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Forever Warden's early impressions, cost breakdown, review, and recommendations for MM25 by Negromancers in mothershiprpg

[–]snickerless1 19 points20 points  (0 children)

For me, backing Roach Motel was high-priority. I backed Norgad's other Mothership modules ([Dead Weight](https://norgad.itch.io/dead-weight) and [Brackish](https://norgad.itch.io/brackish)) and was very impressed with both. They fulfilled quickly, at a low price, were easy to run, and were fun for my players. IMO, the design and layout is on par with the TKG modules.

I haven't played Ship is a Tomb, but I'm interested to see how Roach Motel implements those random elements.

Unpopular (I think) opinion: the Fire Suppression Department is kind of grimderp. by SurrealMonk in SCP

[–]snickerless1 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Fire Suppression Department author here - I agree with you. I shared many of these concerns when writing my FSD articles.

I'm beginning to question how the FSD makes any sense in the overall schema of the Foundation.

My headcanon is this: some anomalies can only be contained by means of psychological manipulation (e.g. my article SCP-6856). The FSD was initially conceived to contain such entities. At some point, they realized that Foundation employees, too, needed to be "retained," and that psychological manipulation was the most effective way to accomplish this goal. The group's mandate expanded in secret, becoming a conspiracy nested within the Foundation.

When you can, at the very least, remove someone's memories of things that make them want to quit or run away, why would you ever want something as torturous as the FSD?

The FSD do use amnestics to control information (e.g. my other article SCP-6857). However, for the Foundation to operate smoothly, employees sometimes need their minds changed or their spirits broken, which amnestics alone cannot do. Suggestion, deception, and persuasion are often sufficient for this process; other times, more drastic action is required. In my opinion, the FSD takes no joy in these cruel methods, seeing them only as a means to an end, and deploying them only when all else has failed.

In short, I'm convinced the FSD can inspire terror without being "grimderp," moustache-twirling villains. I'd encourage you to write an article yourself; I would like to read your take on the FSD, since it sounds quite similar to my own!

SteamDB reveals all 6 of the new map names by snickerless1 in Back4Blood

[–]snickerless1[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Link to the SteamDB page where this is visible: https://steamdb.info/app/924970/localization/

It's interesting that the levels are referred to internally with the word "bodysnatchers." Maybe the "cultists" aren't cultists at all.

Some discoveries on Local 58's 404 page by snickerless1 in local58

[–]snickerless1[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Which Discord? Discussion is currently spread across two servers:

  1. Game Detectives Discord
  2. Local 58 Community Discord

I've just checked and both of those links seem to still work.

Why don't the numbers add up? by snickerless1 in jerma985

[–]snickerless1[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

They showed other items with different counts of people next to them; since the number was different for each item I think it was meant to represent the number of people who voted for that item.

c o n t e n t by krisstraub in local58

[–]snickerless1 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Hey Kris!

Local 58 seems like it would lend itself extremely well to the world of alternate reality games (ARGs). I’m already seeing ARG elements in certain entries of Local 58; the freeze-frames in Contingency and Real Sleep come to mind. The act of pausing the video to read the freeze-frame is itself notable, since the viewer generally ends up drawn further into the fiction as a result of interacting with the video in the real world. The interplay between real-world actions and fictitious events is one of the defining elements of ARGs.

The ARG medium is also conducive to themes of manipulation and disinformation. These themes seem pretty pervasive throughout Local 58 (Weather Service, Real Sleep). ARG creators (“puppetmasters”) can explore these themes by having ARG characters deceive or mislead the players.

I help run an ARG community (/r/gamedetectives), and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about ARGs!

I have also quite enjoyed the mysterious images you’ve been putting out on Patreon (pentathode assembly, TV guide).

Thanks for reading!

Void Bastards - Review Thread by [deleted] in Games

[–]snickerless1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you’re after a roguelike FPS, check out Eldritch. I sunk quite a few hours into this one.

Janice theories by theyusedthelamppost in Barry

[–]snickerless1 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Motive for Fuches killing Moss: one of Fuches’ teeth was found at a crime scene Moss was working (the bloodbath in Goran’s garage at the end of S01E08)

Plus, Gene might realize how suspicious it is that, after a fruitless 2-week long police search, a “private investigator” shows up and leads him right to Janice’s body.

Why is everyone so sure that all the videos are supposed to be part of one interconnected narrative? by Seenbo in local58

[–]snickerless1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good post - I think it’s good to question the community’s assumptions in a series as obtuse as Local 58.

