#and this is not the same as like actual tailored criticism of a player or w/e i mean people whose knee jerk response is ACTUALLY i hate

[teekays]

there's a subset of hockey fans who seemingly have conflated critical enjoyment of something with constant hating on everything and everyone involved, like just ALWAYS doing the "these guys are dumb, boring losers am i right" shtick across the board no nuance to the point where it's like. okay what DO you like about it. are you enjoying your time spent engaging with hockey. no one is making you do it!!! idk everyone can do whatever they want but i just find it bizarre

[charaznablescanontoyota]

"marn i missed sgdq 2024 what should i watch"

hi i decided i'm doing another one of these. it's been a minute. this past week was summer games done quick, an annual speedrunning marathon raising money for doctors without borders and also a great way to get into watching speedrunning. a lot of their content is tailored towards being both clearly explained and fun to watch for an audience outside the speedrun community, so you can jump in with basically no knowledge besides “this person is gonna play a game really fast”.

gdq has the full week's worth of vods up as a playlist on their channel, but here are some runs that i personally think you should check out:

ken griffy jr presents mlb by peanut butter the dog: look it's a dog playing baseball. i don't know what else to tell you.

the entire silly block: speedrunners get up way too early in the morning/late at night to play games that feel like a fever dream. some of the commentators are going on 24 hours of no sleep. it's brilliant. my personal highlights of what i've seen so far are stuart little 2, mad panic coaster, city bus simulator race, and the golf it wrong hole only race that the players dressed up as golfers for

alan wake 2 alan%: alan wake clips through walls and generally has a bad time while a bunch of gamers call him a sopping wet catboy. the runner for this one is really charismatic and it's very funny to see staff rushing to open up the pit as soon as we sing starts (yes they do the dance of course they do the dance). i just love joyful runs of horror games man

super mario 64 blindfolded randomizer: what if you played mario 64 blindfolded and also the stars were in completely random locations. and also you had to do it very very fast.

kingdom hearts 2 critical any%: every kh2 speedrun i've ever seen is a work of art and this one is no different. some of the boss fights go down so fast you will literally miss them if you look away for a minute. and also two of my favorite runners are on couch commentary!

balatro showcase: genuinely made me rethink how i'm playing some of the balatro decks. also great commentary and just fun all around despite (or perhaps partially because of) the absolute struggle session going on with plasma deck in the beginning

super mario world kaizo relay: kaizo is a shorthand term for a game hacked to its absolute limits of difficulty that often requires strict precision of movement and can punish the player for thinking they're smarter than it. in this segment, two teams of 4 very very good mario runners race to complete 8 kaizo levels they've never seen before in their lives

mario maker 2 troll level race: i always like the mario maker races for the same reason i like the kaizo relays. i love watching two speedrunners thrown blindly into the shit have to make up strategies on the fly via trial and error (and error, and error, and error, and...)

kirby air ride race: two high level kirby air ride speedrunners race for an actual physical title belt. the trash talk game happening here is of the insane variety that only two very skilled people who truly respect each others' talents at their game of choice can provide

kaizo mario galaxy: what if mario galaxy hated you even more than usual and would stop at nothing to kill you. also most of the commentators are only familiar with the vanilla game and their reactions to the added-in bullshit are hysterical

tony hawk pro skater 1, 2, 3, and 4: i fell asleep watching this and woke up in a cold sweat to the sound of a bunch of people singing superman by goldfinger. good run

super mario rpg remake: this was the finale block and it's just great to see a bunch of people who really really love the original mario rpg get to hang out and talk about how good it is and also watch a world record level player absolutely stunt on the game

halo 3 four-player co-op legendary: dudes rock

[lucrezianoin]

Welcome to my Wyllstarion propaganda! (text version)

This is a text version of my powerpoint Wyllstarion propaganda that you can find here. Each section is one of the slides.

The thread of wyllstarion video mentioned in the slides is here on twitter, plus the Wyll-about-Cazador-vid is here. I will post a new compilation of all their scenes soon here.

Currently if you want to watch a Wyllstarion playthrough you can check my bilibili, but I will reupload all with timestamps on youtube.

Also yes, Wyll does call his romanced player-partner "my star" and if that is not perfect for Astarion I do not know what is. And Astarion mentions "sweet" so many times (sweet = Wyll, but he also reveals he likes sweets) and Wyll deserves someone who is enamoured with his kindness.

(throws wyllstarion fanvideos at you)

Here is the text:

WYLL RAVENGARD Babe of Frontiers, heart of the gate Loves Baldur‘s Gate Hero at heart (and actual hero) Hates gods, as they never help people who are suffering Turns into a monster Has a whole thing about monsters who prey on innocent and how monsters populate BG looking like simple humans (politicians) Has to follow the orders of Mizora, who treats him like dog and calls him pup – he did what he could do to use these powers for good

ASTARION Mr Vampire Loves Baldur‘s Gate (same comment on it as Wyll, during House of Hope) Hates heroes (because no hero ever saved him) Hates gods Has a whole thing about the fear of turning into a monster Knows far too well the monstrous humans of BG (comments on some of his victims hurting him) Is Cazador‘s spawns and he is controlled by him, there is a whole dog imagery there (kennels etc.)

ASTARION ABOUT WYLL (All of these lines are directly from the game, my notes are in parenthesis. All the lines can be heard at this video thread on my twitter, the one I linked at the start of this post)

(Shadowheart asking Astarion whom he would drink from) Astarion: Ah! Wyll. No question. He's strong, fast, and righteous. I'm salivating already.

Astarion: Take Wyll, for example. A man of the people, very palatble, like a sweet cider.

Astarion: Wyll's the sort of prince-type I would have once dreamed of marrying. When I was about thirteen.

Astarion: Interesting. I always thought he'd taste a little too sweet. (keep in mind that playing as Astarion you can tell Halsin you have a sweet tooth, also Astarion will say „Wyll, get up you sweet fool!“ to a Wyll fallen in battle)

(Asking Astarion to be in OT3 with Wyll. For all the other characters but Halsin he says no, but for Wyll he says „Wyll would not want to“) Astarion: Come now, Wyll won't agree to that. He's stuck in the past, and that's coming from a vampire.

Astarion: You're looking well. It seems Grand Duking suits you.

(The next ones are Astarion about Wyll's horns:) Astarion: For what it's worth, I rather like your new look. It adds a sense of drama - a little more flair.

Astarion: Oh, you get used to them quickly enough. At this point you'd look strange without them. Besides, people care more about the good you've done than how you need your hats tailored. And you have done an awful lot of good, Wyll. During our time together and every day since then.

Astarion: Poor Wyll gave you the benefit of the doubt and it earned him a set of horns. Not that they don't look flattering on him. Almost everything does. Astarion: They do! Honestly, that man…

WYLL ABOUT ASTARION (Again my comments are in parenthesis)

(Astarion: Critical fail at charisma check to tell Wyll he is a vampire Wyll: luckily I am into that)

Wyll: A lesser man might sever that well-coiffed head from your neck. Good thing for you I'm not such a man. Besides - not even the Blade of Frontiers is immune to your not-inconsiderable charms.

Wyll: I'm half-inclined to sever it now, if only for your endless insolence. Good thing for you you're so godsdamned charming.

Wyll: Oh, the lad's quite the tease. But he's a charming sort of cad - well, most of the time.

Wyll: Astarion has a certain swagger, don't you find? An interesting fellow. Nice hair, to boot.

Wyll: The charming rapscallion that he is.

Wyll: I've missed you too. And your cunning tongue, of course. And did I mention your hair? I might have missed that most of all.

Wyll: By the stars' light and the moon's glow, it's so good to see you, Astarion.

Wyll: Oh, Astarion. I bet I'd find a touch of sweet under all that sour, if I digged deep enough.

(Wyll: Of course I should have seen Astarion was a vampire, he was so hot) Wyll: Elegant bearing, saucy voice - I should've seen it, the signs were all there.

THERE IS MORE! (For this section it is also all quotes and my comments only in parenthesis)

(Wyll about Cazador:) Wyll: Deep shadows have long haunted Baldur's Gate - and few loom so large as Cazador's. But I also know you can find light if you know where to look. And this I promise: you can always look to me.

(Astarion would love to marry a Grand Duke) Astarion: Power and prestige? Hail the Grand Duke indeed.

(The random outing they organize right in front of the others:) Astarion: Grand Duke Wyll Ravengard. Tell me, should I genuflect or merely bow? Wyll: Forget the bowing. I'd rather share a cheap brown ale and a hunk of fresh venison. You in? Astarion: I'll pass on the ale, but the company sounds delightful.

EVEN MORE Astarion‘s spawn ending is him becoming a hero adventurer – and what is Wyll‘s role, his life?? Being a hero! The Blade!

Astarion also asks Wyll twice about Cazador/killing vampires

Wyll would be the perfect target for his seductions because he is powerful (son of Grand Duke), he knows how to kill monsters, he is a hero

Wyll calls his romance partner „MY STAR“

Furthermore…. Astarion‘s fail-charm canonically works on Wyll!

EXHIBIT B Their romance scenes (the honest ones, in the case of Astarion, so skipping act 1) ALL involve hands. Wyll offering a hand (Wyll always offer, never take) and taking hands/offering hands for Astarion.

(The slides show 6 pictures from their romances: the dance where Wyll offers Astarion his hand, another one from the dance where he takes his hand; Wyll's hand offered kiss; Astarion's act 3 romance scene at the cemetery where he takes Wyll's hand; two pictures from Astarion's act 2 post-Araj scene where he takes Wyll's hands) (Not in the slides but Wyll not has another kiss where he offers the player his hand)

EXHIBIT C Think about the possibilities!!

