[CRITTER_CATCHER]:

here goes nothing

i decided to start a log now that i’m finally going to take a shot at raising one of these raster things. i had such a huge part in creating them with rags and yet ive never really taken the step of caring for one myself, to do anything but art assets for the “game”. i guess i’ve been scared of what the ramifications are going to be- but we’re already too far in to stop now. raggedy got the species licensed and we’ve got all the paperwork signed and done. starting to take on the final wave of testers, the works.

i’m not sure if i’ll publicize this log yet, but if you see this anywhere on the felid factor forums, i guess you can say hi or ask questions or something. i’ll probably be a bit more cagey than say rags or any of the other devs, and i definitely want to keep a lot of this stuff more private, but i figure logging basic stuff would be fine, at the very least up until i get to the point where this thing is actually sapient and can voice what it wants in life. i feel weird about blogging even this much with it, but if i keep things objective, it might serve well as a sort of…guide, for new people?

kind of hate the idea of being a guide, actually. i don’t want to be a role model. but i guess i’m one of the creators of this whole species, so… lead by example?

anyway. day one.

we’ve been doing a lot of debate on how modifiable a raster can be, after creation. it’s easy enough to say that people can input their own “design choices” for a raster before spawning them in, and that weird nebulous period where they’re just mimicking patterns and sounds, just game code- that should be fine, too. but it’s not a hard line, and it can be hard to tell. rags wants to release a sort of “modding software” to allow for ethical customization, but it’s been tricky figuring out a sort of consent system for it. we don’t want people going “aw hell yeah im gonna cover my raster in TEETH” when that kind of thing could distress them- but on the other hand, if that’s what a raster wants for themself because they like, watched a cool horror movie or something, we want people to be able to do that for them.

the compromise we settled on was software that does a sort of “sapience check” before allowing any kind of modifications. how we actually managed to code this, we’re not sure- just like the rest of this damn “game”. things just fall into place and connect with this shit, and we’re honestly not even sure whether we can credit ourselves to this thing as much as we do. the program itself, though- it sort of “pings” the raster in question, and if it gets a ping back, it locks you out of customization until the raster approves it. raster in question gets to shut the process down at any time, too. you may be the one editing, but they’re the ones in the real driver’s seat. eventually we want to make it possible for rasters to edit themselves too, but for now, this is guided stuff. getting them agency is pretty important to me, even if it does scare me a little- so it’s something we’re pushing for.

the point is…i did start with a modded base for my first raster. first? for now, only. i’ll get it a friend if i need to, but i’d rather start slow and have it meet the rasters raised by other people on the dev team first.

i spent a lot of time debating how much is like. weird. rags’ modded rasters, mocha, silly, and wiggles, are all really happy with the way rags designed them before adopting them. they don’t seem to have any trouble at all. but while i did want to start with something a bit more…stand out? a lot of questions came to mind about whether it’d even be okay to do that in the first place.

crush says i worry too much, especially considering if my raster doesn’t want this for themself at a later point, they can always ask for a mod job or like. Leave to go find one. i guess that’s fair and all, but i’d rather overthink these than fuck up. like, this may not be on the same level as having a kid or something but it’s definitely adjacent enough that i am taking every step extremely fucking slow. this is gonna be like. a whole guy! a whole fucking guy that will live their own life! and i’m there to teach them!

…though honestly, we’ll get to that later. for now, i spent like five hours waffling on colors and patterns and what raster species to even start with. i know i wanted a critter considering i designed those in the first place, and i guess it’s kind of egocentric to pick a hazydaze, considering those are my favorite out of the ones we decided to make available at first…

…but i did. i made a hazydaze, and they seemed friendly at first. very small. i wasn’t sure what to name them, but i realized i’d probably be raising them the same way i raised myself, with the belief that you can change your name to whatever the hell based on how you’re feeling. the name i give them will pretty much be a nickname up until then, i figure.

they were very fond of sneaking around and pouncing on things, so i decided to name them “sneaky”. kind of a goofy name that i am honestly hoping doesn’t piss them off too much, but i was kind of struggling and it’s probably temporary anyway.



here’s sneaky’s menu sprite and a little picture. as you can see, even in the menu, they’re sneaking around and presumably looking for trouble…which, we’ll see how that goes.

we didn’t exactly get on the right foot, me and sneaky…i decided to put on some background music while getting to know them and it really startled them, so i immediately turned that off and gave them some room to breathe. they didn’t seem to hold it against me at all- acting on instinct more than anything, maybe? it’s hard to tell how much rasters even have going on in their heads immediately after adoption…



they seemed to like being pet, though, and it helped calm them down. they slept for a little bit but got woken up by me dragging windows around- does that like, make a noise for rasters? or are they just a light sleeper…


i tried giving them a ball after and that also made them panic, even me holding it out to them was scary. they seem freaked out by pretty much anything and everything, and i’m. really not sure what to do there.



