I have reached the point in a project where it is now work and I am going to have to block time for actually writing the damn thing or I'll lose a prime playtesting opportunity in Nov. One of the primary reasons I stay a hobbyist is to avoid deadlines. What a tragic turn

A quick browse of this list gave me four new books that hadn't crossed my radar before for the cost of two credits. If you've been growly about Audible's changed author payout plan and aren't tied to the exclusives, I def rec switching to Libro

In the same way, playing a game can give me the opportunity to express, internalize, and crystallize my empathy. It's not that the game's induced empathy in me from nowhere, it's that the game's given me intuitive, creative access to the empathy I've already been cultivating.

It’s long past time that I take responsibility for what I wrote on Israel/Palestine in ON REPENTANCE AND REPAIR. & with the Gaza genocide, our thinking about what amends & healing may ever involve is even more urgent. Even if there may never be “forgiveness” or “atonement.”

Today I am blocking out time to work on a proof of concept game to test a mechanic Hilariously, I need the first few rounds of play to be boring AF bc I have to know what that feels like in the context that I'm building Designing deliberately for a flavour of boredom is weird and kinda hard!

Here's a fun experiment when you're really tired: what would a deliberately designed anti-expressionist game look like? If you have a ready answer... Are you sure? What about if...? Anyway, I'm still tired but now I have a brain full of writhing snakes biting each others' tails. Fun!

On a day when I woke up exhausted, a coworker brought in donuts to share. I hope your day has a donut (metaphorical or otherwise)

Today I asked for some recognition knowing the other person would say yes and they did. It was still a bit scary and I do not like my brain sometimes, even though I recognize I'm short on sleep and that leaves me agitated Anyway, I hope you are able to give yourself grace today if you need it

Given that friction, tension and dissonance are central aspects of expressionist games, can you make a cozy expressionist game? Here is a data point. Let me tell you about my character Mildred 1/

Am I currently considering what would be needed to turn a character grinder into an expressionist game? Maybe. Do I have another project with a deadline I have to work on? Naturally.

I like a lens approach (there are no categories, only lenses) to game analysis and it's fun when a hot new lens makes ripples. Like, is Poet Glorious an expressionist game? Maybe?! If it were, what does it reveal and how does the design succeed/fail? You should try it on your games for funsies

Dear Albertans, Pls check the list of folks eligible for the COVID vaccine for free. You might be on it and not realize! Of the things I didn't expect: ADHD, mood disorders, spectrum disorders, obesity (prob BMI based - bad metric but use it now if you can) If you don't need to pay, don't!

I said some things! For real though, go check out the entire romance series. So many good insights from @helloalexroberts.bsky.social and @sharangbiswas.bsky.social, plus Sam and @tasharobinson.bsky.social exploring infrastructure (design and otherwise) that supports romance play

I have been playing Dredge because a chill fishing game with an undercurrent of horror is really on point for my current situation. I love fishing minigames and this scratches that itch really well

My wife continues to be asymptomatic and testing COVID pos. I have no symptoms and am testing neg. We're masking and distancing from each other (isolation is several degrees more difficult for reasons so this is our compromise) Get vaccinated and have masks on hand, friends. You never know

Welp. We left the con just after arriving bc my wife tested positive for COVID. Asymptomatic, so very glad we caught that before the majority of folks arrived. Sad and disappointed but I'd rather this than a super spreader event.

Hey, am I imagining things or was there a version of the Still Life larp (you play a rock) where you played ice cream? Is that available somewhere?

So turns herb butter is super easy to make and I think I have a use for all the herbs in our garden for the end of season....

Planning for my gaming weekend away next week, and I've set up a morning session where we hang out and play solo games or journal or what not. Some folks are interested in solo journalling games so I'm going to print a few. I really need this trip, yeesh

Just speculation but I bet Rowling's heart weighs more than a feather.

If you're the kind of person who enjoys learning and exploring craft itself, this is less "I suck!" and more "wow, there's so much more to do, amazing!" and can be a dif source of joy No, don't ask me if I can sustain that mindset consistently, that's rude, you don't know me

On the flip side, I'm constantly looking over advice going "how much of this is affected by consideration of the saleability of a game?" Like, I get it and I'm not saying advice should never be affected by that. But it's a thing I need to gauge, is all

Lifehack: my to-do list doesn't have "hydrate" as an entry. It has "refill water bottle." I can't refill it if it's full, so I have to drink the water to empty it.

Dear Albertans, The COVID and flu vaccine pre-order page is live. You need to preorder the COVID and flu vaccines by Sept 30 or else...I don't know? There's no upfront charge when you pre-order so please please show the govt we want the vaccines bookvaccine.alberta.ca/vaccine/s/pr...

