The 'Shroom:Issue 166/Staff Notes
Hello, all of you readers of The 'Shroom! We had an invasion of aliens in our 'Shroom offices last month, but it gave us a chance to send everyone home for a lovely holiday break. That exterminator we hired (who was definitely not just our janitor Superchao dressed up like Ness from Earthbound, no matter what reports you may have seen) did a fine job ridding the building of pests from another world. Why, I've only found three purple mushrooms in the Director's office since we returned. With our nice break, we're back here at the paper with big plans for 2021 and the energy to tackle them. While this month might be slower as we settle back in, you'll see plenty happening in the months to come.
Now, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for those of you who supported Roserade and me in the Director election. It means a great deal that, after seeing us through a year, you trust us to helm this project for a year-long term once again. My thanks go out to you all who voted, but even if you didn't vote for us, my thanks go out to anyone who took interest in the debate at all. Of course, there would have been no debate if not for two people who deserve mention and admiration. Ninja Squid (talk) and Goombuigi (talk) put a ton of effort into launching a campaign this year, ready to take on the responsibilities of leading the paper. I'm genuinely impressed with their spirit, and I have to thank them for being such great opponents. They gave us plenty to think about, and you can be sure we'll be working with them to implement some of their ideas.
But... first, maybe it's time to enjoy some of January's winter weather in style. I'll have to ask Anton for some hot cocao reccomendations, so I can settle in with a warm drink and watch whatever programming Quizmelon reccomends this month. Though I did hear of some new combat sport, so maybe I'll shut off the television and check that out.
—Hooded Pitohui, Director
Greetings, beautiful 'Shroom readers! Another year, another fresh coat of paint in the Director's Office! That's right, I worked twenty hours this weekend to paint this room head-to-toe with a new coat. It was starting to chip in some places, and somebody decided to spray paint "PERCH WUZ HERE" on the back wall. I wonder who pulled that stunt.
I don't have too much to say this month! Me, being quiet? An oddity for sure. I would like to take this opportunity, though, to thank those who voted for Hooded Pitohui and I in the Director Election. In the middle of the dumpster fire that was 2020, we feel as though we had plenty of success, and we're excited to see The 'Shroom forward for even longer. I know that I'm always honored by my opportunities in this community, and being your Sub-Director is no exception. Thank you, really.
With that, I'm off to go work on some more office refurbishing. I ordered some cool bonsai trees to arrive today to spruce up the space, y'know? I'm expecting them to arrive any minute. Here's hoping that this time, they aren't just a bunch of Sudowoodo's. That's what happened last time, but I suppose that's what I get for ordering plants from Coffee...
—Roserade, Sub-Director
Staff Section of the Month for November 2020
| STAFF-VOTED SECTION OF THE MONTH | ||
|---|---|---|
| Section | Writer | Reasoning |
| Killing the Killing Game | The Pyro Guy (talk) | The Pyro Guy offers a retrospective done right that grounds readers in the past Killing Games, offers brief critiques of the individual games, and ties everything together at the end. Special mention goes to his effort to use the look backwards to synthesize a critique and fresh ideas for moving forward. It's easily the strongest portion of the section. |
| Site Seeing | Lakituthequick (talk) | As it did in the past, Site Seeing condensed a whole website's design, both aesthetic and technical, in an easily-understood and fun to read textual article. We want to highlight the portion where LTQ explains the use of EaselJS by analogizing it to a real life easel and canvas. |
| Picross | Goombuigi (talk) | While Goombuigi's section is always a treat, this month's addition puts a unique spin on what has already been seen. With both a fun narrative to string along the puzzles, and a challenging twist for the final "fight", Goombuigi demonstrates what kinds of fun you can have with a section based around a simple premise. |
| Shop Scout | MrConcreteDonkey (talk) | The addition of artwork goes a long way in enhancing this section, a good reminder that a touch of visual appeal in the form of images can be a boon for a Fake News section. In addition, the James Gunn joke was notably amusing. |
| Mach Speed Mayhem | Superchao (talk) | Superchao continues to offer in-depth analysis on the characters in F-Zero, going into story and game play details while also delivering a humorous tone and personal review of the subject to make it more engaging rather than making it come across as a simple wiki article. As far as Rick goes, considering he's the main character of the anime, there's a lot to go over for him, and Superchao does an excellent job going over everything that could possibly relate to him. |
| Kingdom Battle Ramble | ZelenPixel (talk) | Even for someone with no experience with the game she covers, Zelen's section provides an easy-to-grasp yet thorough grounding. It's well-written and explains things well, while adding her own personal flare of jokes and experiences. |
| Peddler's Place | Coffee | Coffee made good use of multiple images to focus in on a single, effective meta-joke, without muddying the joke by trying to cram more in. A section consisting of a repeated image could have ended up with a large amount of wasted space on the page, but the decision to use the 'Shroom Comic boxes kept this tight and from filling too much of the page. |
| The 'Shroom: Issue 166 | |
|---|---|
| Staff sections | Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight • 'Shroomfest Highlights • Directorial Address |
| Features | Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing |
