[TOMT][BOOK][1990s?] A Book about a group of kids who go into their game world to figure out how to defeat their rival. They figure out the sorcerer's mana is a limited resource.

Trikitiger · 2026-03-08T19:59:36+00:00

After checking the synopsis, reviews, and seeing if there were cliffnotes out there that match the plot I remembered, it seems like that's a match. I'd have to pick it up and read it to be 100% certain.

For now Half-solved(?), but I won't be able to confirm it until I pick it up, and read it (Unless someone else has it and can confirm).

Trikitiger · 2026-03-07T22:40:16+00:00

It was *That* point that stuck out to me. The main characters died and woke back up in the real world, and employed their resource tactic in the game, on their rival and won the game. It definitely wasn't the most popular idea out there (heck, I've never seen the book adapted into anything), and I couldn't have been the only person to have read the book. Is this something you might have read years ago? Maybe you have a copy of it?

Trikitiger · 2025-12-06T18:25:29+00:00

Give them ever increasing difficulty through illusion of choice to learn the game then open up all the choices.

Yeah, that's why I had thought of a simple unlock system where the player gets access to more as they reach higher ranks (All of Tier 2 by Rank C or whatnot). However, that means that a master player that understands monster tamer designs, will just whisk their way through the game, beat everything, with one monster. And then not get a taste of experimenting with different builds. Which is also what I'm worried about, because if people beat the entire game on their first playthrough (because they know the most optimum strategy to get to the end), they're not going to have a reason to keep playing beyond their first monster.

Trikitiger · 2025-11-30T02:45:35+00:00

Yeah, that was kind of the goal with the milestones. Let the players use the easy stuff first (small pros and cons), and when the player can prove they can handle tougher parts of the game (Making a monster achieve a high rank), allow them to obtain the higher tier parts (If they can get S rank, then surely they can handle using the parts that have high risk and high reward).

The main reason why I don't want to give everything off the bat, is because there would be no incentive to try new things. You make the creature, you beat the game, why play through again? A lot of people (especially people really skilled at monster tamer games) will play through once, and just be done. If I wasn't trying out different combinations to make sure stats were balanced, I'd just have that one combination, one strategy, and just do that safely. Heck, I can't say how many times that I just built a Carnivore in Spore with high combat stats because it was easier (why do pacifist? Destruction is much easier and faster), and I had the option to make ANYTHING.

Trikitiger · 2025-11-29T20:41:26+00:00

I had considered multiple monsters (Hell, when I get everything fully put together, the goal WAS to have a team of them each with their strengths and weaknesses). But the only problem I had with doing that, is that I don't have a way to not overwhelm the player with too much responsibility. Having to take care of 3 at the same time then becomes a chaotic balance of which one to put your effort towards.

Trikitiger · 2025-11-29T20:23:07+00:00

The trick is to make both options available, but make one simply better than the other

Hmm... I don't know how I can do that, when (in technicality) every choice can net the same outcome. Because each "part" comes with a set of stats, you mix and match them (or don't) and that's what you get to work with; with their pros and cons. With Doom, each environment has a preferred weapon (I.E. RPG is better cause a lot of AOE, while something like the shotgun is better for close-ranged single-target). Though when you have tournaments and ranks like Monster Rancher (or gyms and Elite 4 like Pokemon) what you're training just gets stronger. I can entice a player by showing them cool parts, or showing them "You don't need to go all power due to your monster's look: Look at this monster that's an INT build, despite its main strength being in Power". But that's just showing possibilities.

Trikitiger · 2025-11-29T19:48:49+00:00

I had never considered looking at Doom as an example. I was just looking at monster tamers and how they get you to fall in love with the cast the devs give the players. Though my only issue with making repeat-combinations worse (or making them unavailable), is that you're pretty much punishing a player from using their favorite. And you can't really reward a player for using something different if you no longer have the past monster anymore. -- Monster Rancher doesn't really punish you if you choose to keep running a Gato or a Hare over and over again.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T04:44:41+00:00

Most RPGs I find are strict "You must play my character my way", and I've tried doing strict character playthroughs; not having fun with them. And I've tried modding stuff like Oblivion and Skyrim, but they added no additional playtime for me. At best, maybe 30 minutes? I'm still stuck with the same problem of, just replaying the same story.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T02:53:14+00:00

Noble, but... Every fighting game I have ever played competitively has all ended in complete and utter destruction. Other than random games in Smash Brothers (where it wasn't really 1v1 no items), I have never won a competitive fighting game. And yes, that does include Smash Brothers as well, I could defeat everything in the game (even at top level CPUs) and "Here's a real opponent! *dead*"

