Here we go again. To test things, I need to create characters. To create characters, I need to give them abilities. To give them abilities, I need to come up with a system to do so. Multiple spreadsheets later, I can make characters to test the ability and battle mechanics.

Photography hot take: Good lordt, fuck expired film and fuck romanticizing it. I had to process the shit out of these scans before I got anything other than teal blobs. They look like third generation photocopies now, even after significantly reducing the ISO on the camera.

New BDA blog update on revisiting my old TTRPG system and why things frustratingly can't be done one thing at a time. www.tumblr.com/bigdumbanima...

On the one hand, this feels like busywork. On the other, it's going to be a lot easier for me to sort rather than going back and forth on a PDF. Consolidation is key here between small heals, scanning enemies, item fabrication/repair, etc.

I'm going back to the old book to look at the abilities so i can run some battle tests between casters and tanks. Casters include dark, light, and red mages, bards, chemists, anything that avoids physical melee. It needs some serious retooling before i test it. Maybe i should print the old book out.

I'm going to put longer updates for game design and photography stuff over on bigdumbanimal.ca like I just did :)

In the original book, I spent the majority of tone coming up with classes and 2 skill paths per class. It was a lot of work and a lot of icons. Here's part of the Animal Tamer set. I was absolutely getting lost in the weeds here. 🪡

Duel20 rolls are necessarily going to have different rules for different roles. Ranged rolls have a higher threshold needed to connect and a lower weapon strength, but to balance it out they have both the distance and a lower threshold for special abilities than melee players.

When I wrote the original AEGIS book, it was too broad and I didn't think to really playtest it. I was approaching it like a graphic designer, not quite understanding the mechanics at play. I'm currently testing and streamlining what I call the Duel20 system, a series of head to head dice rolls.

In 2018, I developed a basic TTRPG ruleset that, at the time, seemed awesome. It was my Bachelor of Design thesis project. The problem is it was so open ended that it wasn't really useful. After I finish the sex shop book, while Seeing What Sticks and Thralls are in testing, I'll get back to it.

Playtesting a 4 player version of Thralls while the store is empty. The added dimensions made strategizing more of a challenge that would probably be a lot of fun. It also meant separating the hands into 2-element decks. Final scores were 12-10-9-5. I won!

I don't know how you're spending your ice storm eve, but I made a very, very limited prototype of Thralls to try playing just for the mechanics. One game against myself took about 25 minutes, and sadly, I lost.

Proof of living at a neat neighborhood bakery and cafe while I do laundry. Last night, i started moving the cards into Tabletop Creator Pro, editing some of the clunky ones. I really need to spend more time learning this program, especially when I start the card creation phase of Thralls.

Aaand playtest postponed. At least i managed to play a game earlier and it shows I'm on the right track with this one.

Update: Work is dead so I just did a playtest of the game with my coworker and it was a lot of fun! I'm looking forward to tonight more now :)

It's playtest day!! I really wish I were more excited but I'm exhausted, at work, and in pain after falling up some concrete stairs in the subway station on Friday. Weh!

Looking at the RNG results of my cards this morning, I came to the conclusion that it would be way too easy for players to construct OP decks based on the even distribution of low, medium, avec high start cards. Yes this should be obvious. This is my first time making something like this.

Filling up a spreadsheet with random integers for card values and then printing it so the numbers stop frigging jumping every time i do anything in it... I am a very smart idiot, I promise.

Before i even had my first playtest,I realized a point of confusion in the game. There was no way to tell what kind of sex toy players would be making. This has been addressed and fixed by using dice and updating the rule card. I really want to play this with people!!

The rules are pretty simple, Trump can do whatever he wants to minorities, immigrants, his political enemies etc. but he can't fuck with the money.

Ultimately, I'd love the game to be packaged with whiteboards for players but for prototype purposes, that's not economically viable. So I whipped up a notepad in Affinity cut and glued it. I'll have to do a couple more coats of glue later but for now I'm happy with this!

199 game cards and 1 rules card that didn't print well. A lot of slow cutting showing why it was never my strong suit but at least I didn't need stitches this time. All of the cards slipped into sleeves and stuffed into a box fit to burst. I'd call this toy Audience Participation.

One piece of advice I've taken from my studies in game design is prototype early and often. Watching a video on preparing prototypes, a lot of it followed what I did for deliverables in school and keeping it simple. I never thought I'd have to invest in mount board again.

