Vol. 1 October

2011 SSSpppooooookkkyyy

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[THE DRAGON’S

CLAW]

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Contents

Literature Section

Book review: Green

Angel by Alice

Hoffman

Book Art

Game Section

Featured Game:

Knytt

Game Art

Film and Animation

Section

Movie Review: Rise of

the Planet of the

Apes

TV Show: My Little

Pony

The DC Team

Contact Us

Credits

Knytt

Page 8

The Importance of Graphics in

Video Games

Page 12

Literature Groups on DA

Page 5

[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 3

We here at the DC are proud to

bring you the first ever issue of our

web magazine. Everything you see

has been put together by a team

of only a few people. The links you

see are fully functional, and we

encourage you to visit the pages

of the artists and sites featured. We

hope you enjoy reading our articles

and come back for more next

month!

-The Dragon’s Claw Team

Halloween Cosplay Feature

Page 14

My Little Pony

Page 20

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Book Review

Green Angel by Alice

Hoffman Reviewed by AJ

Green Angel is a really interesting sort of

book. Though you’ll find it in the young adult

section, I wouldn’t consider it strictly a

teenager’s novel. The story is a first-person

narrative told by a girl named Green, whose

family dies in a catastrophe of some sort.

The setting is surreal and nearly post-

apocalyptic, with the bleak landscape,

ashes, and everyone either trying to survive

or trying to forget everything that had

happened. There’s no indication as to where or when this story takes

place, and that makes it all the more interesting; it’s a story that

could happen to anyone.

Alice Hoffman’s writing style for this story is unique, and

personally, I loved it. The wording is simple, yet powerful and

effective. It gives the reader just enough detail to picture a scene

without cluttering the text with descriptions. Dialogue is italicized

rather than written in quotes, and in the setting, it makes you wonder

whether the words were really spoken or if they were figments of a

depressed imagination.

The overall plot of Green Angel delivers a message of healing

and recovery, both as a society and as an individual. You see

characters deal with the tragedy differently, some taking it in stride,

and others spiraling towards self-destruction. There are a lot of

metaphors, and the vague descriptions really heighten that surreal

feeling the book has. You never truly know if Green’s experiences

are mystical or complete chance.

Overall, I think Green Angel is very well done. It’s not a long

story by any means, and it’s certainly worth the time to read.

[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 5

Literature Groups on DeviantART

Looking for a place to share your fantasy and sci-fi stories? Here are

a few groups from around DeviantART that are great for that sort of

literature!

#FantasyAuthorsGuild

Follow Your Imagination

“Do you love fantasy? Do you love sci fi? Do you

love literature? Then this is the place for you! We are a

group where all you fantasy and sci fi authors out

there can post your work.”

#FiendishFates

The Lighter Side of Dark

“Fiendish-Fates was started as a group for readers

and writers of dark literature, to join, read, and share

their works and the works of others with similar writing

talents. Though we focus primarily on dark prose of

the mysterious and maybe philosophical nature, we

also accept poems and stories of horror and other

esoteric subjects.”

#We-Write-Fantasy

Magical Storytelling

“Do you have a fantasy story that nobody's reading

because they can't take the time too? Wanting to

break free, but nobody's listening? Well here's a group

ready to give feedback. ”

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Join AJ and thousands of other writers for National Novel Writing Month!

The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days. With a community

full of support and encouragement, it’s a challenge that’s fun to take on

together!

[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 7

Book Art Feature

←Undead Much? Got Zombie II by Velvet-Moonlight

Commissioned by author Stacey Jay for her books

You Are So UNDEAD To Me and UNDEAD Much?

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Featured Game

Knytt and Knytt Stories By AJ

Knytt is a freeware platformer made by Swedish game designer

Nifflas. The game follows a little creature called the Knytt, who gets

abducted by an alien. When the ship crashes into an asteroid and

lands in pieces on an alien planet, it’s up to the Knytt to collect the

pieces from around the world so he can get home.

The world is very colorful and well-designed, with some puzzles

and secrets along the way. Enemies are present, but there is no

fighting – only avoidance. The Knytt can only move, jump, and climb

up walls, so the player has to figure out ways to traverse the map

using limited functions.

The world is very open, but still small enough that it’s not

intimidating. There are people sitting around fishing and doing other

routine tasks as you wander around. The music is soft and sort of

whimsical. The world has a generally pleasant and relaxed feel to it.

Knytt Stories builds upon the original game, taking a new

character named Juni on a bunch of new adventures. Juni’s story

introduces some extra functionality, allowing double jumps, slow falls,

and jumping higher, among other things. Features are collected as

you progress through the game, and there are often places where

you will need to return once you have better upgrades.

