Ishambard

Just a man, who people say is obsessed with birds, making his way through life leaving a trail of breadcrumbs in the form of assorted media.

Born in that perceived golden era of the 90s and raised on video games. I have plans to create my own game one day and alongside my YouTube Channel is currently my main creative focus.

My Wife is @EmmalenaLEllis

https://ko-fi.com/ishambard

#videogames #gaming #gamedesign #Pathfinder #Nintendo #YouTube #Birds #Writing #MurderMystery

Public Key

npub16ndl2eunnpxky5hs7a5hx5scg9yp59uc7h53jss3lj8t3kt2xttsxq6pmm

NIP-05 Address

ishambard@cupoftea-social.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsdfkl4v7fesntz2tc0w6tn2gvyzjq6z7v0t6gegggler4cm94r94cpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43qz9thwden5te0v35hgar09ec82c30wfjkcctesyuk99

Publishing to

relay.mostr.pub

ditto.pub/relay

relay.nostr.band

Author Public Key

npub16ndl2eunnpxky5hs7a5hx5scg9yp59uc7h53jss3lj8t3kt2xttsxq6pmm

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Last Notes

2024-11-14 17:12:39

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@nprofile…er6e
Ah, so he is a different level of scumbag from Randy Pitchford.
Mr "It's like a 6 or 7/10 game, which is perfectly fine for an Aliens game" following the backlash of Colonial Marines 😂

2024-11-14 17:05:21

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@nprofile…xlhv
Oh yeah, I am aware of that! But Onion news was always way better and actually hilarious.
Though in recent years, we have seen more and more news that sounds like Onion news but is actually real.

2024-11-14 16:57:02

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@nprofile…xlhv
If it were use that platform to peddle parody news, I wonder how long before people start citing it as a credible news resource

2024-11-14 16:54:05

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@nprofile…er6e
RIP the Mario franchise, it was those damn Kart games that sealed the coffin on that one.
Bit of a weird claim to make, I can't really think of any examples where that would be particularly true.

2024-11-14 08:56:26

So, if you hadn't of guessed. My recent talkings of #OcarinaOfTime is in part to me slowly plugging away at the remaining #RetroAchievements for this game.
This is the 3rd Zelda game I have mastered, and OoT will always, usually, be a good time for me. Beating the game with just 3 hearts was interesting, and I would say there is only a handful of stumbling points.
Namely, Forest Temple Fairy Bow room where you need to defeat the three Stalfos and the Barinade speedrun are tough but doable.
Honestly. For those who really enjoy OoT I would encourage trying the 3 heart run as it is more a challenge of playing neatly, you'll be surprised how little damage you will can when you actively try to avoid it 😂
Also, for the first time in my life, I actually caught the Hyrule Loach! For the longest time I thought that was a myth!
#N64 #RetroGaming #Nintendo #LegendOfZelda
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/113/480/466/406/563/499/original/f8a5370d68b46ccb.jpg

2024-11-13 23:41:11

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@npub1xya…nnuu
Sorry, I should have made that statement clearer 😅
I was wondering if it would promote purposefully obtuse puzzles or things that require "moon logic" that you sometimes find in old adventure games

2024-11-13 15:07:13

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@npub12ze…hunm
Well, if she checks it out, would be great to get hers and your opinion on it!

2024-11-13 15:00:48

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@npub12ze…hunm
Yeah it is being described as baby's first Silent Hill/Resident Evil
And I am now like 👀

2024-11-13 13:00:00

Apparently, Piglet's Big Game is kicking off a bit...
Wasn't expecting that

2024-11-13 10:33:33

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@npub1xya…nnuu
I am curious to know if it has any questionable game design advice or anything that would be deemed as questionable by modern standards.

2024-11-13 10:31:39

For today's #VGMWednesday, we have my absolute favourite bit of Zelda music. Previously, I had submitted Midna's Lament as one of my favourites and promised I would share my favourite. So here it is.
Ocarina of Time's 『Gerudo Valley』
https://youtu.be/i2rFeRDTJec?si=WniC7eXfkEbNL3-6
I absolutely love this track, it just captures that sense of adventure, and I have used this as incidental or travelling music for TableTop games because it is just so fitting.
It also does wonders to lighten my mood!
Possibly the other track that has a chance to beat this is the Dark World theme from A Link To The Past.
So let's all get lost in the desert!
I promise I will find my favourite Mario track at some point. I have just been playing Zelda earlier today and couldn't resist throwing this into the mix.
#VideoGameMusic #LegendOfZelda #OcarinaOfTime #Nintendo

