#but it is not a beginner friendly game lol

[fairladybellaphram]

Wooo I can add on about Rune factory to because I’m sooo normal about it!!

Rune Factory 1 and 2 aren’t bad. But they’re the earliest games in the series and it’s very obvious while playing them. I also haven’t played Frontier/Tides of Destiny/any of the specials so I’m probably more normal about the series than I think.

RF3, 4, and 5 all have map icons. RF5 even has icons to tell you where to go for character events! This is not as good of a thing as it sounds like in my opinion.

Quests also don’t expire in any of these games! You are limited to how many quests you can take in a day, and you can only take one at a time, but really you aren’t going to run out of things to do. I don’t remember how they work in Rune Factory 5 as that’s the one I’ve played the least of. (This is a lie I only just caught! Rf5 is still the one I’ve played least recently.)

There is no penalty for not sleeping in these games. You have a sleeping skill that goes up when you sleep, and it fully restores your health and stamina. But you don’t technically need to. It would be a hindrance if you did because some of the later dungeons are so big you’ll spend a couple days in them the first time through.

There are plants and crystals out in the fields and dungeons that respawn every day that refill your stamina (technically Rune Points but who’s counting) Your crops can also make rune orbs when you harvest them. They can also make runeys, which are spirits that randomly level up one of your stats. (Again I don’t remember if these are in RF5) Baths are also dirt cheap. Money is not an object in Rune Factory after like the first season.

You have a diary in all 3 games. And there are save points outside of all the Dungeons. I’m pretty sure RF5 also lets you save wherever. I think it has autosave too?

Rune Factory 3’s tutorial is a little handholdy in the very beginning if I remember correctly? But it only lasts a day I think? Rune Factory 4 has a very brief one and all the rest of the tutorial type stuff is handled in requests. I do not remember what it’s like in rf5.

As for the progression! Story progression unlocks new areas and dungeons to explore. Not only that! All of the games systems connect to eachother. Rf4 does it the best but all 3 games do it well. Leveling up your farming skills raises your stats and RP, which you’ll while exploring the dungeons. You’ll need food or healing potions in the dungeons which you’ll want to cook because food is expensive which means you’ll need to farm and tame monsters! To raise your monsters stats to take on adventures with you you’ll need to feed them upgrade crafting materials, which you’ll need to get from dungeons. But for the dungeons you’ll need to get gear! Just like food you can buy it or craft it. Good gear is expensive. To craft gear you need materials from dungeons and your farm. I just really love in RF4 specifically how well the systems work together. You really can engage with them as much or as little as you like.

You start out with storage that you can upgrade when you need more space. You’ll also be able to buy more specific storages later in the game (refrigerator, weapons rack, bookshelf etc) you also start of with a much larger rucksack. (It’s driving me crazy right now in fields of mistria how small the starting inventory is. The only games I’ve played that are as bad or worse are the original more friends of mineral town where you only have TWO slots for forageables in the beginning and stardew valley where the first bag upgrade is cheap) RF4 definitely pulls from your storage when crafting, I can’t imagine this isn’t a feature in RF5 and I honestly do not remember if it is or not in RF3.

NPCs all get unique dialogue the day before and event, and NPCs will tell you about upcoming birthdays if their friends or family with whoever’s birthday it is. They even give you gift ideas. (I’m pretty sure they do in RF3 and they 100% do in RF4 and 5)

Also adding on! The biggest reason I do not like Stardew is I think all of the characters are super boring. It’s why I ended up buying mistria, I heard that the characters are super fun and have a TOOOOONNN of dialogue. And they do! Rune factory is the same way. Not a single rune factory character is normal they are all weirdos and they have SO MUCH to say. Sometimes mini events will happen where everyone in town is talking about something that happened the day before, like someone baking some really terrible cookies or the bath water being hotter than usual which sounds incredibly mundane but it’s so funny. I find that the non-romanceable NPCs will repeat dialogue sometimes, but not terribly often. And the marriage candidates rarely so. Of course the writing isn’t going to be for everybody but I just love all of the Rune Factory characters.

Rune factory 4 is the first one you can play a girl in (technically 3rd? 2 you can be a girl in the second half of the game, but you’re a kid. And I think Tides of Destiny let’s you after you beat the game? But I haven’t played that one so I don’t know how it works) Rune Factory 5 is the first one you can be gay in. (There’s a work around for this in rf4 but you need a save game+) they are all great games but RF4 is probably the best one.

OK sth I really, really love about fields of mistria is how accessible it is for an adhd hoarder that also forgets everything and what I was doing in like 5 minutes, like myself

the map has npc locations by default! so even if their schedule changes, you can always find them!

quests never expire! you can work on them at your own pace, and even hold onto one's that require a seasonal item that you didn't have enough of before the season was up, until the season rolls around again!

they don't take your damn money or items when you pass out or die because you lost track of time or are bad at combat!

there's free soup in the tavern that restores a little stamina, and a fountain behind a breakable boulder that does the same! the baths are also pretty cheap, and you even get a few free usages after a certain quest!

it starts with storage in your house, AND! anything you had in said storage can be used for crafting without having to go and retrieve it!

if you don't know where to get an item for a quest, talking to various npcs can tell you where it is!

if you need a certain item for the museum collection, you can check out hints on where to get those in the museum itself! and every item that can go in the museum has a tooltip when you over over it, to tell you if you have already donated it or not!

