Dear Yuletide Author 2022
Oct. 15th, 2022 07:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysavvryl Hello, hope you have a bright and happy Yuletide season! This year, I've requested some cult classics among video games; I hope you find some fun nostalgia or discovery with them. I'll recommend some videos for the games, since I know they're A) rare and old, B) stupid expensive, C) Nintendo Hard, or D) any combination of the previous. But if you can play them, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
In general, my likes in stories are worldbuilding, fantasy and/or softer ranges of sci-fi, friendship, humor, overcoming difficulties, video game meta (especially in combination with worldbuilding), and adventures. I like AUs that don't majorly alter the world; mundane AUs for a magical setting aren't interesting to me. I also follow speedrunners and glitch hunters, so if you find inspiration in their techniques and methods, that would be a fun story too. I'm neutral about romance and none of my requests this year have any that I'm interested in.
My Do Not Wants are M and E rated stories as these are all kid heroes and I'd rather not see them in those situations. The exception is Majora's Mask due to the impending apocalyptic nature of the plot. Horror is fine as long as it has some hope at the end.
40 Winks
Any (Nitekap, Threadbear, Ruff, Tumble)
I love how this game is so much like a playable kid's cartoon, from the over-the-top villains to fun transformations. I'd love to see more of Nitekap and Threadbear. They're kind of like an evil Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh if you think about it, as Nitekap's 'brilliant scheme' is a plan that a kid might come up with and Threadbear is maybe not the brightest bear around but he cares about his friend and is loyal to him. Maybe more of their sleep-deprived schemes or perhaps seeing what Nitekap does when he actually gets a good night's sleep. Is he a mad scientist, a mad magician, or both?
The kids would be fun to see on more adventures, or an exploration of what letting the Hoodwinks run amok in dreams does to people when they're awake. This would also be a fun crossover with Little Nemo too.
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wha3vOJHmQM This is a no-damage run with no commentary, so it's a good reference for the cutscenes (plus they talk to all the Winks!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWg3fJ3sKGk This one has commentary, but I had a lot of trouble finding a video that used Tumble instead of Ruff; this one can be used to see her in action.
Little Nemo: The Dream Master
Any (Nemo, Nemo's Mother, Princess Camille)
I played this game a ton as a kid and teen, so it's nostalgic for me. I love how Nemo's mother has comments between levels; I think it'd be fun to see her and Nemo talk about his dream adventures, especially if she takes him seriously or comes to believe that his dreams are real to some extent. The 'it's all just a dream' excuse often bugs me and it's no different here. Why not have the dreams affect something in reality, even if just to give some confidence to the dreamer? I think it'd also be fun to have a gender swap AU with Nemo and Camille, or maybe a dream adventure for both of them. I also like how you befriend the animals with candy. What might other animal friends offer, like a cat, a snake, a bat, or a squirrel?
I'd also be delighted to see a crossover between this game and 40 Winks. They've got similar plots, of kids fighting off nightmares in a dreamworld. This game takes place in 1909 and 40 Winks was released in 1999, so maybe Grandpa Nemo has some advice for Ruff and Tumble. It could also lead to a fun 'you looked like a kid in the dream!' scenario (because a-kid-at-heart is a better trope than just-a-dream <3).
Videos: There's quite a few full game videos for this one out there. If you don't mind off-topic commentary, here's a video with some players going in blind to demonstrate how difficult the game is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8R-RNACzjc It's the second game played.
Tomba!
Any (Worldbuilding, Tomba, Mizuno, 10,000-Year-Old-Man)
I've only played the first game, but I've seen the second and it seems awesome in its own right. This is such a colorful, funny, and crazy world and I'd love to see all sorts of worldbuilding about its oddities, like the strange physics defying paths, the magic of the Koma Pigs, the powers of fashion (of course the pants that make you fastest are red), the wine of Bacchus Lake water, flying dogs, the city/castle of Civilization, and more. If you're more interested in something character focused, I nominated some of my favorites, like the cute witch who specializes in magical candies and the tsundere old man who keeps a lot of pet fish.
As a note for Tomba himself, I prefer the backstory in the first game over the additions the second game made. I love the idea of a wild boy who never had any contact with civilization heading off into more inhabited areas to unwittingly become a hero. Of course, that makes the city/castle of Civilization extra alien to him, which makes it a pity that the area was barely visited.
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx5nyhxaIqc This is an in-depth walkthrough of the first game with lots of commentary (and the user as a similar video for the second game). There's a number of non-commentary videos for both games too; an all events one would be good for reference.
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Cremia, Romani
I adore Romani; she's so eager to defend her farm against aliens, armed with just a bow and a friendly dog. It'd be fun to see her be badass adorable in action. Maybe when she's older, she goes off on her own adventures but will come back home to help out her sister and tell her all about the places she's been. Cremia's great too, doing her best as a big sister promoted to being a parent and running a farm. Though it would be nice to see her find her own happiness too.
