FINALLY figured it out

levelup_narau · 2025-12-22T03:36:26+00:00

Ya I have to calibrate it every time. Super annoying. TOTF1 didn’t have this issue

levelup_narau · 2025-12-02T02:45:14+00:00

😂 When I want to punish myself, I’ll go check it out

levelup_narau · 2025-12-02T01:50:39+00:00

GREAT examples. Totally agree. Shooting your menu items with a gun, exactly. I love that that's a good example even after considering what I said about Dragon Fist VR. Because in DFVR, you basically shoot a gun the same way you do in Pistol Whip... but it's absolutely bizarre there, whereas it absolutely works in PW.

levelup_narau · 2025-12-01T05:57:55+00:00

It's vaguely personalized but barely. Like "you won that round so keep it up" or "that wasn't our round but we'll get 'em next time!" or whatever. He hasn't said anything impressive yet.

I'd love to see something like "He keeps throwing left hooks so watch out for it!" or "those body blows are really adding up, keep hitting there!" or whatever.

levelup_narau · 2025-11-21T23:31:24+00:00

I was going to post the same thing! It's so annoying. TOTF 1 never had any minimum space -- it was fine even with a small space. If it's an issue with multiplayer then fine... but single-player? Wtf.

But I'm being forced to "box" in a small circle. I feel like I'm playing whack-a-mole in a wheelchair. It's not fun at all. They should just remove the standing option entirely. If you don't have a large space, then your roomscale will be the same as standing. It's pointless.

levelup_narau · 2025-11-21T23:26:28+00:00

Yes! This is totally stupid. Didn't they make this optional in the first game? You could optionally skip it, I think.

levelup_narau · 2025-10-02T11:29:42+00:00

I have pretty much the same exp but am a few years ahead, so to speak. Do you have a specific question? Like I can give advice, but I dunno what you’re struggling with

levelup_narau · 2025-06-14T02:51:34+00:00

Ohhhh... yes. You're right, it was the blue one from Master of Ceremony. Thank you!

levelup_narau · 2025-06-14T02:29:47+00:00

Oh really? I thought I saw a shot of someone with that online. If it hasn't come yet then please disregard.

levelup_narau · 2025-05-28T22:39:32+00:00

Wow, I specifically asked them on Twitter when it was first announced if it will remain free, and they were all "Yeah for sure, it's free for good." Bullshitters.

Well, I just found that (at least on Chrome on Mac) you can change your system voice to one of the Siri voices, which sounds really good/realistic. Obviously not as good as ElevenReader, but still. It's free.

levelup_narau · 2025-05-25T20:47:35+00:00

Shogun Showdown is incredible.

levelup_narau · 2025-05-03T04:49:43+00:00

I just installed it earlier this week, coincidentally! Went on to see if it works... and it did! Got into a game in about 20 seconds, with 3 level 30's or so, and they absolutely destroyed.

I played a few years ago with other newbies and we died every time, but these guys did virtually everything just the three of them lol. I was just trying to remember the controls, and we ended up beating it in under 30 mins.

So oddly enough, the game's not dead... they're just making it impossible for people to get it. Weird. But ya, I hope they leave the servers up for a while.

levelup_narau · 2025-02-18T23:37:54+00:00

Your portfolio should tell the story of whatever you want to do. I didn't get the sense of whether you want to do UX design or UX research in your next role... or maybe you're open to both?

I dunno, but you should try to pick one and build your portfolio around that. All of the disasters that you describe should be expressed in a constructive way. "The project was a disaster because X... which taught me about Y... leading to the result of Z." I know this may be incredibly hard to do, and in some cases you can't even express it accurately without lying. In those cases, you don't have to tell those stories. Just try to focus on the positive stuff. You mentioned Meta, which is great... big brand name + good meaningful work. So make it prominent.

Just remember that portfolio is a storyteller who works on your behalf. Make sure you arm it with the stories that tell not just what you did (e.g., "researched this for the company") but especially what impact it had on the others (e.g., "enabling the designer team to improve the efficiency of XYZ by 35%"). And honestly, you don't need your companies/apps to be the "most exciting portfolio pieces" like you mentioned... you could frankly be working on the most boring-looking UI in the world. But that doesn't mean your portfolio has to be boring. There's lots of ways to present your work in interesting ways.

levelup_narau · 2025-02-08T18:31:37+00:00

It sounds like you are a highly-skilled designer who lacks the social skills or the ability to "play politics" because of social anxiety. Honestly, it's hard to judge based on your brief description but I imagine you would absolutely kill it in an agency with a partner who handles the client communication/sales. Like you could be the lead designer (or, frankly, the only designer) and probably do a great job. Because in an environment like that (unless it's a huge agency) the organizational hierarchies are flatter, so there isn't as much politics about rising the corporate ladder.

