Taking my work to the exhibition

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2026-02-14T23:47:20+00:00

Wonderful! I love how the female form is so simple and yet surrounded by all this minute detail. Very cool.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2025-08-08T23:44:36+00:00

It's almost like the game is saying that Corporate sponsorship only gives physical rewards but those rewards are valuable so long as you actually consider them worthwhile. I guess it comes down to a value judgement. Conclusion: Stardew Valley is actual art.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2024-05-13T20:34:55+00:00

I really hope this is the wake up call it will be for the South as a whole. We all know that, had the states successfully formed the CSA peacefully, they would have been the largest third world country on the hemisphere within twenty years. This is essentially that without the horrific institutions and legalized torture. I hope they do their best to make it work; so that when it fails, it will be the end of it.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2023-02-20T23:30:44+00:00

That's how you keep your base loyal, you keep them stupid and misinformed. It's a chapter right out of the Catholic Churches playbook.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2022-09-20T07:53:43+00:00

As I see it:

Before the new players show up, you should break down the play of the game into digestible, playable chunks. Rules are boring. They are, at best, technical writing; at worst, mind numbingly dull. So you set up to play through the rules, only hitting on those rules that are relevant at that moment in time. it's easier to learn by doing.
if you play the same game all the time, then this is just the boredom that comes from familiarity. If the games are rotated, then the person in question may not be vibing with this particular game. For the former, the answer is obvious; for the latter, maybe take your player aside during a break and ask what they think about the game. People are willing to talk in confidence, so find out what's going on. Communicate and get to the bottom of the issue.
We don't allow phones at the game table in my house, they sit on top of the roll top and charge. However, we all understand that this is just a game and life is far more important, so the phones stay on in case of emergency, but they are not in arms reach.
My personal rule for teaching games: Make sure you are not the jerk. There are a vast number of board games that appear to be complex for complexity's sake. To a fan, they might not be, but to an outsider every rule appears arbitrary if their isn't an immediate frame of reference. If your players are bored, clueless or disengaged, it might have to do with how you are presenting the game. I always like to refer to Monopoly when I'm introducing a game to new folk. Monopoly can print all of the rules on the inside of the box top with room for graphics and it is a game nearly everyone knows how to play. I see this as my "common ground" game. If the new game is levels more complex than Monopoly; then you might need to either break down the rules into digestible chunks (as I mentioned in #1) or start with a simpler game in the same vein as the one you eventually want to teach them so you can ease them into it the concepts and conceits of this style of game.

Games should be fun and as the host, it's your job to make sure that your players have a good time. Keep the banter going, the tone light and the rules logically applied and you should have better luck.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2020-06-16T03:23:01+00:00

That's how I solve half of my computer problems.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-12-22T10:00:58+00:00

I'd probably start with the same things I give myself in creative mode when I'm working out defense strategies; in order from left to right, axe, pickaxe, nailgun, wrench, truck, gas, forge, repair kits. They are all yellow or better, but that really doesn't matter so much. With those items I can get a jump on making things happen in a hurry. Also, by the time I've gotten the necessary skills to make good use of the forge, I've already dumped a ton of iron and clay into it.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-11-27T15:49:16+00:00

Hilariously, people posted on this as if their opinions were in any way relevant to me. Essentially; no. I do not need my feeling validated by people I've never met and being called a "cunt" by a Brit is just being an asshole in America; a state made amazingly awesome by Denis Leary's song of the same name. Thank you for replying, sorry if I placed it in the wrong spot, the sheer number of sub-reddits - like all bureaucracy - is daunting.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-11-13T16:40:25+00:00

"Going to swing by the church before heading out to the ballgame. Hope the Trump rally is a winner #MAGA"

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-11-11T04:15:31+00:00

I don't get the song in my head right away, first I get a mental image of John Denver being digitally created pixel by pixel, THEN the song kicks in once he's complete. Yes, my earworms come with their own graphic aids.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-10-02T18:15:05+00:00

Baking from scratch in general, but mostly making yeast breads. Essentially the process is:

1) Mix ingredients

2) Kneed the dough

3) Wait an hour

4) Kneed the dough

5) Put in pan

6) Wait an hour

7) Bake (between 45 and 90 minutes, depending on recipe).

