SleepingSilence

What Are You Listening To?

It's not the greatest or anything. But it does sound unique enough to make me look forward to another Switchfoot record, after they've made three albums of dull music.

This kind of goes back to Vice Verses vibes. I just hope this isn't the 'heaviest' song on the record.

Do YOU have any interesting video game ideas?

I have some ideas floating around in my head. (Ones that I hope to make someday. So my lips are sealed on specifics.) Biggest problem is - I can't code to save my life. Unless we're talking about doing very basic shit in RPG Maker. So I'd likely start with something more focused on writing. Maybe more akin to a visual novel than a game. (A thing I'd be better at.) And I've dabbled in music creation. So I could always "download" some programs again and try to make my own soundtrack. Just be harder to do without the instruments and good microphone that I had back in ye olden days.

But I'd almost certainly want to incorporate mystery elements. Because I feel like a lot of mystery games / forms of media are very lazy when it comes to writing a good case. Because "writing quality" has generally been pretty weak in most modern games. So games that have good character writing often stand out to me.

But you definitely have to flesh out your own idea and "want it" strongly enough to create a game. Because it's a lot of time, energy, and likely a lot of watching YouTube Tutorials to do so.

If you have any game-making or coding experience already, I'd certainly recommend looking up "Game Jams". Because those usually give you certain topics and mechanical ideas to work around. That, and go play some more indie games yourself. Cuz there's plenty of free stuff on Itch.io or elsewhere. (Games on "Dreams" for Playstation can be very simple as well.) And that'll give you a scope that's a lot more manageable to inspire ideas of your own.

Did you have an idea WHERE you wanted to build a game? (Like what programs you wanted to use.) Because that will also effect the kind of games you *can* make. And that sort of feels like the place where one should start.

Word association Game!

Corn

Video Game Discussion: Part IV (The Gaming Industry in Decay Arc)

I um. Don't have access to most of my video games for five or so days. (But I do have my Switch.) I downloaded Monster Hunter Stories 3 demo. But I only got as far as the minimal character creation & the opening cutscene.

So what's everyone else been playing lately?

From Crimson Desert. (With every X post acting as if the Black Desert devs - who literally can't make a working MMO tutorial - somehow made the second coming of Christ in video game form.)

@SleepingSilence

And I nailed that prediction. (The devs made sweeping changes with some day one patches. So that critical reviews weren't taken as seriously.) I knew fully well that it be a technical mess. At best.

the game in which i secretly attempt to get everyone to listen to more music

I listened to every track. (I've certainly liked a fair share of Unlike Pluto's songs.) But here's a review of 'Affection - BETWEEN FRIENDS'; It's a very low-key/vibe-y track. I'm usually fond of duel/multiple vocals. So I have a bias in this song's favor. But there's not a lot of instrumental flair, nor 'song-writerly' lyrical detail to get attached to. But I totally get the appeal after a few listens. (As I have several pop songs with similar vibes in my playlist. Reminds me a lot of "Boring People" by L Devine. Because it's another minimalist pop track that talks about being bored & has a girl laughing on the track.) I just find this song a little slow for my personal taste. 5/10

Here's five more songs from my Spotify playlist. Softer and slower this time.
1. Forget - Marina And The Diamonds (Pop)
2. The Invisible Parade - Scratch21 (Pop-Punk/Acoustic Cover)
3. Everytime You Run - Manafest Ft. Trevor McNevan (Christian Pop Rap)
4. Cascades - Denai Moore (R&B)
5. The Voice - Celtic Woman (Celtic Folk)

Post a random fact about yourself.

I just watched an acquittance's new motivational video that was essentially the Shia LaBeouf "Just Do It" meme song.

What have you watched recently?

Because a certain site was hacked...nothing!



But for the few shows that I am watching 100% legally, wherever they might be.

Digimon Beatbreak is finally starting to pick up and highlight its characters. And it's already far more promising than Ghost Game, or that fuck-awful remake of the first season.

Fate/Strange Fake is essentially pure aura sakuga moments & popcorn thrills without a lot of plot. But it's the first not terrible Fate series in a while. Been a consistent spectacle.

