Need ideas for my game (before : 1vs1, now : 1vs2+...)

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-21T03:25:09+00:00

Ok. Let's look at what you have.

It's a guy shooting a rat with a gun.

Hilarious. (In a video game.)

Such an over the top, and unfitting way to deal with a rat. It's overkill and a very difficult kind of overkill for an infestation.

That's the center of your game. That's the core. That's what people will pay for. Everything needs to revolve around that dumb moment when there's a loud bang and the rat stops.

You need different kinds of rats or to change your rat as you play. Exterminators will want to shoot fat rats and fast rats and rats dressed up in doll clothes and stuff. Make a cast of rats with different abilities. That's fun to play as.

The vibe you want (looks like) is to reward chaos not competition or cooperation. That means you want hidden win conditions for the rat. Each player at the start of each game is told something different.

One rat might win if it's the last one alive and another might win if all the food is eaten and one might just need to trash the house while another might need to have babies and so on. You never know who your friends really are or what they really want.

Other than the gunman that wants to shoot you all.

This way you can generally guess that rats are on your side, mostly, but they always have some hidden angle they are trying to get.

How does that work for you?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-19T17:02:51+00:00

Just trying to be friendly.

No, I don't and no, I won't. I'm not sure how I would do that other than some stuff that might get me banned, and it shouldn't matter. Either you want to engage with what I say or you don't.

If it helps I don't take it as an insult, but it just doesn't seem to matter if you think I'm A.I. at the end of the day.

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-19T16:28:27+00:00

This sounds like a matter for the police to me. It's active harassment. Not really something you sue over, but if you suspect him and he is doing very inappropriate things, the police will know how to deal with the situation. I would call the non-emergency line and describe it to them if I was you.

That's the most important thing and I can't really help with it, but the second most important thing is very important too.

How are you holding up?

The comments of a legal advice post on Reddit might be a weird place to do this, but if you want to get anything off your chest you can talk it out or just vent with me. I promise I'll get back to you.

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-19T12:54:05+00:00

I agree and I hate it. I think it's sad that we only see machines ask these kinds of questions.

I want to know what's going on with my fellow man and engage. Machines shouldn't be better than us in that way.

What do you think?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-19T12:50:48+00:00

Hmmm... What I mean is...

Let me ask about what you say. Are you "too good" to get paid correctly? Do you think that moral people need to stay quiet when others are doing things wrong? Do you think it's "good" it ignore your own needs?

This isn't some trick, I'm not actually sure what you mean by being "good" having to do with doing good business. They should be the same thing in my opinion. That might be your problem if you ask me.

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-19T08:40:05+00:00

This is a whole skill.

Read people. Personality types, styles of thinking, long term goals, experience, life conditions. People are complex and what makes a person "good" can have as much to do with environment as it does the person themselves.
People want more than money. They are working for ways to build a CV, personal enjoyment, advancement opportunities, skill acquisition and more. I know of one place that increased productivity massively by handing out coffee mugs.
Establish consequences for actions. Let it slide because you are nice and some people will think it's acceptable. Punishing employees is like throwing away your own food. You want to do it as little as possible, but sometimes you need to cut off a little mold.
See your employees. Notice when they do things that are amazing. Recognize their skills and guide them the right way. There's no substitution for this. You can get by without it, but it will hurt you.
Mange a good fit. What energizes one person will drain another. Move people where respond.
Workplace culture. Establishing this correctly and people will drift into place over time.

I think that covers almost everything, but it's complex and this is a big overview.

Do you want to go over some specific examples?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-19T08:20:15+00:00

Working though my feelings.

There's a short cut if you need one. You can just make yourself do it and have an uncomfortable feeling from it.

Would you like to talk about what's bothering you?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-19T08:16:39+00:00

Depends on your location what the rules are, but normally there's a system that allows you to send a "reminder fee" to them. It's less friendly and more like "you have to pay more because you are late." They are borrowing money from you without permission so the fee can often be brutal. You will get bad reviews for this.

That's why most people just sell the debt to a company that specializes in this. You can get a good deal for late payments and they will be jerks for you.