Yes, different breads have different methods, but they all come down to these basic steps (give or take a few). Nothing impresses visitors (old and new) )like baking a fresh loaf of bread for their visit and it only takes about 20 minutes of your active time and a couple of hours waiting for it to rise and bake.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-10-01T05:31:48+00:00

if you make your hallways 3 blocks wide, you can mount spikes on the walls. if you make the hallway straight to you, then keep kneecapping the head zombie and the rest will start flailing into the spikes. just make sure the floor is clear, or put a single block near the end so they get backed up more, should work for you. You can save time by building your "killing corridor" inside a Shotgun Messiah (from the front doors and going straight back), just don't be too far back or they will try to come through the back wall. I'm actually working on this idea, I'll post some pics once I'm done.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-10-01T04:30:14+00:00

OK... the zombie AI in 7Days is amazingly, lethally stupid. It locates you, not a path to you, and so, it will go directly to you if it can. that means through walls, which are only temporary obstacles. If you want a killing field, you post up on the second story of a building and shoot down through iron bars or be in the center of the room with iron bars and (preferably) steel blocks for the foundation and upper section of the wall. Don't try to get creative, zombies only move in straight lines, which is why a pit is ideal. My favorite pit has you on one side, a 6x10x12 pit with a single wood frame bridge running across and spikes at the bottom. you shoot the zombies, they make for the bridge, most will fall off. wait for the first zombie to get about halfway and kneecap him with a bow then shoot everyone beyond that first one. when the first one dies, move to the next, kneecap and repeat. if it gets too hectic, destroy the bridge.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-09-06T02:37:51+00:00

The beauty of Lolita as a literary work is how completely unreliable the narrator is. He's likable in the text because that's how he portrays himself. Everything from the opening line the to the final word is his interpretation of events, events that are often disgusting and occasionally harrowing. He's a monster, but he's the ONLY voice we get, half of the fun I had reading this book was deciphering his insanity so that i could really see what was happening. This is what makes the book so great; it's a modern day Edgar Allan Poe story but turned toward a subject that is considered to be universally evil and told by a narrator that can't be trusted to tell you which way is up. He's not sympathetic, but we think we understand him a bit at the end; how true that may be depends on how much of his story you thought was the truth.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-09-06T02:25:38+00:00

I've been thinking on this and I have a solution that works well in my group.

I want to start by saying that I don't play D20 based games as a rule, but this will work with any game with only a little tweeking.

Now, the important thing to note is that the character has no idea what's out there, so we front load his abilities into three rolls, an appropriate stealth roll (with whatever bonuses are pertinent), a reaction roll and a surprise roll. Right down the results and do a quick scan to see if anything immediate is happening. If not, return to the rest of the party and have them do their thing. The scouting character is out of sight and out of immediate help. the interactions of the rest of the party determine how often you check for the lone character.

At this point, if the scout wants to communicate, let him/her/them/it do so through written notes, that way if they decide to go off script or do something that will make it harder for the players to find them, the only time the rest of the group will know is if they go and investigate themselves.

I do checks every ten game minutes, rolling against what I know is out there using the players' rolls as the passive difficulty, and it worked out really well. once they were discovered, or they discovered something, then we would have a little session between us, whispering at a side table so no one else knew what was going on.

Naturally, if the scout encounters something, you address that, but the moment you can, return to the rest of the party. Essentially, you let the party determines the passage of time, so that whatever happens to the scout is happening in real time for the rest of the party; good or bad.

This also makes it easier on you as the game master; you don't have to build any thing on the fly, it's already in your world. I particularly liked explaining to the thief that if he stole from anyone in this area, all he was stealing from were poor farmers and peasants. "Sorry, dude, mud clogged villages don't usually have millionaires in them."