[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 9

The Knytt Stories download comes with an adventure called

“The Machine.” It’s not terribly long, but it is slightly more challenging

than the original Knytt. Also available is the level “A Strange Dream,”

which has a very large world with many secrets. There are several

ways to reach the objectives in the Knytt Stories levels. Doing things

the difficult, round-a-bout way gets you a secret ending.

One of the best parts of the Knytt Stories downloads is the level

editor. There are hundreds of user-made tile sets and backgrounds

to make custom levels. There are user-made tutorials around the

Internet to help get you started, and user-made levels to play once

you’ve beaten the official content.

Knytt is overall a wonderful little game. Download it here and

try it for yourself!

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Game Art Feature

←Skyrim Dragon by

fullbashreturns

↓Pixel Sword

by pacifierboy

[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 11

↓Fa

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ran

do

mro

bsk

ii

↓survive and conquer by Vybeosa

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The Importance of Graphics in Games By AJ

The games today look great. There are games with super realistic

faces, others with really smooth movements, and some with fields of

grass that look like photographs. It's all very good at immersing you in

the game play - but is it really necessary?

Let's take The Elder Scrolls for instance. I'm a huge fan of

Morrowind. The whole world is so thoroughly developed, with a

massive assortment of items and tons of NPC's to encounter, all of

whom are named. Then we have Oblivion. It's by no means bad. It

looks fantastic if your computer can handle it, and the fully voiced

dialogue is really nice. The quests are interesting, and you get to do

a bunch of fun stuff you didn't have in Morrowind. I was

disappointed, however, in how many items, skills, and even how

much land Bethesda left out. Personally, I would have enjoyed the

game a lot more if they hadn't put so much time into the graphics

and instead focused on making a world as detailed as Morrowind.

[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 13

Even with Morrowind’s graphics so far behind Oblivion’s, I still

thought the world looked great. The sky changes as the day goes

on, the giant crystals in caves glow, and there are plants

everywhere. They don’t move, but that doesn’t seem to make it any

less immersive.

I hear a lot of people say similar things about Final Fantasy XIII.

I've never played it myself, but I have seen it. When my friends list the

great features it has, they say one thing: "It's pretty." As nice as it

looks, that doesn't make me want to play it.

I don't think enough games try for unique-looking graphics. In

the end, most have the same goal, and that is to look as real as

possible. Okami is a good example of an interesting graphic style.

The painted look is still very attractive while making the game stand

out. Furthermore, those graphics are much easier to run, so there's

more room to work on the plot and mechanics and such.

I'm not saying that graphics are unimportant and that we

should revert to pixel art (though pixel art is gaining popularity

among indie developers). It'll be really cool to eventually play games

where the characters look like real people. I do think, though, that

we should focus just a little less on making our games look incredible

and put a little more into making them incredibly fun.

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Halloween Cosplay Feature

Halloween is a great excuse to get dressed up in a fancy costume.

We’ve collected some photos from a few great spooky cosplayers

to celebrate the scariest, sweetest, pumpkin-filled day of the year!

Follow the links to the artists’ DeviantART pages for even more great

cosplay.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

By MiYo

[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 15

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[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 17

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Movie Review

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Reviewed by Tim

First, let me just say that I

thought Rise of the Planet

of the Apes was one of

the best movies I’ve seen

in years. Here’s a

breakdown of the movie,

without giving out any

important spoilers.

The premise of the

movie is that the main

(human) character is

doing genetic research,

and he and his team are testing their drug on apes. Through a series

of events, which would be big spoilers to reveal, the main character

ends up with a baby ape born with the drug already in its system

and decides to keep it as a pet. This ape ends up growing up to be

more intelligent than most adult humans. All events from this point on

lead up to the ape growing in abilities and trying to get himself - and

many other primates - to freedom.

This movie easily makes the watcher learn to love and root for

the primates throughout it, all of them with distinct, unique, and

accurate personalities. It was riveting, and a truly great watch. The

plot grabs your attention easily and never loses it, and it generates a

lot of appropriate emotions to the scenes in the audience, which all

movies should do. The CGI graphics are also easily some of the best

I’ve ever seen. The apes look 100% real, and you can’t tell that

they’re computer generated at all, which is incredible.

All in all, this movie was very well made, and I would happily

watch it again and I highly recommend it. I felt it was exceptional,

and I give it a 9/10. If you’re looking for a well made movie with a

well made plot, well made characters, and a feel that can grab and

keep your attention, then this is a movie for you.

