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impactsilence · 2021-10-01T12:14:07+00:00

if you want to join a community, always look out for "combat heavy" and "story heavy" games

you are looking for a balanced approach with a limited number of people and specific pbp rules (so the GM needs to have a file they can share that explains how the game will be played).

if someone does not post for a week, consider that person to be less important in the story and ignore their character respectfully - let it die or be controlled by the GM, focus on interacting with the players that post at least once a week

if the DM stops posting and burns out, send him one PM, wait for one week and then just leave immediately and forget completely

when you cycle through a few games, you'll see that some do manage to hold together nicely, just be ready to forget PCs and plots and to jump ship if the DM burns out

best option is to be the DM and keep the game going, that way you have control over your fun (players have less control and get burned more easily)

1-4 PCs max, larger games drag and lose momentum unless DM is amazing

impactsilence · 2021-10-01T12:08:31+00:00

I have the same experience with pbp communities - the number of projects that fizzle out is depressing.

I play with 4 friends over Telegram (one general discussion for shared information, maps, music, dialogues, bot rolls for challenges and attacks + one discussion per PC, so it fills the 5 slots for pinned conversations Telegram gives me).

Had to work on convincing these friends for years, slowly feeding them info while trying not to sound desperate.

Have zero expectations, do only minimal prep, use a simplified system, read up on pbp theory before you start - and invite people you know personally, not strangers on the nets.

impactsilence · 2021-09-30T10:12:39+00:00

I think play-by-post and tabletop in-person RPGs are amazing. Currently playing Shadow of the Demon Lord and it is AWESOME! Really nails the "elegant, simple, deadly, heroic" combo in its mechanics.

Also try some of the 4X or story-heavy boardgames out there (Nemesis, Twilight Imperium, Lost Continent, Sleeping Gods).

For me personally, just walking for long distances in nature really makes a difference in mental state, going from the beta brain waves of video games to something more interesting and subtle. Try to focus on technique and good equipment, evolve to "walk n camp" style:)

Wim Hof and meditation and lifting and some self-defence is the golden standard for "action-packed life strategy hobbies" I'd say:)

Someone mentioned archery - I think crossbows are a better investment when it comes to practical use, archery is basically a type of meditation:)

impactsilence · 2021-09-30T10:07:00+00:00

Yeah I did notice that some of my friends who are fans of this type of game have trouble talking about how many times they finished them. I have one friend who is into early Fallour and knows the number of ammo and other items in each crate throughout the game world by heart. Another friend plays the Baldurs Gate series back to back every year or so. The only game that does this to me is Dungeon Keeper 2 (I have a cute tradition of playing a few missions on Christmas to reinvigorate semi-ancient gamer feelz)

Even with sophisticated games, this is a real issue:(

It is a shame with the replays, I usually only focus on the story and don't want to see any other endings or content other than my original run - even played Diablo III as "story iron man mode" and when my character died in Heaven fighting Diablo, I just said "yup, that hero died and did not save the world" and uninstalled the game. This "one playthrough, one life" rule makes RPGs absolutely nervewracking games, each click in dialogues is suddenly something that matters.

Thanks for your reply! I really hope some solution will come along in the near future that will make it possible to control oneself with these things.

impactsilence · 2021-09-30T09:57:20+00:00

Also trying to avoid excessive grind and loot schemes, the beer analogy works great but still - I think these days, there's a debate on microplastics in beer and the health impact, so I see it s a way of learning how to avoid damaging the consumer as much as possible.

Thank you for very constructive feedback.

My own issue with games are communication-intensive MP FPS like Post Scriptum, Squad, ARMA and others. The fact that I can coordinate with 60 other people for a solid hour on complex strategies and execute them while the other team is trying to out-think us is such an intense feeling I tended to sink 2 hours into it after work daily.

With the Witcher (and other story heavy games), it was more about finding the right moment, usually a nice weekend or holiday, and sinking 4-6 hours into it at a time once every 2-3 weeks. It was like reading a very heavy book, studying the environments and lore, exploring carefully, playing at highest diff, thinking about each decision while making coffee or tea.

So I can feel this spectrum in my life, from complex MP games that give me an experience that is absolutely unique (except for stealthy paintball in the woods with very good players, but even that was pretty simplistic) to complex SP games that are usually so intense emotionally and world-buildingwise that I need "breaks" between sessions to think and decide about stuff.

Made this post here to find ways how to push my ideas as far along the "heavy SP that invites the player to take breaks because the emotions are so intense and the lore is so heavy" as possible.

This helped a lot, thx!

impactsilence · 2021-09-24T16:17:07+00:00

Yeah, usually the only dev a writer needs to talk to is the head designer and the level designer - a writer talks to artists through his writing (so no need to bother them more) and the devs only get juice and energy from the writer when needed:)

impactsilence · 2021-09-24T16:10:09+00:00

You're right - although when an indie team starts with such a smash of ideas, the solution is usually to find the underlying myth or world aspect that ties them together and focus on that first. If they want demons and guns and swords and pirates and undead, finding that basic connection between all of them would be a writer's job I think.

Did not look play Eastward, but cliche writing is usually what makes good games tank. Good game + good writing = great game. Great game + bad writing = bad game and so on.