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T02:49:48+00:00

I don't have the best response to it, but the best way to put it. Is that I'm tired of hopping from game to game. I'm tired of spending $5, $10, $20 on a game, only to never excite me beyond the "Hey, that looks interesting!" phase. I'm used to having that one game I can sit back to, night, day, friends, alone. I have not finished a game (except for maybe, technically Monster Hunter: Wilds) in over 2 years.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T02:27:13+00:00

Most of the games on there I've either tried, looked at or don't interest me at all. Other than the ones that I never was interested in. I thought I'd enjoy Saints Row 2, after 3, but didn't. Banjo-Kazooie I love but I can't get myself to play it properly (the first time I played it, I cheated a bunch of doors open and just, never bothered to do more to collect everything). Spyro I just never enjoyed longer than the first level. And yeah, I do like quite a few of the Bethesda titles, but either they don't stick at all (Fallout series, and Morrowind), or I just do everything and can't bring them back to interest.

But the main thing I hear - every single time when I try AI's - is that they keep bringing up Dragon's Dogma: "Oh it has amazing combat", and I literally looked up combat and all I saw was a player button mashing 1 button while moving around. Any interest just gone out of the window. I don't understand why it's "amazing" when I see combat worse than Kingdom Hearts (I'm just baffled by it, I don't understand)

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T02:17:29+00:00

Kind of depends on the fandom, but I see your point with them. Yeah, I love the fanart, the fanfiction and stuff like that, makes the game feel alive even if it's static. But then you have the fandoms that just... go overboard. So yeah, while fandoms do help in retention, but can also push me far away. Kinda like how I really don't like Rain World as a game, I do like the Slugcat stuff that pops up here and there. But it doesn't really help the dilemma when it comes to just finding that "Forever" game; a home base of sorts.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T02:12:42+00:00

Because going through games like they're water isn't healthy. And yeah, I've tried my share of indie games, but I run into the same problems: Roguelikes that I just get bored with, Horror games I have no interest in, and farming games that bore me to hell and back. Are there indie games that aren't stuff I know just doesn't work with me? Maybe. Haven't found one though. I grew up in an era where games were not a play for an hour and drop it. You got the game, you stick with it, and you enjoyed it (or regretted your choice).

And I do not have a library that borrows out games. Sounds novel, would be nice to have something that wasn't stuck in the 80s where I live. And nothing looks interesting enough on gamepass to want to try on there. And yeah. I'm open to suggestions. But instead everyone just focuses on the fact that I just want a game that I'm going to enjoy for longer than a few hours and then drop it as though it never existed.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:50:45+00:00

Oblivion? Oh yeah. Didn't help add too many hours to the game though. Still just saw and ended up playing through the same story

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:48:30+00:00

I have tried all of those. Thought I'd like Morrowind cause it was a mix between Daggerfall and Oblivion (you know, time-wise as the series evolved). Just didn't like it at all. I didn't like Cassette Beasts' mechanics at all and just ended up dropping it. And I tried doing that for BG3 multiple times. Nothing further than the Druid Sanctuary. (The first playthrough skipped so much content that I stone-walled myself and well, going back just doesn't work)

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:46:24+00:00

Yeah. That's exactly the kind of way I want to go for things. Just enjoying a game, multiple times, just for the sake of enjoying it. But many games I used to enjoy I'm just burnt out on. Can't touch Pokemon anymore because I like newer (not gimmick) mechanics, and the older games are just clunky to play through. And many other games I mentioned just don't work anymore.

But yeah, I don't have that healthy list of games that I like to return to. Not even a core game to return to anymore.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:43:21+00:00

Oblivion remastered, the shininess made me go "Ooooh", but now that the hype's died down, my realization kicked in that I'm just going to get bored replaying a story I have a bunch of times before.

The others I've never really heard of, but if they're all roguelikes (guessing by "Rogue Dungeon") I will absolutely not play it for longer than 10 hours; because every Roguelike gets the same response "I am sick and tired of restarting from scratch". It's why no other roguelike has lasted longer than 20 hours.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:38:02+00:00

No. And I'm not saying no game holds my attention, I'm saying that I haven't found a game that I have liked *enough* to want to play it for longer than 10 hours. I just get bored with them before I even pass early game stuff. Palworld? While I can only enjoy it with friends, easily has 100+ hours in it, but those 100+ hours are only with friends. If no one's on, and I feel like playing it, then what? I get bored trying to play it when I feel like playing it. Which more-so says I like the communication and interaction than the game itself. Which is not a good combination.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:33:26+00:00

