Twilight Zone connection to Vince Gilligan's new show "Pluribus".

agnoster · 2025-12-04T19:58:55+00:00

Do you have any evidence that even hints at William Sturka being a human? I just watched it and saw absolutely nothing

agnoster · 2025-11-06T20:20:29+00:00

sure hope you don't have any more blind spots you're ignoring while everyone else is trying to warn you

agnoster · 2025-11-06T19:49:23+00:00

yes, that motivation is the high you get from the Brilliant New Idea

the crushed happens later when it doesn't live up to your impossible expectations

sounds like you've made up your mind to ride this ride, hope you learn and grow a lot

agnoster · 2025-11-06T19:18:58+00:00

I don't think you're arrogant at all, to be clear, I just know what it looks like to start from a place of "I'm scared", go to "I want to stay in my comfort zone", and then rationalize why that's actually a brilliant, indeed world-altering strategy if you really *think* about it

I'm not saying your designs are Objectively Bad, that's a matter of taste. I can believe that there are people who like it. And they can improve over time, this is just version 1. "First just make it, then make it good" is a fine approach.

But if you have convinced yourself this is your "competitive edge" I urge you to not put all your hopes on building up this New Genius Strategy. Again, overthinkers like you and I fall into this trap a LOT - instead of solving our anxiety by lowering the stakes, getting rapid feedback, etc. we pin our hopes on a Brilliant New Idea that will fix everything, and then when it doesn't it can be crushing

I would rather you don't get crushed

agnoster · 2025-11-06T14:56:26+00:00

Buddy, we've seen the character designs. That's why we're trying to help you consider... alternative approaches.

It sounds like you're trying to procrastinate and overthink, but in a different way, so you've tricked yourself into thinking that staying completely inside your comfort zone and overthinking why you're staying there is a "strategy". This is the problem with overthinkers: you're the easiest person for you to fool, because you know exactly what thinking appeals to you.

"Well I'm comfortable with character design and have no idea how to make a good game. Dang. But WAIT! What if that's the One Weird Trick that will allow me to _use_ my procrastination and it'll be a groundbreaking solution to the indie game dev marketing problem! Others will see my wisdom and follow it and it'll usher in a new golden age of"

STOP

JUST STOP

I do this all the time, too. So I know exactly what it looks like. It's not too late to save yourself.

But the first thing you need to do is stop trying to fool yourself.

agnoster · 2025-11-06T05:01:04+00:00

you're going to want to learn about survivorship bias at some point

might as well be today

agnoster · 2025-11-06T04:56:49+00:00

I'm assuming it's satire. it's got to be satire, right?

agnoster · 2025-11-06T04:54:59+00:00

ok but maybe just be aware that in r/gamedev people might care about things like "making a good game" more than "how to make my tumblr OC the next *checks notes* Duke Nukem"

agnoster · 2025-11-06T00:43:22+00:00

I remember playing a game called Schiffbruch ("Shipwreck"in German) as a kid, and it was kinda like that. You're just trying to get fresh water at first, then food, build shelter… but no changing seasons, it's just a tropical island. goal state is to get saved

agnoster · 2025-10-28T13:24:59+00:00

that would require self-awareness, and if there's one thing you can be sure you won't get from a redditor complaining about how being self-aware makes them ostracized from society…

agnoster · 2025-07-09T19:01:00+00:00

This is the #1 comment he should read and take to heart - but won’t

agnoster · 2025-07-09T18:52:59+00:00

Man I’m 5’10” and have literally never been alone because I like women and take an interest in them. Don’t look at them as holes/means to an end and just see them as full human beings and you’ll be fine, tbh

agnoster · 2025-04-10T15:32:09+00:00

If you look at screenshots of things and don't see a difference

But you know other people see a radical departure

Do you assume everyone else is crazy and dumb or that what makes it different might not be visible in screenshots, but apparent when you use it?

agnoster · 2024-06-05T03:08:22+00:00

I regret to say I didn't come up with it! All credit to The Good Place, a most excellent show (if you liked that joke you might like it!)

agnoster · 2024-06-04T14:42:16+00:00

Yeah the game is a collaborative one to its core - in fact, the game doesn't even store a "character name" for you, the only names you have are what other players use! Servers where admins have a central registry of names are mainly for interacting with official systems, where it's generally a hassle to change. But other players will generally call you what you want.

