Her name is Leela. Rosco actually found another kitten that was covered in thorns and not looking good. Did the best I could to clean it up and we took it to the vet for care, but unfortunately it passed away after initially holding on for a couple days. Thought the kitten was a girl so we named it Leela, as one of its eyes was pretty bad when I found it, but turns out it was a boy. So the day before we got news of it passing we decided on Fry. When we came back and adopted this kitten ‘Leela’ felt appropriate to remember him. Her eyes are fine though and she’s totally healthy lol.

First cat actually, after having dogs all my life I am still amazed by how comparatively easier it is to potty train them than puppies. She just immediately took to using a litterbox. Incredible. Rosco has been great with her. Gives her plenty of space and I’ve had zero issues. Actually seems he’s more afraid of her than she is of him Lol.

Funny enough her being here has been a proper motivation for my brother and I to cable manage and “catify” our house. Instead of the utter birds nest of wires everywhere I’ve taken the time to sort everything out and wrap/bundle stuff where I could. As a result everything is just a lot more tidy in our home now! We have a couple cat trees on the way and needless to say this cat is going to live a very pampered life. 🙂

I just need to be mindful about not coming across as a weird cat person. Nobody wants to hear about my cat all the time. I must resist the urge to make ripoff Garfield comics.

-K

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Oh yeah! I drew something for my brother. It turned out okay… He makes hippity hoppity music and wanted some art for an idea he had. This is what came of it. As I learned with that Zelda comic I drew, lava is tricky! I didn’t wanna spend too much time on this, but if I were to attempt rendering lava again I’d probably try to add a glowy effect to it. Turns out it’s hard to not have lava look like tomato soup lol.

Anyway I’m FINALLY going to get back to working on Driving Nowhere comics. I do have a couple pages with a substantial amount of work done, so hopefully it won’t be too long before I update it.

Hopefully I can actually complete this comic within my lifetime..

Because explaining a joke always makes it better, if you haven’t played Echoes of Wisdom or Tears of the Kingdom here’s a little context for ya:

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Anyhoo, I picked up a Switch 2 at launch and it’s lived up to the expectations I had pretty much. Although the launch line up was kinda weak… I’m just not that much of a Mario Kart fan-SORRY! I’m sorry. Yeah World is neat and I got the bundle as Mario Kart is always a good party game even if I’m a sim racing snob, but if you look at it as a Switch Pro, it’s a helluva machine. There’s a ton of Switch games that got Switch 2 updates to take advantage of the added performance and the difference on a large TV is dramatic. Before I wouldn’t even bother playing on my big TV, as a friend said to me once docked play on the OG Switch should’ve just been called ‘glaucoma mode’ …it was fuzzy.

Now a ton of older games look fantastic and for the first time I actually enjoy playing Switch games on my big living room TV. They even updated older games like Mario Odyssey! Hell they even updated New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe… I know wtf right? (Wonder better get a Switch 2 edition…) Anyway, most of those games I’ve finished, but I do have the second DLC of Pokemon Violet to enjoy and that game runs SOOOOO much better on the Switch 2.

I specifically held off on Echoes of Wisdom when I bought it earlier this year. Played it for an hour initially and the performance was so bad I had a hunch the experience would be better on Switch 2… I was really underestimating that, because I honestly was just hoping for a more stable frame rate. Not only is it a locked 60FPS (it struggled to maintain 30FPS on the OG Switch) the 4k visuals look GORGEOUS. While I often feel a little guilty about adding games to my backlog, I’m SO happy I decided to wait on this one. I’d consider the game on Switch 2 to be a must play and a reason alone to pick up the system.

While the start of the game was a little confusing for me, I ended up really getting invested in it and after a few hours I fell in love and played it through. Easily the most played game on my Switch 2 so far. Absurdly charming with fun mechanics that really reward thinking through obstacles and puzzles. If you aren’t playing on hero mode it’s pretty easy, but in my opinion that’s fine. Not all games need to be a ridiculous challenge. This was my delightful little bedtime game and it can make a complete idiot feel smart… It’s sorta like TOTK, but it feels like solutions to obstacles can be even more unique with the echo mechanics.

Even if you end up just making a bridge of beds for most problems…

-K

Decided to try sharing that post I wrote on /r/gaming. Immediately got banned for a week for.. *checks notes* not labelling my post correctly… so I have time to think about this concept before trying again.

Exploring this idea more, I realized this device could be a neat way to sorta keep that physical presence in retail stores, while accepting the digital reality of games. I am literally the poster child for physical media, but I’m not an idiot. The digital future is coming whether I like it or not.

So for this system games could release digitally like normal, but they can offer a unique retail presence with a bundled module if it offers a unique control style. Or simply a cool custom theme on a blank or whatever. That way it wouldn’t just be an empty box with a download code, there would be something tangible in there for somebody. Instead of a normal game box it could be a smaller little box too (occupying less retail space, in my design you could even hang it!) and with the modules being relatively cheap to make and without game cartridges or media being produced, it wouldn’t be THAT expensive.. hell, this could end up like amiibos if marketed right. “Gotta collect em all!”

I’d imagine if this was a Steam device most games would just be bought on that platform, but it’d finally be able to have a retail presence with games that offer module packs. Right now the only Steam thing you see in stores is the steam gift card things that nobody buys… because why wouldn’t you just buy it directly online…

Basically it’d also have a little slip with a QR code to start the download. A neat little aspect of my idea is one side could have art on it that’d work as a sorta background to the module that would be visible through the plastic. The flip side would have a little bit of info and a QR code. You’d be able to use the built in camera to scan it and be taken directly to the game on the storefront. Perhaps they could include a license key as well, but in general games are prolly just easier logistically to buy directly on that platform… Sucks for the used market, but that’s just how the industry is going. I’m not a fan of Nintendo’s game card concept… If these are digital games anyway I at least want the convenience of being able to switch to other games without needing to swap out cartridges that don’t even have the game on it and are literally only a license handshake. We just gotta accept the digital reality.

The four modules that come with the system would work for like 99% of games, but like say a RTS game comes out, well it could be played with typical console analog control OR they could release a touchpad module that would have a retail presence. Atari releases an arcade compilation? Boom retro dial “paddle” module. Maybe the new Call of Dooty game could come out and their retail presence has a “pro deluxe brogamer” version with professional level joysticks or whatever. I dunno.

This is just a drawing concept I have. I’m sure there’s considerations in cost and stuff, so perhaps my design for the retail packaging wouldn’t be feasible, but I think the goal there would be a similar size and the module part be visible. That way it’d have a strong retail presence, and instead of being disposable it’d be good to have it be used like a little case for the module so folks can keep it on their shelf or whatever. With most releases being on a digital storefront, these would only be special exceptions; but considering the extra $$$ folks pay for deluxe editions of games, amiibos, etc. I totally see developers like Atari jumping all over this (it would be the logical next step for them from those crappy plug n’ plays…) and popular games that use standard controls could just release neat themed buttons/sticks/etc to shill along with whatever nonsense deluxe version stuff they’re peddling. I’d bet Gamestop would be thrilled to have something tangible to sell other than download codes and Pop Figures.

Like I said, 99% of games will work fine with the included modules and be digital, but the option for this is there.

*pokes Gabe Newell with stick* come onnn… you already have these control inputs on the Steam Deck… just make them configurable and blow peoples minds by being both the destroyer and savior of physical retail gaming.

… what if a flight simulator game came over? Shit, why not a little joystick or throttle thing? Okayokay I’m getting a bit silly here. I’ll stop.

No lie.. I’m kind of addicted to designing these little modules lol.

-K