Astarion being courted for the first time!!

Also Wyll having a thing for his nice cute monster romances and being seduced by a monster? Yes!

If Wyll is a Duke, Astarion can become one of the most powerful people in the city and he would love that

Also, Ascended Astarion and Duke Wyll have this WILD dynamic (I did not post the quotes here but check thread of videos)

Think about the comedic potential of Astarion and Ulder Ravengard interacting

And the angsty potential of Astarion becoming the husband of a Grand Duke and being finally in a position over who knows how many SCUMBAGS mistreated him

Think about Astarion‘s feralness and selfishness and how Wyll could actually benefit for being a bit more selfish

Astarion would never let Ulder forget what he did

And Wyll absolute need to BE NEEDED meeting Astarion‘s need to find a protector

There is so much more! I finished my time!

[lumi-klovstad-games]

Hey, 343. We call "expanded universes" that for a reason.

It also hurt for those of us who actually LIKED Fireteam Osiris and saw potential in the characters. Halo 5 sets up a neat "Brothers in Arms" relationship between Chief and Locke like Chief had with Arbiter in 3, maybe even a little bit of Master & Apprentice, with Locke standing to learn a lot in the days and battles to come from the much older and more experienced Master Chief. But then the next game comes and... wait where is everyone? 343 wants me to buy more books?! A lot of fans already had to buy half a library's worth just to grock Halo 5, and here's 343 repeating that mistake again!

The Halo games really have just become a means by which 343 plugs the Halo novels. "There's a book that explains that" is the constant refrain I hear these days. No. I WANT THE GAMES TO EXPLAIN IT. The games are the only thing literally EVERY Halo fan buys. EXPLAIN IT IN THE GAMES.

I will give the audio logs in Infinite SOME credit for answering SOME questions I had, but mostly it was used to introduce irrelevant subplots that actually WOULD be better as a novel. Escharum doing his damnedest to keep the ragtag and ill-fitting family that are the Banished together with the disappearance of his protege Atriox, a warrior who was like a son to him, knowing full well he doesn't have Atriox's charisma and he can't maintain the cult of personality Atriox cultivated at the core of the Banished in the same way? Or a fireteam of Spartans, feeling lost and surviving without any real support, realizing that they'll likely die one way or another, deciding to risk it all on a single desperate all-or-nothing Hail Mary attempt at cutting the head off the snake, only to fail, with their only monument being their broken bodies, and their armor that Chief has to scavenge for gear with little if any knowledge of what happened to his comrades? These are plots TAILOR MADE for a spin-off novel. But instead a HUGE CHUNK of the total audio logs gets devoted to this kind of stuff, instead of explaining where Blue and Osiris are, if they survived, and setting up a reunion in a later story — you know, something actually relevant to Master Chief's story that connects with the plot players are already familiar with.

I get that 343 wants the Halo Universe to feel like this big connected thing while keeping the "mysterious" feel of the original trilogy, but for 343 that takes the form of locking players out of the loop: deny the players critical information necessary to understanding characters or the plot (even if the players can operate without that information) and then demand they cough up $8-15 a pop to gain access to that information (or just wait until Halopedia editors inevitably do). What they keep forgetting is that the original trilogy told players everything they needed to know as the game naturally progressed. The Bungie novels were interesting and sundry, but nothing they related was essential — not even The Fall of Reach (often considered the most important book in the expanded universe) was necessary to understand anything in the games proper. And then, when Bungie actually made a GAME about Reach, they made a point to showcase a separate cast of characters on a different part of the planet, playing a different role in the battle, with an entirely different team dynamic, all for the express purpose of keeping it so that the book wasn't essential to understanding what was going on. That's the secret that 343 just doesn't get: keep the books interesting, but keep them at arm's length — the GAME should tell the players everything they need to know.

More than game mechanics or graphics, if 343 can learn to tell stories in the games the way Bungie did, and learn to keep the books away from the games, then that alone will MASSIVELY improve Halo's appeal and bring back much of what was lost.

[meili-sheep]

diluc ships reactions to him stealing/wearing their clothing?

So let me repeat my Diluc body type headcanons.

He's about 5'10 with a very Dorito shape, so broad shoulders, and a tiny waist. So he honestly does need some tailoring as a lot of general-sized clothing is pretty ill-fitting on him.

I think he's also pretty sensitive to clothing. And he has one of those closets that's 90 thousand of the same 3 items. The only way he gets variation is Adelinde. So borrowing isn't really something he does on purpose. But the kicker is. Diluc in the morning is bearly functioning so you know things happen.

I might also include the headcanon of other's body types here too

Albedo

So Albedo is a lot smaller and thinner than Diluc. Much more rectangle-shaped. So Diluc can't wear t a lot of Albedo's things. That doesn't mean Albedo doesn't often put his jacket around Diluc. Or that he even got into sewing to make Diluc things. Like, I swear, this guy sewed just to make Diluc his safety gear.

Albedo does have a habit of drawing Diluc. Especially when Diluc is not paying attention. So what ends up happening. is Albedo will lay his coat on Diluc while he naps. Then ends up drawing it.

He has a whole notebook of sleeping Diluc.

Al Haitham

So this is one of the few who is similarly built to Diluc and is either just as broad or broader than Diluc. So Diluc can actually wear Al Haitham's clothes.

And let's be honest, these are two autistic people. And I bet they have similar issues with clothing. So there is probably quite a bit of mutual clothing stealing because they both just don't care and just wear what's comfortable. Al Haitham has also made Diluc a music player and headphones.

Though I do think Al Haitham has a bit of a moment when he sees Diluc in his very, very form-fitting shirt for the first time. He um might buy a few more that are a bit looser just for Diluc to borrow. He doesn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

Ayato

So as a guy who is very proud of his culture and traditions. Seeing Diluc in anything remotely Inazuma fashion. It's a pretty critical hit. And like traditional Inazuma wear is like a major hit on his heart. So sort of by extension of the Diluc in his clothing would be great for him

Problem?

Ayato is a lot slimmer than Diluc.

So nothing is close to fitting. And I think Ayato realized that after one morning when Diluc tried to accidentally put on his shirt and realized his mistake when he couldn't button it. Ayato nearly pulled Diluc back into bed but didn't because of how sleepy Diluc was. He did end up buying a set of clothing similar to his style that fit Diluc just to see it.

Childe

So Childe's still not as broad as Diluc but not as slime as Ayato is. So Diluc actually can nearly get to the top. And Childe loves watching Diluc fumble sleepily around trying to get his shirt to fit. And he really likes how tight it is. And you know, with the strap on Childe's shirt. Certain parts of Diluc get a little accentuated. And Childe would let him walk around like that if he wasn't a pretty jealous person.

But outside of that he pretty frequently puts his jacket over Diluc's shoulder. Mostly when he sees Diluc napping or when he looks cold. He might be jealous but he's also very caring and honestly would give Diluc the shirt off his back.

Eula

So there is a decent size difference between the pair. Though I do think Eula is rather ripped. But something that Diluc noticed a while ago was how they have a similar style of gloves. So while this isn't really cloth stealing, he totally had a pair of gloves made that used Eula's color.

When Eula finally noticed it, he got really remembrance and just muttered something about wanting to match and tried to run away. But she totally wouldn't let him. And as his punishment, he hands to hold her hand.

Itto

Ok, so where this is another situation where Diluc and easily fits, and honestly, it's actually baggy on him. Itto doesn't, um, really where a lot.

He has definitely given Diluc his coat in the rain, not realizing Diluc normally carries an umbrella with him.

Though I think Kuki has tried to get, Itto to wear something more, probably for a trial or something, and Diluc's worn that. And Itto nearly lost it with how cute Diluc looked. He probably got more shirts and things so Diluc could wear them.

Kaveh

So I feel Kaveh is actually the closest to Diluc. Probably a little thinner, but yea. Diluc probably alls perfectly between Kaveh and Diluc. But Kaveh defiantly buys clothing for Diluc... All the time. And he probably steals Diluc's clothing all the time. Diluc has totally lost a jacket or two to Kaveh.

Now we are back to sleep Diluc and image sleep Diluc with Kaveh's very, very open shirt.

Kaveh definitely enjoy it for like .2 seconds until he noticed Diluc starting to leave because NOPE. NOPE. NOPE.

Thoma

Ah, so you know what. Thoma probably smells really nice, and Diluc has absolutely stolen Thoma's little jacket. Because it's just comforting. And when Thoma was looking for his jacket, he found Diluc cuddled up with it. He probably just gave up on the jacket and got a new one.

He probably does make Diluc a lot of hats and scarves too. All of which Diluc loves and wears all the time.

Xiao

So again there is a big size difference between Xiao and diluc. I imagine Xiao has a runner or sprinter's body so thin looking but absolutely ripped. And he doesn't really wear extra layers because I don't imagine he really every gets cool and stuff.

Diluc has given him his jacket before.

And Xiao had to ask around about what he should do with the jacket. He probably still has it not that Diluc minds. And he ended up giving Diluc a nice coat that General Kapisas made that he'd been holding on too.

Zhongli

So Diluc can definitely fit into Zhongli's clothing. But I feel Zhongli wears a particular type of fabric the Diluc hates. It's too smooth and silk, and he feels it catches on his skin. So he hates it. He can barely handle touching Zhongli's clothing sometimes.

But Zhongli being the money spender he is defiant and buys sent of clothing that is comfortable for him and in a style he likes but also Is something Diluc likes. It is his special cuddle outfit. (That Childe paid for)

[devsgames]

Hey, do you have any resources on game design you can recommend? It's easy to find stuff on art, programming, writing, etc., but when it comes to game design it's all a bit blurry. Maybe I'm not looking where I should though.

I'm not 100% sure which type of resource you're referring to so I'm operating under the assumption that you mean more sort of learning resources for game design (as opposed to like, references or whatnot).

Firstly, one of the major problems with game design as 'discipline' is that "Game Design" is a very big and intensely vague blanket term. It's not truly a concrete discipline itself, so it's difficult to teach about the basics of all of game design. Game Designers rarely do one specific thing every time, and a lot of what is done skill-wise is often very abstract ideas like 'problem solving' and 'logical thinking'.

It's why there's studio roles like "combat designer", "AI designer", "systems designer", "level designer" and more all under the "game design" umbrella, and even then these roles might not even be doing the same thing depending on what project they're involved with. A "combat designer" at a studio working on a FPS might be specifically designing player movement while a "combat designer" at a studio working on an RPG might be focusing on something like character skill trees or condition damage types. With so much variation it becomes hard to single out specific resources as universally applicable while still being relevant for learning.

If you're looking to learn something specific about designing games, I find it's usually more effective to seek out first-hand resources based around these specializations that exist within game design and learn how the designers approached their designs, as opposed to learning about 'game design' as an all-encompassing blanket. Seeking out "combat design" or "systems design" to start edging in the right direction - this is an excellent post with an overview of key design roles.

Some of my first places I usually turn to for design stuff are those more tailored towards a wider range of specializations; the GDC vault has free archives with design talks on various Game Design subjects which can help learn more on the process of various game designers operating in their disciplines, and GameDeveloper.com has a Design section for user-submitted blogs and deep dives where you can find similar. If books are your thing, Boss Fight Books often publishes deep dives into specific games, their cultural impacts and design choices around them (the Splunky one was pretty good from my memory). Mileage may vary however as I've heard some are more 'fan appreciation' styled than actual analysis.

I'm sure smarter people than me might have textbook recommendations - unfortunately I have a tiny brain and don't like reading books much. 😔 I also find Game Design a hard subject to read about due to its abstract nature, but that's just me!

Honestly though, I think one of the best ways to learn game design is training your brain by playing lots of games and learn to think critically about the design in them - it helps stretch the design part of your brain and teach you to more actively 'think in design', which will naturally help you learn. This was pretty crucial for my understanding of design when I was struggling to learn how game design worked.

Try this: Sit down and play a game incredibly slowly and just think about everything, especially things you often look past or take for granted (after all, good design is often design you barely notice).

In the game you're playing: How does a player move? Like really how? How far do you push the stick to move? How do objects affect their movement? What alternative movement can they perform? Why? When would they use it? How does it affect them/the world? Why do you think the designer made the movement this way?

In the game you're playing: How does the player's ability work? How long does it last? Why does it work that way/last that long? How do they equip it? What feedback is there for its use? How does it affect the world? Why do you think the designer made that ability this way?

Basically try to reverse engineer the experience and repeat it over and over as you play the game - don't play it for fun, play it for research and you'll likely find a lot of subtlety you never noticed before. Virtually every choice in every game was informed by a conscious design decision (or a conscious production one). You might start to notice patterns and be able to put yourself in the shoes of the designer and understand the decision making process better.

I'd also say - if you make a game, you'll be practising game design, and that's huge. Most designers often learn what they do through doing it on the job or by practising the craft, and it's the easiest way to turn theory and abstract thinking into concrete work. You need to break a few eggs to make an omelette! I think there's a lot of fans who posture as 'critics' because they play games and pick up on some design things, but ultimately have never made a game and don't understand how choices are informed by each other or how these pieces all fall together. There's a huge difference in experience and understanding between critique/theory and practical application, and I think breaking past that barrier always provides a huge wealth of knowledge as a baseline.

Sorry I got rambley, I hope this sorta helps 😆

[mooshs-crack-headcanons]

One personal critique of totk of mine is the Sage abilities

All of them - except Tulin, his is A+++++ I'm so proud of him - they all... kind of suck. They work for their respective dungeons yeah but once you finish them? 😬 The second best I'd have to say is Yunobo's his roll ability is really useful when it comes to cave exploration and depths voyages for rock breaking but then you have Mineru's who is handing for traversal in gloom and lava situations but not at all in combat, Riju's which I only use for when I need emergency extra damage in critical situations and Sidon's the actual fucking worse with his discount Wish dot com Daruks protection and the water slash ability that doesn't hit the opponent 80% of the time.

And then things get even worse when you're running around and the following you and either constantly in your way or constantly spawning and despawning and respawning every five fucking seconds it gets annoying where I only now have Tulin and one other sage to handle whatever situation I'm in and if there is none I'm only traveling with Tulin because he's the best and most reliable, important, all around useful to have and the only time I turn him off is rare situations where I specifically don't want him to kill certain enemies like the rock octarocks that can fully refurbish your weapons because he's THAT GOOD. He's like a little feathery death machine.

Honestly the Sages (except Tulin I CAN'T stress that enough) are such a downgrade game play wise in comparison to the champions in breath of the wild. The champions were all balanced, reliable, and each one important and tailored to each aspect of the overall the the entire time you played:

Revail - focused on vertical traversal, got you places quicker and convenient. Also could be such a life saver to be escape from dire combat situations like you don't know how many times this bird helped me survive guardian encounters. Tulin's ability is a lot like his in a way and serves the same purpose, only sending you horizontal instead of vertical and while I do miss the vertical wind I do get why they made it that way since we have asend now which sort of does the same thing but on a slower, situational scale but I do very much appreciate the horizontal wind and it's also just as helpful.

Daruk - focused on defense, gives you three free hits before enemies can damage you and can absolutely save you life in dire encounters there's not much left to say, it's a fairly simple ability but it's one of the most helpful that will you will use and probably never take off for the entire game the moment you get it. Sidon's is the equivalent of this. It sucks. A lot. Only has one use and you have to walk your way over to his tall lank ass to activate it instead of just pressing a button (we will come back to this point later)

Urbosa - focuses on offense, my God. This is the most overpowered combat focused ability like. Ever. No wonder its the second largest to take to charge. There's so much versatility when it comes to this move, it activates as you charge up an attack you you get that charge move you'd get anyway without it AND an enemy deleting area of effect in such a large radius???? Insane. Riju's is sort of the equivalent but you have to do it with arrows (again and the bullshit walking up to her to physical activating it which I've personally accidentally triggered her ability at least A THOUSAND times when I'm just mashing A to collect stuff) and it's a lot less powerful, which hey I get this one I'm not too mad at being less stronger than the original with just how insane stupid overpowered Urbosa's fury was.

Mipha - health/life, this is the one ability that statistically probably doesn't get used as much as the other three (depending on what kind of player you are 💀) but I'd argue it's literally the most helpful out of the four. It's quite literally you're free fairy in a bottle, your free escape death because your stubborn horse Romeo kicked you off the bridge of Hylia twelve separate times card (true story) If you're stupid plan fails and you get practically one shotted by a lynel it's Mipha whose saving your ass AND SHE EVEN GIVES YOU EXTRA YELLOW HEARTS!!! Mipha is amazing and it sucks totk didn't give an equivalent ability because it would've personally helped me during SO MANY frustrating moments in my first initial playthrough it's such a same.

My point here is the champions abilities were all as equally useful and balanced, as you unlock them you use them all playthrough and never really stop using them and they naturally become a part of the game play loop and it's nice. The Sages aren't like that besides Tulin and a occasionally Yunobo and Mineru they're just... meh. Forgettable. AND THE WAY YOU ACTIVATE THEM??? THE ACTUAL FUCKING WORST. In breath of the wild the champions abilities were so easy and each of them had a dedicated button to hold down (except Mipha's whose activates automatically the second you reach zero hearts) and it was all so convenient. There's no reason the Sages powers should work the way they do, having to run over to them mostly during battle to press a for the ability to come up only for them to run away from the the mere second you need them and just keep doing so again usually in battle when you NEED them (I'm looking directly at you Sidon) AND GOD FORBID YOU TRY AND PICK UP A GROUP OF ITEMS LYING ON THE GOUND. It's all so miserable. There's no reason Nintendo thought it'd be better than convenient dedicated button presses like the last game there was no reason!! But at least and not shockingly Tulin proves again to be the best sage and his ability has it easy to use and the prompt automatically pops up when you pull out the paraglider, when you're the most likely to use it anyway.

I hope but highly doubt in enviable story DLC that we get enhanced versions of the sage abilities like botw did and maybe, just maybe the option to toggle button use for them. I feel like that would help even just a little bit.

I don't know how to end this post but look at him. I'm proud of him:

Best Sage :)

[leam1983]

Starfield - Impressions

Once you rip off the "No Man's Sky does it better" Band-Aid, you're left with something that's competently assembled at the barest possible level, that still packs an appreciable amount of Bethesda jank and that seriously hearkens back to BioWare's Mass Effect series, in reducing outer space to a cumbersome menu system.

Still, they've picked some good elements to steal, starting with NMS' organic focus on discovery. Planetside maps aren't gigantic, but having five or six markers with several hundred meters in-between each of them makes for an appreciable bit of real-estate. Each generated or tailored map feels like it's about the size of one of Skyrim's bespoke biomes, although you'll quickly pick up on the proc-gen aspects of it all. The same bases get repeated, the same clusters of rocks, debris and resource nodes are spaced apart with just enough randomness to break the illusion of a repeating pattern - it basically feels like No Man's Sky pared itself down and put on its best dess.