[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 19

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Show Talk

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic by AJ

The newest incarnation of My Little Pony amassed a huge amount of

fans with its first season. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic follows a

scholarly, somewhat antisocial pony named Twilight Sparkle and her

friends through the magical land of Equestria. The first season kicked

off with a two-part episode in which Equestria is threatened by an

evil pony named Nightmare Moon. The main six ponies wield

magical “Elements of Harmony” to save the day, and the rest of the

season consists of fun, episodic adventures that have nothing to do

with the Elements of Harmony.

In September 2011, season two began much the same way. A

new enemy, Discord, was brought in, and it was time for the main

ponies to do their harmonious magic once again. Discord is a bunch

of different creatures, and he’s essentially the embodiment of chaos.

He enjoys playing cruel games with the ponies for his own

entertainment. He was well-received by avid pony fans everywhere.

[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 21

In October, fans were ecstatic to see the return of Princess

Luna, who appeared in the two-part series premier and then

vanished. Her appearance was different this time around, but she

contributed very well to a Halloween (or Nightmare Night for you

ponies) episode.

Despite being a show aimed at little girls who want to be

princesses, My Little Pony has proven to be extremely popular with a

variety of fans, most notably among the crowd of men in their

twenties who earned the title “bronies.” The smooth vector-style

animation and comedy reminiscent of the old Looney Toons

cartoons set the show apart from the majority of other children’s

shows on television, which is likely part of the reason it caught on so

quickly. Whatever the reason, creator Lauren Faust has

acknowledged the fan base and thanked them for their continuing

support.

The pony fan base puts out tons of fan art, stories, and dub-

overs every day. There’s pony cosplay, human versions of ponies,

and pony snacks. It seems that a new rule has emerged from the

Internet: if it exists, there’s a pony version. To the bronies out there,

that is totally okay.

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The DC Team

Audrey J. Ross spends much

of her time on various art

projects. She sells jewelry,

crafts, and art prints, and

she has a book published on

Kindle. She plans on going to

college for visual arts to

further her artistic studies.

When not being artistic, she

is often cooking, listening to

metal, and/or browsing the

Internet for hours on end.

Her favorite pony is Princess

Celestia.

AJ

Tim

Tim Geary is an avid gamer and

eater of spicy things. He’s often

spotted leaving his natural

habitat with a bag full of snacks

and a bottle of hot sauce. He

hopes to attend college to

pursue interests on wildlife biology

and psychology. He is currently

researching metaphysical and

paranormal phenomena and

beliefs from all over the world. His

favorite pony is Photo Finish.

[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 23

The DC on the Web

Facebook Twitter Blogger DeviantART

THE DRAGON’S CLAW WEBSITE

Submit Artwork

Get in touch through any of the above sites or email AJ directly if

you’re interested in having your art featured in our magazine!

What We’re Looking For

We accept fan art and original works that incorporate fantasy,

science fiction, or gaming. No nudity or extreme violence, please.

More info can be found in our DeviantART group.

Advertising

Contact AJ if you would like to place an advertisement in our

magazine. You can message her on any of the above places or

email her directly.

Join the Team

Think you can do what we do here? We’re looking for team mates!

Fill out our application if interested.

Email AJ at eternal_night11@yahoo.com

24 [THE DRAGON’S CLAW]

Credits

Cover made in Knytt Stories Level Editor by Nifflas;

Screenshots from Knytt and Knytt Stories by Nifflas

http://nifflas.ni2.se/?page=Knytt+Stories

Green Angel cover © Scholastic

http://www.scholastic.com

Book Art Artist

http://velvet-moonlight.deviantart.com/

Morrowind screencapped by AJ, © Bethesda Softworks

http://www.bethsoft.com

Okami screenshot from Game Cola

http://gamecola.net

Game Art Artists

http://fullbashreturns.deviantart.com/

http://pacifierboy.deviantart.com/

http://randomrobskii.deviantart.com/

http://vybeosa.deviantart.com/

Cosplay Artists

http://ariru-lunaticoo.deviantart.com/

http://traumacentregrrl.deviantart.com/

http://miyoaldy.deviantart.com/

[FANTASY HEADQUARTERS] 25

http://nekosrocks.deviantart.com/

Rise of the Planet of the Apes image from Entertainment Weekly

http://www.ew.com/ew/

My Little Pony images from the MLP Wikia, screencapped from the

Hub

http://mlp.wikia.com

http://www.hubworld.com/

Pony characters made with Pony Creator

http://generalzoi.deviantart.com/art/Pony-Creator-Full-Version-

254295904

Advertisements

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/sprocketsandpistons

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005F620IY/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

http://ismbella.deviantart.com/

This entire webzine was made in Microsoft Word 2007

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Word-2007-Old-

Version/dp/B000HCZ8GW

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