I spent a couple of hours reading last night, both the Board Game Designer's Guide and Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design. This brought to mind things that made me not want to play board games: skipped turns, player disadvantages, alpha players, and overestimation. 🪡

Hey so I'm probably going to put all of my game design stuff here. At the beginning of the month, I ostensibly ended my graphic design business, such as it was, and decided to pivot into tabletop game design. I have a few ideas, some simple, some very conceptual, and I'm doing a lot of studying.

Hey y'all! Since it's the week leading up to Valentine's Day, I'm gonna give you a good buyer's guide to help you pick out what to get your significant other! 🪡 1) Gift card/certificate. Autonomy is sexy and shows you care about their needs. Get it in advance and make a date shopping together!

The world is teetering on the brink due to a demented toddler. I want to create things that bring joy and conscious consideration to everyone that encounters them. I don't think graphic design alone is going to do this. It's a part of it, and a necessary pivot. While I'm working on the FSSW book,

I know I say this every time it comes up but when my CC subscription ends next month, that's it. The only thing I'll continue paying is the smartphone apps/portfolio/fonts tier. This means spending more time in Affinity. This also means no more pixel art the way I've done it historically.

Renee Good's GFM got an astronomical amount of money in a short amount of time. If you want to help another family affected by 🧊, Keith Porter's has yet to hit it's goal. www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...

Pancake bread: 2.5 cups of regular pancake mix (not instant) 2 cups of milk (or today, egg nog) 3 eggs 2 TBSP canola oil Line a bread pan with parchment paper, then pour the mix in. Mix and whisk until even, bake for ~45 minutes at 350° F. Makes 8 thick pieces.

This look comes with a responsibility to perpetuate magic. So when a little kid calls me Père Noël, I smile, wink, and tap my nose as I make my way.

Hey you know what would be awesome? Supporting this Kickstarter to bring this classic gay documentary back to life! There are only a few days left! www.kickstarter.com/projects/163...

Homosexual powers enhanced

I know I'm recycling previous costumes, but i can't see shit out of the Adam Maitland costume.

Did I just compare Reagan's presidency to the Allagan empire from FFXIV for its long legacy of fucking up absolutely everything and everyone it touched? Yes. Yes i did. And I'll do it again.

Happy Indigenous People's Day!

I really shouldn't bake after midnight but I did :)

It's Bandcamp Friday! I'm currently working on a new album! In the meantime, you can get my stuff at disintegrationist.bandcamp.com

First stop on the raid train is Skye and friends! The Limit has taken over and is throwing dow in a HUGE 4 hour block! You won't wanna miss this one!

Ourcommons.ca I just got my MP's contact information, called, and left a polite message with a staffer saying "Bill C2 is terrible, please withdraw it." I think the guy was surprised that someone called. So call, be polite to the staffers, and let's make this bill absolutely goddamn toxic.

I wonder how many world leaders will be enjoying some nice chicken tacos this evening 🌮🌮🌮

Define your musical taste in 6 artists: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds The National Neko Case Belly Greg Dulli Stars

Just out! Our peer-reviewed critique of the Cass Review has been published by BMC Medical Research Methodology. Please read and share. We show that the Cass Review is fatally flawed and should not be the basis for policy or practice in transgender healthcare. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

In my opinion, P'tit PP is a whiny crybaby fascist loser. He derailed someone else's career in a solid conservative riding because he wants to keep living on our dime in Stornoway. He lost a 25 point lead and the Cons would have run away with the election if not for him. He's an absolute failure.

I typically vote NDP federally, and since I'm an Anglophone in Quebec, my only provincial option is the Liberals. I voted Liberal federally this time because of the NDP's anti-campaign. They've disappointed me before by trying a last minute pivot to appeal to business which never. Fucking. Works...

This election *should* have been a fucking cakewalk for the NDP. I guess you can't run a bad campaign if you don't run a fucking campaign. I know everything was put on Singh's shoulders but this is a party wide problem. Hopefully they'll learn how for the next election.

www.ipolitics.ca/2025/04/25/f... O'Toole wouldn't have entirely lost a lead that might have mirrored Chretien reducing the Tories to 2 seats. I want this to end PP's career and to shatter the Reformers in corpse paint that call themselves the Conservatives.

Sorry @samreich.bsky.social I couldn't help myself :)

Keep protesting, keep organizing, keep building your networks. It's important you keep going, what you build today will save you tomorrow.

Hey hey! I posted this under my blue bluesky account, but I'll be streaming at 3AM Pacific/6AM Eastern as part of the @ftmtf40ph.bsky.social charity raid train to raise money for Trans Lifeline. It's going to be chillout Disintegrationist material stretching back to the Leaves era with new visuals!