The plot has a middling start and seems a little too eager to shuttle you off into the vastness of space. Five minutes into your stint as a space miner, and you're off to bigger and better things, with a super cereal express for sure order to head to New Atlantis straightaway.

As is typical of a Bethsoft game, you can disregard this entirely and get yourself over-levelled for your meeting with Constellation's weirdly financially independent luminaries. The setup doesn't make much sense, as if Alan Quartermain could just kick your door down and issue you the Call to Adventure because you happened to find a weird nickel in your dryer's lint trap. It feels like they tried to respond to criticisms involving overly-involved intros and wanted to make sure you'd effectively be boots-on-the-ground within fifteen minutes.

Otherwise, I don't get the uproar about Alanah Pearce's findings in regards to outer space. GameBryo Creation Engine delineates and pens down player spaces by default; it really isn't surprising that space would actually be its own connection of cells linked by a menu system. It also isn't surprising that planets are basically 2D art assets and nothing more. To truly deliver on Starfield's promise, Bethsoft would have to abandon their roots, rethink their entire engine pipeline and pivot to something like UE5. I doubt that's in the cards, honestly.

As for the issue of pronouns... If anyone's biggest concern in life is the absolute fucking certainty that they receive their appropriate particulate in all facets of life, then they're not fit for public spaces to begin with. Tell me to call you Mx. and I'll call you Mx. Tell me to call you Galactic Space Waffle and I'll do exactly that. It's basic fucking respect. Getting to choose pronouns and body types really isn't an issue for me.

As for everything else, there's already a shit-ton of mods on offer.

[our-digital-business-world]

Is SEO Really Dead with the Rise of AI Marketing?

Is SEO Really Dead with the Rise of AI Marketing?

If you’ve been following the chatter in the digital marketing world, you’ve probably heard the whispers—“SEO is dead.” This time, the blame goes to AI marketing. It’s everywhere, and it seems like it can do just about everything. But is SEO really on its way out? Not quite. The truth is, as long as search engines (looking at you, Google) are calling the shots, SEO is here to stay. Let’s dig into why that’s the case.

1. Google’s Still the Boss

Let’s face it—Google runs the show. Think about how often you turn to Google for answers, restaurant recommendations, or that weird thing you were trying to describe last week. With billions of searches happening daily, Google remains the top player in the search game.

Sure, AI tools are popping up everywhere, but they still need to play by Google’s rules if they want to rank. If businesses want to be seen, they need to work within Google’s system, which means SEO is far from dead.

2. AI and SEO: Partners, Not Rivals

It’s easy to think of AI as a replacement for SEO, but they actually make a great team. AI tools are all about efficiency—they handle the tedious stuff like finding keywords or checking what your competitors are up to. This leaves room for marketers to focus on the good stuff, like making content that’s engaging and helpful.

Take tools like Semrush or Surfer SEO, for example. They give you the lowdown on search trends and let you see where you can improve. Instead of replacing SEO, AI just helps it work smarter, not harder.

3. SEO Doesn’t Stand Still—It Evolves

SEO isn’t some outdated, set-in-stone practice. It’s constantly changing. Remember when voice search started getting big? SEO experts quickly adjusted their strategies to account for more conversational searches. The same goes for AI. As AI becomes more ingrained in how search engines work, SEO will just evolve to keep up.

Google’s recent AI updates, like BERT and MUM, show they’re using AI to better understand search intent. So, SEO is shifting to focus more on providing detailed, helpful content that matches what people are actually looking for. In a way, AI is just pushing SEO to get better, not disappear.

4. User Experience Will Always Matter

At the heart of it, SEO is all about making the internet a better place for users. That’s what Google wants too—providing people with the information they need, as easily and quickly as possible. AI can help tailor user experiences, but the basics of SEO—like fast load times, mobile optimization, and quality content—are still critical.

You could have the fanciest AI tool out there, but if your site isn’t user-friendly, it’s not going to rank well. SEO’s role in ensuring a smooth user experience is one reason it’s not going anywhere.

5. Local SEO Still Has a Major Role

Ever searched for “coffee shop near me” or “AC repair in my area”? Local searches are huge, especially on mobile. That’s where local SEO comes in. It’s all about making sure businesses show up when people search for services nearby. AI tools can assist, but they can’t replace the human element needed for managing reviews or crafting location-specific content.

Google puts a lot of emphasis on local search results, so businesses that invest in local SEO have a real shot at standing out. As long as people are searching for nearby services, SEO will be crucial.

So, Is SEO Dead? Not Even Close.

The short answer: no, SEO isn’t dead. As long as people are using search engines like Google, businesses will need SEO to get found. AI may be changing the game, but it’s more of an evolution than an end. Think of AI as the sidekick that helps SEO become even better.

Rather than worrying about SEO’s future, it’s more about embracing how it’s changing and making the most of the tools available. For businesses willing to adapt, there’s a bright future ahead. As long as people are searching, SEO will be a vital piece of the puzzle.

[vijay01]

How Can Fantasy Rugby App Developers Change The Rules? What Is The Benefit?

Fantasy sports have drastically changed how fans interact with their favorite sport, and Fantasy Rugby is no exception. The job of Fantasy Rugby app developers has therefore become important with every new entry into this exciting world of fantasy leagues. The most fascinating aspect of this dynamic field is, of course, the flexibility to change the rules of the game.

The question that may arise, however, is how developers can do this and what advantages they would bring. Find out the answers to such questions in detail in this article as we unfold how Fantasy Rugby app developers' changes in rules create a better user experience and strengthen the connection of the users.

Understanding the Fantasy Rugby Landscape

Before delving into the specifics of rule changes, it is first important to appreciate the existing architecture of Fantasy Rugby. Players really just draft real-life players from their respective teams and earn points based on how those real-life players perform on the actual pitch. 

Old scoring typically considers tries, assists, tackles, and other actions on the field. With any game, though, there will always be room for improvement and innovation.

Power of Rule Changes

Flexibility and Personalization

One of the most significant advantages of digital platforms is their inherent flexibility. Fantasy Rugby App Development can be designed to allow leagues to customize rules. Such flexibility allows the creation of experiences tailored toward a user's liking. 

For instance, if a league believes a particular position does not result in enough rewards for the contest, such liberties allow changes to the scoring metrics. Such personalization creates a sense of ownership among participants and encourages them to keep taking part in the contest in a sustained manner.

Monitoring Player Performance

One more important feature of the rule-changing mechanisms is that they can respond to the shifting patterns of performance by players. For the continuing evolution of this sport known as rugby, there might be some dominant players who do so in different ways or even new strategies that have now become a standard approach. 

Then it would depend on the developer's discretion to update certain rules so that fantasy remains entertaining and interesting. This flexibility keeps users interested but, at the same time, attracts new players who want to be part of a new, innovative fantasy experience.

Increase Users Engagement

Rules can add a new dimension to user engagement. Bonus points for certain achievements, such as when a player makes x number of tackles or offloads, can also introduce new strategic layers. Users must then really think more critically about their player picks so that the fantasy experience becomes much more vivid.

For example, the fantasy rugby app developer could implement rule changes for a specific season or temporary league rules for a special tournament, like the Rugby World Cup. Those forms of short-term mutations only add hype and noise, in terms, of users would once again drift back to the app, thereby increasing participation rates.

Encouragement of Tactical Play

One of the disadvantages of a traditional fantasy sports design is that it sometimes allows the same old strategies to be repeated year after year. However, if developers are allowed to define new rules, it promotes more strategic play. 

For instance, penalizing for foul plays makes managers think hard before doing it because they balance the player's potential for points with a bad play. This may considerably alter the characterization of a team selection policy and can lead to deeper studies of player performance.

Potential Changes to Consider

Dynamic Scoring Systems

Another charming adjustment developers can incorporate into the game is a dynamic scoring system which can be changed depending on in-game performance. In this case, for instance, if a player meets a certain number of tackles or carries in a match, they would be rewarded with extra points. 

The players will remain hungry as participants who would be interested in closely following the matches to find out how their players are performing in real time.

Introduce Variety in Player Position

Positions in rugby can be a little fluid, where players at times play out of position according to the situation of the game. In this regard, a developer can take it to heart by allowing position flexibility in fantasy teams. 

For example, if a player is usually a flanker but played in another position for most of the game, he will be able to earn points for that position. This feature makes the game include an extra strategy, whereby participants have to stay informed about the roles of players and the potential changes.

Weeks of Multi-Games

Had the developers of Fantasy Rugby introduced multi-game weeks, it might have brought a positive impact instead of limiting scoring to single-match performances. This would allow points to be accrued in a string of games, helping to redress a poorly played game. 

Further, the excitement level will shoot up and the users will engage more when they will follow their players' performance in various fixtures.

User Interface Enhancements

UI of fantasy apps also plays a great role in user experience. The developer should make the UI so attractive and interesting that participants will easily find their rules, statistics, and performances. 

The better an experience, the more likely is the returning user and word of mouth.

Social Interaction Features

One really attractive feature of fantasy sports is community involvement. It can be made more engaging if, say, the developers of the application add certain features allowing users to challenge their friends, forward tips to each other, or discuss strategies in forums. 

All such features bring the users closer to the platform and build a loyal user base. Introducing forums or just chat features within the app will increase interaction between users.

Advantages of Dynamic Rules

Increased Retention

This feeling of a changing game and that their opinions count will increase the chances that users will retain interest over a longer period. The game is a more enjoyable experience for participants with changes in rules due to the reaction by the developers to the user's views. With seasons passing and coming back to discover what features and rules have been added, user retention is increased.

