July 31, 2022

Keep Minecraft Pre-modern

Recently, the Hololive EN streamers have visited the Minecraft world of their Hololive ID colleagues, which represents a more complex stage of civilization compared to their own — elaborate, monumental-scale railways, industrial automation, etc. This has made them more aware of the relatively primitive state of their own Hololive EN world. It has even led the keeper of Nature herself, Fauna, to talk about bringing the EN world into the era of advanced industrial civilization — crazy talk! What would the Lorax have to say about that? :)

Minecraft, for both the players and their audience, is about escape, fantasy, and returning to a less complex time and place, where coziness and playfulness replace stress, homework, and drudgery. We are surrounded IRL by advanced technology, buildings, and infrastructure — and we've never been more alienated and fragmented, behaving like joyless drones in an insect hive.

Logging into Minecraft as a player, or tuning into the stream of a player who is already there, is our relief. Not only are we experiencing a simulation of a more cozy and charming place, we're experiencing that while connected to everyone else who is plugging their brain into the empathy box for that stream.

Some players and viewers may prefer a more realistic approach to the world, but most of them prefer the fantastical and playful approach. That's how the EN world was built, and what drew in its viewers. Tree-houses, hobbit holes, ivy-covered lighthouses, playgrounds, secret underground passageways, llama stables, hand-decorated Christmas trees, and so on and so forth.

Its inhabitants built it organically from the bottom up, making it up as they went along, for their own amusement, rather than planning it from the top down, in a way that is more suited to drawing in tourists. There are so many in-jokes and idiosyncratic stories about its structures, which outsiders would not understand or appreciate. Tourists need things to be readily apparent.

So the ID server will certainly dazzle outsiders who take a tour through it, compared to outsiders touring the EN server. But if the whole point of your building the world was not to appeal to tourists, then don't worry about it. The goal was to create a world that feels cozy, comfy, and charming — and that doesn't require monumental architecture all over the place.

In fact, if your goal is to have a place where all of you can run wild, as though on a never-ending sleepover party, too much civilization would only get in the way — both as a physical obstruction after it was built, and as a huge burden of homework in order to build in the first place. Actual civilizations with massive architecture had to rely on legions of slaves to do the labor — and unless you want to become a slave yourself, it isn't worth going down that path.

If you wanted to experience a complex world, you could always visit one outside of your own (as a player or viewer). And that may be exciting as a periodic travel destination. But you will ultimately feel homesick for your cozy cottage in the countryside, and the rambunctious shenanigans of your fellow cavemen, and want to rely on that simpler, albeit more chaotic, world still being there to welcome you back home.

To that point, Gura just got gifted a massive amount of quartz as a building material. She had previously planned to build an Atlantis site in the EN world, but left it partially completed for awhile. She said it was due to lack of building material, and not wanting to turn herself into a slave and mine all of that quartz — but now she can benefit from someone else's slave-like labor that has mined more than enough quartz for multiple civilizations. Will she finally build Atlantis and bring civilization to the countryside?

I think an elaborate interconnected group of monumental structures would take away from the charm, character, and social purpose of the world that the EN girls have made over the months and years. And Lord knows our favorite hyperactive shark wouldn't have the patience to sit still and build all of that, even after already having the raw materials on hand. :)

And yet, she does have all that material now, and she did want to create something Atlantis-themed with it. But that was at the early stage of building their world, and by now it would simply not fit in as originally conceived. However, what if she made it the site of ruins from a once-awe-inspiring civilization? That would be more fitting for several reasons:

- The story of Atlantis is about a ruined civilization, not a still-thriving one, so it'd be more faithful to the source material.

- It would not require as much tiresome building, or raw materials, since you don't have to build the chunks that have gone missing after millennia of wear-and-tear on the abandoned site. You could build three ruined structures with the same amount of quartz, and labor, as one structure in pristine condition.

- It would not overshadow the rest of the EN world, or feel out of place. On the contrary, nothing could be more Medieval, Romantic, or Gothic than having the ruins of a former massive civilization lying only a few minutes away from a quaint bustling village.

I can't be the only one thinking this way, since there are YouTube tutorials for all sorts of ruined structures — here is one for an ancient Greek temple, apropos of Atlantis, but they have ruined towers, arches, statues, anything really. Some more elaborate, some more basic.

Depending on the biome type, you might not have to bother with putting grass, trees, and vines on it to create the overgrown nature effect. If it's in the middle of the sea or ocean, it wouldn't need to have that much vegetation as a jungle or forest. But it's hard to deny the charm of at least some overgrown nature on a ruined site.

One thing I didn't see on a casual look through the examples was having some of the broken-off pieces still on site, just lying around on the ground. Maybe something emo and dramatic like a broken-off head lying near the base of a statue, a la Planet of the Apes. (Server of the Monkes?)