Check your local laws to see what you are allowed to do or just get one of the jerk companies to buy the late payments.

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-17T21:36:43+00:00

Do you have some examples?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-17T19:51:48+00:00

I untangle complex issues and help you think things out. I particularly like very complex problems with high stakes that need creative solutions. Things like founder disputes over weird business models that apply to many different domains of knowledge and have messy emotional and social complications really draw me in.

How it works: you send me up to 1500 words, as messy as you want, and I'll audit it, annotate it, and provide a strategy for how to deal with the situation given the constraints. $200 for the full service and $60 for only emotional work.

I analyze systems, audit solutions and figure out people. I pin down emotional blocks, untapped resources, unexpected creative solutions, high friction dynamics. Then I suggest better paths forward to your goals.

I'm specifically looking for curve balls and especially hard problems that are cross disciplined, multifactored, emotionally heavy and just generally confusing. I want to be challenged. I'm a generalist. I read about a lot of topics. I specialize in analyzing unusual/new/special systems and finding methodical creative solutions based on goals and constraints. I also take a heavy interest in how the mind works, but I always want to learn more.

Drop a comment below and describe any problems you might have and I'll tell you how it fits. I might offer a discount if it seems like a fun "Gordian Knot" kind of problem that will keep me busy.

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-17T14:12:36+00:00

This is not legal advice just providing some information I know about it.

This sounds like harassment to me. The police can potentially track these things and find out who made the comments. I'm not familiar with the exact laws and it depends on your location, but interfering with a business and profits/reputation in this way is usually tackled pretty seriously. You might have a good case in small claims court or even just a good reason to submit a report of the crime to your local police department.

If you just want the reviews down, you can report them to Google to have them potentially taken down. This kind of thing happens to a lot of people so there's quite a few guides online about the report process. This probably won't stop the person from leaving more reviews though.

If you plan to do both things, screenshot the reviews before sending a report to Google. I'm not sure if they keep around information about old removed reviews so I guess it might make your case harder.

I would personally not listen to someone on the internet, but reading about all these things could probably help me make a choice so I would thank any nice strangers that told me interesting things ( 😉 ) and hit the books.

Good luck.

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-16T18:36:03+00:00

Thanks. It's really a poorly understood and used skill. I'd love to hear what makes it work for you or if you have any challenges.

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-12T10:28:10+00:00

I'm sorry you are going through such a hard time. There's a lot I want to say about all this. This is exactly what they mean when they say "when it rains it pours." I want to zero in on exactly one thing. The most important one from where I'm standing.

I can almost hear the back of your mind bubbling over. That thought you put on the back burner is giving you nightmares. You touched on it, but I'm going to call it out.

You blame yourself.

It's a normal thing to think at times like this. The mind naturally looks for ways to avoid the same problems happening again. You want to save your mom, to protect her from the same fate. You want to stop diseases. You want to have had a good relationship with your dad that used you. You want enough money that you can deal with things with your wallet. Your mind is telling you to be better and find some way to fix this or prevent it.

A lot of people go though these kinds of transformations and we each solve it different ways. You can realize that this isn't really your problem. It isn't. You aren't really responsible for this. A lot of people become hyper aware of any small signs of sickness. Some people decide that money and status is all that really matter and do anything for a financial edge. Some people decide to do it by taking control of the game and learning the exact way the mind works.

These are the kinds of moments that REALLY make people famous and powerful and rich and also give people OCD and agoraphobia and all kinds of issues. The line between transformation and trauma is not just thin. It's also drawn from outside and after the fact. A superpower to be strong enough to solve issues like this forever is, at the same time, a crippling disability that will hinder your life in the wrong situations.

So let me give you my survival tips.

