#video games... TTRPGs... board games...

[brynnmclean]

"Peter Jackson's LotR is the best adaptation and it will always be the best adaptation, I refuse to watch anything else" wow, good for you, but boy are you missing out on everything else

[weaselle]

i really like the lock picking in Skyrim because it's an actual skill that i, the player, have gotten good at.

like, i have never put a single perk point into the lockpicking tree, but i can pick any lock in the game in ten picks or less because i have a system that i developed into a practiced skill i use on all the locks.

That may sound like a useless or broken game dynamic, but it's one of my favorite things in the game actually -- the locks in Skyrim are built a certain way, and i, as a player, have developed the skill to pick them based on experience, practice, and the development of a process.

i actually wish more things in more RPGs were like that.

[legendaryvermin]

I've been thinking about the different kinds of difficulty in video games (and games generally), as well how to control how difficult situations are with the tools available. here are some categories of difficulty that I've identified: Execution Difficulty

Execution Difficulty is a measure that applies exclusively to the "thumbskill" involved in performing the actions needed to succeed. How tight is the timing involved? How many mistakes can a player make before they reach a fail state?

Strategic/Puzzle Difficulty

Strategic and Puzzle difficulty are tied to challenges where you have many options for how to execute, but not all executions provide equal resultant success. There might be more than one "right" answer (which marks the difference between a puzzle and a strategic situation, to me), but if there are, some answers are better, some tactics more effective, than others.

Commitment Difficulty

If you were inclined to be poetic about it, you might call this the "ironman factor". Commitment difficulty is about how long your choices can affect you, and how easy or hard it is either mitigate the effects of mistakes, or redo a scenario entirely. How long do I have to wait before making another attempt? How many attempts do I get? How quickly are my choices locked in? How much time do I have to decide?

Social Difficulty

Not all games have a social element, but any that do can introduce social difficulty. This isn't strictly about player actions that can harm another player's resources or goals, though it does cover that; it also encompasses clarity of communication, efficiency of team coordination and shared executional responsibility. How much do I have to rely on other players behavior to succeed? Do I need to communicate asymmetric information? what tools do I have to communicate with potential allies, enemies, or actors unknown?

This isn't a complete list, but it's my first foray into identifying where challenge lies in games. I think there is also measurable difficulty when it comes to navigation, but I'm not sure where to categorize it helpfully.

Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts about this I'd love to hear them.

[b-a-r-c-l-a-y]

thinking about how there is "Americanized Fantasy" and "American Fantasy"

Americanized fantasy is that vaguely european folklore aesthetic. Like elves, dwarves, gods, demons...etc. You'll see it in stuff like D&D, Warhammer, Video Games, Books... And then theres actual American Fantasy, which is stuff like bigfoot, the jersey devil, mothman, aliens, the wendigo, lizard people, area 51... I think Lovecraft stuff can fit into that too. I think Scooby Doo and Gravity Falls fit into the American Fantasy genre.

[peregrine-coast]

Two years ago I published Filmmakers Without Cameras: a huge film and games magazine dedicated to thoughtful essays about the media we love, accompanied by gorgeous art from up-and-coming artists.

Talking about it again because it's been a while, I still have a load of copies left, and there's still folks out there who haven't heard of it. The launch of Hades 2 reminded me of one of my favourite essays from it: Playing Hades-- or what it's like to sit with inadequacy.

In it, Syd explores how she wasn't really a gamer, but Hades stuck. And she had to overcome the challenge, and during that, come to love videogames more broadly.

You can pick up a copy here:

[falco-underscore-77]

Hello there!

It's just occured to me that I should introduce myself here on Tumblr...

HI! I'm Hayden! I am an ADHD fuelled and Autism powered twitch streamer who works in the TV industry in the UK!

I'm a massive fan of metal music, TTRPGs, video games, anime, board games and tech...lots and lots of tech.

So yeah feel free to say hi if you see me floating around!

