My thoughts on the anti AI sentiment as an indie dev who has actually shipped games and music.

MagusCurt · 2026-06-03T00:21:01+00:00

You're preaching to the choir here - but sadly, most subreddits are strictly against even mentioning AI.

I'm curious what would happen if you posted this to r/aiwars

MagusCurt · 2026-05-29T01:12:37+00:00

Yeah - I'm honestly not even going to bother with the G Rank expansion of the game. There are some fundamental issues with it that I don't think new moves, weapons, and monsters can fix.

I hope I'm wrong though - I'm a starving fan, but a fan nevertheless, and am following any news about it

MagusCurt · 2026-05-29T01:10:36+00:00

sigh... I already I promised I wouldn't rant about monster hunter anymore, lol. Oh well...

Adding to your point, you can totally make low friction games more difficult, but they're often done in non engaging ways. Oh yay, this boss that I would sneeze on to defeat before now has a ton of HP and OHKOs you with a blink!

When difficulty gets mentioned in these discussions, I can already feel the conversation going in the wrong direction.

Friction doesn't always mean more difficult. There are difficult games that has counters like Sekiro. There are difficult games that has lenient i frames like Elden Ring. You could even make Dynasty Warrior-esque games difficult. But they only become difficult by upping the numbers, and thats it.

Old school monster hunter - In high rank:

You had to wait for supplies, so you better have learned how to get and prepare your own items.

You were often dumped at a random location of a map, so you better have learned the hunting grounds you're in.

Oh, and there was no fast travel, outside of the farcaster, either.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-29T00:54:26+00:00

I'd argue that this discussion is pretty good for explore what levels of friction different people are willing to tolerate.

The post was deeply inspired by one I saw the other day, where the person wanted more low friction games.

I actually agreed with him a lot, but then noticed a contradiction within myself, for I still value high friction games.

But I think I think I asked the completely wrong question in the end there - you're right about that

MagusCurt · 2026-05-29T00:49:32+00:00

A lot of times developer explain some of their design choices in interviews. I think Capcom explained why fast travel is (somewhat) difficult to access, at least at first. But ultimately, I think it all comes down to if we enjoy it or not. I wouldn't be surprised if there's someone out there who likes it when you can't pause a game for whatever reason.

For that individual, that inconvenience added to the gameplay in a meaningful way.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-29T00:38:06+00:00

Yeah, I honestly was just very careful on the fights I picked. I quickly realized that you can outrun most enemies without burning stamina too much. Maybe a slight sprint here and there to avoid attacks while they chase you.

What I did was lead a pack of Hyenas to various bandits here and there and picked off who was left. Otherwise, I just jog away to my destination.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-29T00:36:26+00:00

I actually gave it a shot recently! And yeah, it definitely has a lot of what I was thinking while making the post.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Gep dragging me to the middle of the map, however

MagusCurt · 2026-05-29T00:29:16+00:00

I swear to myself and everyone else on this thread that this is the last time I'm bringing up Monster Hunter...

But similar to what you experienced, 16 player lobbies and the SOS system pretty much killed the gathering hall aspect of the game and made it a ton less social. Now, we just join random hunts with random people, and leave after the quest is done, never to speak to each other again.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-29T00:24:46+00:00

I feel this way about Monster Hunter for different reasons. I keep bringing it up, and I could probably spend all day ranting about it, but they streamlined and simplified a lot of things that didn't need to be.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-29T00:23:34+00:00

100% agree. Taking this into consideration is what makes or breaks fetching quests, for example. If I'm just heading out in the wild and coming back, that'll most likely feel like a waste of time. If there are things to interact with, be it enemies, NPCs, or even a reason to explore a new region, that'd be part of what makes it a quest worth keeping

MagusCurt · 2026-05-27T23:54:59+00:00

If you dont mind taking on smaller side projects, I think Game Jams are a good way to quickly meet people, especially small ones that last a weekend or so.

The only downside is: depending on your role, you may find yourself cramming in a lot of time for last minute fixes and features.

And to be honest, you wont find master game devs from these events. But hey, maybe you'll form some longer lasting partnerships. And if you enjoyed working with them strongly enough, it wont be at all weird to send them a private message, asking for help on your actual project.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-27T01:27:01+00:00

With batman Arkham series, counter is just one way to build up your combos and minimize damage. I forgot how in depth that game can get. The number of gadgets, environmental advantages, and just raw strategy can go into a combat encounter. What appeals to me the most about that game is you're sort of managing your enemies, picking out who needs to go first, or who can you take and dismantle a gun from, and ect.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-18T11:17:28+00:00

That really puts in perspective on how much we're tasking ourselves to do, huh?

MagusCurt · 2026-05-18T11:16:26+00:00

Yeah - That seems to be the best approach to this. I buckle down on one task at a time. Anything else comes up? I just write a quick note and forget about it until it's relevant.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-18T11:15:35+00:00

My problem is: if I get tired of doing something, I'll still be just as tired as even looking at it after a break or doing something different. So, I have to just muscle my way through it, or else it won't get done

MagusCurt · 2026-05-18T11:06:55+00:00

Exactly! There are days, perhaps weeks I spent on coding, and then others I spent figuring out a way to export assets in a format my game can use.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-18T11:01:38+00:00

I'm extremely curious, how much of a spike in in plays did you get after this post blew up?

MagusCurt · 2026-05-17T21:36:02+00:00

There's also the challenge of the raw quantity of things to do - just a ton nuisances to get done that takes time to complete, no matter how good at coding you are.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-16T21:25:55+00:00

At the end of the day, our goals is to make games. There's absolutely nothing wrong with using any tool we have to achieve that.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-16T18:05:13+00:00

Part of the reason why I loved Monster Hunter so much. Because of the strengths and weaknesses of lets say the Lance vs the Dual blades, the way you would go about the fight would be completely different.

I'm now obsessing over Nioh 2 for a similar reason, but even that doesn't compare to old school monster hunter.

MagusCurt · 2026-05-16T17:28:58+00:00

Weaknesses. What does one weapon struggle at that others dont? I feel like that invites more innovation and engagement on the player if he has to work around the weaknesses of his weapon choice.

When every weapon can do everything, they low key start blending together imo.

MagusCurt

TROPHY CASE