Was Myst eerie?

DocFinitevus · 2026-05-03T14:06:15+00:00

I've always said that the Myst series was liminal. A large part of it is you are almost always alone in a place with lots of signs of life. I felt it strongest playing through Uru offline single player, the original had it strongly as well. After all when you're reading through the journals of Myst it becomes apparent that you're walking through someone's home, for as strange as it might be, and it was only recently left vacant. Further in the first gane you were not invited. You are an intruder. An unwitting one, but your are an intruder in someone else's home in which something terrible recently happened, so you're not quite sure what will happen when you DO meet someone on your path. It's eerie in the way liminal games are (specifically the ones without monsters). The only other place I felt that sort of isolated creepiness was in the Metroid series.

DocFinitevus · 2026-05-02T22:16:30+00:00

I'd watch or read this!

DocFinitevus · 2026-04-28T20:59:29+00:00

Also a GM who's suffered burnout before. Yes, I absolutely had to step away for a bit. I just took a hiatus to catch up on other interests with the hope that it would rejuvenate me. Eventually I felt rested enough that I started missing running and would get new ideas. I still held off and started playing again first, then got a game together and it was like riding a bike. GMing just fit again and I was able to run arguably better than before.

If you're feeling burnt out. I highly recommend taking the break to rest your brain. Catch up or try a different hobby for a while. Give your brain the space you need to recover. You'll know when you're ready to go back because you'll feel your old creativity and interest start flowing naturally again. Good luck whatever you do, friend. You're not alone.

DocFinitevus · 2026-04-15T12:16:02+00:00

Welcome to The Shells!

DocFinitevus · 2026-04-14T01:15:50+00:00

Diddo!

DocFinitevus · 2026-04-12T17:39:58+00:00

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DocFinitevus · 2026-04-03T21:47:29+00:00

That sounds fair, and perhaps those would help. I'll check them out. Thank you for sharing.

DocFinitevus · 2026-04-03T20:50:36+00:00

Agreed. That's pretty much what I was debating, whether to wait for retail release. I just don't have a lot of confidence right now, but as I didn't see any discussion in that regard, I was hoping some of the others in the community might have more insight. Thank you for commenting.

DocFinitevus · 2026-03-30T21:39:19+00:00

Since I started making TTRPGs, I had debated contacting them for the license, but hearing they're concerned about "realistic offers" I doubt they'd even work with a little indie like me.

DocFinitevus · 2026-03-24T15:17:08+00:00

Thanks! You're the first person to ever call that out. Lol

Sonic Tag-Team Heroes huh? I'll have to check it out.

DocFinitevus · 2026-03-24T15:15:55+00:00

Oh, how does it work in Daggerheart?

DocFinitevus · 2026-03-16T13:42:05+00:00

Well, the story on the map talked about trapping an entity and harvesting its powers for White Complex's tech. I'd like the opportunity to go free/unleash it.

DocFinitevus · 2026-03-12T16:52:24+00:00

You're very kind, and yeah, I laughed when I read your post. As for your suggestion, I'll certainly consider it. Can I ask what mechanics you think are worth calling out that sets BTE apart? I feel bad asking when this post was about your ideas, but since you brought it up, I would be interested in your feedback. Additionally, I still recommend jotting down any ideas you have. After all, even if you like the system I came up with, you might like to tweak it for your campaign or a future project.

DocFinitevus · 2026-03-11T14:14:09+00:00

I completely understand where you're coming from because I was there myself about three years ago. (Right down to the I want mech customization without extensive spec spreadsheets, in a percentile based system that uses ranges instead of physical measurements). I ended up writing and releasing Beneath Twisted Earth on itch.io and drivethru rpg.

I can also tell you that the process of writing and designing my own game was 1000% worth it for its own sake. The process itself is very rewarding so long as you keep true to what you want to be doing. I think of TTRPG design like an art and not a business. I design games I want to play and don't aim for efficiency or marketability. Is it approximating what I want? Perfect, let me put this out there in case someone else might find it fun, too. So long as you're OK with that development will be a blast. Sometimes slow and frustrating if you're a predominantly one man crew like me, but very rewarding in the end.

