefully avoiding unwanted attention. I took the time, hiding in the long grass, to sketch Rascal and wild Pokémon alike, but we did everything in our power to avoid unnecessary battles. They could have been a disastrous and premature end to my Pokémon journey.
Rascal and I did come stumbling into Viridian City sometime after dark that day, if I recall. I was broke having spent everything I had just getting to the Kanto region, but what little I did have I spent on Pokéballs and some lodging there in the city. I spent at least a week in Viridian City. Part of the reason was waiting for the Pokémon gym to reopen after a mysterious closure some time before we arrived, but part of me was also taking the time to slowly build up Rascal's strength and endurance. Alongside Rascal, I carefully studied the Rattata and Pidgey found along Route 1 which connected the city to Pallet Town. At first, Rascal could only confront other Rattata that we found alone and vulnerable, but slowly - painfully slowly - he built up enough strength to defend against healthy Rattata and Pidgey as well. It was a harrowing week of hiding and running from the strong, and building up Rascal's ability and confidence on the weak, but we managed to persevere.


Current Team:

Jonesi Blanket & Pillows By Dinha

Continue Reading »

Brueckenkopf Review: Dream Forge Valkir Heavy Troopers

Seems I have not been on top of my social media for a bit. Christian over at BK has been at it again with another wonderful review of one of our kits.

Posted below, the review that has been run through Google translate. It may not be a perfect translation but you should be able to get the main points.

Thank you again Christian for all your hard work and observations!

 See the review at BK

 

BK-Christian

 

At a glance:

Manufacturer: Dream Forge Games Product: iron core Valkir Heavy Troopers Price: € Material: hard plastic

After opening a stack waiting with 7 iron frame on us, one of which contains the Bases:

Overall terminals (sinngerweise) 20 Bases in cast frame:

The other cast frame are each represented twice, or bulging me Biits all kinds We start with Allerlei arms and torso.:

It continues with legs and bits for the lower body:

And finally come primarily arms, shoulder pads and minds:

 

 

In detail:

Who knows our previous Dreamforge reviews that the suspects probably already know that the detail, again faultlessly fails again, we have yet shot a few close

 

 

 

 

Assembly:

The models of Dreamforge Games are known for two things: their quality and complexity. to the latter has once again confirmed also at the Valkirs because that the review does not appear until today, has a simple reason: I am yesterday simply not finished.

The assembly of the Valkirs is enormously complex, which is not only due to the sheer number of components per model, but also because each and every Beinpose arm position (depending on weapon) requires a specific combination of components. All components are (still and the subfields with a letter) provided with an exact number they assign unambiguously a particular pose. The search for the right parts takes time, and the fact that alone each subfield of at least 7 members (2 legs, 1 hip, 2 side plates, and cloth or plate for front and back) which, provides extensive search and puzzles ,

To avoid chaos and mixed parts, we recommend any Beinpose build sequentially. The following figure shows the taped legs and trim for front and back. The small side plates are still missing:

For our review, we first built only 10 models whose torso respectively from the front and back as well as an optional "backpack" exist:

The pairs of arms are made of weapon and two arms which are each permanently assigned and after weapons stance (shoulder supported / from the hip firing / weapon lowered), and align the selected weapon. Some weapons consist of several parts, including the heavy rifle, which we show on our following image:

A total of four weapon types are available:

• Assault rifle (17 pieces)
• Heavy gun (10)
• Flamethrower (4 pieces)
• Mortars (4 pieces)

Grenade launchers and heavy rifle are lengthwise each halved, which must be called at least suboptimal. While this technique allows a drilled from the outset run, but the long splice makes almost inevitable for unaesthetic transitions that need to be corrected with Liquid Green Stuff. Whether the small benefits justify these expenses, is at least doubtful. When smaller mortars this problem falls way less important, because the splice is weaker here.

After assembly of sub-bodies, torsos and pairs of arms, the models looked like this:

Done:

Now, only the heads and shoulder pads had to be mounted. The set incidentally comes with 3 different options for the heads, which are each 20 times yet, so rich for the complete set. In addition to these 60 heads come back 5 heads for Commander in classic iron core look to.

We have built two teams and armed differently. First, a classic squad with flamethrowers and grenade launchers:

 

And then a team with heavy guns:

Size comparison:

For size comparison, we now have two images for you. Firstly, an image with various other iron core models (Stormtrooper, Assault and Support Valkir Valkir), and an image with a Space Marine, a Mantic Enforcer and an Antares-Algoryn:

 

Conclusion:

The Valkirs are a great kit with great worked out details, which is packed to the gills with options, and the effect really leaves nothing to be desired. The fit of the components is outstanding and the mold lines absolutely minimal. Dreamforge Games deliver with Valkirs So even hard plastic of the highest quality, and each player, which suits the style of the iron core models, making this definitely nothing wrong.

Even here, stay a few suggestions and criticisms:

• We start the previously mentioned complexity of the kit. For beginners the Valkirs are definitely not suitable and Hobby veterans should plan for the assembly neat time.
• Also, the longitudinally-divided guns are not ideal. You like design technically have their reasons, but for the hobbyist bring mainly significantly higher expenditure during assembly.
• Particularly in view of the numerous other options, the lack of real command bits is a bit of a shame. The ever-popular "Show Hand", a melee weapon or a radio module would have been nice here that 5 command heads are nice, but only fit one of the three head options, from which it is moreover not differ.

Last but not least you could still complain about the sometimes somewhat static poses, they are given the heavy armor but realistic and are also relieved by advancing and rennende leg pairs more than adequate. Especially in contrast to the much more dynamic Stormtroopers is doubly clear that the Valkirs rather slow and steady advance, while the Stormtroopers take over the race.

As for the price, the Valkirs the top of the scale sort a. With just under 60 euros for 20 men they are 10 euros cheaper than 20 tactical Space Marines (their function and equipment they correspond best) for 70 euros. They also offer more options and enrich the Bitsbox the buyer enormously (although of course not for any really a useful bonus). The Enforcer of Mantic Games fall expected slightly cheaper from (their final retail price will be known in May), while 20 Concord-Strike Trooper for Beyond the Gates of Antares with 56 Euro are almost on par with the Valkirs (they have few options when assembling in 20 men but preserves the boldness 8 light and medium drones 4 as a bonus). *

As final conclusion one can hold, therefore, that a premium kit for premium price obtained with the Valkirs who only in some details shows weakness.