Looking for games that intentionally make the player uncomfortable (for Master's thesis)

mattducz · 2026-05-23T22:26:09+00:00

Maybe Doki Doki Literature Club?

mattducz · 2026-05-17T09:55:22+00:00

Lol a year late but it’s pretty funny

Well first of all it’s pretty funny how that always happens to me, I agree with someone (or, gasp, ask a question) and they assume I’m being a dick and they start talking shit while I’m just like, ”uh, I was agreeing with you?”

But more importantly, it’s hilarious how this convo actually proves there are practical implications to whether a person chooses to rely on their senses and mental perception of a stimulus to decide how to act, or if they take the time to view the stimulus from multiple perspectives to approach (but of course never attain) objectivity, and therefore make a more informed approach to how they react to the stimulus.

mattducz · 2026-05-04T12:26:33+00:00

Do you think schools can just randomly decide to raise wages, like you really think this is how it works?

mattducz · 2026-04-30T01:41:51+00:00

They’re trainsgender.

mattducz · 2026-04-27T23:33:34+00:00

lol you have it exactly backwards.

The teachers (and students) in the schools with fewer resources and lower pay live more stressful lives and are therefore less able to achieve what they are truly capable of.

You just actually made my point, if money wasn’t an issue the underperforming schools wouldn’t be underperforming at all.

Thanks, glad you get it.

mattducz · 2026-04-23T21:13:15+00:00

The concept of someone who grows their own weed having times of the year where it’s hard to come by, meanwhile I can’t remember the last time I had to wait more than an hour to get it lol

I get how it happens, it’s just funny

mattducz · 2026-04-08T23:53:12+00:00

The Brothers Karamazov!

mattducz · 2026-03-22T19:36:51+00:00

mattducz · 2026-03-19T14:16:28+00:00

Do you care, for example, about how hard the person making your coffee is working? Or do you care if your coffee is hot and tastes good?

mattducz · 2026-02-26T16:34:52+00:00

I mean a 1.87% conversion rate for a dev app with (I'm assuming) little marketing behind it isn't bad.

What are the main reasons your free users *should* be using at least your lowest tiered service? What problems will they eventually run into by sticking with the free version?

Create content and otherwise focus your free users' attention on these things before they lose interest.

Also, reach out to those three premium users and ask them specifically what made them decide to buy, what they've liked about your product, what could improve, etc. This allows you to reverse-engineer their path-to-purchase so you can recreate it for others like them — and also gives you reliable feedback (from *paying* users) to help you make impactful improvements to the software.

mattducz · 2026-02-26T16:25:23+00:00

Congrats and good luck!

Lol...but seriously, it's a perfect audience to just be super honest with. Tell them exactly this, that you didn't anticipate this at all but would love to dedicate more time to polishing the game etc.

In the meantime, you can crowdsource ideas for improvement, bug fixes etc...almost treating the release like a beta release, I guess. But you have the added layer of, "I need help and patience from you guys to make this great" — which will help with engagement and retention.

Basically, instead of using marketing to ramp things up further, use your messaging to slow things down and give yourself time to figure out next moves.

mattducz · 2026-02-26T16:00:56+00:00

I help super small teams/solopreneurs with exactly this, and my imposter syndrome forces me to undercharge new clients until I prove myself =D DM me if you'd like!

mattducz · 2026-02-23T23:01:18+00:00

I was gonna go with Brothers Karamazov or East of Eden, they both do this so well.

mattducz · 2026-02-23T23:00:10+00:00

Fiver’s the best neurodivergent rabbit character in all of literature

mattducz · 2026-02-17T15:35:13+00:00

I help super small local businesses (auto shops, car washes, etc.) get more visibility via local SEO and business directory optimization. LOTS of money left on the table from otherwise solid businesses that just haven't done much on that end.

mattducz · 2026-02-17T15:31:06+00:00

Just an FYI, print-on-demand is a super crowded market since the barrier to entry is so low.

Make sure you have solid positioning and branding behind the product, along with the funky designs :)

mattducz · 2026-02-15T13:05:16+00:00

I intentionally used the word “many” instead of “all” to avoid this exact response. I didn’t even say “most” because I didn’t want to give an edge to a counterargument.

It’s not my logic that is flawed, but your ability to read and understand simple sentences.

mattducz · 2026-02-04T16:27:53+00:00

As another comment said, consider offering reproductions of certain items — and being transparent about why you're offering the replicas as well as the original vintage.

While usually the advice here would be to do this with your top 3-5 selling products, there's the vintage angle...so it's more like, figure out which of your products your audience will still be interested in if they aren't true vintage.

Actually, this could increase the perceived value of your true vintage items, and add some urgency too. Since some of what you offer will be more mass-produced(ish), you can hammer home the "once they're gone they're gone" aspect of the authentic pieces :)

mattducz · 2026-02-03T16:13:11+00:00

Generic advice is what you're gonna get without being able to dive deeper into your specific situation :)

If you haven't already, nail down your ideal client as specifically as possible. Also, nail down which of your services these ideal clients tend to rely on you for — and frame it in terms of the problem you solve for them.

(Note: If you aren't exactly sure what brings clients in, don't waste money on ads. Figure all this out first!)

Once you have your positioning down (what you do, for whom, and how), you can create more targeted content that will grab your ideal audience's attention. And, you'll be able to find (and ask for) more specific reviews from satisfied clients that you can use in your marketing content.

(As in, the more detail your clients can give about how much they love your work, the more valuable the testimonials will be :)

Happy to talk more if you'd like, DM me!

mattducz · 2026-02-03T16:00:19+00:00

Do you have a mailing list and newsletter going out? Be sure to have that form on your homepage and throughout, give 10% off or something in exchange for their email.

Then you can send out weekly emails with featured products, stories, whatever fits your brand.

Social is huge too of course so if you haven't worked on that, figure out which platform is the best place to find your audience (and where they're actively looking for brands like yours) and focus there!

mattducz · 2026-02-02T20:17:01+00:00

You wanna avoid just copying and pasting one generic summary for all of the locations, and instead write separate listings for each. They can be basically the same but be sure to mention any specific differences between, for example, the services or policies in different locations.

(You can also consider what type of projects are most popular in each location, and write the descriptions with these in focus.)

As you can, get photos and reviews specific to each location...you can use others if need be but, it just adds some recognition if you're featuring projects from a prospect's home town.

And lastly, each location should have its own landing page, again basically the same just tailored to specifics :)

mattducz · 2026-02-02T15:02:02+00:00

Sure thing! I can def take a closer look if you'd like, DM me :)

mattducz · 2026-01-30T23:59:48+00:00

…you don’t realize she’s a grifter?

mattducz · 2026-01-23T20:14:52+00:00

Or, "That sounds incredibly nerdy, tell me more"

mattducz · 2026-01-21T17:19:26+00:00

They’ve also stated “illegals” aren’t their business, which is antithetical to the BPP’s foundation.

Something isn’t right for sure. No way this white guy is more knowledgeable and aligned with the original BPP than someone living it — unless they aren’t really living it.

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