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taha

@taha

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Joined 10 months ago

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Pitch a video game that would 'save' a genre of your choice!

in Video Games

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I feel like the genre of anime games has been so hit or miss in recent years and some games have just lacked any real story or plot other than revisiting anime storylines and reliving the same plot points in a new game again. I think a game with a certain IP would not only revitalise the genre but bring something iconic and artistic to video games, potentially saving multiple genres of video game too: a Studio Ghibli game.

There are a few games out there that have definitely taken some inspiration from films by Studio Ghibli, like Ni No Kuni and the Legend of Zelda series. However, a game set in the many worlds and stories of films like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle would be not just an awesome set of stories to revisit in a new way for the first time but also be visually impressive and potentially have the most all-star cast ever seen for a game.

In terms of actual gameplay, it would make sense for it to be an action adventure in 3D, but in keeping with more traditional animation and art style, the worlds and characters could be given a more 2D look with cel shading and hand drawn animations to make it feel more like a Studio Ghibli movie than just a 3D game based on an animated movie.

I think something along the lines of an epic fantasy like Kingdom Hearts, a game that crosses over multiple games and characters, bringing together some of the characters we know and love like Ponyo, Haku and Sophie, would be a fresh and exciting addition to the Studio Ghibli universe as well as an emotional and nostalgic game for many!

Winner

Tell us which unresolved plot point you want to see explained!

in Film & TV

Closed

For me, I have a few questions around one of my favourite shows that I feel could still be revisited in future plots... Doctor Who!

One of the older ones is who the mysterious woman was in "The End of Time", David Tennant's final episode as the Tenth Doctor, because she seemed to be important and she was with the Timelords, which makes me feel like she was important to the Doctor.

Some people have said she could be his mother and they explored the idea of the Doctor's mother with Tecteun in Jodie Whittaker's era, but I don't think this woman is her. WHO is she?

Moving on a little further, we had Michelle Gomez take on the iconic role of Missy, the Master in female form, who went on a journey of change, becoming more of a friend to the Twelfth Doctor and eventually choosing to side with him in "The Doctor Falls".

Sadly, she doesn't regenerate and then the Master later makes an explosive return played by Sacha Dhawan, but the character change from Missy to his Master is like night and day.

While they've kind of explored it in the audio books, there's still mystery around who came first and what the timeline is for the Master before, between and after these two incarnations and I'd love to see both actors return to the role in the future!

One of the more recent plot points that became both creepy and even more confusing is the woman in the distance in "73 Yards", who we later learn the identity of in the final moments of the episode. It still doesn't explain what on earth she was saying or what made her scare away so many people who went to try and talk to her.

It could still be explored in the future as some of the characters will be back in future episodes or spin-offs, but it might just make it even better that we have no idea what the woman was saying. It's just creepy to me that whatever the woman was saying made Ruby's friends and family run away in horror!

Thanks to the most recent finale bringing back Gabriel Woolf as Sutekh, having previously voiced the Beast in "The Satan Pit", there's nothing to say the two can't be linked in some way, and it only adds to the rich lore of Doctor Who, a show that loves to revisit past plot points and tell new stories with them.

Winner

Design and depict your ultimate concert venue!

in Music

Closed

Here is my idea for a concert venue, inspired by a few different ideas for live events, some of them completely fictional!

I went for a circular stage design inspired by a stadium for Blitzball, a fictional sport from the game Final Fantasy X. It wouldn't be a watery half-sphere but the idea of a stage where there's a clear view from every angle appeals to me and the steep slanting of the seats makes for greater visibility of the stage.

I was also inspired by sumo arenas, which tend to be circular, and so a slightly raised stage without too much height would add to the spectacle but a lower height for the stage could sometimes allow the audience to be even closer to the action, so I was thinking if the stage height could be adjusted, it would make for loads of awesome setups and a wide variety of concerts!

Another thing I took into account was the aerial view of the stadium and it reminds me of an eyeball as well as a vinyl record, which both kind of tie in nicely to the theme of music and spectacle, giving the audience something cool to look at as they come in and even if the stage isn't being used to its full capacity.

Leading on to capacity, I think the venue would hold around 20,000 people, including the performers, backstage staff and security, with another feature that I think would be awesome is having the backstage actually be underneath the stage, which can also make for great stunts and fast changes as well as some fun surprises like when performers appear from below the stage. That said, I would still have a locker room or backstage area on the same level as the stage that leads out to a step-free walkway or ramp that goes right to the stage.

When it comes to names for the venue, I had three in mind:

• The Iris - the theme of spectacle and watching something as well as the stadium looking like an eye, which could be conveyed even further with lights and LED flooring

• The Vinyl - another cool-looking idea would be the stage looking like a vinyl record, as well as having the stage rotate so angles can change and the performers can have their logo on the centre of the stage as well

• The Cirque - coming from the idea of the stage being a half-spherical structure or a half-circle, or "circ", while the French word for "circus" in Latin gives a sophisticated vibe to the arena, as well as suggests it can be a home for any kind of concert