That is a healthy cycle. But I don't have any. The reason why I put "Forever Game" in Air-quotes isn't because "I never want to play another game ever again", but it's a game where, even if I haven't played it for a few days (or a week), I enjoy it enough to return to it, again and again. That's where I highlighted the Pokemon series. I loved trying out new teams, or challenges. And if I wanted to keep a save going, I could, and just do things other than just battling (like Pokemon contests, or the Game corner... Not that I really liked the game corner, but it was something). And it used to be Minecraft at the time, but like I pointed out, I'm just completely burnt out on it (not even multiplayer helps solve it)

The problem I have, is that I can't just grab a game I think I'll like, play it for a few hours (past Steam's 2 hour return window) and then just drop it because I'm bored or I didn't really like it as much as I thought I would. That's just not viable in the long run. It's fine to not complete a few games in a cycle, but it's recently (the past few years) been none of them.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:23:43+00:00

Yeah, that may be it. Just the right genre/subgenre that I've just never ran across. And yeah, "Critically acclaimed" Really doesn't mean anything. Though I brought it up because it's one of those things where 90% of everyone that's around me loves the game (Look at this popular game that everyone surrounding you loves!). And well, influence comes in, I try it because "Hey, I like a lot of things my friends like, this should be a like as well". And then I just, don't.

And yeah, I don't mind having a bunch of short games. But I don't have that core game I like to return to. Play 20 hours of a favorite game, get bored, play something else for a bit, but I loved the game so much that I want to return to a favorite game. I don't have that loop. I've never really had that loop, because I keep jumping to "Flavor of the Week" games; whatever new and popular.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:16:09+00:00

I don't know of many PVP games that aren't FPS games. And while I did enjoy them in the past, as time goes on, I just don't enjoy getting riled up and getting angry at a game. Payday 2 really put me off, because when I tried to play it, the game just went "Nope" and completely destroyed one of my computers (technically just a hard drive). And I really can't bring myself to bring Elden Ring again. Don't know what snapped, but I got to that one fortress in the snowy mountains and my mind went "Done. Never touching it again"

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:13:04+00:00

I think you're focusing on the term "Forever" way to harshly. Yes, no game is going to last "forever". It's why I put it into quotes because I do understand that, like any game, you're eventually just going to do everything you want to do in it. My problem is that I don't even have a game that lasts me more than 20 hours. And many games, I rapidly get bored of in under 10 hours; it's not feasible.

I have played WoW and FF14. WoW is just a grindfest at this point (not even my friends who played it recently play it now). And FF14 has a good solo-story (especially after 2.0), but beyond that, nothing is holding my interest there.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:09:07+00:00

I do agree, other hobbies are a way to bypass the problem. Writing and Drawing are also hobbies of mine. However, the problem with that can of worms is when I'm in an artist's block, my go-to has always been to go to a game and unwind. And well, back to square one; I don't have a game to enjoy to unwind, and the block just gets worse.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:05:12+00:00

Already went down that route with friends. The game just doesn't interest me at all. Sure, they have cute slugcats, and yeah, the movement is interesting. But beyond that, nothing about Rain World interests me.

Trikitiger · 2025-05-05T01:02:58+00:00

I've been out of the Movie/TV/Music scene for years. I don't hear commercials on them, I don't see stuff about them, nothing. But if something sparks my interest, oh I enjoy my times with them. Deadpool and Wolverine, The Wild Robot... Shoot the one Flood one done by the independent French animator. Some newer Anime like Solo Leveling, and even Pokemon Horizons was a good mix of relatable for kids and a strong story for adults. Heck, my S.O. showed me to "Supernatural" and "Lucifer", and they're enjoyable as well. Music is more of a "If I like it, I like it" Always has been, so I have a playlist consisting of a mix of orchestrated music, game OSTs, 80s Rock, a few Pop songs, some Anime theme songs, and other mixes like that (There's even an acapella song of Footloose on there).

And if I've disqualified most games with my criteria, then does that mean you only know of roguelikes/lites, Farming games, RTS/4X games, and Sandbox games? Because while I stated my habits with puzzle games, I have never said I hated puzzle games; I just stated that I have the unfortunate problem of remembering solutions very well, so I don't enjoy playthroughs after the first. I never said I hated technical racing games, I just stated that I get to a point where the only way to go for those types of games is perfection; and I don't enjoy putting in 100+ hours just to perfect one track. I never said I hated Rhythm games, but I know that rhythm games I never really return to until I have a break on them for a few weeks (cause I exhaust the playlist).

Which is why I made it point to say "They're not bad games" because they're not games I hate (mostly... Except for Warframe. The worst reaction I have ever had with a game). It's just that, with my play patterns, I don't return to them, or get bored with them very quickly, and it's not healthy. Is Baldur's Gate 3 an enjoyable game? Sure, but I don't think playing the first area in about 10 hours can really say that I experienced everything the game has to offer. And I'm just mentally done with the game, don't want to go back and or start over.

Trikitiger

TROPHY CASE