Acquisition of new Users

Innovative variations of rules can also attract new visitors to the fantasy rugby turf. Such unique experiences—like dynamic scoring systems or customizable rules—can attract casual fans who may have never even played fantasy sports before. 

New users help with app growth and contribute to a better population of the sport as a whole: rugby as a fantasy sport.

Community Creation

Forcing the rules that encourage user interaction fosters community among the players. This can be through competitive leagues, cooperative strategies, or by shared experiences. 

This, therefore, creates a more attached relationship between the users. A thriving community can enable the application to grow organically in terms of word-of-mouth promotion.

Monetization Opportunities

This could be premium features, be it advanced analytics, custom scoring options, or more social features, offered for a price. 

The richer the content presented, the more likely users are to invest in premium content.

Conclusion

The fantasy rugby app developer does far more than just coding. They can control user experiences, inform community engagement, and make or break fantasy rugby leagues. With careful alterations to the rules, developers may increase user engagement, attract new participants, and help to foster a great community.

In this vision, over time as the fantasy sports landscape evolves, one could visualize an enormous playing field for innovation. Using dynamic scoring systems, position variability, or advanced user interfaces, there would be an endless amount of how one might enhance the experience for fantasy rugby enthusiasts. 

The trick will lie in finding the right balance between tradition and innovation where the crux of the game is intimately connected while the experience for the user becomes captivating.

The right approach here may not only change the way fans relate to the sport but also help further secure rugby in the ever-expanding universe of fantasy sports. Change is rife, and those who will dare to innovate will harvest the benefits for years to come.

[melvintart8]

Practice Makes Perfect: Maximizing Training Sessions for Skill Development with Mentors such as Melvin Tart

Becoming a football coach requires more than a deep understanding of the game; it demands the ability to effectively manage and maximize training sessions for skill development. Effective training sessions are critical for enhancing players' abilities, building team cohesion, and preparing for competitive play. By focusing on structured and purposeful practice, coaches can ensure that their players develop the skills and confidence needed to succeed on the field. This blog provides strategies for optimizing training sessions, highlighting key aspects that contribute to effective skill development and overall team performance.

Maximizing training sessions involves careful planning, effective communication, and a keen understanding of players' needs. By implementing the right strategies, coaches can create a productive training environment that fosters growth and improvement. Let’s delve into the essential components of successful training sessions and how they can be applied to achieve excellence in football coaching.

Developing a Structured Training Plan

A well-structured training plan is the foundation of effective skill development. Coaches should design training sessions with clear objectives and goals that align with the team’s overall strategy. Each session should include a balanced mix of drills, tactical exercises, and conditioning to address different aspects of the game. For instance, incorporating drills that focus on ball control, passing accuracy, and defensive positioning ensures that players develop comprehensive skills.

Furthermore, it is important to vary the training routine to keep players engaged and motivated. Repeating the same drills can lead to stagnation and reduced enthusiasm. By introducing new exercises and challenges, coaches like Melvin Tart stimulate players’ interest and encourage continuous improvement. A structured training plan that evolves over time helps maintain a high level of engagement and promotes steady skill development.

Fostering a Positive Training Environment

Creating a positive and supportive training environment is crucial for maximizing skill development. Coaches should foster an atmosphere where players feel encouraged to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from their experiences. Positive reinforcement and constructive feedback help build players' confidence and resilience. Recognizing individual and team achievements motivates players to put in their best effort and strive for improvement.

In addition, coaches should promote open communication and teamwork during training sessions. Encouraging players to support each other and work collaboratively enhances team cohesion and trust. A positive training environment not only improves individual skills but also strengthens the overall dynamics of the team. By prioritizing a supportive atmosphere, mentors such as Melvin Tart facilitate a more productive and enjoyable training experience.

Incorporating Game-Specific Drills

To ensure that training sessions effectively translate into game performance, coaches including Melvin Tart incorporate game-specific drills. These drills simulate real-game scenarios and help players apply their skills in a practical context. For example, practicing set pieces, counter-attacks, and defensive transitions allows players to develop tactical awareness and decision-making abilities.

Moreover, game-specific drills can be tailored to address the team’s weaknesses and improve overall strategy. By analyzing previous games and identifying areas for improvement, coaches can design drills that target specific aspects of play. This targeted approach ensures that training sessions are relevant and directly contribute to enhancing performance in actual matches.

Balancing Individual and Team Training

Effective training sessions should balance individual skill development with team-oriented exercises. While it is important to focus on individual skills such as dribbling, shooting, and passing, team cohesion and tactical understanding are equally crucial. Mentors like Melvin Tart allocate time for both individual drills and team practices to ensure that players develop both personal skills and effective teamwork.

Individual training can be tailored to address each player’s strengths and areas for improvement. Personalized feedback and drills help players enhance their specific skills. On the other hand, team training sessions should focus on strategies, formations, and collective play. This balance ensures that players not only improve their individual abilities but also contribute effectively to the team’s overall performance.

Monitoring Progress and Adjusting Training

Regularly monitoring players' progress is essential for optimizing training sessions. Coaches should assess players' performance and skill development through various methods, such as observation, performance metrics, and feedback from matches. Tracking progress helps identify areas where players excel and areas that require further attention.

Based on this assessment, coaches should adjust training sessions to address specific needs and challenges. For example, if a team struggles with defensive organization, additional drills focusing on defensive positioning and communication may be necessary. Adjusting training based on progress and performance ensures that sessions remain relevant and effective in promoting skill development.

Engaging in Continuous Learning and Improvement

Coaches should engage in continuous learning and improvement to enhance their training methods and strategies. Attending coaching clinics, participating in workshops, and staying updated with the latest developments in football coaching can provide valuable insights and new techniques. Continuous professional development helps coaches refine their skills and adapt to evolving trends in the sport.

Additionally, seeking feedback from players and other coaching professionals can offer new perspectives and ideas for improving training sessions. By remaining open to new approaches and continuously striving for improvement, coaches such as Melvin Tart enhance their effectiveness and contribute to the overall success of their team.

Maximizing training sessions for skill development is crucial for becoming an effective football coach. By developing a structured training plan, fostering a positive environment, incorporating game-specific drills, balancing individual and team training, monitoring progress, and engaging in continuous learning, coaches can significantly enhance their players' abilities and overall team performance. Implementing these strategies not only improves players' skills but also contributes to a more cohesive and successful team. As coaches strive for excellence in their training practices, they lay the foundation for a successful and rewarding coaching career, ultimately leading their teams to greater achievements on the field.

[olderthannetfic]

Oh if we're talking about the DSMP thing, I've got a buddy who's ranted to me about it so I've got a bit more context.

There are two major distinctions ao3 seems to be missing. One, how the fictional characters the you tubers are roleplaying as in Minecraft are different from RPF (it'd be kind of like saying Critical Role chars are the same as their players. There's the real people pulling the strings since it's a tabletop game, but also its own internal fictional universe that has its own fandom). This seems to be confusing ao3 because the streams themselves are pretty much fictional content while the streamers themselves are actors, either doing planned performances or winging it it, but no distinction is being made so that, plus how there's a lot of confusion over real name vs online alias vs character, is really mucking things up for people not into RPF. I might be totally into the fictional character one of these streamers play in the fictional Minecraft universe they've set up but not care at all for the RL person outside of it.

The second is that SMP stuff and video blogging just gets lumped together with no individual fandoms. DSMP is only one, there's tons like Hermitcraft and so on. It'd be like if boybands were all lumped under Bands rather than music being the medium while bands each get their own individual fandom tag. In this case they're treating Minecraft SMPs like their own fandom when it'd be more accurate to call it a genre or even a medium of its own. This also has totally screwed over the Minecraft game fandom tag for those who are not into youtubers because there's no way to actually... filter out the youtuber stuff. It used to be fine when it included only a few youtubers with comparatively smaller fandoms, but with how SMP stuff has blown up you cannot feasibly filter everything out since there's no unified tag. I've tried and even after filtering for a good 50 tags I found better luck just looking at older fics from before the SMP stuff blew up.

So even just an official tag for different SMPs would certainly help, as would more clear ways to divide the characters from the streamers performing them. Because at this time, you cannot filter any of that out. And in such a large fandom it's both a mess on its own and overwhelmed smaller fandoms such as normal Minecraft fic or smaller SMPs that get lumped in with it. It's made ao3 pretty unusable.

--

Yeah, there are a ton of posts on my tumblr from a few weeks ago with similar explanations of the whole mess.

I reiterate that this is the kind of thing that happens when everyone clusters on one big archive instead of making topic-specific ones. There are advantages in terms of a big archive staying up more reliably (at least in AO3's case) and having more readers but minuses in terms of things not being properly tailored to each fandom.

[jonthethinker]

I’ve been thinking about what I would find to be the perfect ending for Critical Role Campaign 2, and I realize how far my ideal ending may be from where we will probably end up, and why that is.

This isn’t to denigrate our fine storytellers, but there’s some strong ideological differences between what I would find most beautiful and interesting and where they are likely to end up.

To the cast, I sense it seems this is a story of recovery and discovery of identity. Seven broken people find each other, perhaps by chance or, as Matt’s opening lines of the campaign suggest, Destiny. Regardless, they come together, and in that coming together, they help each other heal. This takes time, and comes with many conflicts and false starts and set backs, but slowly, they do indeed begin the process of healing.

As they heal, these lost souls begin to explore their identities safely in each others’ company. Each member of the Mighty Nein gets a chance to feel out who it is they are and want to be, all the while knowing that if they stumble and trip along the way, they have their dear friends to catch them. Eventually, they will have a firmer grasp on who it is they really are, deep down, and with that, be able to tackle the rest of what life has to throw at them head on. So far, if I am right and this is indeed what the cast believes, I completely agree with them. But things do begin to diverge on where they seem to want to take it, and where I wish it would be.

