Desperate Struggle

A diary written by someone who is easily influenced by others

Impressions after finishing "Shinsekai Into the Depths" (about sound and music that is one of the most memorable things)

Introduction

I've just finished Shinsekai Into the Depths (Switch version). It's a port from Apple arcade, but I didn't know that at all. This game is a 2D Deep-sea Action/Exploration. I intend to write mainly about the sound and music in this game. They stuck with me and moved my heart while playing. I thought I'd put into words the parts of the game that were particularly striking to me. However, I have no knowledge of music myself, so I apologize in advance that I cannot write logically.

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Shinsekai is a bit difficult(but interesting)

Controlling in this game is a little tricky because the stage is in the deep sea. The main character wears a heavy and mechanical diving suit, and he or she cannot move as wishes. If I'm not careful, I crash into the ground soon by inertia and am damaged.

In addition that, I must manage resources, oxygen, or weapons. Oxygen is especially essential. It is equal to HP. I must not use up, but it is decreasing without doing anything. Water pressure is also a cause of tension. The main character cannot endure the depth beyond the red line. If the body crosses the line, pressure destroys oxygen tanks and diving suit in no time, and death comes finally.

It's hard to get used to it, but it doesn't take so long. The first area also served as a tutorial, and by the time I had defeated the boss in that, I had become to be able to move around the water quite comfortably. The sense of accomplishment I got when I managed to survive under some of these restrictions and the feeling of taking a breather at the oxygen point is addictive.

 

Shock in The Trench

After that, while nearly drowning here and there, I was rewarded with a submarine. I boarded it and followed the path to the second area, The Trench. As soon as I stepped out into an open place, background music that had been playing quietly until then suddenly changed, without any sense of discomfort, and the woman's singing voice rushed into my ears. That was very shocking to me.

 

open.spotify.com

 

Strictly speaking, I didn't know if it was a woman's voice or even a human voice, but it is not particularly important. I was amazed by the sequence of events that the sound impressively swam through my ears.

The sound faded away, and the background music returned to a quiet tone. At the same time, I noticed that the area was too big. If I moved just a little in the previous area, I would hit a wall, or I would have to wade through a narrow cave-like space, but now, no matter how far I went, I couldn't see the end. And this was not only left and right, but up and down as well. As the name "The Trench" implies, there was an endlessly deep world. I came to have a strong awareness of the deep sea.

Unlike in a diving suit, in a submarine, I could dive as deep as I wanted. I wasn't sure if that was the correct route, but I went as far as possible. As I passed through the red line, the light from above gradually faded. Darkness filled my vision, and the silence of the deep sea began to frighten me. Then that woman's voice came into my ears again.

"Why?" I was surprised. I hadn't heard it until just before. And then, I realized that the background music changes depending on the depth (and, incidentally, whether it is underwater or not). It is called interactive music. "Amazing!" Just as I was getting excited, I was hit by the enemy's electric shock, thrown out of the submarine, and met my death.

 

Sound in The Deep Sea

Not only background music, but also the sound effects in this game are pleasant to the ear. I feel like those things are echoing in the deep water. It is impossible to imagine, but I feel as if I am in the deep sea. Perhaps that's why it's so hard to breathe while playing. I use cheap earphones that cost less than 2,000 yen, but even so, through the sound and music, I feel as if I'm surrounded by water. When I finished playing and took the earphones out of my ears, I thought as if I had just emerged from my diving suit. It took me to complete this game only 8 hours, but I couldn't play it for a long time at a time.

 

Shinsekai is Interesting and Wonderful Game

It's got a lot of fun action, music and sound, and the story that I want to read setting material. It's great that the soundtrack is now available on each music streaming service. If there's anything that catches your heart, I highly recommend you play.

open.spotify.com

open.spotify.com

 

 

 

Diary about COVID-19(April 2021)

Just because I'm at home doesn't mean I'm bored, there are things I want to do and things I have to do, but I thought I'd write a regular diary as one of those tasks, as a record or a reminder. To put it simply, it's about COVID-19.


It was the end of February when the state of emergency declared for some prefectures in Kansai, Japan, was lifted. It was just two months ago or so, it seems. I was not aware of it at all because I thought that personal countermeasures against infection would be the same, whether the government declared or not. Although it was true, I had been still commuting as usual, and the strongest feeling I had was, "I wish the train occupancy rate didn't increase."