2024-11-13 10:31:39

2024-11-11 14:12:26

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@npub1h29…gq7w
A smaller budget makes sense.
We were in the Fates era of Fire Emblem at that time, so it was still on the periphery of the Nintendo main lines.
I think since Three Houses did Fire Emblem really land itself in the grander mainstream, I could be very wrong with that assessment 🤣
Don't get me wrong, I think Awakening really was the game that made the biggest impact on embedding Fire Emblem in the west. After that game was released I was able to have conversations outside the Internet about the franchise.
Even most of those conversations were "Who did you wife?"
*Cries in Female Robin*

2024-11-11 14:06:31

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@npub1h29…gq7w
It will be interesting to see what will happen with the franchise in this generation.
I don't recall. What releases were there in the previous generation?

2024-11-11 13:38:48

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@npub1h29…gq7w
It's funny, I love the Warriors/Musou games, but the Fire Emblem one was just...
Underwhemingly crap.
It's cool it had lots of characters, but when the move sets are being recycled, it just feels lazy.
My problem is that I loved Hyrule Warriors. Which on paper, probably shouldn't have worked. So Fire Emblem sounds like a perfect fit, and they underdelivered on the potential.
Also, no Hector as a playable character?!
I think they need to go a bit deeper next time, Engage has helped bring some of the historic FE characters out of the realms of Japan only, so a new Warriors game in an FE setting should make use of that wider character pool.

2024-11-10 11:41:32

So, the first #Anime I watched as a kid were things such as Sailor Moon, Digimon, Pokemon, and Dragon Ball Z. But at the time, I didn't really know them as anime, just cartoons that were different. I was a stupid kid who didn't take in the fact they were made in Japan.
When I was about 15, and a friend of mine wanted to show me an anime he really enjoyed. That anime was #LoveHina, and I, too, really enjoyed it. So much so that I bought his DVDs off him and even tried writing fan fiction for it. Graciously, that fan fiction is lost to the annals of time...
Eventually, I was in a local bookshop, and I noticed that they started selling Manga. Albeit, it was like barely a shelf, probably about 10 volumes at any given time. But i found Love Hina volumes 5 and 6 there. You better believe I snapped those right up!
It was the first #Manga series I had read and completed. I also have a copy of volume 1 I bought in Denmark because I preferred the cover art!
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/113/458/456/379/126/802/original/f8071d38560cfcda.jpg
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/113/458/456/970/610/811/original/84637c0184f5324e.jpg
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/113/458/457/976/984/707/original/0c7030b60fafb8a6.jpg

2024-11-04 21:15:01

Oh my god, I did it!
I'm free! I'm finally free!
#RetroAchievements #MarioKart #Gamecube #MarioKartDoubleDash
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/113/426/751/029/004/317/original/b841db665180cfc1.jpg

2024-11-04 08:26:28

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@npub12ze…hunm
Paperback Paradise is just fantastic.
A friend of mine had a habit of reading the blurbs they would post to my gaming group during our weekend sessions.
Always a fun time.

2024-11-02 23:08:01

So, it has been a... Quite a trying time. Computer issues aside, I have been really pushing my patience and skills to the test.
#MarioKartDoubleDash has a brutal set of Time Trial achievements beating the Staff Ghosts who have ridiculously tight times on most stages. These require a lot of skill and patience, running along very precise racing lines and utilising your two mushrooms very carefully and a good understanding of the games Mini Turbo mechanics, because you don't necessarily just want to spam them.
If I have to the Dino Dino Park or Daisy Cruiser time again, I might snap a controller 😂
All that is left not for the #RetroAchievements Mastery are perfect scores across all the All Cup Tours. Each of those take about 35 minutes per run. So maybe i will give 150cc and Mirror Mode a try again before I do 50cc and 100cc.
It would be great to add this #MarioKart game to my Mastery List. But we will see if the Time Trials have given me the skills to get perfect scores 😂
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/113/415/871/759/510/641/original/711f80d764449ed2.jpg
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/113/415/871/959/447/663/original/d021c051680dd1de.jpg