This divergence begins in the fallout of this healing and recovery. What happens next? Place and Purpose, of course. Once they know who they are, they are ready to find their homes; ready to find where they really belong. For now, that place is the Mighty Nein, but for some reason, this type of story never seems to be satisfied with that answer. There must be a new chapter, one in which the Mighty Nein, while remaining loyal and committed to one another as friends, each go their own way. They will have done what they set out to do with the group, and now they must build something new on their own.

You see this clearly in the two characters most aware of what kind of story they stumbled into, unsurprisingly played into by the two players least bothered by the fourth wall; Sam Riegel’s Nott The Brave/Veth Brenatto and Marisha Ray’s Beauregard Lionett. Both of these characters have been dreading the eventual closing of this chapter on healing and recovery, because of how comfortable they’ve become in their place within it, and how unprepared they feel for what surely must follow.

Nott was afraid of getting her body back because it would mean she may have to leave behind the first thing she’s ever felt good at, and grappled with how that must make her a terrible wife and mother to have those sorts of feelings. Once she does regain her body, Veth still grapples with these very feelings, even when she could have everything she thought she was fighting for all along, because the adventures of the Mighty Nein have so filled her with excitement and purpose and meaning like she’s never had before. She’s still waiting for that other shoe to drop, and the day her travels must end, because that’s the only way she feels she can satisfy the contradictions.

Beauregard was in her mind a loner, and only with the Mighty Nein has she ever started to question that self-diagnosis. In the Nein, for the very first time, she’s found a place for herself, and a group of people who can actually dull all her sharp edges. She has clear meaning and purpose in working with the Mighty Nein to overcome their personal obstacles, and maybe in doing so, leaving the world a little better than she found it. Before the Nein, those sorts of things weren’t even possibilities. She even felt she was assured a young death and thus no future to begin with. But when she realizes she could have a future, she wants it to be with the Nein... But as her ability to empathize begins to bloom, she realizes this may not be what everyone else has in mind. That some day, the rest of the Nein hope to put the Adventuring life behind them, and in that moment, Beau will have a future to decide for herself and herself alone, and that is terrifying. Because the main thing the Nein has taught Beau is how desperately she doesn’t want to be alone anymore.

As I said, I agree that this is a story about recovery and identity, but it is also much more that. For me, as just a humble member of the audience, the story of the Mighty Nein, above all, is a story about the consequences and possible solutions to isolation, loneliness, powerlessness, and above all, alienation. All seven of our great heroes have been forced through their particular backstories and their mutual adventures to battle with these very feelings over and over, and to me at least the solution to these problems is, well, the community, solidarity, and comfort of each other.

For me, it’s not so obvious that the Mighty Nein has to, well, end.

Sometimes it feels like the cast agrees with me, but usually only in their moments of greatest spontaneity, dealing with the struggles and heartbreaks right in front of them as they happen. I think of Fjord casting his falchion into the lava only to be pulled in closer by his friends. I think of Beau facing her parents, and then later with the fallout of her potential bargain with the Hag. I think of Jester preparing to confront her father, and the subsequent results of his apparent rejection. I think of Caduceus saving his family and his home, and deciding to stay with the Nein anyway. I think of Caleb confronted by Trent in Castle Ungebroch as a shield of his friends form around him. I think of all the Nein reassuring Veth they would accept and love her no matter if she was staying with them or not, but how much they’d miss her if she went. I think of how easily they accepted Yasha into the fold whenever she came back from her wanderings, and how hard they fought to get her back when she was taken from them.

The reason I come to the conclusion that the cast see’s the Nein as eventually having to end is the end for Vox Machina. You had seven people who helped each other heal and grow in ways they never thought they were destined for, experiencing a sense of belonging and purpose the world had never afforded them before the merry band formed. But as a would-be-God was locked away and a dear friend, lover, and brother faded from their grasps, they all drifted in their own directions. They all had a place to fill in the grand scheme of things, and it was time for them to grow up.

And its this notion of growing up that grates me. That these moments of camaraderie and companionship must be as ephemeral as our adolescence. The adventuring days and the bonds we form within them are only meant for our youth, and the meaning and purpose and place we find inside of them is only meant to help us through the confusing days of young adulthood, before we begin our real days as adults, which may only be tackled alone or with a lover. I simply don’t see it this way.

Adulthood should not be this singularly alienating experience that it has become. For most of the existence of humanity, it has not been. We are not meant for self-sufficiency and independence to the degree our society insists upon. Societies would not have formed in the first place without faith that a person can depend on others to provide for them. If the blacksmith also had to sow and patch their own clothes, she would never have time to blacksmith, just as a tailor can’t focus on sowing when she has to build and maintain her own tools. Poverty and deprivation can lead us to have to be more independent than we ought to, but in a world with equitably managed resources, we can afford to have faith the farmer will provide our food, the treatment plant will make our water safe to drink, and the carpenter will keep the rain off our head.

Think of how miserable most adults are today, and then think about how alone and alienated they all are. They are either spending each day working themselves numb only to go home and distract themselves with various entertainments, or if they have “community,” it’s so narrowly defined and judgmental that the gains made from your place within it are completely offset by how much you must cut yourself into shape to fit in. The greatest moments of our lives are often within our youth, because while you’re young you get to grow and stretch and stumble in the company of other people doing the same, and there is no expectation in doing anything else. But we’ve decided on some arbitrary point in which this time of personal exploration and safe company must end. If you’re old and want to expand your horizons, I hope you’re rich, because if not, it ain’t happening.

So for me, to imagine a world in which the members of the Mighty Nein might go a week, nonetheless months without seeing each other is beyond cruel. Think of the feeling of security and belonging the Nein have provided for one another, and tell me there has to be some arbitrary cut off date for their continued company. Think about Fjord breaking the habit of filing down his tusks because of the support of Jester and the Nein, a habit he performed into his early thirties, and tell me that one day, he needs to go out on his own because of reasons. They can take the lessons they’ve learned from the Nein, and still have the Nein, and not be unprepared to take whatever challenges life has to offer them, and in fact, may be better at tackling them all together with their family at their side every step of the way.

People prosper most when they decide they are better off working together than they are alone. To me, it’s abundantly clear this is true for the Mighty Nein. And I hope and pray when the time comes the cast will see it the same way. And I’ll accept and almost certainly enjoy whatever ending they end up having, in this strange form of improvised entertainment. None of this is to hate on the cast or me trying to tell them how to run their game or tell their story, I just have a lot of feelings on the matter. I am almost certainly overthinking something that may very well be a long way off from even happening. but after spending literally hundreds of hours with these fictional characters, I can’t help but want the best for them. And so far, the best for them is... well, each other. And no possible future they could have will be as good as one in which even in their golden years, they can look over and know, no matter what, they have the Mighty Nein.

[aion-rsa]

How F9 Brings Back Justice for Han and Asian Inclusion

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This article contains F9 spoilers.

One thing is for certain about the Fast and Furious film franchise—it has been a wild ride. Other aspects of the Fast Saga are less certain. Although the F9 title definitively labels the latest film as the ninth installment, it’s actually the 10th film. Or the 11th. You could even say the 12th if you include the short film. It depends how you want to count it. For a franchise laden with car chase clichés, the Fast Saga makes a lot of long, winding detours.

Consider how these movies treat death. Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) set the precedent by ‘dying’ back in Fast & Furious (aka Fast & Furious 4) only to return in Fast & Furious 6, working for the other side. Coincidentally, at the end of that film, there was a major reveal about Han (Sung Kang). The character was introduced in the third film in the series, The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, but dies about three quarters of the way through the film. Yet he then reappears in the next three Fast and Furious movies, which were set before Tokyo Drift. The circumstances of his death were clarified in Fast & Furious 6. Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw killed Han. Now those events have been clarified even more in F9, thanks to returning director Justin Lin. As it turns out, Han didn’t die at all.

F9 is the fifth Fast and Furious film directed by Lin, and by design, Han Jue’s story arc is the central thread for all five Lin installments. Tokyo Drift was Lin’s first Fast film, as well as the franchise’s sharpest turn. It was almost an entirely new cast in a new setting. Lin stayed on to direct the following three installments. To keep Han’s story going, he shifted gears and jumped back in time. Just like with Star Wars, Fast & Furious through Fast & Furious 6 comprised a prequel trilogy, so the order in which the Fast Saga films were released doesn’t match the story’s timeline. The second film, 2 Fast 2 Furious, is followed chronologically by the fourth, Fast & Furious. The next two are in order: Fast Five followed by Fast & Furious 6. Then comes the third release, Tokyo Drift where Han dies. Fast & Furious 6 and Tokyo Drift take place more or less at the same time. Even the beginning of Furious 7 overlaps with the final events of Tokyo Drift.

After stepping away from the franchise for its seventh and eight films, Lin is back in the driver’s seat in F9, which is why Han is also back. However, Han has always been riding with Lin, even predating his involvement in Fast and Furious lore…

High School Han

In 2002, Lin directed the critically-acclaimed Better Luck Tomorrow. That film also starred Sung Kang in the role of Han. It was a story about four overachieving Asian teenagers who start selling cheat sheets and subsequently fall into the gangster lifestyle of drugs and crime. It was loosely based on the murder of Stuart Tay. Tay was an Asian teenager who was killed by his fellow high schoolers when they thought he would betray a computer heist they were planning. The murderers were college-bound with Ivy League potential, and the story was branded as “the honor roll murder” by the Orange County register. In Lin’s interpretation, Han is one of the murderers.