Anyway, one approach to harmonizing the goals of building some bigger things, while also returning to nature. You all have created one of the most cozy communities, not only the environment but the social antics that take place there. And you should be proud of that. :) Keep EN Weird!

14 comments:

  1. Gura is a great example of hyperactive people having stick-to-it-iveness, when the activity is physical and stimulating. When it comes to mining tons of material, or building elaborate structures with it, in a video game -- not so much patience. Homework of most kinds -- no patience.

    But singing, both general techniques and learning specific songs, choreographed dancing, rhythm video games -- she could practice those repetitive tasks for hours without stopping, and not feel bored. Indeed, feel rewarded from sticking to it!

    It's misleading to say hyperactive people simply have no patience -- that's just cerebral nerds slandering corporeal people (out of ignorance and jealousy, as usual). Hyperactives just have no patience for cerebral activities -- just as the non-hyperactives (the sit still forever types) have no patience when it comes to rote, repetitive tasks at the gym, in manual labor, singing, dancing, and so on.

    It's one of Gura's most endearing qualities -- the Vtuber format would seem to go too far in the non-physical direction. It's online rather than IRL, the person uses a virtual avatar, we don't see their streamer room environment, etc. But when it's coming from a very physical person, it resonates more forcefully with the audience and makes it seem more real, relatable, and not just some digitized ghost communicating through fiberoptic cables.

    That's because at least we get to hear her actual voice, not TTS. And there's a whole lotta personality in that voice. :)

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  2. Fauna was upset that her character in Rust was male, when the other girls got to play as female characters. She asked, exasperated, "Why am I the only man here?" and Gura reflexively chimes in with, "Cuz you're the sssss...martest," hesitating on the last word. They both have a little laugh about it. Hehe.

    It reminds me of all the coping from parts of the Vtuber audience that want to deny how cool and real it is.

    "Bro, your oshi is not secretly based" -- guy whose oshi is a 2017 SJW.

    "Bro, it's only parasocial, they don't even know who you are" -- guy whose favorite streamers don't read his blog.

    "Bro, Vtubers are not your friends, they just want clout & money" -- guy whose most-watched channel doesn't value the affection and thoughtfulness of fan-songs and fan-art.

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  3. Calli play unga bunga game, tickle blogman brain. Gura and Fauna play too. (Live a Live, on Switch)

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  4. Oh Guuuuuwa, some inspiration for the Atlantis project. I thought something you could do with all the extra quartz, if you go for ruins rather than entire structures, is make a wall around the site. The wall would also be in ruins, naturally.

    It could just be one block thick, no need to do much 3-D depth if you want to complete it fast. And if it's in ruins, it may not even be that tall.

    Then you could put one or more gates in it, for a dramatic entrance into the site. I was thinking like the Lions' Gate at the ancient city of Hattusa. But with an anime-girl twist -- instead of two lions on either side of the opening, facing the viewer, it could be two neko girl sculptures. Hehe. Blocky, low-res Minecraft version, of course, not a full 3-D sculpture.

    It could even be just two flat posters, with pixel art to draw them. But there are already people making block-head neko girls in Minecraft, so you could just copy and modify them.

    As for things lying on the ground, there's the ancient site of Nemrut, which used to have huge seated statues, but someone came along and removed their heads, then placed the heads on the ground. Eerie looking!

    If you don't want to do neko girls on the gate, you could just make a big blockhead sculpture of a neko girl lying on the ground.

    Or a sphinx sculpture, or two -- with a neko girl head. Animal motifs were huge in ancient architecture, especially felines, so it seems natural to work a neko girl head in there somewhere. I'm not obsessed with the type, it's just what would be there if you mixed Minecraft, anime / Vtubers, and ancient sculpture.

    Although I will say, I like your neko girl avatar because you get to wear one of your favorite outfits, a pinafore dress, and when you feel all cute and feminine, it really comes across in your on-stream personality. :)

    For pictures, image search Hattusa and Nemrut.

    I don't mean you have to copy them, just to get some inspiration to stimulate the ol' shark brain. Ancient ruins mood board.

    And if you wanted someone to consult with about the layout plans, you could use this as an occasion to stay in touch with a recent Holo alum who has lots of visual-spatial talent. :)

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  5. Live A Live rules, one of the best games from that era. There's also a RETVRN 2 MONKE chapter in it.

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  6. Mumei b-day karaoke request: a duet with one of the Holo girls! I've noticed that she is much more comfortable when interacting with the other girls, than when it's just herself and the chat. And it could add to the "birthday call-ins from friends" atmosphere.

    Some possibilities, with YouTube links below...