items don't despawn! you can just toss stuff on the floor and come back for it later when you have the inventory space!

if you forget to check your calendar, that's fine! the npcs will tell you about any upcoming events a few times before it arrives, and the start of a new day will tell you if it's someone's birthday!

they give you tutorials in a narrative way, gradually introducing new systems and mechanics as you progress! and these are done via quests that you can go and complete whenever you're ready!

the village progression gives you plenty of rewards and things to help you with your farm, which is very encouraging to keep at it!

the upgrade system just builds up along with doing normal tasks like farming! and you can spend these points however, whenever you like, with many being available right from the start! and you can have all of them if you want, so no need to worry about indecision!

you can go to your diary at home and save whenever you like, and even make another one so you can place them in other areas!

little heart notifications pop up over npc's heads when you progress the relationship, so you have a quick reference on how close you are!

every friday (and saturday after you fix the bridge), all the npcs are in the same place! this makes chatting to everyone and handing out gifts easier if you have trouble remembering to do so!

you have to hold down the button to eat an item! so you don't accidentally poison yourself!

other accessibility options ive really been appreciative of are: being able to turn off rain/snowfall, flashing, screenshake ect. for those with sensitivity, sight, or neurological issues that don't play well with those.

[hexsrealityarchived2]

What if Wanda was sold at a pet store?

[greetingsfromuranus]

how does the more detailed sprite look compared to the old one? does the extra rendering look nice or would it just make the character more cluttered?

i feel like the more rendered one looks more professional, but the simpler one i feel is a bit more stylized & cute, would be easier to work with, and can create a more distinct/unique look. what do you guys think?

[ignore the color changes between them, mainly focused on the shading and all that] [also, i added them both on a light and dark background because i know that different context can change how the shapes are interpreted]

[sukinapan]

hellooo i LOVE your art and all of ur little games so so dearly <3 ur style inspires me every day and i'm always excited to see what you put out next! i've been interested in creating my own games recently and i was wondering if you had any advice as to where to start?

（　＾＾）人（＾＾　）♡!!

i recommend you look into these tools/engines, which require little or no coding:

free: -twine -bitsy -decker -GB studio -godot (this one needs more coding knowledge afaik but very beginner friendly)

paid: -construct 3 -RPG maker

please note that even with the simplest ones, "no coding" doesn't mean you'll automatically know how to use them. all of them have their own logic and workflow and you're gonna need some patience (i myself tried using RPG maker and didn't understand sh1t lol but plenty of people find it easy)

you could also look for gamejams to join ^^ some people join without pre-established teams and look for others to team up/learn together

[eggrens]

i think people should try a little Linux, just for something different yknow

doesn’t have to be any specific “beginner-friendly” distro or whatever, could just be WSL even . just gives you a different perspective on OSs :)

like if you’re sick of Windows/MacOS and are frustrated that you need to keep upgrading your hardware to run the newest versions, why not experience something else and download VirtualBox n try out a Linux distro for a bit, see if you like it,, I think you might be surprised by some of em :)

i still use Windows 10 for my desktop, mainly for gaming and art etc, but i switched over to Linux Mint on my laptop a while ago and have used it for school, and it’s been running better than when it had Windows on it. does what i need it to do, and using the terminal to do stuff feels fun and kinda powerful with how easy it is to install stuff with it :)

was there troubleshooting involved? yes, but it was often fixed by just looking up your problem and finding answers on stackexchange or linux forums, not too different from troubleshooting windows tbh lol

i’ve also recently got a mini pc to use as a little server for stuff, like discord bots. even tho the specs are a little on the lower side, it’s still able to run stuff pretty well since I installed Xubuntu on it, which is specifically designed to be quite light on system resources, and it’s been great too :)

anyways point is,, try out Linux in some form, why not :) if you have an old laptop/desktop sitting around, try reviving it by installing a lightweight linux distro on it! the less e-waste the better :3

[lj-lephemstar]

Progress Checkup! (Nov. 2024) | Scratchin' Melodii Devlog

​​Hey again guys! Sorry if it's been a bit since the last devlog. With how much I've been up to, it sure feels like it!

Let's get right into it. For starters, the 3rd rival battle of Act 2 is complete! I'll likely be showing a gameplay preview of it sometime soon. This is the first song to use the new framework that I'll be using for all the other stages going forward, which also means I've had to spend the past couple weeks getting the previous songs working with this new system too... Did you know that in the demo builds, if I wanted to change something about the gameplay, I'd have to manually go back and change it for EACH individual song one by one? Well now, imagine all the songs had like a peace treaty to just share one good, clean, and organized system that I can easily tweak and add to as I please. So development is gonna be smoother than ever from here! This is how most games are SUPPOSED to work, but I was a liiittle too stupid to figure out how to do this until recently!

While I was moving Cream Cheese Icing over to this new system, I took the opportunity to make the chart a bit more beginner-friendly! For example, the first line went from this...

To just this!