2024-10-31 16:05:54

Considering how fast my heart was racing as I tried to complete a perfect score on 150cc Special Cup in #MarioKart Double Dash with DK and Diddy in their cart I should probably not even try for the 160 perfect score on 150cc All Cup Tour with Wario and Waluigi.
The thing is, Double Dash is without a doubt one of the more unfair Mario Karts, I believe.
On one run of Dino Park, 5 blue shells were pulled. And I got hit by 4 of them. It's not a long track! Where did all those blue shells come from?!
Don't even get me started on Rainbow Road. It was already a tense enough time trying to get to that track, and then my nerves would break, and I would do something stupid or get unlucky.
I also noticed when I am in 3rd, 2nd place CPU likes to back throw red shells towards me, and not at the guys in 1st place.
I feel there is a level of 'git gud' here, but do I have the patience for it?
#Nintendo #GameCube #MarioKartDoubleDash #RetroAchievements

2024-10-28 12:24:14

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@npub12ze…hunm
But you can bet these people have what they would call a "hot take" on something else and get mad if people disagree with them.
It's been too long since I saw the movie myself to give it an honest comment on it. The fact I can only remember two jokes in it probably says a lot about the level of comedy 😅

2024-10-23 07:26:35

I probably should have saved this one for when I was going to be playing Tomb Raider 3... But my pick for this week's #VGMWednesday hits me right in the nostalgia.
The #TombRaider title music evokes such a sense of wonder and mystery. You're not embarking on a gun totting adventure. You are unlocking the secrets of the past.
Tomb Raider is the last series of games i properly played with my Dad. We'd sit there trying to work out the puzzles together without the help of guides, and I recall it took us days to figure out how to turn the lead blocks into gold blocks in Midas' Palace.
Such great memories, and all this comes flooding back when I hear those opening strings.
https://youtu.be/YaBvHqMWyxI?si=Ca1pj85Y471ZT4oY
#VideoGames #RetroGaming

2024-10-21 09:15:06

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@npub1h29…gq7w
Looks interesting, might have to give this a look at as well, I have been meaning to brush up on my Japanese.

2024-10-16 07:42:53

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@npub1h29…gq7w
Future Perfect is an absolute god-tier game, they clearly had some writers who understood the absurdities of time travel and leaned into that.
"Take this, you'll need it"
*passes ghost gun*
"Where did you get this from?"
"I dunno. The previous me gave it to me!"

2024-10-11 08:27:07

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@npub1h29…gq7w
This is probably a strange translation quirk where it was deemed to be easier to understand for western audiences if they were called Angels instead of Apostles.
I can't remember the term now for when you take a sentence or word and don't necessarily translate correctly, but translate to a more easily understood cultural alternative.
If another translation studio came along and changed it now, it would probably cause riots.

2024-10-03 10:41:41

So, what would your expectations of a survival horror game called "Extermination" released on 2001 for the #PlayStation2 ?
No, this isn't some forgotten gem or absolute must play game. Let me just say that now.
But it certainly is a curiosity that I recommend. It's kinda fun and campy. It's not a long game. My first playthrough took about 6 hours.
There are no surprises in this game. Marines go to Antarctica base that is overrun by monsters. If you have seen Aliens, you know what to expect with the plot.
Enemies can be a little bullet spongy, with the expectation you hit them in the flashing, "my weak point is here" button. Alternatively, you can avoid everything and only kill the mandatory bosses.
My main criticism is that I hope you like backtracking. Sadly, the base layout is not quite as intuitive as the Spencer Mansion from Resident Evil.
Honestly, it's worth a look! But don't have any lofty expectations.
#RetroGaming #HorrorGames #VideoGames
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/113/243/018/812/833/068/original/2f1cb07a538529c9.jpg
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2024-09-18 15:29:25

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@npub12ze…hunm
Soon they will putting AI in your AI so you can generate whilst it generates!

2024-09-14 08:39:13

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@npub1h29…gq7w
Tunic is an amazing game! Absolutely loved it until trying to get the good ending, that is when the game becomes nonsense 😅

2024-09-06 13:32:19

*Confused Doom Guy noises*
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/113/090/855/498/160/266/original/913b82bff96aeafb.jpg

2024-09-04 09:31:16

Not sure why, but I have decided that today is going to be a #MizukiNana kinda day.
Just discovered the album『Nana Acoustic Online』that was released in 2020! How did I miss this?!
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mmX1sP0FK0BXDHphtdHYsD6e7FO4LI9sc&si=TqdzMRATxDsY6nHL
I rarely say stuff like this, but Mizuki Nana is a gosh-darn Queen! ❤️
#JPop #JPopMusic