    Gura, "Vanilla Twilight". She even calls Mumei by name several times!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2WaYOKvHkU

    Kronii, "What Makes You Beautiful". A "...no you" moment for Kronmei.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5534JXxWOvY

    Calli, "You're Beautiful". If the bar-spitting rapper can show her tender side, the demonic art girl can too.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1A7RodK1EY

    Fauna, "Ordinary Day". Kinda tough to sing, but let Mother Nature's soothing voice be like a great big encouraging hug throughout, and it can be done!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZHpa20g844

    I'm not sure if Mumei lurks here, or just hears second-hand from Gura and Fauna giggling about "that blog guy". Hehe. If the latter, maybe one of them could pass these suggestions along? It would be greatly appreciated. ^_^

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  7. Daaang, nympho-ass bisexual girl all but dropped to all fours in the supermarket as she saw me -- and right in front of her sapphic gf (or pining-away lesbian bff).

    Started giggling, turned around to show her ripe mini-bubble, and backed up a bit to make sure when I squeezed by, it would be through her personal space.

    Absolutely wafting waves of some kind of girly-scented moisturizer (coconut, musk, something floral). Good thing I put four sprays of Aramis on before I left. :)

    Stood about 5'10 in her black combat boots, black Niko Pro-esque shorts, and pink (and green?) crop-top. Rich tan over her long lithe legs, dark wavy hair in low space buns, and MENA baddie face. Reminded me exactly of the raver type girls from y2k, ahhhh, such a refreshing blast from the past.

    Same deal when we passed each other a second time -- the lesbian veered off, trying to avoid direct contact with the male interloper (so paranoid, I'm not gonna fuck every cute young babe out there). But the bi girl kept smiling and laughing down at her phone, probably scrolling tiktok -- or filming one.

    "Watch me make my gf die of jealousy by flirting with this random hot guy..."

    And as fate would have it, we ended up in the check-out section at the same time. I saw the bi girl leave the lesbian at the station, so she could plant herself in the narrow exit way, with her ripe butt pointed straight out toward me as I left.

    I love when girls think they're being sly with the ol' ambush move. :)

    Then as I was driving out, they passed behind, so I had to wait, then as both were getting into the car, the bi girl and I made a little eye-contact. She had avoided lots of eye-contact before because she's a Zoomer, but belated is better than never. Hehe. I caught the lesbian looking at both me and the bi girl, some kind of negative look on her face.

    Lesbians always complain about falling for bi girls, only for them to get all horned up for random hot guys, and potentially leave them for a cock-haver.

    But out of lads-and-lesbians solidarity, I refrained from walking over and squeezing the baddie's buns. (*So* squeezable...) To any sapphos out there, just make sure to do what this one did, and wear a backwards hat / wigger look, to make it clear that you're her gf.

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  8. Almost got "Vanilla Twilight", maybe some other time. :) She was singing it fine, FWIW. She just needed another girl there to make her feel comfortable doing a song that she hasn't perfected before.

    Or maybe just a shot of liquid courage before performing? Hehe.

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  9. An old post on girls forming groups to harmonize vocals so no one stands out, due to their more egalitarian nature. As opposed to guys forming bands with a division of labor, hierarchy (lead singer / "that other guy"), etc., since they do better in these dominance / pecking order relationships.

    https://akinokure.blogspot.com/2010/06/as-in-social-relations-girls-seek.html

    It was great hearing Gura and Ame duet-ing for her b-day, as well as the whole Myth gang singing together. Especially Kiara's falsetto line for "Wake Me Up Inside".

    All these idols, putting their separate individual spotlights aside for a moment in order to harmonize -- impossible to find anywhere in pop music these days. Probably the last time were those benefit songs in the mid-'80s for famine relief in Africa, American farmers, etc.

    Next time the Council girls meet up, they should do a group karaoke. Suddenly, any nervousness about standing out goes away. :)

    On a related note, an old and new post about vocal harmony and economic inequality:

    https://akinokure.blogspot.com/2013/10/harmonizing-vocals-and-falling.html

    https://akinokure.blogspot.com/2021/12/vocal-harmonies-dance-and-cultural.html

    If our society were too feminized -- a common gripe among incel types -- then we would have shrinking inequality, not widening. We would have a less complex society, not a more complex one, with less specialization, not hyper-specialization. We would have more cooperativeness, not more competitiveness. And we would have more vocal harmonies in pop music, not everyone vying for lead singer or solo star status.

    Neither sex is waging a war against the other, so it's not like there's a cabal of men foisting all this male-typical stuff on society either. It's just that we live in a hyper-competitive, status-striving era, and if we correlate that with either sex's profile, it would be masculine, not feminine. Especially since the main status contest is over career, income, wealth, power, etc. -- not who's the fairest of them all.

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  10. The feminized noble savage society would be one taken over by cheerleaders.

    https://www.deviantart.com/andrea-tg/gallery/72673903/cheervid-19-and-cheervid-20

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  11. Hunter-gatherer societies aren't run by cheerleaders. No need to speculate. They're run by dependable dads and nurturing moms.