As you can see, it has less notes, therefore it is less scary for new players. Believe it or not, I actually never intended for Cream Cheese Icing to be so difficult for new players in the first place! Naturally, being too good at my own game can make gauging the difficulty curve a bit tricky at times, but I think I'm figuring it out!​

You may have also noticed that the characters have new UI icons too! I felt like the old ones were too flat and boring, so I did a new take on them, aiming for more dynamic shapes and angles, not to mention how my art style's just kinda grown a bit in general since I last drew the icons. I also ended up leaving out the circles behind them. I was a little worried I was gonna run out of unique colors for all of them at some point, plus SOME of these guys can have really big hair and/or hats that pretty much just cover up the whole circle anyway. (hi rensa)

Speaking of artwork, here's a little look at some of the updated animation I've done for Stir & Mix! (Try to imagine it in not highly-compressed-gif-form. I promise it looks better in-game!)

When working on Stir & Mix related stuff, I can't help but feel a bit of a sense of dread knowing how people may react to it... Honestly, sometimes I kinda wish it never got as popular as it did in 2022. But hey, doing my own thing regardless of what's expected of me is the most Scratchin' Melodii thing I could do!

Speaking of which, Mia learned a ton of new stuff while doing the VOCALOID tuning for the last rival battle we worked on, so we might revisit Stir & Mix's vocals again at some point before release to give it even more style! (By the way, Mia and 2cada are the same person! Sorry if I refer to both names interchangeably! She's been the one doing all the VOCALOID tuning and vocal mixing for the game since 2023.)

Well, I think that's all for now! Here's another friendly reminder that there will NOT be anymore demos of the game. Any new content will be saved for the full game's release. I know I've said it before, but I probably won't stop saying it until people stop getting confused about it LOL. Thanks for reading!! I appreciate you. - LJ

[batbabydamian]

Hey, I started reading Robin son of Batman because of your recommendation (I literally have a print of your post on my phone to not forget lol). Honestly? One of the best things I ever read!!!

Thank you for opening my eyes! Damian has been one of my favorite characters for over a year, but I didn't read/watch much of him because of school, life (and probably an executive dysfunction in the mix).

Maya is incredible. I loved her.

I haven't finished all the issues yet, but do you have any other recommendations?

WAH this makes me so happy, i'm glad you still gave it a shot even with how busy life is!! ;v;

i’d love to give reccs, and i’ll try to go a beginner friendly route! tbh you can pick up whatever here, but since you've read R:SOB i’d immediately follow up with Batman and Robin (2011) #1-8! this first arc is what’s referred to in Maya’s introduction, and it's just. so good.

Main Books

Batman and Robin (2009)

Dick as Batman with Damian as his Robin!

#20-22 Tree of Blood: Dark Knight vs White Knight arc is done by Tomasi and Gleason, the team for the next Batman and Robin series

*Batman and Robin (2011)

Bruce and Damian figuring out their relationship as both Batman & Robin and father & son

imo you can enjoy the ride and read straight through this but i’ll add context to avoid as much confusion as possible since there’s the occasional tie-in or offscreen events, like Damian’s death nbd

Batman Incorporated (2012) #1-10

events leading to Damian's death - affects Batman and Robin (2011) from issue #18

kind of a tough read especially with how Talia's written, but a lot of iconic bits like Batcow, Damian's vegetarian declaration, Alfred the cat, "We Were the Best, Richard."

Robin (2021)

another self-discovery adventure, particularly after Alfred’s death and a fallout with Bruce (and questionable writing choices from his last Teen Titans run)

Batman and Robin (2023)

currently ongoing! after a number of events, Bruce and Damian are back as a duo

Damian Dynamics!

Batman: Streets of Gotham (2009) #7, 10-12

arc where Damian meets one of his first Gotham friends, Colin Wilkes

Batgirl (2009) #5-7, #17

Steph and Damian dynamic! "the bad cop, worse cop" dysfunctional duo

Red Robin (2009) #13-14

early Tim and Damian dynamic that of course includes fighting haha. funny enough, accidentally my first intro to Damian LOL

Teen Titans (2003) #89-92

Dick!Batman has Damian join the Teen Titans. Start of Damian and Rose Wilson dynamic that’s extended in Robin (2021)

Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011)

Damian meets Cass and has a brief team up

Gotham Academy (2015) #7

Damian meets Maps Mizoguchi! they have a few other meetings, but outside of that the series itself is a great read!

Robin War Event (2015)

Robin War (2015) #1, Grayson (2014) #15, Detective Comics (2011) #47, We Are Robin (2015) #7, Robin: Son of Batman (2015) #7, Robin War (2015) #2

Duke and Damian dynamic! not exactly beginner friendly but these are the main issues in order for the event! you can also read the TPB version for everything including Tie-Ins

Nightwing (2016) #16-20, #42, #43

#16-20 Nightwing and Robin arc!

#42 Dick on a mission to save Damian! the one appearance of "Wiggles" the dragon

#43 Dick, Roy, and Damian team-up

New Talent Showcase 2018 "Catwoman: Pedigree"

Selina, Damian, and Alfred the cat

Batman: Prelude to the Wedding - Robin vs. Ra's Al Ghul (2018)

Selina, Damian, and Cheese Viking - Damian's fav game shown in Nightwing: Rebirth (2016)

Monkey Prince (2022) #1-4

Marcus Sun Shugel-Shen's main comic, but Damian features as a fun dynamic here before they're in more serious circumstances in Batman VS Robin (2022)/Lazarus Planet event

Superman (2016) #10 - 11

the beginning of the Super Sons! featuring Maya!

