What? Your Magikarp is evolving!

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Larissa
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What? Your Magikarp is evolving!

Post by Larissa »

Image
Congratulations!
Your MAGIKARP evolved into GYARADOS!


Yaaay it's done. This is a site I've wanted to make for ages and ages, but it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I had the idea of how to frame it. I knew I didn't want to set it up like my other Pokémon sites, so instead this site is a pseudo-trainer log, chronicling my journey through the Pokémon series through the lens of Gyarados.

Because for some reason, I just can't stop raising this stupid fish. In almost every Pokémon game I've ever played, Gyarados has been on my team. I don't even plan on it half the time. I just end up with a Gyarados. (After a while I just accepted Gyarados into my life.)

No bonus/media features on this one, since it didn't really fit what I was going for. I was going to do something with the sprites on the content pages but it turned out to be way too complicated and took up too much space. (Thanks to nyx and dubs for giving me a hand anyway :heart:) Also thanks to Mikari for helping with the animation on the index :star:

Let me know if anything looks weird; I used Bootstrap so it should scale across devices.
Last edited by Larissa on Mon Mar 28, 2016 2:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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nyxmidnight
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Re: What? Your Magikarp is evolving!

Post by nyxmidnight »

YES. AWESOME. This is such an original way to present your shrine! I love it! And everything is readable and lovely!
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Robin
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Re: What? Your Magikarp is evolving!

Post by Robin »

Gorgeous and well-done! I love the "traveling" flavor of the site's navigation (and especially how it just flows from one page to the next!!!), and the one-column design is so neat. I also like how you break up paragraphs using the Pokedex descriptions of Gyarados from the various games over the years. And the animated gifs really pop! Plus, the hover effects on the move lists is a subtle finishing touch.

Intertwining your personal history with Gyarados/Pokemon with gameplay information makes this an engaging read. I don't know all the Pokemon-game terminology and abbreviations (like TMs and HMs), but I could still understand most of what you wrote about, gameplay-wise.

(I wanted to do something like this for my Clefairy site, except I wanted to entwine my anime viewing with my personal experiences--your Gyarados site is much more successful at this, however! Simply put, it's inspirational!)

(I almost hate to mention it, lol, but there's just one typo on the bottom of the first page, in lighter blue text: "psuedo-legendaries". Everything else is perfect! :D)
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Larissa
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Re: What? Your Magikarp is evolving!

Post by Larissa »

@nyx: Thank you so much! :D I'm so glad it's readable, that was my top goal, haha.

@Robin: :heart: :heart: Thank you! This was one of those sites that came together on its own, haha; once I knew what I wanted to do, it was just a matter of assembling all the pieces. I'm really glad you could understand it even without knowing the gameplay terminology; I'm very much a Pokemon games fan and not so much the other aspects of the series, but I still tried to make it as accessible as I could given the narrow focus. (Given the site premise, though, I didn't feel like one of my usual canon-blind introductions would fit, and so left it out. I should probably write one for my Pokemon collective actually...)

I'm super flattered to hear I've inspired you :heart:

Also don't feel bad, I genuinely had no idea that was how to spell pseudo, haha! I learned something today.
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Mikari
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Re: What? Your Magikarp is evolving!

Post by Mikari »

I love the layout with the textures and Magikarp's shadow. The arrangement of the locations is a really nice touch, since it goes into more detail about Gyarados in game. I also enjoyed seeing all the personal comments in each section, it adds to how unique the site is.
Lethe
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Re: What? Your Magikarp is evolving!

Post by Lethe »

I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SO MUCH LARISSA

I adore the visuals - it feels like you're submerged in water the moment you visit the shrine, and aaaah those Gyarados scales... The lovely big font, whatever it is that you did with the boxes (drop-shadow? idk), the animation when you hover over links.

"I didn't play this one and Gyarados isn't in it. Why is this page here?" wtf

OMG LARISSA I WAS SITTING IN A PUBLIC TRANSPORT THINGY TWO WEEKS AGO and some guys were talking about whether or not Gyarados was dragon type lmao. I really love what you wrote about Dratini and dragon types being special in Gen I. ;_; <3 Gosh those last paragraphs on the Red page are so touching.

"On my 50th run through the Elite Four, Gyarados hit Level 100." wtf wtf wtf

The cute 2005 trainer card image is so adorbs... ;_;

THE POKEMON AMIE GIF

(Also lmao at you ruining games for yourself.)

I really really love the merging of past Larissa and present Larissa in this shrine, and the blending of conversational humour and thoughtful musings as well as the analysis of gameplay elements, and the evolution of the video game series as a whole.

I especially like how broad the shrine is when it comes to conveying an experience. You don't shy away from drawing comparisons to other games in the series, or mentioning other Pokémon (including how Gyarados fits into your teams, or the Milotic comparison), and on each page, I feel like there's as much ex-ante as well as ex-post opinions of yours to read about.

Two points that were particularly impressive to me in this regard were the way you explained the choice of Gyarados as a story-related shiny Pokémon in Gen II, and Mega Gyarado's dark type: You offer both an "obvious" explanation (Gyarados' shiny sprite is gorgeous, which isn't the case with all shiny counterparts; Gyarados' Pokédex entries in their entirety make Gyarados' a feared Pokémon that isn't well-liked by the people inhabiting that world) as well as a mechanical explanation pertaining to gameplay (shininess was first introduced in Gen II and Gyarados was used to showcase it; the balancing in relation to fairy/dragon types).

It seems like you called up a lot of very old memories when writing this shrine, and that's... something I consider very beautiful and touching. It's also impressive that you still have all that save data. All of this makes the shrine as much about Pokémon as it is about your individual Pokémon experience and your video game experience as a whole, considering your history with Pokémon and the note on which you ended the Gen III remake page. The entire site is personal and informative both, switching back and forth, and it is very easy and entertaining to read.