    Most you can say is they gossip a lot, and they do the Scandinavian "cut everyone down to size" thing. But that was life for America in our golden age of the '50s. Everyone at my aunt's high school had a cutting-down name, so they wouldn't get uppity -- Fats (fat), Bucky (buck teeth), etc.

    Any attempt to paint H-G's in a negative light always traces back to rationalizing the decadent present in Panglossian terms.

    "At least we're not FEMINIZED like those people". Yeah, like families in the '50s, what a horror-show that must've been.

    And don't bother bringing up the Keeley book about War Before Civilization. I own it. It's discussing tropical horticulturalists, not hunter-gatherers.

    There's hardly such a thing as war before civilization -- since warfare is one of the things that brings large-scale societies into being in the first place, i.e. to try to out-man the group that is warring against you.

    No anthropologist would describe a band of H-G's numbering in the dozens, as a state society, they're all pre-state. Tropical horticulturalists who regularly go to war, are organized into clans, tribes, chiefdoms, even kingdoms. Maybe not as huge as a sedentary agricultural society, but still big, still complex, and still organized politically into various layers of hierarchy, with a division of labor that yields a specialized class of warriors.

    No such class of people in an H-G society. They're not just any ol' group of primitives -- they're the noble savages.

    So were the people living in Europe before the Anatolian farmers and Indo-Euro pastoralists showed up. Equating "savage" with "tropical horticulturalist" is just a sleight-of-hand for edgy online racists. Every people on Earth were savages before 10,000 years ago -- and even more recently in some parts, like Scandinavia.

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  12. Fauna's AC Black Flag stream tonight reminded me that guys have harmonizing egalitarian song traditions, too -- like sea shanties. Or military cadences. Not surprisingly, these are paired with "dances" i.e. rhythmic moving of the body to the beat, more rambunctious for the pirates, more of a march for the soldiers.

    Harmonizing and dancing are not feminine, they are egalitarian.

    Although they can be situated in a more complex hierarchy, the basic social unit for a military or a group of pirates is still fairly small, no more than a couple dozen. At that level, there is no "I" in "team".

    Forming a tighter-knit team requires these kinds of egalitarian cultural activities. If each individual soldier were just listening to their own song, with headphones on, then there's no team-building energy. But start harmonizing, however simply, and boom, there's your team spirit. The only leader is the one starting a call-and-response.

    I don't know what I've been told

    I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD

    Streaming girls will not get old

    STREAMING GIRLS WILL NOT GET OLD

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  13. Faunya going chartreuse chanteuse tonight, with "Fly Me to the Moon" and "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You". Your improvement is noticeable not just in vocal technique, but in setlist choices, some mature ones to work into the angsty emo teen tradition. :)

    Also, how does Miss Postpunk Revival not like Franz Ferdinand? I didn't recognize the two weird / bad songs you referred to, I only ever had their first self-titled album. But there's hardly a skippable song on the whole thing. Give it a try, and ignore whatever they did after.

    You were too cute when you kept slipping into the harmony during the chorus of "Fireflies" -- that song should be obligatory for when you harmonize with the other girls. Mumei just sang it, and Gura's an Owl City fanatic, judging from her karaokes. :)

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  14. Girl group idea -- the SNOTettes! (After the nickname for Shark, Nature, Owl, and Time when they stream together.) Similar to the Ronettes, the Chordettes, and others from the Midcentury heyday of harmonizing. But with that distinctive cursed-but-cute aesthetic for the former Tumblr girls. (Can you ever be a "former" Tumblr girl, or are you in for life?)

    Fauna said she wanted to harmonize with the gals next time they meet up IRL, with separate mics synced up and everything. They could test it out on an unarchived karaoke, through whatever program they normally use.

    So many classics to choose from, or to meme into their own branding.

    Holo-pop, Holo-pop, oh Holo Holo Holo

    Holographic streamin', on such a thirsty day

    What's your @ ?
    Who's your oshi?
    Is she smol like me?
    ...
    It's the time of the season for subbing

    Hey there, Shorky girl
    Scrolling through your feed so restlessly
    ...
    The world will see, a new Shorky girl!

    A time for cringe, a time for based
    A time to quit in a rage
    A time to refrain from such raging

    Help me Fauna, help, help me Fauna

    [And of course this earlier riff...]

    Gawr Gawr Gawr
    Gawr Gawr Guranne
    Gawr Gawr Gawr
    Gawr Gawr Guranne

    Gawr Guranne
    Undo my ban
    Gawr Guranne
    You got me 'tarding and a-trolling
    'Tarding and a-tweeting
    Gawr Guranne

    Gawr Gawr
    Gawr Gawr Guranne

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