2024-08-28 12:52:59

Jesus, I almost forgot #VGMWednesday
Now, typically, I don't really enjoy vocal tracks on video games, I find it quite kinda corny, Sonic songs, and Jump up Super Star from Mario Odyssey come to mind. Even if the latter is a gosh darn jam.
But today, I wanted to talk about my favourite video game vocal song, and it is from an RPG. It is Battle Music from an RPG!
The song is 『Uncontrollable』 from #XenobladeChroniclesX
It is the music that plays when you fight the Tyrant enemies, basically the unique named mob enemies, and I feel someone was given a brief and totally misinterpreted it, to amazing result.
"A song about a tough fight." I feel was the brief, and we get a strange duet from what I can only assume is a divorced couple or a couple on the brink of divorce. If you think about it too much, the more it will confuse you. So I opt not to think about it and enjoy this absolute banger of a track from an underrated console.
https://youtu.be/xOeb7StJlRc?si=vM2oU5A_z50Yp47a
#WiiU #Nintendo #Xenoblade

2024-08-20 12:40:12

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@npub12ze…hunm
Ah yes, much like you can be combobulated. Why can't we be gruntled?
My Wife is a writer as well, so these sorts of things must be fun but also play havoc with her sensibilities.

2024-08-20 09:09:07

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@npub1h29…gq7w
Conspiracy theories are fascinating until they start to negatively impact those around you, so you have my condolences there.

2024-08-20 07:46:36

So, some wordplay I like to engage with with my wife is to assume anything that can be a prefix is, in fact, a prefix.
If you can have an antidote, can you have a prodote?
If something could be convenient, can something be provenient? Is Venience a state of difficulty by that logic?
If a submarine is below the water, would a supermarine be a plane?
Though my absolute favourite thing I have ever asked her.
If you can be overwhelmed and underwhelmed, is there a state of being appropriately or sufficiently whelmed?

2024-08-17 17:49:55

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@npub12ze…hunm
It is coming along slowly, as I was working on some other things today. Housework and Lego mostly, but I will have some footage for it soon!

2024-08-17 11:52:45

So, things like these make me love #RetroAchievements
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/112/977/214/930/589/298/original/93d06df299f64347.jpg

2024-08-16 21:21:00

So, i said Shadowgate 64 had cheap deaths...
Well, sometimes the game does do you a solid.
Honestly, at this point, it should be natural selection, right?
#Nintendo #N64 #RetroGaming #ShadowGate64
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/112/973/780/921/650/725/original/a9b64a154d74292a.mp4

2024-08-12 16:19:07

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@npub12ze…hunm
Ayumi Hamasaki...
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/112/949/955/305/065/608/original/ce317877e5de8c3d.mp4

2024-08-07 12:10:12

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@npub1h29…gq7w
Jesus, that is an absolutely ridiculous amount for a PS3 game!
Any idea why they were trying to sell it for so much?

2024-08-07 08:05:00

Feeling this right now 😂
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/112/919/700/093/848/363/original/59e996a899e61899.jpg

2024-08-05 13:24:12

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@npub12ze…hunm
The pictures are saved to my Steam account. Well, they are saved to the deck, and I need to publish them to my account. The last time I tried to do that, I kept getting errors. I'm not sure why.

2024-08-05 09:50:16

I really should get into the habit of taking screenshots of the games I play and talk about here... Would make it so much easier than having to skim images off search engines...
Would also provide a consistent level of image quality
But I am lazy and forgetful... or caught up in the action.

2024-07-31 10:47:03

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@npub1h29…gq7w
Oh damn, this is literally one of my favourite games! Will definitely need to give this a read!
Love Star Fox so much!

2024-07-28 13:28:41

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@npub1h29…gq7w
There was a period of time I was addicted to Freelancer mode!
Kinda glad it came off GamePass for PC otherwise I'd still be playing it now 😂

2024-07-16 07:27:43

@npub1h29…gq7w
So last night , I may have acquired myself a copy of Monster Attack to play for my channel.
It is amazing how unchanged the franchise has been since those early days, from menu sound fx and pre-mission prep.
I suppose if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

2024-06-12 12:48:53

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@npub12ze…hunm
Sounds pretty cool! I'd just be a dime a dozen video gamer who claims to be pretty decent at games and then fails to do simple things... or fails to read instructions/tutorials 😅😅

2024-06-12 12:29:53

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@npub12ze…hunm it really is!
That being said I don't really use Twitch... I would do streams myself, but it is finding a time to do it 🤔

2024-05-30 17:09:43

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@npub12ze…hunm Yeah, and to get all the achievements I had to beat it on Hard Mode as well, which wasn't as bad as it sounds.
But stages 4 and 5 were absolute torture with the level layout