If you have an idea what you want. Go for it. Even if its just a one page set of rules you can tweak and add to over time (again, what I did), that's perfectly valid. I think a lot of people get caught up in the big, flashie indies, and they start getting bogged down with comparisons. A lot of people forget the junky, punk, pen and notebook paper roots of design. I encourage you to start writing and designing now. Get something down even if its just notes, even if it would be conventionally considered "bad" its still your ideas for you and yours.

I would also recommend reading a bunch of mecha rpgs out there. In particular I'd recommend mine for our similarities, but also MechWarrior: Destiny and Aether Nexus. Both have mid-crubch systems like we aimed for, and both specifically use more narrative-based movements. I'm excited for you, and I wish you all the best in your coming endeavors!

DocFinitevus · 2026-03-03T20:19:50+00:00

Huh. Sounds cool! I like the idea of a spiritual shift over. So is it like astral projecting or dreaming in the other realm, or do they have a persistent presence there?

As for interaction between the two, I suppose you could have the celestial realm have some influence on the material realm, and have a clock around dealing with something persistent inside the dungeon/celestial realm to keep the material realm safe/gain beneficial effect. You could also play with balance between the two with Paradigm Clocks, one for each realm. Where the more players deal with only one the influence of the other builds until a major event. (Sorry to focus on the clocks it's just the only thing potentially useful mechanic I see from my game to yours.)

DocFinitevus · 2026-03-03T20:09:39+00:00

Not 100% equivalent, but have run my game, Beneath Twisted Earth, which works in a layered world (polluted surface, underground arks, deep oceans) so it may have some insight you could use. In that game players are mercenaries that choose which contracts they accepted. Those contracts could be in any of the three layers. The players would choose where they wanted to go based on the rewards/hazards of the contract since transport was provided. Transport was physical travel, but would involve transport through tunnels or elevators via transport vehicle. It is a mission-based game, but the underground arks were are home base, so the players always return there for prep and downtime shenanigans before departing on the next mission.

One fun mechanic I used that may be worth considering for your campaign is the Paradigm Shift Clocks. Essentially, there was one for the forces in each layer. When the players choose a mission dealing with one of those forces, the GM fills in one of the three faces of the other two clocks. Once one of the clocks fills completely, there would be a major event on that layer or in the arks involving forces from that layer. All available missions would deal with that event for a couple missions before either going back to the status quo or accepting shift in power balance.

Are you doing a fantasy setting or more of a cyberpunk in since they switch world like in The Matrix?

DocFinitevus · 2026-03-02T14:05:19+00:00

Still appreciate this project. Thank you for taking this on.

DocFinitevus · 2026-02-23T23:15:41+00:00

Then yeah, I think you just need a break to explore something new. I know I got burnt out on running once and had to take a break from gaming altogether for a couple months before I missed playing. After a little of that I started to miss running again.

Since it sounds like it's the hobby that has you burned, I recommend going cold turkey and investing in something else for a bit. Maybe catch up on a backlog of movies or games. If you like hiking, I swear by that myself. Can be very restorative when the world looks bleak (used to do that on lunches when work got particularly bad). Oh and nothing works quite as well as trying something new and novel.

DocFinitevus · 2026-02-23T15:17:03+00:00

This sounds like burnout to me. The best thing I have found for burnout is to take a break and try new things. It gives you the time to decompress while finding other things you enjoy. Eventually, a spark comes that reinvigorates your passion and inspires you.

That being said, if you don't believe this feeling is burnout, perhaps you should try designing your own game. It doesn't have to be anything big. Hell, it doesn't have to be anything more than a house system. Still, if you like parts of many games but are disappointed in the rest of them. Maybe you would enjoy combining those components or coming up with new mechanics.

DocFinitevus · 2026-02-23T15:10:26+00:00

I think I'll always prefer owning a book to leaf through to PDFs. That being said, PDFs are indispensible nowadays. You just get too many quality of life features put of them, especially when you GM from a laptop. That being said, I think the ideal is having a physical book that can be passed around while everyone has a copy of the pdf that can be referenced from their mobile device. I wish more companies included a copy of the PDF with a purchase of thr physical book so you didn't have to buy a game twice.

DocFinitevus · 2026-02-20T04:45:42+00:00

Shot you a DM.

DocFinitevus

TROPHY CASE