Super Sons (2017)

solitary arcs but there’s a few event tie-in issues later

Adventures of the Super Sons (2018)

literally more Super Sons adventures lol galactic shenanigans yeehaw

Challenge of the Super Sons (2020) 

Super Sons time shenanigans feat. the Justice League

Robin 80th Anniversary (2020)

"Boy Wonders" - brief Damian feature as Tim considers his next step in life

"My Best Friend" - Jon's thoughts on Damian and their dynamic

"Bat and Mouse" - refers to Damian's unfortunate Teen Titans (2016) run at the time of release which follows up with Teen Titans Annual #2 where Damian briefly gives up Robin

Extra Comics!

Superman/Batman (2003) #77

Kara and Damian in a Halloween team-up! also the appearance of "Li'l Matches" lol

DCU Halloween Special '09 "Cavity Search"

Damian out on a solo mission for Halloween night. Immediately after is Tim's Red Robin story "Then and Now: Our Father's Sins" which is more somber in contrast but also a good read!

DCU Halloween Special 2010 "Robin the Vampire Slayer"

a Dick!Batman and Robin story featuring the vampire Andrew Bennett

Cursed Comics Cavalcade (2018) "The Devil You Know"

Halloween themed comic with a sweet short story of Damian alongside Solomon Grundy

DC's Terrors Through Time (2022)

"Trick or Treat" a Super Sons Halloween story

"The Haunting of Wayne Manor" Damian and Deadman story - in the end, Boston kinda refers to Nezha's possession of Damian in Batman VS Robin (2022) which was happening at the time of this release

Batman: Li'l Gotham (2013)

lighthearted series that instantly makes me smile with the silliness and Dustin Nguyen’s art i love this dearly

Secret Origins (2014) #4 "A Boy's Life"

a retelling of Damian's origin story

Detective Comics (2016) #1001-1005

Batman and Robin vs the Arkham Knight (unrelated to the game)

Truth & Justice (2021) #6/#16 - 18 Digital First version

cute story of Damian’s birthday! Juni Ba’s art is so fun!!

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration (2021) “Special Delivery”

short story about Damian! and poisoned pizzas. completely forgot the artist Sami Basri drew Rebirth Damian here before catboy Damian lol Cass’s story “Sounds” is also cute! Marcus makes his first appearance in "The Monkey Prince Hates Superheroes"

DC VS Vampires (2021)

Damian makes appearances throughout this elseworlds book, but the one-shot DC VS Vampires: Hunters (2022) is vampire Damian-centric!

Batman: Black and White (2021) #5

“Father & Son Outing” short story written and drawn by Jorge Jimenez!

Batman: Urban Legends (2021) #20-23

#20 “My Son” Talia and Bruce focus

#20 - 23 “The Murder Club” 4 Parts

Tiny Titans (2008) #33, #39, #45, #47

a few appearances but SO CUTE, LOOK AT HIM

*Batman and Robin (2011) reading guide

i'm mostly trying to avoid the "what did i just walk in on?" kinda feeling when i first started reading comics LOL i'll list the comics where events take place, but you don't necessarily have to read them to go through this book since things are usually explained as quickly as possible in the first page or so

#0 Someday Never Comes

Talia and baby Damian before he grows up to meet Bruce

#1-8 Born to Kill

just an incredibly solid arc for Bruce and Damian!

#9 Court of Owls Tie-In Issue

Damian VS a Court of Owls Talon. While Bruce is occupied with a home invasion of Talons, Alfred makes a call for allies to protect targeted Gotham public figures from Talons. During Batman (2011) #1-11

#10-12 Terminus

Damian challenges the previous Robins sans Steph

Batman Incorporated (2012) is occurring at this time where Talia has placed a bounty on Damian and there's small mentions of that

#13-14 Eclipsed/Devoured

mostly solitary arc! end of it leads into the Death of the Family event

#15-16 Death of the Family Tie-In Issues

Damian and Joker face-off... Alfred's been kidnapped by the Joker, and Damian goes looking for him. During Batman (2011) #13-17

#17 Life is but a Dream - Death of the Family Epilogue

a sort of subconscious check-in through the dreams of Damian, Alfred, and Bruce. Nightwing (2011) #17 features Damian encouraging Dick after Death of the Family events

#18 Undone "Requiem"

Bruce dealing with Damian's death from Batman Incorporated #8

other reactions to Damian's death: Dick in Nightwing (2011) #18, Tim in Teen Titans (2011) #18

#19-23 Denial, Rage, The Bargain, Despair, Acceptance

Bruce through the stages of grief with some batfam appearances in each. also introduces Carrie Kelley into continuity as Damian's acting tutor.

Batman (2011) #19-20 also addresses Bruce's loss

#23.1-23.4

these could be skipped - villain stories, also related to Forever Evil event.

#24-28 The Big Burn

optional Batman and Two-Face/Harvey Dent arc, #23.1 is part of this story!

Damian's resurrection and return

#29-32 The Hunt for Robin

Ras took Talia and Damian's bodies from their graves, and Bruce goes after him.

-> Robin Rises: Omega

continues events from #32. if you don't want to jump to this, basically, Glorious Godfrey and a bunch of parademons from Apokolips are here for a chaos shard which Ra's put in Damian's sarcophagus. at some point, Bruce gets a hold of the shard where he sees a vision that leads him to believe Damian can be resurrected. Godfrey ends up taking the shard, along with Damian's body since it was emitting the same energy.