Widely hailed as a benchmark film for Asian-American representation, Better Luck Tomorrow won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance where it was rigorously celebrated by Roger Ebert, which led to MTV acquiring it. 

When Lin took on Tokyo Drift, he wanted to add a cool Asian character into the mix. He tapped Kang to reprise the role of Han, albeit an incarnation of Han that was tailored to the franchise. The Better Luck Tomorrow Han is young and brash. Han is a teenager, although Kang was 30 he first played him. In Tokyo Drift, Han is older and wiser, a mentor to the film’s protagonist Sean (Lucas Black). Nevertheless, there are connections that make the character whole. The Better Luck Tomorrow Han is a chain smoker. In Fast Five, Han’s girlfriend Gisele (Gal Gadot in her first feature film). She attributes Han’s constant need to occupy his hand to being a former smoker. Tokyo Drift was only four years after Better Luck Tomorrow but the character of Han aged considerably.

Why Han Matters

The Fast Saga currently ranks as the seventh highest grossing film franchise in the world. And unlike the other top-earners,  these movies were arguably the most diverse and inclusive from the onset. While the MCU has Black Panther and the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Star Wars introduced Finn (John Boyega) in its third trilogy, those casts remain predominantly white. In fact, the top 25 top grossing global franchises are all led by white casts. Fast and Furious is the exception. This makes Han the most prominent Asian character in a Hollywood franchise in the world.

What’s more, Han is cool. Until very recently, most Asian Hollywood roles were stereotypical or tokens. Han a richly developed character, even if Better Luck Tomorrow is disregarded. In Tokyo Drift, he’s a wealthy elite street racer with his own garage packed with awesome cars, attached to a club where he’s surrounded by gorgeous women. That was an unprecedented role for how Asian characters were presented in mainstream Hollywood entertainment in the 2000s.

Han’s relationship with Giselle is also extraordinary. While there is a long cinematic history of white men hooking up with Asian women, it was extremely rare for an Asian man to kiss white woman in Hollywood cinema. Han and Giselle become an item in 2009 with Fast & Furious. The following year, it was a huge deal for Jackie Chan’s interracial kiss with Amber Valletta in The Spy Next Door.

Jackie claimed it was his first onscreen kiss and he was already well past a hundred films to his credit at that time, although most of them were China-made. Han got to snog Wonder Woman onscreen before anyone else, including Chris Pine, and if that’s not cool, what is?

Lin carried another actor over from Better Luck Tomorrow. Jason Tobin played Virgil Hu, Han’s cousin and another one of the murderous teens. Virgil is the biggest punk of the gang. In Tokyo Drift, Tobin plays Earl Hu, one of Han’s friends and a master mechanic. Is the Hu surname a coincidence? Not likely for Lin. Tobin also appears as Young Jun in the Bruce Lee inspired TV series Warrior, where Lin is an executive producer alongside Lee’s daughter Shannon. Again Tobin plays a punk gangster. Tobin reprises Earl in F9. 

Beyond Hollywood inclusion and representation where Han really matters is global box office. Hollywood was another COVID casualty. During the pandemic, the United States was dethroned as the biggest box office in the world. As of right now, China claims that title. Perhaps this is one reason F9 premiered there first, as well as in other Asian regions along with the Middle East.

Read more

Movies

Fast and Furious Timeline Explained (Including F9)

By David Crow

Movies

Hollywood Execs Are Crediting Fast and Furious with Growing Embrace of Diversity

By David Crow

It’s been out for over a month and has already grossed $203 million in China alone, plus an additional $8.8 million in the other markets at the time of the U.S. premiere. Thanks to this, F9 is already the fourth highest earner in the world in 2021. It is right behind Godzilla v Kong, but both of them are trailing behind two Chinese blockbusters that most American are completely unaware of yet, Detective Chinatown 3 and Hi, Mom. 

The Fast Saga’s rise has a lot to do with its international appeal, culminating with winning over Chinese audiences. It was under Lin’s steady hand that the franchise became a global player. Adding Han brought Asian representation to an already diverse cast. Tokyo Drift passed an international milestone where the film made more outside of the U.S. in the foreign markets—$33.9 million more. This disparity widened with each successive movie, so by the time Fast & Furious 6 rolled around, the international earnings accounts for nearly 70 percent of the total box office, and the door was open to that lucrative Chinese market.

Furious 7 was the first of the franchise to be shown in China and blew up there with a record-setting $390 million take, earning the title as the biggest non-Chinese film in the country at the time. That helped to elevate the worldwide box office past $1.5 billion, with over 76 percent of it coming from international earnings. The Fate of the Furious did even better, breaking its own record as China’s top-earning foreign film with $392 million, and the international box office accounted for 81 percent of the worldwide take. 

Lin is smart to bring Han back. And if he really wants to appeal to that Chinese market, he’ll boost Virgil Hu’s role in F10. Han is Korean. Hu is Chinese. Tobin has appeared in Chinese films previously, including Jackie Chan’s Rob-B-Hood so the Chinese audience is familiar with him. 

Justice for Han

At the end of the previous installment, The Fate of the Furious, Shaw is awkwardly accepted into Dom’s cookout. Fans of Han Jue and the franchise were outraged. How does Han’s murderer become part of the club? This triggered the Twitter movement #justiceforhan. Now that we know Shaw didn’t murder Han, it’s up to Lin to decide what happens in F10, which he is slated to direct next (it still doesn’t resolve Shaw’s acceptance at the barbecue because Dom’s gang still believed Han was dead then).

Perhaps it’s all some grand scheme by Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell). With the Fast Saga, so much is uncertain, even Han’s name.

For F10, a confrontation between Han and Shaw seems inevitable, especially with F9’s post-credits cameo showing Shaw. Perhaps the next film will finally give enough closure for Shaw to earn his seat at the table, or for Han to banish him from it.

At the end of F9, when the car drives up to fill the empty seat at the barbecue table, it’s uncertain who the driver is. Maybe it’s Jakob (John Cena), Dom’s newly introduced brother in F9. Maybe it’s Shaw coming back for seconds, or maybe Brian O’Conner (although reviving the late Paul Walker digitally again would be tacky now). Maybe it’s even Giselle (sure, Giselle ‘died’ in Fast & Furious 6 but if Gadot came back, just think of how many tickets they’d sell). Fast and Furious is full to twisty turns, like any good car chase. But with Lin in the driver’s seat, Han is sure to get the justice he deserves.

F9: The Fast Saga opened only in theaters on Friday, June 25.

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The post How F9 Brings Back Justice for Han and Asian Inclusion appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[innuendostudios]

Thoughts on Even More Games

[vague, unspecific spoilers for Heaven’s Vault, Later Alligator, and Life is Strange 2]

Thoughts on Heaven’s Vault

Heaven’s Vault is a game about archeology, which means it’s also a game about incompleteness. This is very clever. Inkle - also the developers of 80 Days, which I will play someday! - specialize in deep narratives that can be explored many, many ways, allowing for a lot of player choice. You make a lot of small decisions - do you share a discovery with the trader in exchange for a valuable item, or hide it so he doesn’t plunder it? do you go looking for your missing friend, or let her stay missing in case there are people trying to follow you to her? These all have their own little arcs and resolutions, and there are so many of them, and so many ways they can play out, that the game can never be played the same way twice. The overall story begins and ends in the same place and theoretically hits the same major beats, but the journey is tailored broadly and finely to each player; it’s a style of design Aaron A. Reed refers to as “not... a branching tree but a braided rope.”

Making a narrative about archeology is how you dodge the exponentially complicated nature of that design: if there are dozens of locations, characters, plot threads, bits of color, which can be engaged with at many points in time, or ignored, or dropped by the player halfway through, how do you avoid telling a story full of gaps and dead ends? Well... you don’t. Having only partial information and having to infer the rest is what archeology is.

The protagonist of Heaven’s Vault, Aliya, is digging up the secrets of an ancient civilization, having been sent by her academy to find a researcher who’s gone missing, and stumbling into his incredible discovery. Everywhere she goes, there are holes: she has partial understanding of the researcher’s journey and motives; he, in turn, had partial understanding of the mystery he was uncovering, and Aliya has only fragments of his knowledge; the ancient texts she translates are usually fragments of larger works, and she is guessing at the meanings of many of the words; the game’s constantly updating historical timeline has entire centuries with nothing but question marks. Aliya arrives in a new location and wonders aloud to her robot companion about what this place was, when it was founded, when it was abandoned, how her predecessor found his way her and where he went next and what he took with him.

The constant feeling of discovery - of unearthing - is magnificent. Site after site, I asked, “What is this place?” Always thinking, if the eventual answer is any good, this is going to be one of the best games I’ve ever played. And, in the end, it doesn’t give you an answer, it just give you enough to make the story feel complete. It answers by not answering.

Also, translating alien texts is just extremely my jam. I’m the weirdo who enjoyed the ending of Arrival but secretly wished the whole movie had been about xenolinguistics like the first half. I guess Inkle felt similar.

The game’s by no means perfect. I think I enjoyed the sailing between worlds more than most - it’s slow, but very pretty - but it’s going to discourage a replay. I don’t think the relationship between Aliya and her robot, Six, ever gets terribly interesting. Some of the archeology is a little too obviously game-y - sail around, wait to find a random ruin, beam Six down to grab an ancient doodad, translate a bit of text, lo and behold it’s from one of the sites you’re looking for and it’s narrowed your search radius somehow. (It gives Star Trek explanations the first few times - e.g. “it has radiation that only exists in one part of the nebula” - and then stops bothering.) And the game sags a little in the middle; it could’ve hacked out 3 or 4 dig sites and still given me the same experience.