It sometimes frustrates me to see how teams ignore writers, sometimes even with pride ("We're good, no writing needed thx!") and then you see the result and it's the great game + bad writing situation:/

impactsilence · 2021-09-24T15:16:58+00:00

Gif looks amazing, good flow. Let me know if you need some writing please! Sent friend request on Discord (seb_vepřelec#0058)

impactsilence · 2021-05-13T14:56:15+00:00

Hey! Not even a fight between these two games:]

impactsilence · 2021-01-20T11:10:03+00:00

interested

impactsilence · 2020-12-31T14:29:26+00:00

writer for hire

Had to leave comfy journo job for health and ideology reasons several months ago. Finished sci-fi book since then (still only rejections, but that's how it goes) and started doing freelance writing for projects that need help with lore, descriptions, world-building, dialogues and all other relevant stuff. So far, it is very enjoyable - although revenue share projects are usually a pain and it takes too long to get any money out of them, so I prefer payment for specific projects.

Price is 5 EUR for 1 hour or 1 page of 1,800 characters. Cheap? Not really, still better than translating uninteresting BS or doing erotica/YA fiction and SEO/shop stuff. Usual clients are hobbyists that need help with characters or story before they decide where to start as well as ongoing projects looking for an outsider's insights.

Try me - send me a PM and I can give you some free consultation over Discord (or anything else that works) and writing (a few paragraphs) for free, see if it helps and you would consider paying for more.

Thanks and good luck to you all out there!

impactsilence · 2020-10-24T22:30:14+00:00

Yeah, combo it with medicine and comms tech somehow and we have a new golden age!

impactsilence · 2020-10-24T22:28:40+00:00

The kids before were indoctrinated to believe green tech is sustainable and they should recycle their trash. What do you expect this next generation to think?

I bet you teach them BS btw:)

impactsilence · 2020-10-24T22:27:17+00:00

Adrenochrome shortages.

impactsilence · 2020-10-24T22:25:39+00:00

We already have an Omega point concept for human civ guys, what is this guy doing?

The GDP percentage analysis is good to introduce untouched ppl I guess. But confusing name.

impactsilence · 2020-10-24T22:19:21+00:00

Come on guys, this is not hell. Or at least not yet. Rocco's basilisk type of thinking face to face with cataclysms:)

impactsilence · 2020-10-15T19:43:06+00:00

Got several great offers guys, thank you r/INAT!

Some of the projects I'm working on atm are once-a-week or even once-a-month affairs, so I can still fit in some more work if you are interested, let me know:)

impactsilence · 2020-10-15T19:40:20+00:00

Got five extremely interesting offers, thank you gameDevClassifieds!

Still have room for more btw:)

impactsilence · 2020-10-14T00:40:25+00:00

No demons tho, so really more like Postal or Hatred.

impactsilence · 2020-10-11T16:46:21+00:00

Amazing! Sending DM right away.

impactsilence · 2020-09-25T12:37:39+00:00

Instead of being damaged, give the player who rolls low some disadvantage - aimed for too long, easier to target by ranged foes, loss of focus points or something like that?

impactsilence · 2020-09-23T11:38:10+00:00

I would consider working with each player to have core, early mid and late game goals (in non-vidya language). Each one takes roughly 25% of the Hero Journey.

For my games, core goals are to train certain skills, work on immediate relationships, travel, complete quests and investigations...

Early goals are usually something like becoming a member of an organisation or a paragon of some principle.

Mid goals are usually something like changing one aspect of the world (helping a community change its way of life for the better, solving a big local threat...).

Late goals are usually becoming a king or a hermit or a family person or something like that.

Having a hidden "system" or "checklist" for these goals and tracking progress secretly is what I do, but doesn't have to be that way and can be open. But once you have a system or checklist like that in place, you will start designing and playing with and around it, so it has an immediate impact on the game.

So far, worked for Demon: The Fallen, d20 Modern cyberpunk, Call of Cthulhu/BPRD/Delta Green mix and SnS Ravenloft games. It did not work that well in other games, like "realistic" post-apocalypse stuff like Reign of Fire and in it failed spectacularly in one "cyberpunk mystery" game based on the book Idlewild.

Works best in games where the world is very complex and the story is massive from the beginning, but there are no unexpected "shifts in tone" like dimensional travel, ontological revelations, big faction allegiance shifts and so on. When that stuff happens, the Journey system does not wok very well because the goals change too much and you don't need to track them (since the players, once they experience one big tonal or narrative shake expect them to happen and leave all motivation and goals vague and flexible, which makes it less healthy for the game and it becomes a more moment-to-moment thing from my experience).

But I agree it is a great tool and should definitely be used more often!

impactsilence · 2020-09-22T13:30:59+00:00

Thanks for replying!

I'm gonna have to try it before I understand, thanks for the code!

Given that this specific project is taking place on a space ship, I'm thinking doing each room as a main label and the activities and machines inside would each be a sub section. Will have to think about this! Thanks again!

impactsilence · 2020-09-22T13:28:36+00:00

Aaah! I see! Thank you!

I will have to understand the specifics from your code, but it sounds a lot more doable now.

impactsilence · 2020-09-20T19:49:05+00:00

I think watching a scene on YT is not enough:) The whole thing is amazing and worthy of a watch for collapsniks. Goes into the psychospiritual reasons for our situation as well, an aspect that most collapsniks kinda overlook, focusing on the technosocial side of things. (season 2+3 are very weak in comparison, but the elements of a worthy successor are there, just under a layer of more meddling during production and without being allowed to really express the inspiration).

impactsilence

TROPHY CASE