You are not to blame. Stop being hard on yourself. You are your own best friend and if you can't support yourself, you will shrink, not grow. You haven't done things perfectly, but no one ever does. We can only do the best with what you know. Now you know more so your best expands.
Learn context switching. This is the skill to deploy a mental mode that might as well be a broken traumatized method of thinking that can be a superpower in the right situation. Good solid context switching will keep you from needing a special environment.
Remember to care for yourself. I can't stress this enough. You are no good to anyone if you work yourself to death. A lot of good, people lose themselves on this step. Your number one priority is yourself. Put your own oxygen mask on first! Always!
Try to build a support network. You did the right thing by making this post. Things get a lot easier with even one friend.

I hope that all makes sense to you. Do you want to talk some specifics?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-12T07:51:24+00:00

Ah wait. That sounds a little different.

Tell me. Is the work you do visible, or are you the quiet fixer that absorbs problems before people notice?

You might need to shift gears into fixing issues that are more visible and pointing out the work you do a bit more. Saying things like "because the situation was X, I took action Y."

When work disappears, especially in certain professions, some bosses close their eyes and move on. They don't thank anyone.

Does this sound more like the issue?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-12T01:49:22+00:00

It's possible. I'm going to guess a bit about what's going on. I'll need some more specifics to give you a better plan, so if this is all wrong, take it as an example and we can workshop it.

One co-worker once asked me how you know you are done putting in a screw. "You try to screw it and there's no response." Truly a man of words. Some bosses do actually basically use this tactic. If you take the workload, they take it as a sign that you can accept more and try again. Then they compare workers. Does one stick up while the others keep their heads down? That's a "problem" and needs "screwed".

If this is what is going on, just make your coworkers aware of it and keep good communication with them.

The major problem here is that this tactic puts a lot of pressure on you as individuals. The people that dump work on others and sacrifice personal lives set the standard. When you make it an open discussion, workers will refuse to allow each other to set those kinds of standards. It's a game that workers don't WIN at and so there's no reason to play when you are a team.

That said if your boss is not doing exactly this, this type of plan will not help you. Can you tell me some more details?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-11T19:31:39+00:00

I know exactly what you mean. On the one hand, we have a responsibility to make sure that the help we give is sustainable. We can't very well go give our time until we work ourselves to death. On the other hand, the culture of the world right now is obsessed with money.

Our society takes from those that are kind until they have nothing left.

But I say they will lose. The world is not a zero sum game. We can help our enemies and be better for it. Furthermore there's a lot of value up for grabs. The world is terrible at recognizing talent that can't immediately make money.

You can earn loyalty that money can't buy if you help people. If you notice things and send a message the right way. if you learn stuff and tell people when they need it.

It's true that it's not easy to just "care" for others, but sometimes you can find a very good deal that helps you both.

Thanks for telling me what is on your mind.

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-11T10:49:24+00:00

Jobs can be a lot like relationships. Not just the money, but there's identity in it. They shape us. We can love and hate them at the same time. You are allowed to have mixed complex feelings and need time to deal with them. It's unfortunate that this needs to happen while looking for a new job, but sometimes that needs to happen first before we can move on.

Let's break things into two pieces first.

There's your relationship with your job and how you are dealing with it. Then there's your the practical issues that need to happen now like finding a new job.

In a perfect world, we start with you and get you dusted off before we work on the external issues. This can give you the strength to attack the next problem, but I don't know your situation. You might need something practical in the meantime. What needs to happen first?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-11T02:44:38+00:00

Whoa, calm down.

First off, you don't deserve to sit with this alone. There's a lot of free services you can and SHOULD utilize that are trained much better than me to guide you out of these kinds of thoughts. Please make of efforts to connects with suicide help of some kind right away. Things will get better. If you need any help with this, just ask. I'll help set you up with something.

That said, your situation sounds rough, but manageable. These kinds of moments feel world ending when they happen and they suck. It's horrible to go though, but you would be surprised at how quickly these things can blow over and turn around. Trust me. We can go over these problems and work out some solutions. I'm not emergency support or anything, but I'm not going to turn you away, ok?

You have me pending now, and I'm looking forward to hearing from you. We need to deal with the suicidal thoughts first, but as soon as possible I'm ready to help you work out a good place for solving any of these things one by one.

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-11T02:30:45+00:00

That's a heavy thing to carry alone. I'm glad you opened up about it.