But, all told, there’s magic in it, and it just feels good to be there. Do not sleep on this one.

Thoughts on Later Alligator

There’s not a ton to say about this game except that is charming as hell. Lindsay and Alex Small-Butera have build a beautifully animated world of cute alligators, one of whom is having a birthday party where he’s convinced he’s going to be murdered. He wants you to run around getting information out of everyone who’s going to be there, which you get by completing minigames. It’s a cast of weird and funny characters with weird and funny dialogue and there’s not much more to it than that.

The design can be a little frustrating. Some minigames, if you lose, you don’t get to try again. Some are annoyingly finicky. You need to complete them all to get the true ending, which means, in my case, playing the game three times to complete all the bits you missed or got locked out of. The ending was a little different each time, so it wasn’t a total wash, but the game’s on a timer that only advances when you play a game or take the bus, and once you’ve completed most of the games there’s a lot of traveling back and forth from one nowhere to another just to advance time to the next unskippable plot beat.

(It’s also a little unclear what you’re missing as you try to get the final ending, as some of the ongoing puzzle are optional.)

But I can’t get mad. The game is too damn cute! Each character is lively and unique, with tons of personality, and the dialogue is just clever enough not to fall into empty adorkability.

It good.

Thoughts on Life is Strange 2

Somewhere, early in the development of Life is Strange 2, some Dontnod employee wrote in a design document “Episode 4 - cult?” (but in French) and nobody told them “no.”

I will not forgive them for this,

After twenty minutes of LiS2, I was ready to yell at everyone who had reported it was boring. It has one of the most powerful, gut-punching openings of any game I’ve played in recent memory. And all through the first, second, and third episodes, I was in love. Unlike Before the Storm, this was its own creature, willing to make dramatic departures from the original game’s template. Instead of controlling a character with supernatural powers, you play as the superpowered character’s older brother. The one with the magic is a 9-year-old, unable to fully understand or control his abilities, suffering a recent trauma, and needing to be guided through a dangerous and racist world. All the ambition missing from Before the Storm is back, and this time the animation isn’t creepy and the writing is wildly improved (thanks to some journeyman script work from Fullbright’s Steve Gaynor) and I even have a computer able to play it on higher graphical settings.

But nothing good lasts.

Everything good about the series screeches to a halt in Episode 4, the one where some asshole said “cult?” and didn’t get a Nerf football thrown at their head. And it’s not just that it’s a terrible idea; it’s actually sort of amazing how much the game relies on an alchemy of plot, tone, theme, and writing, and how a slight imbalance can throw the whole thing off. Episode 4 has scene after scene that are powerful in their conception - brothers reunited after a violent rift; a boy having his first conversation with his estranged mother in nearly a decade; getting interrogated by the feds for a crime that can’t even be explained by physics - fall flat because the writers can’t think of anything interesting for the characters to say. (Steve Gaynor’s name stops appearing in the credits as of this episode.)

And here the game’s rickety bits, kept delicately together for three episodes, start to shake apart. Dontnod’s overly-earnest voice direction, which I didn’t notice in the early episodes, started to wear me down. (”Could you sigh mid-syllable, like you’re slightly overwhelmed with emotion?” “Sure, on which line?” “All of them.”) The thinness of the secondary characters, most of whom pop up for one episode and disappear, became more noticeable. The lack of a mechanical hook like the time rewinding of the original game, and the attendant commentary on choice-based games and power fantasies, made the game feel less substantial. The surreal imagery of the original, obligatorily evoked in the prequel, is sensibly absent, but there’s nothing equally striking that replaces it. Even the branching path decisions become less clear: the end-of-episode stat screens for the final episodes mentioned at least a dozen choices I didn’t even know I’d made, some of which were critical in shaping my younger brother’s morality and were not necessarily the choices I’d have made if I’d known I was making a choice at all.

Come the final episode, I got An Ending that seemed right for the way I’d played, but much of the way I’d played felt accidental.

So what are we to make of this? Life is Strange is a beautiful disaster, an ambitious disaster, where Life is Strange 2 is almost less interesting for being  more competent. It has a huge mess of charged topics - American racism, teens losing their virginity, raising a child outside the nuclear family, grief and trauma - and, while it handles them without the gracelessness and sledgehammer subtlety of the original, it doesn’t come to any conclusions about any of them. LiS1, for all its jank, had some opinions, where LiS2 falls into the category of “this sure is some shit, innit?” games.

It starts with a powerful premise, deeply relatable characters, fine writing, beautiful art, but can’t even manage, in the end, to be a disaster. It is the only game in the series so far to be forgettable.

[heedra]

In regards to your d&d is a bad system post, what would you recommend as an alternative? I always thought the huge amount of homebrew rules and lore was d&d's best quality, but i'm interested to see what you value in a ttrpg system

my experience with tabletop games is of course not comprehensive and based on my own experience, so dont take it as a full guide to every game out there, but here are a few games i have played and really enjoyed, or have heard repeatedly good things about: Exalted: This is my personal favorite ttrpg. It’s a very lore-heavy game and setting revolving around playing demigods in a specific, highly detailed mythic fantasy setting. It would be a huge joke to say it’s any easier to get into than DnD, or that the mechanics are any less bloated, and it’s definitely had its fair share of big problems in the past, but I really love where the newest edition (third edition)  has gone so far and is continuing to go. Worth checking out if you like over-the-top fantasy, digging into heavy lore, rolling a lot of dice, and using a whole bunch of intricate bits and pieces to build a character (all things ppl love about DnD). New World of Darkness/Chronicles of Darkness: These games are the newest iteration of the famous World of Darkness gameline originally put out by White Wolf Games. They’re a collection of different urban fantasy games (all of which use the same mechanics and can be mixed and matched) that focus on different supernatural creatures: vampires, werewolves, ghosts, changelings; even mummies and frankensteins! I especially love Changeling: The Lost, and enjoy playing CofD in general for the atmosphere it often evokes. If you’re looking to play a modern fantasy game, I’d give it a look.  I’ll be frank though: White Wolf also has a SHIT record when it comes to handling race in its games, and the classic World of Darkness line, especially Vampire and Werewolf, are some of the worst offenders. Chronicles of Darkness has come a long way since then in a lot of cases, especially with the second editions of a lot of its games coming out, but it’s still good to go into this one critically.

MASKS: A New Generation: This, and the next few games on this list, run on the Powered By The Apocalypse game engine- a set of game mechanics designed to be simple and flexible for making games with, that use little more than a pair of d6′s at times, mechanically. The games that use PbtA tend to be tailored for a specific concept and premise- and can be as bad or good as the creators can realize that premise. MASKS is a game about playing young, up-and-coming superheroes, and it rules for that purpose, in my experience. It manages to avoid being crunchy wrt superpowers and supports character roleplaying in a pretty cool way. There are other games for playing supers out there that are perhaps less specific in premise, but I love this one a lot.

Monster of the Week: If you have listened to TAZ, you might know of this one- it’s another PbtA game, and the gameplay the boys have of it in Amnesty is a great introduction to how many PbtA games operate. For those of you not familiar, Monster of the Week is a game themed around playing paranormal investigators, gumshoes, kids-on-bikes, or Scooby Gang style folks solving paranormal mysteries. My personal mileage with it varies, but it’s a GREAT intro game to both PbtA and tabletop roleplaying, especially given that it works well for shorter campaigns.

Blades In The Dark: The last PbtA game on this rec list, I haven’t played this one personally, but I’ve heard only good things about it. Blades is a game about playing a band of brigands, ne’er-do-wells, organized criminals, or assassins in a dark, Victorian-Gothic fantasy setting with a unique set of lore. I’ve heard it’s EXTREMELY FUN and effective at providing a great playspace for roguish, daredevil actions, and it’s unique in having a very cool mechanic where not only do the players have customizable sheets and stats, but their entire gang as a whole does as well. 

LANCER: Lancer is a good fucking game, whose mechanics are PERFECT for what it does; and what it does is allow you to play a mech pilot. If you aren’t playing a mech pilot, there’s no reason to play lancer- but if you are, god will you have a good time. This isn’t a flaw- it’s by design, and I urge people to check it out especially because of that and how it demonstrates that, sometimes, narrowing down on a specific concept of play actually improves the ability of a game to enhance that experience. Its rules for playing your PC outside of the mech are barebones but effective, and the rules for mech combat, and for building and customizing your mech, are extremely fun and accommodating to homebrew. The setting also has some pretty cool lore! FATE: Fate is less a tabletop game wholesale and more of a very simple, barebones system for running tabletop adventures. A lot of folks swear by it as as simple, easy jump-in point for the hobby, and a great tool for building game ideas that doesn’t constrain them by too many assumptions about setting and build. Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine: I have not personally played Chuubos, but I would be loathe to leave it out of this list, because I know a lot of people who adore it and because it is a shining example of just how far away from DnD tabletop games can get in design and play concept. Chuubos divorces itself almost entirely from DnD’s assumptions of dice and chance mechanics- it’s an entirely diceless RPG where much of the theme and progression focuses on roleplaying through story arcs and character goals decided upon by the players. It works fantastically for slice of life and more whimsical, Ghibli-style adventure, but is capable of handling multiple genres and flavors of character arc! Jenna Moran’s other games, Nobilis and Glitch, are also very well-regarded and worth a look.

Other than that, I highly recommend looking around some in the indie ttrpg community! There are tons of diverse folks making tons of games that range from big, robust adventure rpgs to specific, conceptual microgames!