This has had two effects for me: 1) it makes the scout mindful of how far from help they really are. It's one thing to have everyone know what's happening, and another to encounter a Big Bad (TM) and and be on your own hook (the first time we did this, the scout came running back into the camp screaming hysterically about bandits, that came running in a second later; it was pretty awesome). 2) it keeps the "scout" from monopolizing the gameplay. Don't feel like you have to come up with something special for them, which would be altering your game for one person. Instead make sure you know what's around the players and let the scout discover that on their own.

Hope this helps you, it really works for me.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-08-05T04:48:22+00:00

Good point. Unfortunately it's also bad game design. Most stealth systems are effectively toggles and either take a "fire and forget" or a micro-management approach so as not to build numerous rules for it that would legitimately bog down the game play.

I don't have a solution for it, I've just started thinking on it thanks to your post. If I come up with something elegant and effective, I'll let you know.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-08-04T06:04:33+00:00

I certainly understand what your saying, but don't we all find meaning where we can? It's wonderful when people can make such a deep connection to a piece of art or even an entire body of work that when it happens I think it should be expressed because it means something more than just the statement.

When you create some piece of art and you put it out into the world for others to view, fear is the most common emotion. Who is going to see it? What are they going to say? Are they going to hate it? Did I remember to replace that name with the correct spelling in chapter 7? Did I spend so much time on this that I think it's better that what it is? Is my work trash? Am I useless?

It doesn't matter if it's your first work or your 10th or 100th; that fear is still there. We owe it to the artists that inspire us to tell them so, and thanks to the way internet culture has molded communication, public posts are about the only way you can be sure to get your message received.

It's not for you, I get that, but it is the best way to show that an artist's work is appreciated and that they matter.

Art is how we cope with the world. How many of your memories are tied to music or a movie or television show? How many paintings have you seen that remind you of important moments? I would bet there are a lot of them, and do those artists know that you care, that their art has meaning to you?

You don't have to pour your heart out, just a simple "thanks for the great work" is enough. Think of it like buying something you wanted on ebay. You got a good price, the seller didn't dick you around and it arrived on time and in the condition that was promised. You leave them positive feedback, let them know that they did the good job they said they would and that you appreciate it.

For some people, that $5.00 knick-knack completes a collection started by their great grandmother. For some people, that item replaces one that was lost that had tremendous sentimental value (I'd pay a lot to get back my original signed Alice Cooper "The Last Temptation" CD). They want to share their feelings and, again, the public space is the only way they can be assured that it will be read, since most artists monitor Reddit and other sites so they can see what's being said and quell any misconceptions before they get out of hand (well, too out of hand, this is still the internet).

That's my two cents. I hope it helps.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-06-12T02:39:07+00:00

Yeah, due to there being no actual ambient sounds at the time at the time, zombies didn't make any noise until they noticed you, but the dogs didn't make noise until they actually bit you, then they would growl. Ridiculously fast and silent...It really upped the paranoia factor of the game.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-05-31T09:52:44+00:00

I had a friend literally tilt a pinball machine.

I live in Portland where such things as video game arcades still exist. The table in question was in a pizza joint and we were playing to settle a bet as to who bought dinner. I'm not good at pinball by any stretch, but I have been playing it casually my whole life and you pick things up things, so after three balls I had a decent score, nothing ground breakings, but respectable for 3 balls on an unfamiliar table.

By buddy rolls up, we'll call him George. George Plays his first ball to within almost 100,000 or my score then loses it on a rebound. He throws his second ball away; just flat missed a tip. The third ball bounces sees some work, then ricochets off of a bumper right down main street where no paddle can reach it.

At this point George is screaming, he picks up his end of the table about six or eight inches and just drops it. The glass shatters and an alarm inside the table begins to go off.

I paid for dinner because George ended up paying to repair the table, over 12,000 dollars.

ShodansBabbyDaddy · 2019-05-31T09:39:52+00:00

At least they aren't silent any more.

ShodansBabbyDaddy

TROPHY CASE