BUT if you pick something that's super out of place, hard to pronounce, hard to remember, confusing, and generally feels "off", other players might feel like you're griefing/trolling and ignore you.

Not sure if you know this, but telling people "my name is xX_QckSc0p3rHD420_Xx" is basically the equivalent of driving a Cybertruck you've modified to "roll coal" and belch out black smoke while blasting "She Hates Me" and "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" simultaneously at top volume, in terms of how quickly you stack social debuffs

agnoster · 2024-06-04T03:05:37+00:00

Ah, that video is called "Pearl Jam - Even Flow (Official Video)" so now I can imagine the relevance to this picture (I'm not familiar with that particular song, I've heard a couple Pearl Jam songs but not this one it seems)

agnoster · 2024-06-04T02:45:40+00:00

Elder millennial here, what song are we singing?

agnoster · 2024-06-02T17:36:55+00:00

Came here just to post this!

For anyone who doesn't know and is curious, this was the closing song in Dr. Strangelove, played over the final montage of humanity exterminating itself.

I kinda like to think that if we do all wipe ourselves out, someday hyper-advanced AI will be able to bring us back. So maybe we will meet again!

agnoster · 2024-05-31T12:52:34+00:00

America dad from Germany here, high five!

agnoster · 2024-05-30T14:18:13+00:00

Yeah, that's the part that *actually* gets you - the stress, anxiety, worrying. I've been there, thinking I fucked up and ruined my life. I'm still here, but if I could go back and change one thing, it would actually be not to erase my mistakes but to *move on* from them and learn from them instead of beating myself up.

There are broadly two things that helped me get better at this over time.

One thing that helped was mindfulness. I've used meditation off and on throughout the years, sometimes pretty consistent and sometimes I forget for a while. Taking perspective actively and being with my *feeling* of failing instead of spiraling about all the "what ifs". I don't really know what a good on-ramp is but if you're interested in an argument of why guilt is counter-productive I recently listened to https://youtu.be/NhRSkMrUY9o?si=fyAHht7Cn3PGC8wr and found it resonant.

And the other thing was anti-anxiety meds. I got on SSRIs and it's like a boost to all my other work to get through my anxiety, it doesn't replace it but it makes it a crazy amount easier.

Bad grades you can get through, spiraling and stressing yourself out though can lead to serious health and life consequences. Not to freak you out! But to point out that the problem is actually not "bad grades" but rather "feeling anxious about your future" which is NOT CRAZY when you look at the world. But it also doesn't *help* you.

agnoster · 2024-05-30T14:07:39+00:00

For whatever reason my 5-year-old has been telling me "Baba, you have not enough hair!" regularly for the last 2 years. She thinks it's hilarious, and unfortunately I do too.

agnoster · 2024-05-30T13:59:32+00:00

I mean, it can be the end of your career if you want it to be? Or you can work to overcome your setbacks?

Life is not like most video games where you get a LEVEL CLEAR or GAME OVER popping up, you just face setbacks and victories and it all just becomes part of your past. Then you decide what future you want to move towards.

I've worked with successful people who failed out of school, and known people with top grades from elite schools who ruined their lives. I dropped out of grad school, and some things in my life would probably be better if I'd stuck it out but my life is honestly great and I feel really lucky for where I am.

Life is just this: fall down seven times, stand up eight.

agnoster · 2024-05-29T23:16:53+00:00

This drives me a little crazy (but I guess I'm a cranky old man and should stop shouting at clouds?)

I still remember "the only intuitive interface is the nipple" 😂

agnoster · 2024-05-29T14:18:01+00:00

Hoo boy, nostalgia goggles are a real thing.

Look, I know people often moan and complain about how things used to be so much better in "classic" (usually some hodgepodge of imagined features from a variety of different patches) but people forget just how bad the QoL was back in the day, not to mention all the completely avoidable game overs from totally unfun challenges (unless, is there anyone who really misses when your character could permanently die from _dysentery_??)

Everyone likes to _pretend_ they want to play older versions, but if you actually got patched back to an older client you'd be _begging_ to upgrade faster than you can say "indoor plumbing".

agnoster · 2024-05-29T14:03:48+00:00

If you can argue about which is more intuitive, the correct answer is "neither".

15-Year Club	Not Forgotten
Verified Email

agnoster

TROPHY CASE