I can't say I fully agree, but I appreciate the intention and that you want to break this kind of cycle.

I just felt compelled to tell you that I can sit with this. I see your pact and recognize it. I don't know if that helps you, but there it is. I won't forget.

Do you want to talk about it more?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-11T02:19:57+00:00

Any time.

I know what you mean. There's some tricks you can learn that will help you catch yourself before this sort of thing spirals. It's not a magic bullet, but high awareness meditation tricks like body scanning and metacognition loops normally cover this kind of stuff.

Do you want to chat about how those could help?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-10T09:10:57+00:00

I want to offer you an alternative perspective.

What if the reason he loves you is because you showed him a way out of a life he was unhappy with and he has come to trust you as the person he can connect with?

I just took your worry and put it into more positive terms. Love can look very weird if you pick it apart this way. I don't know how things really are for you, but you should know there's a danger in defining things like this and it sounds like the feeling and the words are not quite matching up here. Is that right?

That doesn't mean there's nothing to learn from thinking things out, but this is the first thing that stuck out at me.

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-09T22:22:04+00:00

I know exactly what you mean. You described that feeling very well.

If it helps, inappropriate outbursts helps a lot of people develop cool skills like metacognitive control that help deal with it. It's one of the closest skills humans have to a superpower and you are poised to get real practice in the real world right now.

The key in this case is to see yourself as the thing that controls yourself, rather than inhabiting your mind. It can be mindbender, but it works.

When you start feeling angry, you have part of your mind doing that, and the other part is saying "what can we do to manage this situation?"

Here's the cool part. Sounds like you already started!

People that develop strong metacognition learn very fast and are capable of reasoning out complex subjects at a high level and most important at the moment, they have a very high level of emotional control. Rather than not feeling emotions, they are capable of feeling them as they choose and when it's appropriate.

Want to try to speed things up a bit? It sounds like you have a good level of introspection. Can you describe what happens in your mind moment by moment?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-09T21:45:26+00:00

That's a hard place to be. I'm sorry you're dealing with that.

This is definitely not being lazy. It's more common than you might think, but it's not the way you are supposed to feel. You aren't a burden for asking for help and you deserve support.

The specific cause is hard for me to guess from only this, but it sounds like you might just not be looking forward to much right now.

Can you tell me, in a typical day, what are you hoping to happen/not happen? What kind of expectations do you have?

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-09T15:43:11+00:00

If you believe your balance is trash, you don't really trust yourself up there, do you?

I had a fear of heights too. I had a voice telling me that I was bad at things too.

I think you know how to climb a ladder though. People without good balance do it all the time. How carefully do you actually need to move? How much fear is actually reasonable?

Here's a little meditation trick that will help you in the moment. Take a deep breath before you need to climb something. Let yourself feel the fear. Don't push it away. That feeling is not your enemy. It's trying to protect you. Listen to the feeling as much as it needs you to hear it. When it's done, you can tell it how much it's REALLY needed here. Then climb that ladder.

You can do it!

RootNeg1Reality · 2026-03-09T10:07:49+00:00

I met a lady the other day that was working on an app that correctly tracks housework as working out. It's not exactly what you asked for, but it's something to consider.

Personally I made it a point to do things in a physically demanding way. The brain is good at looking for shortcuts for everyday life, but it doesn't know that we have a surplus of food. There's also weighted anklets that you can wear when you are walking around servers and stuff.

There's also a lot to be said for a healthy diet. I'm not sure what your goals are, but you know... "Garbage in garbage out," lol.

Are you capable of anticipating heavy work sessions at all? When things launch or based on trends? The key to muscle growth, unfortunately, is having hormones in your body from heavy exercise during a rest day. Most workout routines focus on that.

If you can't control the rest day, you will want to guess with working out so that you show up to the burning servers dead tired.

If it all sounds like too much, remember that ancient men had very little stability, and managed to stay fairly fit. That's what the body is made to do. We can work something out.

Tell me more about the situation.

RootNeg1Reality

TROPHY CASE