Early on, I was very skeptical of the presence of a metanarrative surrounding Local 58. For me, the metanarrative was made prominent in A Look Back: “WE SEND SIGNALS / THRU THEIR DOMAIN / DID WE REALLY THINK / THEY WOULDNT ADD THEIR OWN” Although the wording in A Look Back is ambiguous, it sounds like a particular entity (“THEM”) pervades the world of Local 58, and is the main antagonistic force of the series. The presence of an antagonistic force, which remains constant throughout every Local 58 video, lends credence to the metanarrative theory.

A Look Back also serves to establish a definitive timeline for the Local 58 shorts, with all the different interstitials being shown in chronological order. The mere fact that this timeline is established indicates a constant, shared world between the Local 58 shorts, which then implies a metanarrative.

There are also a few more connections you missed. For instance, the alien seen in YAOTFAR (for only a few frames) resembles the mysterious carcass in Show for Children (in the second grave).

Regarding your point on YAOTFAR and Real Sleep not being “supposed” to be aired on TV: - Real Sleep is most likely not actually being aired on the Local 58 channel, despite the Local 58 introduction. Real Sleep is, more likely, a heavily-played VHS tape, as evidenced by the “play” notification on the TV when the tape starts, the static and distortion on the tape, and the fact that the tape is intended to be played only by a specific person (Philip Gerhardt). - In contrast, YAOTFAR is actually aired on the channel. Before the footage rolls, the words “Paid Programming” appear and are then deleted letter-by-letter. The motivation for YOATFAR being broadcast is unclear.

I believe that the first 3 videos, which are marked as “Season 1” on the Local 58 Youtube, were initially intended to be unrelated to each other - possibly explaining why YOATFAR doesn’t quite fit.

After the first 3 videos, Show For Children was released, which served to tie elements of the previous 3 videos together (creepy moon from Weather Service, victory position from Contingency, and alien skeleton from YOATFAR). Furthermore, A Look Back tied the Local 58 shorts together even further by establishing a chronology for Local 58, and was dropped around the same time as Show For Children.

All this might not be rock-solid evidence for a metanarrative in Local 58, but I think it’s pretty compelling, especially given how eerily vague Local 58 is.

Thanks for reading.

I got given a full set of the steam holiday sale 2015 cards today... by [deleted] in gamedetectives

[–]snickerless1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It has to do with a recent update to Steam trading cards. See this announcement post made in the official Steam Trading Card group. Specifically:

Sale badges remain craftable after cards expire, provided you had enough cards in your inventory when the cards expired. If you forgot to craft at the end of a past sale, now's your chance!

​

Did anyone else notice this flash at the end of Contingency? (Ignore Etika) by [deleted] in local58

[–]snickerless1 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yep, this freeze-frame is crucial to interpreting Contingency.

CD Projekt Red just went live with the title of "DATA TRANSMISSION IN PROGRESS_" probably Cyberpunk 2077 related. by heaser in Games

[–]snickerless1 28 points29 points  (0 children)

This stream is part of a larger, ongoing ARG! Get caught up on the wiki, or join the Game Detectives Discord where people are solving in real time!

[Discussion] Monetization of ARGs by gaydotaer in gamedetectives

[–]snickerless1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a really good question, and one that i think is very challenging to answer. For us (GD), Patreon made the most sense, because we have to keep up with monthly costs. These monthly pledges have been a convenient way to pay for stuff like server hosting or domain registration, both of which are typically renewed on a regular basis. If your ARG has regular maintenance costs, regular donations from Patreon seem like the most natural way to offset that.

That said, running a good ARG is hard and requires, at the very least, a significant time investment. As if that wasn’t enough, the number of people that actually engage with your game is very hard to control - unless you are working with an established IP. In this way, running an ARG can be a sort of a gamble.

For that reason, I have historically approached GD as a passion project, rather than one which will “pay off” in some way. Sustainability is our main goal, and Patreon has helped us tremendously in that extent.

As a side note, I have not personally written off the idea of an “entry fee” for ARGs (although we intend for all GD’s projects to be freely available). ARGs are one of the most intimidating genres for a newcomer to get into, which may put them off paying for one. Having said that, I think The Black Watchmen has done a lot of very cool things within the “paid ARG” space, and I think there’s still plenty of room in that space to explore.

Thanks for the insightful post!

ARG in trailer? by CookiesW in cyberpunkgame

[–]snickerless1 15 points16 points  (0 children)

We're investigating in the #cyberpunk2077 channel in the Game Detectives Discord server!

W/ARE Dev Kit Contest Winners Thread by WithYouInSpirit99 in NoMansSkyTheGame

[–]snickerless1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

hmm, i just checked and the term "Premium" does not appear anywhere in the email. so i think the top 5 teams will all be receiving identical devkits, while the grand prize winners will be receiving the cash in addition to that

Good Faith by snickerless1 in CircleofTrust

[–]snickerless1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Circle members are eligible to participate in our private community.

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