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OCR Mascot Bios - 20 more up for grabs!


Dafydd
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Oh, so we are doing a poll now? Well... good!

I've made placeholder articles for the 5 new mascots (click 'em), so we need new bios! Dafydd and Polo, take it away. :smile:

Roger that.

If Guts Man becomes a mascot, I hope The Coop wants to write it :)!! Not that I'd bar anyone else from doing it, but it would be cool to read his non-encyclopedic novel-like take on a character I'm already familiar with. And one with so much potential personality.

Edited by Dafydd
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No - always post bios right here in the thread.

That's cool - I'll bring what I've written in. Hopefully this would turn out fine o_O()

A breakthrough in platform videogame design, Crash Bandicoot started life on the Sony Playstation, going as far as being an unofficial mascot for the system throughout the 1990s.

Crash's first game was released in 1996, created by then-unknown developer Naughty Dog with a team of just 8 people. A reject from Dr Neo Cortex's globe-dominating mutant army, Crash's various game appearances typically consist of stopping whatever diabolical scheme Cortex has to take over the world. In spite of being enemies, there had also been rare instances of them working together throughout the series' progression, usually against a common foe affecting both of them.

The original Crash platformers were critically acclaimed for their into-the-screen game design and cartoony visuals, with more technical achievements being accomplished further along in the series' run on the PS1. The audio had also been more highly acclaimed as it went on, with all four titles under Naughty Dog's wing being scored by Mutato Muzika - a music writing team including Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh - as well as the PS2 title Crash Twinsanity holding a full a capella score produced by Spiralmouth.

Furthermore, Crash is one of very few Western-created game franchises to receive a huge following in Japan, which - in addition to having new cosmetic additions and bonuses exclusive to the Japanese releases - also inspired the joke character Fake Crash, and spawned the "Crash Dance" present from Crash 2 onwards.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia - Crash Bandicoot

Jim DeLaHunt - Go West, Young Bandicoot ~ Changes in the Japanese version of "Crash Bandicoot" for PlayStation

GiantBomb - Fake Crash

Edited by Rexy
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In spite of being enemies, there had also been rare instances of them working together throughout the series' progression, usually against a common foe affecting both of them.

Are you sure about the "had"? I'm thinking it should be "have". I also don't really like "affecting", but I can't think of a better word off the top of my head.

Also, there's a bit too much real-life and/or technical info compared to what's said about Crash himself - the world he lives in and his personality. Leave the tech info as is, but flesh out the world and personality part.

Good start, but give it some more love!

Edited by Dafydd
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Considering the franchise had been without a game for nearly 5 years, I have no idea if it will happen again especially under Activision's wing. But sure, change to "have" just in case.

A paragraph in regards to his personality? I can whip that up too:

As a character, Crash can be easily expressive in spite of his limited verbal skills, mostly through exaggerated body language. He's not afraid of getting hurt even without protection from the guardian mask Aku Aku, and would easily throw himself in the line of danger just to do what's right. His range of attacks originally started with a jump and a spin attack - which stemmed his namesake due to his 'crashing' into boxes this way - but eventually learnt new tricks over time, including the belly flop, a slide attack, and even wielding a fruit bazooka! Outside of his adventuring time, he'd spend his time just relaxing at the beach; whether it be sunbathing, wakeboarding, feasting on wumpa fruit, or just spending time with his sister Coco and friend Crunch.

I hope this will help o_O

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Much better! A few nitpicks:

Considering the franchise had been without a game for nearly 5 years, I have no idea if it will happen again especially under Activision's wing. But sure, change to "have" just in case.
Well, he didn't die in the last game or anything, did he? If he did, that would be a spoiler, so assume present tense.
As a character,

Too technical, and not necessary. Let's cut that out.

even without protection from the guardian mask

How do you feel about "his guardian mask"? But if it doesn't belong to him, or it's a living being, never mind. I think it sounds awkward otherwise, kinda like "the friend" would. I could be wrong.

His range of attacks originally started with a jump and a spin attack - which stemmed his namesake due to his 'crashing' into boxes this way - but eventually learnt new tricks over time
I had to look up "namesake", and, sure enough, it had more usages than I thought it did. Thanks! :smile:
Outside of his adventuring time, he'd spend his time just relaxing at the beach

Again with the past tense, as if he's dead or something, or as if you're talking about something that only happened before the beginning of the first game.

Feel free to post the new bio in its entirety after any changes, so we don't have to look at several posts for a complete version.

Edited by Dafydd
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Much better! A few nitpicks:

Well, he didn't die in the last game or anything, did he? If he did, that would be a spoiler, so assume present tense.

Got it. Nope, no one died xD

How do you feel about "his guardian mask"? But if it doesn't belong to him, or it's a living being, never mind. I think it sounds awkward otherwise, kinda like "the friend" would. I could be wrong.

Well, Aku Aku is kind of a weird case - he's pretty much a witchdoctor spirit possessing a tribal mask. I don't really know how else to describe him with fewer words xD

Either way, taking your advice to account, I'll go over it either later tonight or in the morning, and see how it goes.

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Five New Spring 2013 Mascots Added!

Dafydd and Polo, take it away. :-)

All righty. I'll put my Q*bert bio on hold while I take care of Meat Boy. And thanks for listing which game each mascot image is from. This saves us some key legwork.