#33-37 Robin Rises

Bruce hellbent on retrieving Damian from Apokolips and reviving him

-> Robin Rises: Alpha

necessary to read and continues events from #37! Damian's back with a bang lol

#38-40 Superpower

Damian adjusting to having superpowers and being alive again

Annual #1 2013 Batman Impossible

sweet (and funny) one-shot of Damian sending Bruce on a meaningful scavenger hunt around the world while Damian gets to be the cutest Batman for a bit

Annual #2 2014 Batman and Robin: Week One

one-shot takes place during Damian's absence. after Bruce and Alfred find a mystery gift left for Dick, Dick recounts a story he had told Damian from his Robin days.

Annual #3 2015 Moonshot

one-shot Batman and Robin adventure on the moon!

...and of course after Batman and Robin (2011), Damian's story continues in his first solo Robin: Son of Batman (2015)!

[thegalleonsnest]

The Bugsnax Card Game is Here!!

I finally got my copies in yesterday, and decided to do an overview of the cards and show them off in a sort of unboxing kind of thing.

The box is pretty big! But the inside is nicely compact with 3 decks holding everything in the game: Bugsnax cards, Trap cards, the Grumpus decks! Some of them are spread out between each pile to make sure everything fits evenly (Found Cromdo's deck in the snax deck pile lol).

All of the cards are very high quality, and full of charm! We already got a glimpse of them in the digital print and play set that got sent out a few months back, but having it all in person feels really cool, I almost don't wanna use them lol.

All of the Grumpus cards are genuinely so much fun to look at, and they all play in unique ways that really changes how much you approach a given situation. Some are built around risk vs reward like Cromdo, or countering another player's deck. Some play somewhat more friendly with others while also using it as a way to help yourself like Filbo and Eggabell. There's a good amount of a variety between the decks that I really appreciate and makes you noticed just how much these abilities actually play around the game's rules and mechanics.

I also was expecting there to be at least copies of bugsnax cards specifically, but no, there's only one of each surprisingly. Not that there needed to be copies considering how big the deck is as a whole, so it keeps you on your toes on who will show up. (side note: Flapjackarak is the only bugsnax in the game to featuring the ability "whirlwind" which isn't even mentioned in the "Keyword Reference" page on the manual, I thought that was neat.)

The decks are separated between basic and advanced/expert decks. Obviously to provide accessibility to beginners and the younger crowd. The game also operates on slightly different rule sets depending if your using the advance decks or have more than 4 players. Which is pretty cool! An average session with the basic decks takes about 30 minutes, but playing with the advance decks and more players, could take up to 60 minutes. But your choice to follow those rules or make your own. (I know I will, I've got several ideas for how make different and new rule sets and game modes)

[r3m-ster]

Hi Monster Hunter fandom! So, I need advice. A few years ago, I got into the Monster Hunter game series through Monster Hunter Stories 2. I really love it, it’s become a hyperfixation and I’m especially excited because the original Monster Hunter Stories has come out on the Switch so I can play it too!

However, I would like to get more into the main games. I’ve tried the demo of Monster Hunter Rise, and while I enjoyed it, my experience was ultimately brought down a bit by the fact that I’m complete shit at the game lol.

Can anyone give me tips or advice for Monster Hunter Rise? Since I only have a Switch I can’t get an earlier game that might be more beginner-friendly, but if anyone knows a Monster Hunter game that is on the Switch that is easier to understand than MHR, I’d really appreciate it!! Otherwise, any tips/tricks/advice for MHR is much appreciated :)

[hackedmotionsensors]

I got the elder scrolls cookbook bc I'm in a PHASE right now but the binding is all coming apart (probably bc the book is OLD Lol)

but the recipes for this one are probably the most....not exactly advanced but the most MATURE of the books I have so far. Both in terms of I guess skill but also like.....

the Minecraft cookbook and Stardew Valley ones are very....what a fun little treat we are making. Even if its like a Salmon dinner lol

The Elder Scrolls one is like......me and 12 of my weird nerd friends are going to have a viking themed cosplay night and Bill is in charge of the MEAD and I'm in charge of the Honker Tusk Roast or whatever lol

so basically its been the hardest one for me to pick simple recipes that one person can enjoy (I FOUND A FEW!)

The Minecraft Cookbook is easily the best of the bunch that I have. Its very kid friendly, very beginner friendly and since Minecraft as a game involves a lot of learning it has a lot of rreally fun teachable moments but also your food is in lil cubes and thats cute.

Lol I'll make a huge review of all the books once i've cooked at least one thing from all of them. But it cost a fair amount of money buying fucking spices like what the hell is that about

[imsobadatnicknames2]

top 5 ttrpgs for beginners

Sorry that this one took me a bit longer to answer than all the other Top 5 asks :p i wanted to explain a bit of my reasoning behind it and this gave me q chance to ramble a bit about something that bothers me lol

So, first of all I want to talk about what TO ME makes something a good beginner RPG.