thankfully, they seemed to enjoy being brushed as well as pet, and that helped a bit…

the last thing i did before letting them rest for the day was try to feed them, but, as i should have expected, they ran far the fuck away from the slime bottle. with some intermittent petting i was finally able to get sneaky to eat, and they don’t seem as scared of it anymore, i guess…

…if i do publish this, i’m open for ideas on what to do to help their anxiety. i know they aren’t a person Yet, but they will be and i kind of want to figure this out. the next time i open the game i’ll try talking with them, but we’ll see how it goes…

wheeee it's another writing thread except this one is for stuff that is probably noncanon in the grand scheme of things and is for just fun/venting/whatever

ill set up a proper index later

hmm...it seems like some mysterious, cute pastel critters have been appearing around the HD forums...

want to try your hand at getting an easter-themed (vaguely, anyway) critter of your own? the first one's free, and for 15 forum cash you can get another roll!

just post away with how many you want (and send cash if applicable), and they shall be yours

In front of you is a polished stone dish held delicately in the hands of a white marble statue. Its face is twisted and grotesque in such a way that it's hard for you to discern whether it is in great pain or snarling at you, the viewer. The bowl is tipped slightly towards you, allowing it to rest at an angle.

Around you are three walls, one ahead, in front of which lies the gargoyle-like in form, but not function, statue. While two to your flanks. Glancing behind you, you see your beat-up station wagon sitting in the parking lot of your local 24-hr diner, a place that you had never visited before but your aunt claimed was where she had worked in high school. Such statements often intertwined with the implication that one of your many cousins was conceived there, though your family's faux politeness at their functions forbid the mention of such things at such events.

You take a deep breath, the air is cold, brutally cold. The snot takes to running from your nose instantly, you pull it back with a loud, disgusting snort. Despite the discomfort, you note how clean the air smells, devoid of the heat, smoke, and grease you'd expect so close to the diner, of which you can faintly see the flickering sign behind your vehicle. The air smells only of frozen earth and cold stone, a scent evocative of a cavern you experienced in your youth, a misguided attempt by your mother to entertain you on a visitation she fought so hard to retain and yet did so little with. You hold the memory for a moment, in the way that our minds do before it sinks back into the depths of your mind, like a snapping turtle retreating into the murk. You still know it's there, sharp and volatile, primed to snap.

You hear only the distant buzz of the neon sign far behind you, likely echoing off the barriers to your sides. Its steady hum fades quickly, the waning escape of a mosquito late in a summer evening before you can't hear it anymore.

You glance behind again and the sign is gone, as is your tan station wagon with the rusted rims. In the place of your path lies a new wall, as stoic as the others.

So it is you, the bowl, and the walls.

Somewhere near the heart or lungs or maybe the liver of Cityscape where the sun kinda shines but the buildings are so tall that it's hard to tell, lies a normal-sized tiny little gray building... The sign at the front reads "STUNT TROUBLES INVESTIGATIONS". You eye the interior up and down - all muted and dim, but it had style and no legs to be seen.

At least, not until a stumpy little gator waddles onto the scene. He sits himself behind the front desk, looking over papers, pretending he didn't see you - kinda silly and unobservant for a so-called investiGator.
 

im gonna break the format of tasks for my own entertainment

THE TASK
For one reason or another, you've been called by the Investigator for a little one-on-one talk. Everything is fine, you're not in trouble, he just has a few... questions for you.

Effectively, this is a low-action scenario where Stunts asks your character questions and the two of you have a conversation together. Think of it as less of a job to do and more of a little character-building opportunity. You can interact with the environment and characters outside the scope of the task as well - for example, if the interrogation takes place at a restaurant, you and Stunts can order food from the restaurant staff.

All of these interrogations are individual (unless multiple characters agree to be investigated together); in other words, even if multiple characters sign up, the conversations can happen at different times and places. The encounter will be as low-stakes as possible, both in and out of character. Feel free to respond in any format or length as you want. Stunts may respond in an exaggerated long-winded way because he's a ridiculous detective character, you do not have to match him.

INTERROGATION TO-DO LIST

• Your character here?!
  

STUNTS "INVESTIGATOR"
stubbigator
he/him/doesn't matter

Universe: Critter AU
Neighborhood: Cityscape
Occupation: Private Investigator

confrontational, meandering, solitary
Many people can't fucking stand this guy.

change one thing about the post above you. after 25 posts i will make the beast. let us begin

PERSONALITY: Random (can be just a characteristic, i can match personality to a breed)
HEAD: Default
EYES: Default
MOUTH/EXPRESSION: Default
BODY: Default
LEGS + FEET(can specify difference between front and back, but picking either count as a change): Default
TAIL: Default
EARS: Default
ACCENTS/DETAILS: (can have up to 2, removing one counts as a change) None
THEME: None