As March arrived, my personal workload increased steadily, and the number of infected people in Osaka increased simultaneously as my overtime work piled up. In the meantime, the government applied stricter measures to prevent the spread of the virus to some prefectures, and restaurants were closed until 20:00 there.


As reported in the media, what struck me personally was the sight of people chatting outdoors with canned shochu-based beverages (or beer) in their hands. To begin with, if employees who work day shifts want to drink at present, they need to leave the office by 6:00 p.m. at the latest and dash to the restaurant or pub. But I guess that's not enough for some people. Some people are not satisfied with that.


As I left the office around 10 p.m. and headed for the station, I had the illusion that the city was more lively than normal. Of course, this is an exaggeration, but I was surprised to see people in places where they usually wouldn't be. Maybe I've just started to care. A park bench, parapet of a bridge, pillar in front of the ticket gate, anywhere you can put your weight. Even better if there is a space where you can put cans. That would be the venue for the after-party.


Perhaps it is similar to the feeling of playing in the park at night when I was a child. It's time to go home, but I don't. It's a bit different. I'm doing things outside that I should be doing inside. Is this more appropriate? It's immoral and fun. Even if we don't have to reason about it, there is no end to the culture of eating and drinking outdoors, such as cherry blossom viewing and barbecues, and I feel that such extraordinary activities encroach on daily life.


According to some experts, people go to restaurants not only to satisfy their hunger and consume alcohol but also to experience a kind of unusual feeling. I don't know if this is a generality or not. If someone demands such that, drinking alcohol in a place where forbade must be exceptionally delicious. The circumstance that people who drink on a street increases seems to prove that the extraordinary has become the ordinary.


I noticed that the third state of emergency has been declared, and we are now in the Golden Week holidays. I want to say that it doesn't matter whether it's under the declaration or not, as I don't leave my house during long vacations. However, I also think that the situation is essentially different between "being able to go outside if you want to" and "being forced to stay at home. It may be a matter of feelings, but feelings are important.


Fortunately, my daily life has not been directly affected. However, I still feel as if I am slowly being eaten away, like a slow-acting poison. A sense of stagnation, a sense of helplessness. It's something like that. There is a slight heaviness somewhere in my head and heart.


The sirens of ambulances are now bothering me more than ever. It is passing in front of me, its lights flashing. Is there already a patient in the car heading for the highway entrance? Or is he/she about to be picked up? Most importantly, is he/she safe?


More and more, I heard of cases that a friend of a colleague, or perhaps a relative of a friend, was infected. It's as if the safe zone is gradually getting smaller and smaller in battle royale games. Someone says that there is no such thing as a safe zone. Anyway, the distance between the virus and me is steadily getting closer. Will I be able to escape? I don't want to be in pain, and I don't want to see you in pain.

Expression of emotion in writing

When I think about it, it seems to me that written communication on the Internet was more popular in the past. Or perhaps it's more appropriate to say that it was more popular, or that it was the main way of communicating. There was a bulletin board on most of the web sites, and I remember that even in online games, people used to talk with a keyboard instead of voice chatting. Come to think of it, the "w" I learned to use to express laughter in online games about 10 years ago is still in use today as "Shiba", but I don't use it anymore because I feel like it's a privilege for middle and high school students to use it.

By the way, I can't help but feel that not only "w" but also other written expressions that show laughter are very difficult to use in social network communications. In general, I think the following are the most common ways to show laughter.

 (1) w

 (2)(笑)

 (3) 笑

 (4)わら

The reason I'm writing this is because recently, more than ever before, I've been seeing more and more people adding (3) and (4) to their messages on line, etc. than ever before. I always wonder why it's so strange, but when I ask my friend who knows a lot about things, he replies, "It's because if you don't add them, your writing will become tasteless.

I wonder if that's true, but I'm left with a sense of discomfort. Perhaps it's because of a bad habit of (laughing) itself, which inevitably makes it seem like a stunt, and a certain skepticism that I'm not laughing that hard. I think emoticons are much easier to understand, but I still feel like I'm being agitated the day they're used (^^), so I'm pregnant with the same problem.

That's why I thought emojis were great, that's what I'm talking about (conclusion). I think stamps are great, but I think there's a lag in the expression of emotions in that they're not subtly integrated with the text (although I suppose the stamp itself should complete the expression in the first place). I want to put all the emotions in one sentence, or something like that. That's why I'd really like to see "(^^)" these days.