Ramble:

I've talked a bit in the past about how I have sort of a bone to pick with the way so many people, when asked for recs for beginner TTRPGs, immediately decide to recommend extremely rules-light/minimalist/one-page RPGs (Hacks of Lasers&Feelings in particular seem to be somewhat popular on this front), when IMO these types of RPGs are at their best when played by an experienced group (or at the very least with least one very experienced player/GM who can provide some guidance to the others). I think a lot of ppl seem to have the impression that simpler mechanics inherently make a game more beginner-friendly, and that thus the most beginner-friendly games are inherently gonna be the ones with the simplest mechanics. And while this is true to an extent (a 700-page RPG with tons of complicated mechanics to remember is obviously gonna be inaccessible to beginners), when you consider that mechanics exist to DELEGATE decisions about the fiction away from the players and the GM so that they don't have to manually arbitrate them every time, there is point where less mechanics are gonna make harder for new players because it means there's more thing they're gonna have to find a way to arbitrate on and decide by themselves, and that's a skill that takes time to develop. An experienced group can probably get a ton of mileage out of a system that essentially ammounts to "the GM describes the world. The players describe what their characters do, and the GM describes how the world reacrs. When the outcome of a player action is uncertain, then [simple resolution mechanic]" but a beginner group is gonna be a little lost. Especially if the game, like many of these types of games, includes practically nothing in terms of GM tools. So I think recommending beginner RPGs solely on the base of how simple they are is well-intentioned but misguided.

(Ramble over)

So, some of what, to me, makes something a good beginner RPG is

Rules provide enough support that the group won't have to constantly be figuring out how to adjudicate stuff on the fly, but they're simple and flexible enough that they're easy to remember and learning them doesn't feel like a daunting task like it does with a certain game (*cough cough* D&D)

Relatively short and uni timidating. Maybe between like 20 and 100 pages. Players should be able to read through the rules and mechanics in one sitting.

Plenty of examples of play, often a good example of play is what makes a game's rules really *click* for a new player.

Relatively quick and painless to start running for the first time. Character creation should be quick and snappy, and if possible a short pre-written adventure (hopefully with some room to be expanded into something larger) should be included within the same book and ready to run out of the box. Even if your group doesn't like using prewritten adventures, having a *good* prewritten adventure can be a huge help in understanding how to write/design them.

Solid set of GM tools and resources (if it's a game with a GM, of course)

Optionally, plenty of compatible material to either use or take inspo from.

So, I think my recs would for beginner games would be...

Mausritter

If any of you have EVER heard me talk about RPGs you knew Mausritter was gonna be here TBH. I've repeatedly talked about it being one of my favorite RPGs and also that I consider it pretty much an ideal introduction to the hobby. I think the woodland critter theme is extremely charming and attractive for people of any age, while the slightly darker elements that rear their head from time to time keep it from feeling too childish.

The mechanics are simple and flexible but still provide enough structure that even a new GM will rarely if ever be at a loss about how to resolve a particular action. They're familiar to anyone who's played a dungeon game while still being extremely streamlined. 3 stats with the main action resolution being roll-under tests, no classes, characters are defined mostly by their inventory, all attacks auto hit and initiative is extremely streamlined, which keeps combat quick and dynamic, etc. And the mechanics are pretty short and esy to digest too, the players' section of the rulebook only takes 18 pages, including stuff like inventory tables and examples of play, and the website features a handy one.page rules summary (which also comes with the box set)

It's super easy to get running: character creation takes a couple minutes at most, and it features both a simple adventure and hexcrawl that can be used right out of the box with plenty of interesting directions to expand for further adventures.

Now, Mausritter takes most of its mechanics from Into The Odd, so a lot of its virtues come to it, but I think the few changes it made DO make mausritter most beginner-friendly, such as its inventory system which makes inventory management into a genuine challenge without having it devolve into a slog of tedious book-keeping, and the incorporation of a streamlined version of GloG's magic system, which manages to still be simple and easy without being as loose and freeform as the magic system from a lot of OSR games of similar complexity (which can be initially daunting to new players)

But what REALLY makes mausritter shine IMO is the extremely solid set of GM tools. In just a few pages mausritter manages to provide simple rules, procedures, generators and advice for running faction play, making an engaging hexcrawl, making adventure sites, and generating stuff like treasure hoards, NPCs, an adventure seeds and overal just a ton of useful stuff that takes a huge load off of the shoulders of any beginner GM.

Cairn

Lets say you're into Mausritter mechanically but your players aren't into the whole woodland creature theme and want to play something more traditional. Cairn is also built on Into The Odd's system, and takes inspiration from some of the same sources, so it's very similar mechanically. It does feature some significant differences regarding magic, character advancement, and how injury and healing work, but overall it's still mostly the same system under the hood, so a lot of what I said makes Mausritter a great introduction to the hobby mechanically still applies here (quick and flavorful character creation, dynamic and streamlined but dangerous combat, etc). It's also a classless system that features msotly inventory-defined characters, but aside from the option to randomly roll your gear, the game also offers the option of picking a gear package in case you wanna emulate a particular fantasy archetype.

Now, Cairn is a much more barebones document, and doesn't even feature examples of play or an explicit GM section with resources for running the game, which breaks with the things I said I look for in a beginner RPG. However, in this case I'm willing to forgive this because, first, Cairn's website features a plethora of first party and third party stuff that isn't featured in the book itself, including examples of play, GM procedures and tools, modular rules, and a wealh of conversions of creature stat blocks and adventures from D&D and other fantasy adventure ttrpgs.

And Second, something different that specifically distinguishes Cairn as a good example of a beginner RPG is how it explicitly outlines its philosophical and design principles, and the principles of play for both the GM and the players before it even shows you any rules, which is something that I think more games and ESPECIALLY begginer games should do. IMO the whole book is worth it just for that little section.

Troika!