Hell's Paradise Season 2 might be the first good second season of a Shonen anime I've seen in a while. (The amount of shows in both anime and western media that instantly drops in quality a season in, is astounding.)

And, Sentenced To Be A Hero, is essentially what Shield Hero wishes it was. Though this one probably has the least interesting plot and characters of the four. But there's little to complain about otherwise.

Video Game Discussion: Part IV (The Gaming Industry in Decay Arc)

Random mostly positive bullshit in my feed...

Slay the Spire 2 has sold 3 million copies in 1 week. (I should go back and play more of the first one.)

Monster Hunter Stories 3 seems to be well reviewed? (But it's currently running like sh*t on PC like Wilds did. Good thing my old roommate plans to get this on console.)

A new Deep Rock Galactic game is being made. (Hey, that's something that might interest me. Depends on how long they plan to stay in early access.)

The solo dev of Chained Echoes is hopefully winning a future lawsuit against a sh*t company.

Some indie game dev streamer made $30k in one day & basically paid off his four years of work.

Cavemanon is making another dinosaur visual novel. (And Hug A Gator was genuinely good.)

Piece by Piece: This is incredibly dull. There’s not much more I can add. It also shares the exact same name of another different cozy-style game with a demo. Bad luck there.

@SleepingSilence

And despite my opinion of this game. Apparently both devs worked together and bundled their games with a discount. So that's wholesome.

Quick Reviews

Drill Bird: Decent little game. A little too simple when you figure everything out.

Sisyphus Is A Bug: Game has charm and challenge in equal amounts. I really like figuring out how the gameplay loop is supposed to work. But I think the timer might be a little too tight. (Certainly deserves more recognition than it's gotten so far.)

Babushka's Glitch Dungeon: Suckered in by an art style yet again. I found this game incredibly obnoxious in parts. (Or far too easy/unexplored in terms of what mechanics it introduces.)

Where We Went: Free game. Neat proof of concept. Got stuck on the last level though.

What Are You Listening To?

Roleplaying mutism and disability

I don't think there's anything that should be considered "off limits" in terms of how you want to portray your character(s).

But in terms of "how you manage them in roleplaying or collaborative writing?"

My only true advice, is that giving your characters disabilities is a writing challenge that should only make it harder for you. (A personal flex to show how well you can portray said character.)

So, if your character doesn't speak. (Or speaks rarely in stressful situations - that let's be honest - good roleplays will likely put them in.) Then it's up to you (your character) to effectively communicate without using words. Whether its more focus given to facial expressions or body language. Or maybe using a gimmick that shows that the character is clever and pro-active in mitigating said disability. (Knowing how to sign, carrying a journal to write in, or maybe wearing something differently to show that they're too stressed to verbally communicate?)

Anything like that, will surely make your character far more likable and sympathetic.

Because the alternative answer is to make a character that's effectively an anchor to progress. A typical one I see all the time is the "shy" character archetype, which effectively means having literally no agency for themselves. So they almost never contribute or act first in the narrative. And that's not fun for anyone else.

So, try your best to not make a disabled character 'a Mary Sue' or 'a Damsel in Distress'. You should show the struggle they're going through. (Maybe their usual workaround doesn't always work.) But your character shouldn't act like a puzzle or trap that forces the other players to adapt to them.

An example of "mutism" you'd want to avoid that happened to me; is my character was trapped and had to somehow communicate with someone else who was mute. But when my character found parchment and ink to write questions down for them "to shake their head yes or no" to. My writing partner didn't seem to realize that was an option, and never really had effective way to handle it. Because "not speaking to them" was the entire point of their character. And I found an impossibly simple and obvious workaround...

Never thought to just make the character illiterate either. But yeah. If every single interaction with the character goes down like "Bob listens to the frantic questions of his peers. All sinking into a strange quicksand that only Bob knows how to escape. So Bob looks away and says nothing. His disability is very traumatic. Woe is he." People will be more annoyed at *you the writer* over Bob's accurate portrayal of a guy you might know.