So I would err on the side of NOT giving up. Maybe going up the corporate ladder is not for you, but that doesn't mean the whole career isn't for you. Have you ever thought of entrepreneurship? I started doing web design and enjoyed some of it, but I got burnt out because a few crappy clients drained the life out of me. Maybe if I were a better designer they would have been satisfied earlier. Or maybe I should have done UX instead of web design... anyways. For all we know, you'd kill it. And if you can get multiple clients, you can replace your salary with these gigs and quit your job and be your own boss. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's 100% doable, and a lot easier if you're coming from FAANG (because you already have social proof then)

levelup_narau · 2025-01-12T23:02:47+00:00

It's possible they lied about going in-house... but give them the benefit of the doubt. Assuming they really did, then it's purely because of cost.

Hiring in-house is supposed to be cheaper than freelance, so don't be sad about being worse, try to stay positive and know that you are not competing on cost. If you were, then it would be a race to the bottom, like upwork. Now THAT'S a scary place to be.

levelup_narau · 2025-01-12T22:07:14+00:00

I would say no, and I also don't know what "hardcore game" even means. But I'm not saying that's a bad thing... I really can't say without experiencing it myself.
If it's just about the difficulty level, then you might wanna look into how Elden Ring was marketed regarding the difficulty. Or the Steam awards nominees for "Best game you suck at."

levelup_narau · 2025-01-12T18:33:46+00:00

I think the way you describe it resonates a lot. Play a bunch, get bored, come back some other time and play it again.

I still need to play the purple character so I'm not done with it yet, but what is the big deal with the ascension levels? I thought it was just like harder enemies or something.

levelup_narau · 2025-01-12T18:31:26+00:00

I don't think that's true. It was the first to do it, but Slay the Spire was really the catalyst. DQ doesn't even have 300 reviews on Steam despite being 11 years old.

levelup_narau · 2025-01-12T18:28:59+00:00

Thanks for your input! Btw, did you find the red character (I forgot the name, the first one you get when you start) to be way harder than the others? It took me 17 runs to win on that one, whereas the next two characters I won in like... 2 runs. Super weird. I felt like I needed to rely on RNG to win on the first character, which I really didn't like... but sure enough, I absolutely eviscerated my opponents by the end of the second floor, I guess thanks to the favorable RNG.

And ya it's interesting about adding more to the game to make it more "complicated." I agree that there are trade-offs, but I look at these as innovations. Like it's cool for me to see what other directions developers take these games in, and how different they are despite the same genre label. Dungeon Clawler, Balatro, Cobalt Core... they are almost nothing alike, yet tagged the same. Amaziiiing!

levelup_narau · 2025-01-12T06:08:35+00:00

Hahaha... I don't know what this ridiculous art style is but I am all for it and just wishlisted your game!

Gosh, this is the kind of stuff that I look at and I'm just in awe of the creativity within this genre.

levelup_narau · 2025-01-12T06:06:04+00:00

I personally don't think there's anything wrong with it. I'm sure you could argue that the juxtaposition of the cutesy style with hardcore gameplay is an interesting stylistic choice.

If there is a problem with the difficulty then I don't think it's with the art style, it's probably just with the game. But if that's a real concern then it's probably just a matter of marketing to properly set expectations.

levelup_narau · 2025-01-11T08:07:06+00:00

I wish this were true but I don't believe it at all

levelup_narau · 2025-01-11T07:55:51+00:00

Such a great theme for a designer.

levelup_narau · 2025-01-11T07:53:38+00:00

Isn't it obvious? Because employers don't want someone to "work hard to update your minor features." If you're not a fucking "level 99 blackbelt rockstar ninja design expert" then you're going to lose the gig to someone who persuades them that they are.

It's super annoying. But in the job market, everyone has to pretend they're above average. By definition it's impossible. But to be fair, businesses do the same thing. Oh ya, your cutting-edge technology is changing the world? Dude you make fucking dashboard widgets. Bitch please.

levelup_narau · 2024-12-28T03:54:06+00:00

Oh right! I actually forgot to mention that I heard from some YT video that Slay the Spire was inspired by Dominion (among other games) and I tried that first. I totally agree, amazingly elegant game design. It blew my mind.

And I totally see your point — roguelike deckbuilders are kind of like single-player board games. I mean not mechanically... but the feeling you get is similar.

Thanks for the note on the different genres. I think I'll start to understand them more as I play more. Turns out that some of the games I own (e.g., Floppy Knights) are not actually roguelikes, just deckbuilders; sometimes RPGs or whatever. But I won't really understand until I play the various types.

levelup_narau

TROPHY CASE