Hi Rexy. Here's some pointers for your Crash Bandicoot bio:

- Does British English prefer the singular "videogame" over the two-worded "video game"? Just curious.

- "with a team of just 8 people" --> Nitpicky, but I don't think the number of people is important here. Simply saying the company Naughty Dog was "then-unknown" should suffice.

- "A reject from Dr Neo Cortex's globe-dominating mutant army, Crash's various game appearances typically consist of..." --> There's some subject disagreement here via the separate clauses - it's like you're saying Crash's game appearances, not Crash himself, were the reject from Neo Cortex's army. It would help if you said, for example, "A reject from [...], Crash typically sets out to stop..."

- "there had also been rare instances of them working together" --> In addition to Dafydd suggesting "have" over "had," I'd suggest cutting "also," since the sentence would function fine without a subtle hint of redundancy (you start the sentence with "In spite of," so what follows is intuitively different).

I also don't really like "affecting", but I can't think of a better word off the top of my head.

A common foe "opposing" both of them?

- "into-the-screen game design" --> Meaning what, exactly? Does Crash break the 4th wall and/or "jump" at the player at the intro screen?

- I agree that the "technical achievements" of the games don't need as much focus as the character. Unless the a capella score set a precedent in the Crash games or had some other noteworthy, lasting effect on them, I think that detail should be left out.

- What exactly inspired the joke character Fake Crash? The Japanese reception to the games? His Japanese following? Your long sentence - broken up by the info between dashes just like this - doesn't make it clear.

- Funny YouTube video, but if you want to reference a meme/overseas craze in your reference list, the PDF file explaining the changes for the Japanese games is source enough - we discourage YouTube videos because the comments section and related videos don't guarantee consistency in delivering what you want to share about the mascot. I told Mirby that references stress reading over watching.

- "which stemmed his namesake" --> Sounds a little odd; I'd say "solidified" his namesake, personally.

- "but eventually learnt new tricks over time" --> "but HE eventually learnt new tricks..." (otherwise it sounds like his jump and a spin attack learned new tricks, not Crash)

- "Outside of his adventuring time, he'd spend his time" --> Yeah, present tense sounds better here, like, "Outside of his adventures, he spends his time..." Saying "would" implies what he's inclined to do, but the tense of habitual/ongoing action leaves no doubt that he DOES do other things, rather than leaving it open like with "might" or something. (Also, "time" twice in the same sentence, close together, is a little iffy.)

- "or just spending time with" --> Again, redundant iteration.

flesh out the world

About this - are Crash's escapades wildly different in each game? How does Neo Cortex try to take over the world? How does Coco fit into her brother's adventures? And are all the boxes there only for Crash to, well, crash into them? :) Just some stuff to consider.

Keep going. You seem really fine-tuned to the bandicoot's legacy.

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As I learned when writing Zero's bio, games that are included in the bios are games that have remixes on the site. So even though that image is from Warped, it seems that only the original Crash game would be in the bio, since that's the one that has two remixes on the site.

unless it has since changed

Any important games can be listed in the bio whether they have ReMixes or not, but the sequel of a handheld spinoff, in this case, probably doesn't need to be listed by name in the Selected Appearances.

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Meat Boy

ocr_mascot_004.png

Article by: Polo

Pictured from: Super Meat Boy

Created by: Edmund McMillen, Jonathan McEntee

First appearance: 2008

Bio

What began as an original Flash-based platformer on Newgrounds quickly morphed into a cult hit. Like Alien Hominid before it, Meat Boy garnered such positive reception that it got upgraded to a console game and more. The Meat Boy titles are renowned for their many quirks, including a difficulty level reminiscent of classic platformers, a slew of unlockable characters from other indie games, and music composed by Danny Baranowsky. At the meat of it all stands the red, raw hunk himself, Meat Boy.

When his lover, Bandage Girl, gets kidnapped by the middle finger-flipping Dr. Fetus, Meat Boy sets off on a chase across several worlds to get her back. He moves through levels mainly by running, jumping, and wall-jumping, all the while leaving a trail of slop on every surface he touches. Being what he is, Meat Boy must avoid instant-murder hazards such as saw blades, fire, homing missiles, lava, and salt. Every time he catches up to Bandage Girl, Dr. Fetus swoops in and carries her farther away, and more of the characters' nonverbal hijinks (and facial expressions) come out in cutscenes. No matter the danger, the sweet and tender Meat Boy risks life and limb to rescue Bandage Girl, for what he lacks in skin, he makes up for in guts.

Selected game appearances

=== Windows ===

Meat Boy ( 2008 )

=== Xbox 360 ===

Super Meat Boy (2010)

ilomilo (2010)

Retro City Rampage (2012)

=== Wii ===

Bit.Trip Runner (2010)

Bit.Trip Fate (2010)

References

Wikipedia - "Super Meat Boy"

Super Meat Boy Wiki - "Meat Boy"

TV Tropes - "Meat Boy"

Gamasutra - "Features - Postmortem: Team Meat's Super Meat Boy by Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes"

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Looks good to me, Polo. For the record, "hijinks" is defined by m-w as

boisterous or rambunctious carryings-on
and this makes me laugh.

As for Mega Man X, it's used as a placeholder for all the Square-Enix mascots that were removed a while ago (see post 1308, page 131 in this thread).

Edited by Dafydd
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