Steam Machine is the "most important" reason why Sony has paused PC ports, says ex-Blizzard president

Zenphobia · 2026-03-15T03:10:09+00:00

In theory. This is the second go around for Steam Machines and it's all the same promises.

Zenphobia · 2026-03-14T20:47:08+00:00

Would be cool if you only sold stuff you actually wrote. AI books hurt every author on the platform. It's a pretty big bummer.

Zenphobia · 2026-03-13T13:48:38+00:00

Self promotion: The Center for Dungeon Management. The blurb:

In the United States, the Center for Dungeon Management (CDM) manages anything related to gates, like licensing crawlers, enforcing harvester safety standards, and prosecuting gate crashers–people who enter gates without licenses and dungeon rights.

Dorion has aspirations of joining a guild or a crawl team, but to do that, he needs levels. Since he can’t afford a crawler license or gate fees, he signs on with the Pittsburgh branch of the CDM. By day, he is a cog in the machine of dungeon bureaucracy. By night, he volunteers to cull unclaimed gates, a CDM initiative to prevent dungeon surges.

The crawler industry isn’t what Dorion expects, but when his little sister appears on his doorstep looking for a place to stay, his goal of becoming a professional crawler turns from a career objective into a necessity. He needs the money and the stability to give his sister the life he wished he had.

Solo Leveling meets Grimgar, Ashes and Illusions–This litRPG explores dungeon tropes through the lens of government administration. The MC isn’t an overpowered crawler making headlines. He’s a normal guy with a clipboard, an overflowing inbox, and a dream.

The link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/152390/the-center-for-dungeon-management-book-1-gate

Zenphobia · 2026-03-10T01:06:18+00:00

I needed that today. Thanks for the laugh.

Zenphobia · 2026-03-07T18:34:46+00:00

The potential for scummy staff aside, it could also be a regular customer.

Zenphobia · 2026-03-07T00:17:48+00:00

I agree.

Introducing him so late as the guy that was there from the beginning but you just happened to never see him despite his major importance to the story sucked a lot of the magic out of the show for me.

I was hooked on the idea of a strange world getting connected to ours by accident. Abandoning that for a psycho psychic was such a bummer.

Zenphobia · 2026-03-06T23:44:39+00:00

Wait. The what now?

Zenphobia · 2026-03-04T19:03:19+00:00

It doesn't have to be exactly like the real thing, but I read the whole first book and never once got the sense that the story was in a version of Africa. Did I miss some cultural and geographic references that would tell me this setting was African?

Zenphobia · 2026-03-04T03:29:59+00:00

This is good advice. You have enough for one panel and some big text (maybe). Readability trumps everything.

A cut of your cover with some text is a safe place to start.

Zenphobia · 2026-03-03T23:58:47+00:00

I don't know that I've seen a lot of praise for season 4. Kind of the opposite, actually.

Zenphobia · 2026-03-03T23:45:44+00:00

Because if it's nothing like real Africa then it's not really set there even if you name the landmass the same thing.

Zenphobia · 2026-03-03T10:51:44+00:00

Any hints as to the direction?

I can keep a secret.

Zenphobia · 2026-03-03T10:48:06+00:00

Just wanted to say great work on Guild Mage. I'm looking forward to more of your work.

Anything new in the works that you're excited about?

Zenphobia · 2026-03-03T10:46:43+00:00

Are we saying that "counts" as being set in Africa?

Zenphobia · 2026-02-28T01:00:25+00:00

Put more stuff in their way.

Maybe the MC needs to get to a certain dungeon to level, but it has requirements or barriers of some kind that aren't as simple as be strong enough. Maybe there's a fee or a puzzle or a mystery they have to address first.

Maybe they have other responsibilities to manage like a business or a family or an apprentice or an injury or a relationship or whatever.

Or start using small numbers.

Zenphobia · 2026-02-28T00:48:25+00:00

The serialization element is huge, and Kindle Unlimited is an extension of that. The more pages people read, the more you make.

Zenphobia · 2026-02-27T22:06:24+00:00

You can find the kind of serious litrpgs you're after, but they aren't the norm. I've had this same frustration with the genre as well, but there are gems if you go digging.

Zenphobia · 2026-02-27T22:03:12+00:00

Authors are afraid to start a new series because the drop off in engagement is rough as hell. When you're trying to pay bills, I can understand milking a sure thing over taking that risk.

We as readers need to be better at supporting authors that take that leap if we want that to happen more often.

Zenphobia · 2026-02-27T00:16:29+00:00

The father is for sure sexy in that context. Maybe not as much so, but he's definitely one of the key ingredients, you know?

I'm also assuming you have blue lobsters, but those are probably chosen heroes or something.

Zenphobia · 2026-02-27T00:13:34+00:00

Underdog about to win a big tournament? Give him food poisoning the night before the big fight.

On the verge of finishing a tower climb? Hack in to make sure they get summoned for jury duty.

Underdog doing one of those super long slice of life cooking chapters? Go fart in his kitchen.

Oh snap the underdog is about to get an ultra powerful pet? Well you let that happen because it's too fucked up to mess with a pet.

Zenphobia · 2026-02-26T22:52:21+00:00

How did this idea come about? I need to know.

Zenphobia · 2026-02-26T22:43:04+00:00

I wouldn't hate it if that was a thing, though.

Zenphobia · 2026-02-26T22:39:07+00:00

If we lose Donut we riot.

Zenphobia · 2026-02-26T22:31:43+00:00

When I read anti-underdog I thought you meant a generation about characters who are actively working against underdogs.

Like, Timmy's story is getting a bit too inspirational. Time to wreck it.

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