The Hero's Legions is an undead army that stands at the borders of life as we know it and the unfathomable abyss that tears at reality. It is composed of warriors who died in the service of mythic heroes, whose names were never known and whose deaths are a line of accounting in the hero's tale 1/

This is a good thread and all The frivolous takeaway is that Xeno's Bullshit Sandwich is a great name for my fave "I'm feeling chatty but not for anything serious" game

I have started a new acting position and one annoying side effect is that now I'm too busy doing brain-heavy work to listen to podcasts while working I could bump the podcast to my commute but that's when I read. Life is a struggle

Ok, did a chunk of chores and prep for the coming work week. Time to investigate an unmurder

Finished up my playthrough of Last Tea Shop - Classic and really enjoyed it 1/ springvillager.itch.io/last-tea-shop

This is a pretty basic thread about craft Recently, I had a lot of fun posting unhinged mechanics through a moderately stressful day. I do this on occasion (in my head, I mean) bc I like exploring the implications of a bonkers mechanic and the game that might surround it 1/

This is great framing, A++ Also I am the kind of goblin who is looking forward to using absolutely unhinged lenses to look at games *with complete seriousness* bc I really do think you can learn cool things that way And also it makes me laugh

My rpg opinions are pretty pedestrian and I don't like being beholden to likes so: some number of unhinged mechanics that might work in the right game/situation (If you actually make these work, you have to tell me about it, that's the deal)

I dunno, I hand Bluebeard's Bride to Guillermo del Toro and just wait for the movie to show up.

I need to do laundry but instead I'm trying to understand how Stripe works in detail as a person who does not care to take money for her stuff. I need to go touch grass, fucking hell

Disclaimer: this is speculation based off internet sleuthing so, like, dump salt on your popcorn, ok? Verify and all that. I'm a rando Visa claims it has a policy of processing all legal transactions, but it has something called the Visa Integrity Risk Program (VIRP) 1/

I wrote this game in response to recent censorship efforts as a way to push back against the idea that sexual art is shameful or inferior. And She Will Love You is a one-page solo RPG about societal shame and the eldritch love of an ancient goddess. Do be sure to read the list of content warnings.

If you're the phone calling type, don't forget to ask for official documents. "Visa does not restrict legal purchases." "That's good to hear! Can you give me the name of the policy document where this is detailed and send me a copy?"

I have weird personal reasons for doing paid products + copies for community care, but yeah, everything is free now. Payment processors and itch get nothing. Like, ok, I'm such small potatoes it's basically symbolic but symbols matter too

What I wish itch had done was hired a good contract lawyer and said "ok, look this over and keep the phrase 'malicious compliance' at the forefront of your mind." Instead we get a list so vague I could make a case for banning Pokemon

Wayrunners: more a network than a gang. Messengers and couriers working solo or in small, vicious teams who trade secret ways through the Outer Dark with each other. Most have brands and raised scars on their faces to announce which communities have granted them safe passage for services rendered 1/

<rubs face> I swear, if we have to go back to using the citrus scale... I'd rather be arguing about if games are art than circling back to quashing erotic* content *Erotic defined here as "anything that someone can fast talk someone else into thinking is erotic"

The only games I want to play on a cruise ship are journalling games in between going from one buffet to another in a food delirium The stack of journals will prob be very confusing if the ship ever drifts into dock with the dead captain tied to the helm

Briefly acknowledging I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor to give you two important updates about the use of "AI" (LLMs) in my field:

I am having one of those days where I added with exasperation "hydrate you fool" to my checklist of things to do So, I dunno, if you're having one of those days too, hydrate you fool

Quick story: It's the second weekend of Edmonton's RPG-A-Thon, where I've been vending in the outdoor portion of the market. Except, today, it was absolutely pouring rain! A midsummer prairie storm. It got so bad that the humidity started to warp the pages of the books I had on display in my tent.

There's a #DailyQuestions practice that helps with basic well-being, started by @ladylakira.bsky.social back in the G+ days. It still helps me on the regular, so here it is again: Dear friends: Have you hydrated? Have you taken your meds? Have you showered/done a hygiene? Have you eaten?

I have been plagued by tiny problems to simple things all day and I would just like to know if the bread I need to leave out to appease the fairies has to be fresh or if I can get away with offering the last of my Ryvita crispbread?

I know there's some grumbles around about dudes being snarky about too many queers or something in fiction but just so y'all have some hope, my father-in-law regularly asks me for book recs bc he finds my taste impeccable, and my taste is unapologetically full of queers

I gave my therapist my copy of The Last Tea Shop. That's how you get a good grade in therapy, right?

I'm flipping through The Balsam Lake Unmurders and the intentional design is fascinating! The "choose your own adventure" vibe, sprinkling the chars as thumbnails through the text as a whole rather than as a discrete section, the conversational tone of the instructions....