Thanks for making this shrine and sharing it with us, Larissa. I think it's a prime example of just how personal a shrine can be (while still being very informative), even if the source material, by shrining standards, consists mostly of factual content. <3

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Jae
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Re: What? Your Magikarp is evolving!

Post by Jae »

Those Magikarp try so hard to splash their way up to pass the Dragon's Gate. They deserve a thousand feeds.

The visuals are so creative and pleasing! In my opinion, blue can be a difficult color to work with when going for lighter hues, but the palette here is wonderful. You have such an eye for colors.
I love you, Gyarados. I raised you to level 100. But you really sucked in this generation.
And I love the subtle humor in your writing. It's very mature - one can see the affection and enthusiasm in your words, but they're not littered with exclamation points or caps. I get the sense that I'm reading a well-written autobiography, which I guess is the actual truth and fact here!

I always struggled with the type rules (though that's probably because I never bothered to sit down and memorize them), but it was fascinating to read your justification for Mega Gyarados being classified as a dark type. It made sense and I can understand why an executive decision like that was made if it was done under similar reasoning.

As a whole, this shrine was very enlightening to me. From what I gather, shrines these days have taken on a new personal level, and I think that adds so much depth and uniqueness. Reading about your experiences intertwined with your opinions is a great form of immersion with the right balance of story and content. I haven't indulged in Pokemon for a long time, either, but, considering that, I enjoyed this shrine a lot.
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Andrea
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Re: What? Your Magikarp is evolving!

Post by Andrea »

So, uh. First. I LOVE GYARADOS. I. LOVE. GYAAARAAAADOOOOOSSSSSS. Even though my best friend makes fun of me because its stats are useless (BUT I DON'T CARE, IT LOOKS COOL AND IT EVOLVES FROM BEING WORTHLESS TO BEING BADASS), it's the Pokémon love my life next to Gengar and Jigglypuff because I'm first generation trash.

That said, I LOOOVVVEEED reading about why you like it, too! I especially love how personal you made it, and the way you conveyed your perspective through each generation. I could totally relate to the excitement of finally being able to play as a girl in these games; it's a standard for most games now, of course, but back then. Oooohhh, BACK THEN. (Also, those old pixel sprites were such a throwback, and I was not prepared for the WAVE OF NOSTALGIA to smack me in the face like it did, so THANK YOU for that.)

LOL, the BATTLE TOWER. I also... brought my Gyarados along because I JUST HAD TO and... yeah. That didn't end well for me, either, ahahaha. I remember asking my friend for some help and advice. I told her about my comp and the conversation went something like: "Hm. Well, you should probably get rid of Gyarad—" "NO!"

Aside from the nostalgia, I also learned a lot of new stuff about Gyarados, too, from its background (for some reason I did not connect that Chinese legend to it—IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW) to its game stats. I like playing the games, but I've never been one to spend time analyzing Pokémon comps and thinking about types, so it was interesting to read how Gyarados has evolved (ha!) over the different generations. I also liked how honest you were about your experience and the games. Although it's a shrine to Gyarados, it also felt like a homage to the series, which is especially fitting since it just celebrated its 20th anniversary!

I also LOVE the layout! Those blues! That pattern! I love the animation going on the index page as well; it's awesome! It's great how you brought up Magikarp throughout the site because the transformation from useless, floppy fish to enraged sea dragon is IMPORTANT.

Also, I have to share this icon I found years ago by [url=http://wing_edge.livejournal.com]wing_edge[/url] because reasons:

Image

BASICALLY, I LOVE THE SITE AND EVERYTHING A LOT. REALLY WELL DONE! :heart: :heart: :heart: :star: :heart: :heart:
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Re: What? Your Magikarp is evolving!

Post by Destinie »

Larissa, this is probably my favorite Pokemon shrine from you! (And not just because I love Gyarados!) I really love how different it is and I have been craving to see some different approaches to Pokemon as of late. I really enjoy the navigation how I am lead through each section as if I were reading a book and then I read a personal tale of your Pokemon from each generation. (The kanto bit was humorous because I used to do the same thing with my Pokemon's movesets as a kid, lol.) I like how each section, or area, if you will, talks about a different aspect as well. I do also really love the title of your shrine!

You also mixed in a bit of your opinions on each game, that is really cool! Ahh! ♥ I love this so much!! Thanks for sharing!!

My only critique of it is the "site map" link. I kept clicking on the image at the top trying to get back to the homepage until I visited again and found the link. LOL! I was wondering if it would be worthwhile to put a link in the text area to take me back home or back a page? Just a minor thing!
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Re: What? Your Magikarp is evolving!

Post by dubiousdisc »

Wow this is the most amazing thing. I love how it looks and I love how you write.

Stuff I thought while reading:
- On the "the first generation introduced the ideas": fuck I agree with that so much. I had a long discussion about that just a few days ago and yeah. You can't really set standards before setting them, huh?
- I'd never thought about the Water/Flying in that sense. I always thought it made very little sense. Now I think I get it. Nice!
- I'm very glad that in the site I'm currently writing I ended up cutting out a part about how it was like to play Crystal with the girl character because you just did that. I GUESS GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE but wow that would have been a bit too close.
- Voltorb Flip. That's all I need to say. (Let us make a club).
- "I haven't played Black or White". This is going to be the bane of every Pokemon site. None of us played them. And so all of our pages about gen 5 are going to be like that...
- I really like your reasoning as to why Mega Gyarados is not Dragon. That makes a lot of sense actually.

also
/looks at how you did the animated underline
CLEVEEEEER

All in all 10/10 would read again. WELL DONE.
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