Writing sideblog: @world-of-iridensia

[essektheylyss]

Safety tools for games are very well and good and if you and your group need them you should absolutely use them, but sometimes the way people talk about them feels like they are using those tools as a straight-up substitute for, like, working to develop interpersonal skills and the capacity for talking openly with friends.

[send-halp]

Looking to expand my friend group! Note: this is a sideblog, but please message me if you're into any of the following:

- MTG

- Yugioh

- Board games

- TTRPG

- gaming

- anime

- manga

- faerie smut

- books

- movies (esp. horror, but not slasher)

- late night chats

Thanks! :D

[prismatica-the-strange]

Nope, I'm still crying

[fragilecqpricorn]

for not being the most popular ttrpg by any means, vampire the masquerade really put their brand into fucking everything. think of a merch type that a ttrpg could expand to and they've done it holy shit

[haleviyah]

Winter Commissions 02/05/2023

Character Commissions: 54/72 Slots taken 16 Slots available for purchase Comic Commissions 2 Slots Available!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, feel free to message me at any time! Below is my website that details my commission information and includes a gallery of previous works.

[notaspacelizard]

Hello world! Migrating here from the bird. I’m here for nerdy stuff: video games, board games, D&D/TTRPG, Star Wars, Star Trek, LotR. And also left wing politics, art, tattoos, DIY/crafting, and kink community. Say hello!

[averagecontentenjoyer121]

Give it a month for me to cook, give or take I get sidetracked.

[legendaryvermin]

Curious what people think of this:

A game is a toy with at least two flavors of play.

[media-search]

Pinned Post

This is a blog for recommending media. Almost any media at all. Whether you need examples for a college paper, an AMV, or would just like something to read. This is your one stop shop.

Rules:

1. No media bashing.

2. Any media can be submitted because a) People may be asking for examples of things for school work. Op may need to reference a media that is problematic because it is problematic. b) I'm not policing what media people submit, but I am definitely blocking people who harass people for their submissions.

3. Only thing we do not allow is explicitly pornographic material. Ex: Jada Fire Is SquirtWoman 3 (2007) or Bible Black (2006) (I just googled porn movies and I haven't seen a hentai since I was 16 sorry). R rated material with explicit scenes or themes are allowed.

4. Trigger Warnings are only requested if the piece of media doesn't have a profile on Does the Dog Die. Just add the link to it in the suggestion, please.

4. Indie and non-Usamerican centric media/requests are more than welcome!

How to request recommendations:

You can send an ask or submit a post stating the following:

1. What you need. Why is optional.

2. What you already have if you don't want repeats.

And optional:

3. What you don't want.

You can he as detailed or as vague as you'd like. You don't have to be spesific, but don't be so vague that people can't really tell what you're looking for.

Examples can be anything from: "I'm looking for examples of pregnancy loss in music, books, or games for a college paper. I already have a movie and a television show: The Time Travelers Wife (2009) and This is Us (2016-2022). I do not want anything else from before 2012." to "I'm looking for new artists to listen to. I listen to a lot of pop but am a little open to other genres."

Have fun and I hope you find what you're looking for!

[mystybelle]

So I've been thinking about moonlighter's dungeons more while my tummy repeatedly Batista bombs me ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ

But the idea of dungeons being a fundamentally foreign and eldritch phenomena is fascinating ✨

I've seen something like it in the anime/manga MAGI, and though I don't super like it's kinda neoliberalism perspective on society and conflict, the internal workings of it's fantastic aspects are really cool too! There's dungeons in that world where sacred vessels containing djinni can be found, and let you do really cool stuff when you've attuned to them! I don't remember why the dungeons appear though 🤔

Belle's been telling me about another world like that where dungeons with weird monsters inside appear at random for some reason. I think she said it had something to do with a dreaming god, or a dead god of dream and her memories?

I gotta ask her some more, but there's probably a really fun game you could play about that I bet!