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The Cohost Archive contains a feed of most of my best cohost posts over the few years it existed. These posts also come up as searches, so if you're looking for something specific, try using the search bar.

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Small Projects!

Dark Souls Map Explorer A unity application that allows you to explore Dark Souls' Map. Built upon Vlad001's da...

Cohost Archive

Unlisted but searchable archive of some of my better posts from the now defunct Cohost

Toy is a term I've been using among friends(It's Mirai, it's always Mirai) lately. A term I can use, talking from anything old video game remakes, to character designs, negatively or positively. Of course this doesn't help me when I want to use the term publicly. Saying something is a toy invokes a lot of different often contrasting ideas. So for the sake of clarity, I want to share my definition.

Also to be clear, I'm going to be talking a lot about remakes and remasters, but this isn't about them. Anyone who has read my writing already knows how I stand on these topics. This is about the term.

What is a Toy

What is a toy in this context? In modern times what we call a toy could be a complete, sophisticated building system, or something that is a hobby all into itself. When I'm saying toy here, I mean something older.

Toys, as they were, for thousands years(Kinda glossing over the Cup and Ball tbf). Concept, reduced down into a caricature representing their most important traits. A policeman distilled down to a hat, a firefighter distilled down to the color red. Vague shapes without limbs. A wooden toy knight, cherished by a medieval child.

A toy isn't trying to be the thing it's representing. It's a symbol. A toy is an streamlined proxy. An idealized Memory. A fantasy.