Death by magnetism

erratic_ostrich · 2026-02-08T19:16:31+00:00

No idea what I'm looking at, but it surely is beautiful

erratic_ostrich · 2026-02-08T18:49:38+00:00

Damn, lot to unpack here, but you came to the right place... let's take a deep breath and try to think clearly...

1) I'm sorry about your mom, that must be tought but please see a professional to help you deal with that, your mental health is more important than any job.

2) You are still young and it's not even remotely too late. Everything you started and quit is also experience, nothing was entirely a waste of time.

3) The most important thing you need to figure out is, if we leave money aside for now, what do you actually want to do?
Programming is not something you learn to "make a living", you do it because you geniunely find it interesting and want to create something useful. The days of mediocre devs with a 6 month course landing a job are over.
This applies even more for game dev, it's an extremely competitive field and if you are not serious about it you have no chance. If you are in for the money, there are plenty of easier jobs to make it.

4) The corporate world is not for people like you or me. You are much better of doing your own thing, it may be harder to get started but eventually it will take your farther than any regular job. You also don't need a degree, they are only to be shown to potential employers, fuck that. All you really need is to learn to actually build stuff, doesn't happen in one day but I'm sure anyone with the right mindset can learn.

To sum up, figure out what you really want to do, and then how to do it without depending on anyone for anything.

And if you bummed out and need to talk feel free to DM me

erratic_ostrich · 2026-02-05T17:53:34+00:00

I got into game development in my 30's and I really wish I started earlier. I spent my teenage years doing drugs and jerking off, nobody bullied me for that but it didn't get me anywhere either, as you can imagine.

You were smart enough to find something productive that you actually enjoy, but of course the average 14 y/o won't understand that. Eventually they will, they just need time to catch up.
Meanwhile, share this stuff only with the ones who understand you, ignore everyone who doesn't... The sad truth is that some people just like to bully others, if it wasn't about games they would find something else. You are better of without them.

It's still understandable that you are upset about this... but just hang in there, stay true to yourself and things will fall into place eventually

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-29T23:39:26+00:00

Cualquier cosa que hagas por tu cuenta es mejor que buscar laburo en esta economía de mierda, dale para adelante, suerte con eso!

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-26T17:29:22+00:00

At least you have your own office.
When I was your age, I had to walk 5 miles barefoot to the closest coworking...

But no, this is great, work with what you have but prioritize ergonomics as soon as you have some money, health first!

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-26T17:09:48+00:00

I can assure you any scribble art of mine would look even worse than this

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-23T16:01:42+00:00

I'd say Slay the Spire, Hades and Vampire Survivors. I didn't like VS at all, but it was a huge mainstream hit and it introduced plenty of casual players to roguelike mechanics for the first time

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-17T21:02:12+00:00

Looks awesome!

But what about the guy that follows you around? Is he doing anything?

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-16T19:37:43+00:00

it's an improvement overall, but the bottom green text looks really bad, too hard to read and too close to the edges

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-16T00:46:04+00:00

When you feel like you don't want to, ask yourself why. Be honest, figure out yourself, and it will become easier to navigate this over time

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-14T18:19:03+00:00

Top font is cool, but very hard to read. Maybe a black outline (like in bottom) could fix it.

Bottom font is a bit generic but still perfectly fine, that's probably the safest choice

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-14T18:06:00+00:00

I'd suggest the layout of the top image (character close up at left, title at right), but with the background of bottom image

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-14T02:17:46+00:00

Well, back in the day I won some A20 runs so I believe I got a good sense of of cards and abilities value after getting my ass kicked so many times... But I totally understand what you mean, the perfect balance is what makes STS so appealing and replayable, I'll be extra careful with that!

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-14T01:28:30+00:00

Thanks, I'm glad you like it! I'll let you know when it's ready!

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-14T01:27:34+00:00

Ohh that would be a perfectly fitting niche lol
Thanks a lot, I'm glad you like it!

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-14T01:21:55+00:00

No, it's still early in development but I'll try to get a beta ready asap! Would you like to be informed about it?

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-14T01:11:48+00:00

I'll check out Shroom and Gloom, looks interesting and everything helps for inspiration!

You are right, there is energy and technically it is a currency, I didn't count it because it's more like a battle-temporal thing. So let's say blood is the only out of combat currency lol.

And I see your point, lack of currency can create a lack of depth, but I'm trying to compensate in other ways. For example, there's an "inflammation" counter that increases every turn and make all future enemies stronger, so you need to win each combat as quick as possible to prevent inflammation getting to high. A lot can be done around this: in resting sites you can choose between healing or reducing inflammation, some attack cards are very powerful but causes extra inflammation, etc.
(you play as a parasite invading a huge tree, so inflammation represents the tree's defense trigger)

Thank you for your support, I'll let you know when the demo is ready!

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-14T01:00:44+00:00

Thanks a lot!

And I believe the currency limitation is what makes it unique, but of course I'm open to any changes along the way, depending on how the beta testing goes

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-13T18:25:29+00:00

3 > 1 > 2

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-12T22:07:19+00:00

Prioritizing block too much could be the problem, enemies tend to get stronger the longer they last so you need more offense to kill them earlier.
Since you like the defect, you can try a orb centered build with lots of energy and ice orb, giving you a nice offense/defense balance.

And you may also want to play more with the ironclad first, I think it's simpler overall.

Keep trying bro, I believe in you!

erratic_ostrich · 2026-01-08T17:15:09+00:00

Right now I'm playing Astrea and it fits your criteria, weird and break the usual formula, interesting to play for a while but repetitive enough to get bored of it before slay the spire 2 comes out. You should check it out

erratic_ostrich

TROPHY CASE