Troika is a game built on the Fighting Fantasy system (which originally was less of a TTRPG system and more of an engine for a series of choose-your-own-adventure books) with a really interesting pseudo-victorian space opera weird gonzo setting which is a load of fun. It has very simple 2d6 mechanics, with characters having three stats (Stamina, Skill, and Luck), and being mostly defined by their inventory and the special skills from their background. Character creation is quick and snappy. The game gives you 36 weird and extremely creative character backgrounds, but creating a custom background is as easy as coming up with a concept and the names of a couple special skills that support that concept. It also has a very unique initiative system which might be a little divisive but which I DO find fun an interesting.

While it lacks many of the GM tools I praised Mausritter for, it makes up a little bit for it with an initial adventure that does a wonderful job at naturally introducing the weirdness of the setting, and which at the end presents a ton of opportunities to segway into a variety of urban adventures.

Now, a lot of beginners come into RPGs specifically looking for a D&D-type fantasy game (which is a problem because D&D is a pretty bad option for a beginner RPG) so for those types of players I would recommend

The Black Hack

The Black Hack is probably my favorite game for doing D&D-style fantasy roleplaying. It's a game that at its core uses the original 1974 white box edition of D&D for inspiration, but modernizes, reimagines, and streamlines every aspect of it to be one of the most simple yet elegant D&D-like experiences out there. For example, TBH uses the six stat array that all D&D players know and love, and with the same 3-18 point range, but does away with the attribute score / attribute modifier dichotomy, instead building its entire system around the attribute scores, with all rolls in the game being roll-under tests for a relevant attribute (including initiative, attack/defense rolls, and saving throws). It also innovated some extremely elegant mechanics that went on to be very influential for other games, such as its Usage Die mechanic as a way to streamline keeping track of consumable resources. Basically, it's like if D&D actually played the way it looks in cartoons and stuff: character creation doesn't take 3 hours, every combat encounter doesn't take five hours, and you can place some emphasis on resource management without the game making you want to tear your hair out with boring bookkeeping.

And one of the coolest things about it is the way it handles compatibility. Despite taking loose at best mechanical inspiration from D&D and playing very differently from it, TBH is intentionally designed to be compatible with a wealth of old-school D&D material. While it very clearly stands as its own distinct game, it's designed in such a way that you can prety much grab any creature stat block or adventure module written for any pre-3e version of D&D and use it in The Black Hack with little to no effort in conversion required.

The first edition of the game is a pretty barebones 20-page booklet that just describes the basic game mechanics, since it was assumed you'd probably be using D&D creature stat blocks and adventures with it anyway, but the second edition was significantly expanded with a bestiary, expanded GM procedures and advice, and tool for creating anything you could want: Hexcrawls, towns, dungeons, quests, treasure hoards, NPCs, dungeon rooms, traps, secrets doors, etc. plus a short premade adventure and even a few premade unkeyed dungeon maps that you can take and key yourself if you're in a pinch for a map, which as you all know, I think GM tools are an important part of a beginner game.

The game only includes the 4 basic classes from old-school D&D (fighter, thief, cleric, magic user) but the community has made several supplements adding back more modern classes.

Now, if you're that type of player that wants a D&D-like experience and you want an alternative that's still beginner-friendly but doesn't deviate as much from D&D's design, I would suggest:

either Basic Fantasy, or Old-School Essentials (or any good retroclone of Basic D&D tbh)

BF and OSE differ a bit from each other but at their core they're both attempts to repackage a relatively faithful but slightly modernized version of the 1981 Basic/Expert D&D set, retaining mostly the same mechanics while ditching a few of the aspects that might seem counterintuitive to a modern audience (such as descending AC, which I personally don't mind but I udnerstand why a lot of people find it confusing). I'm recommending these bc I think if you're gonna play any actual D&D product, the B/X set represents D&D at its most beginner-friendly (character creation is at its quickest and simplest, combat flows faster and remain itneresting due to doing side initiative rather than individual initative, the mechanics forsurprise, stealth, and dungeon exploration actions such as looking for traps are streamlined to simple D6 rolls) while still being recognizably D&D and these retroclones put in a bit of an extra effort to make them even more accessible to modern audiences.

Now, just like The Black Hack, these retroclones are limited in their race/class choice to the classic old-school D&D human/halfling/elf/dwarf and fighter/cleric/thief/magic user, but in the case of Basic Fantasy, the community has made several race and class supplements, some of which are showcased on the official website, and in the case of OSE, the OSE: Advanced addon reintroduces many of the modern classes and races that were originally introduced in the Advanced D&D line.

Have in mind that this list is pretty limited by my own tastes and experiences. I'm very aware that the very specific type of game I tend to play and like and experiences inroducing some of my friends to the hobby completely color the scope of what I can recommend as a good beginner RPG, and that that scope is significantly limited. I also like more narrative storygame type stuff, and I don't doubt that some of them would also make a fantastic introduction to the hobby (some PbTA stuff like Ironsworn, Dungeon World and Monster of the Week comes to mind) but my experience with them is not significant enough for me to feel confident in telling which of them are good beginner RPGs.

Also note that there are several games that I consider to be more MECHANICALLY beginner-friendly than the ones I listed here, but that I avoided mentioning specifically because they offer extremely little to no support in terms of GM tools, which I think is an important and often overlooked aspect of beginner-friendliness for any game that includes a GM! But they still might be worth checking out. These include games like DURF, FLEE, OZR, A Dungeon Game, Bastards, Dungeon Reavers, Knave 1e, and Tunnel Goons.