This was a whim addition, so I haven't looked up video references yet.
Happy writing! :)
In general, my likes in stories are worldbuilding, fantasy and/or softer ranges of sci-fi, friendship, humor, overcoming difficulties, video game meta (especially in combination with worldbuilding), and adventures. I like AUs that don't majorly alter the world; mundane AUs for a magical setting aren't interesting to me. I also follow speedrunners and glitch hunters, so if you find inspiration in their techniques and methods, that would be a fun story too. I'm neutral about romance and none of my requests this year have any that I'm interested in.
My Do Not Wants are M and E rated stories as these are all kid heroes and I'd rather not see them in those situations. The exception is Majora's Mask due to the impending apocalyptic nature of the plot. Horror is fine as long as it has some hope at the end.
40 Winks
Any (Nitekap, Threadbear, Ruff, Tumble)
I love how this game is so much like a playable kid's cartoon, from the over-the-top villains to fun transformations. I'd love to see more of Nitekap and Threadbear. They're kind of like an evil Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh if you think about it, as Nitekap's 'brilliant scheme' is a plan that a kid might come up with and Threadbear is maybe not the brightest bear around but he cares about his friend and is loyal to him. Maybe more of their sleep-deprived schemes or perhaps seeing what Nitekap does when he actually gets a good night's sleep. Is he a mad scientist, a mad magician, or both?
The kids would be fun to see on more adventures, or an exploration of what letting the Hoodwinks run amok in dreams does to people when they're awake. This would also be a fun crossover with Little Nemo too.
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wha3vOJHmQM This is a no-damage run with no commentary, so it's a good reference for the cutscenes (plus they talk to all the Winks!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWg3fJ3sKGk This one has commentary, but I had a lot of trouble finding a video that used Tumble instead of Ruff; this one can be used to see her in action.
Little Nemo: The Dream Master
Any (Nemo, Nemo's Mother, Princess Camille)
I played this game a ton as a kid and teen, so it's nostalgic for me. I love how Nemo's mother has comments between levels; I think it'd be fun to see her and Nemo talk about his dream adventures, especially if she takes him seriously or comes to believe that his dreams are real to some extent. The 'it's all just a dream' excuse often bugs me and it's no different here. Why not have the dreams affect something in reality, even if just to give some confidence to the dreamer? I think it'd also be fun to have a gender swap AU with Nemo and Camille, or maybe a dream adventure for both of them. I also like how you befriend the animals with candy. What might other animal friends offer, like a cat, a snake, a bat, or a squirrel?
I'd also be delighted to see a crossover between this game and 40 Winks. They've got similar plots, of kids fighting off nightmares in a dreamworld. This game takes place in 1909 and 40 Winks was released in 1999, so maybe Grandpa Nemo has some advice for Ruff and Tumble. It could also lead to a fun 'you looked like a kid in the dream!' scenario (because a-kid-at-heart is a better trope than just-a-dream <3).
Videos: There's quite a few full game videos for this one out there. If you don't mind off-topic commentary, here's a video with some players going in blind to demonstrate how difficult the game is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8R-RNACzjc It's the second game played.
Tomba!
Any (Worldbuilding, Tomba, Mizuno, 10,000-Year-Old-Man)
I've only played the first game, but I've seen the second and it seems awesome in its own right. This is such a colorful, funny, and crazy world and I'd love to see all sorts of worldbuilding about its oddities, like the strange physics defying paths, the magic of the Koma Pigs, the powers of fashion (of course the pants that make you fastest are red), the wine of Bacchus Lake water, flying dogs, the city/castle of Civilization, and more. If you're more interested in something character focused, I nominated some of my favorites, like the cute witch who specializes in magical candies and the tsundere old man who keeps a lot of pet fish.
As a note for Tomba himself, I prefer the backstory in the first game over the additions the second game made. I love the idea of a wild boy who never had any contact with civilization heading off into more inhabited areas to unwittingly become a hero. Of course, that makes the city/castle of Civilization extra alien to him, which makes it a pity that the area was barely visited.
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx5nyhxaIqc This is an in-depth walkthrough of the first game with lots of commentary (and the user as a similar video for the second game). There's a number of non-commentary videos for both games too; an all events one would be good for reference.
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Cremia, Romani
I adore Romani; she's so eager to defend her farm against aliens, armed with just a bow and a friendly dog. It'd be fun to see her be badass adorable in action. Maybe when she's older, she goes off on her own adventures but will come back home to help out her sister and tell her all about the places she's been. Cremia's great too, doing her best as a big sister promoted to being a parent and running a farm. Though it would be nice to see her find her own happiness too.
This was a whim addition, so I haven't looked up video references yet.
Happy writing! :)