[g0at0ad]

hi!! chants of sennaar looks neat, could you tell me what is abt? (invitation to infodump)

FUCK YEAH thank you for asking

chants of sennaar is an indie puzzle game with heavy inspiration from the myth of the tower of babel. you are climbing through a tower where several different peoples have gathered and all of them speak different languages. you start the game knowing none of the. to travel through the tower you have to learn their languages, solve puzzles, and help people out.

i'm not a big linguistics nerd but the conlang in this game is so neat and fun to figure out. no spoilers but none of them are 1-1 translations to english, all of them have their own grammar rules and lettering style.

the art is so pretty and the puzzles are great and it's very beginner friendly, you super don't have to be good at video games to play it. i found the translation mechanics pretty intuitive, you absolutely don't have to be a linguistics expert to figure things out.

it's a game about unity and understanding and how we have more similarities than differences. it's also a game in which you can pet a cat. i have 11 hours on it to 100% it but you can definitely finish it quicker i was just slow at times lol. it's so good, highly recommend everyone play it!!!

[kwimii999]

Mini update for the face preset tutorial

The face preset tutorial will be released in two parts and I will try my best to be very beginner friendly.

Part 1 - How to make a custom face preset

Step 1 - Making the preset in game Step 2 - Exporting it Step 3 - Dealing with the exported preset with the Face Preset Editor Step 4 - Making it a package file

Part 2 - How to replace an existing face preset

*note this might take me some time because I don't know which preset is which, I have exported and organized the files long time ago (which I will provide a download link to) but haven't bothered to actually check which instance is what preset because It requires manual in game checking aka replacing each and every preset one by one and opening the game to check what preset got replaced, taking note of it and repeat that... maybe 50 times + 😭

Step 1 - Choose which default preset you want to replace (take note of it) Step 2 - Make a custom preset (as shown in part 1) Step 3 - Open .package of the default preset and .package of the custom preset and put both windows side by side. Step 4 - Copy the resource key of the default preset and paste it onto the custom preset

(kinda glad I remember how to do this lol, I thought I had forgotten but I just had to dabble in it once again)

[rubensmuse]

UPDATE: I finished my Madgalene Druckeryn cosplay just in time for Halloween!!!

(Seriously, I was hemming the apron in the breakroom at work.)

Pattern is the Netherlandish Working Woman's Outfit by Reconstructing History. Definitely not a beginner-friendly pattern, thank you @lecomtedelafere for all your wisdom & assistance!!! I am so happy & proud that it came out this nicely. If I were doing this right I would have laced up with a red ribbon & made a smock and a partlet, which I'm pretty sure is what she's meant to be wearing in-game, but who has the time lol. Instead I'm wearing a Voriagh shirt I already owned.

[moncuries]

what video games would you recommend for someone who literally has never played any but has always wanted to get into them, with a good story line lol

HMMM ok… ok. ok. these are mostly RPGs because i think people tend to recommend “cozy” games to beginners but for me its all about story.

Red Dead Redemption 2: aim assist mechanic, no constant danger, good story, dress up element, character arcs that make sense and make you feel so much

Dragon Age Inquisition: good story, character and background customization, do a lot or do a little (lots of side quests but not necessary), good npcs, romance (i love all the dragon age games but this one is most beginner friendly)

Mass Effect: a queer leader in rpgs! interesting sci fi story, simple mechanics that span across all the games, do a lot or do a little, character customization, good npcs, choices matter

Night in the Woods: almost a visual novel, story and character driven, beautiful art,

Fire Emblem (3 houses or awakening): nintendo only sorry, simple game mechanic (basically checkers/chess), great npcs, lots of player choice, romance, choices matter, cool world

My Time at Sandrock: the only cozy game i’d put on this list, goofy, good story, do a little do a lot

Sleeping Dogs: simple controls, huge variety of quests and gameplay (racing, combat, stealth, fetch, chaperoning, etc) not overly long, well researched (its a great time capsule for 2008 hong kong!) slightly dated atp

if you have a suggestion go ahead! i picked all of these as games that i know you wont struggle with. my biggest advice is DONT PANIC. when you are learning a game and its controls, you will did! learn to save often and dont fret if u fuck up. also if ur stressed look at a walkthru

enjoy anon!!

[ataleofcrowns]

hiii i've been wondering — did you have a lot of coding experience when you started TOC?

Not at all. The only "coding" experience I had was fiddling around with CSS for my custom blog theme on Tumblr lol.

There weren't many beginner-friendly tutorials when I first started creating the game in 2018. The tutorials that did exist were quite bare bones, though they did help get me started. Most of what I learned was pretty much pure experimentation and scouring the forums whenever I ran into a problem or wanted to try something new.

Since then, many more IF writers who understand coding much better than I have created resources for others (see this post). I think it has made the program much more accessible for newcomers.

That being said, coding in Twine is really not nearly as difficult as it looks at first sight. For me, once I understood how variables and if-statements work, that was literally 99% of what I needed in order to implement all the mechanics that I wanted to.

You really don't need any prior coding experience in anything else in order to work with Twine!! Just mess around with the program, make some test-files to try it out, and take your time to figure out how it works. I promise it's much easier than it looks!!