- Entice them with a compelling story.
- If you can’t do that, then bribe them with treasure.
- If you won’t do that, then let them know that if they don’t play along they will be stuck in this boring, treasure-less campaign forever.
– Shamus, Friday Dec 29, 2006
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings Remaster XLV: Last Disrespects”
It’s early 2021 and Logan is just finishing his spring finals. He hasn’t stepped back into a dorm or class since the first lock-down. He switched to all online classes for his second and third semester, and he’ll probably do the same for his fourth. In the fall he’s on schedule to graduate with an associate’s and move on to his bachelor’s. He doesn’t leave his room much, but neither does his dad. Kelly is the only one going out of the house regularly, and that’s only for work. Michael worked remotely long before it was a necessity, but lacking any reason to leave the house has made him more and more sedentary.
Kelly feels like she is somehow living alone, despite being with her family. Logan is distant and online talking to his girlfriend every night. Michael is constantly slammed with work because he’s currently a department lead for a group that does tech support for webcams, keyboards, and microphones. His last year has been spent doing both his job, and the job of the in-person reps who got benched for the plague.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Sims 4 Overthinking: Not Going to the Hardware Store”
By this afternoon Risk of Rain Returns will be released. My family will miss me.
What are you guys up to?
You may call me Rix’larril’an. Not my real name, of course; but reasonably appropriate to blunt or ensnare the questions of the Imperial bureaucracy. Members of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force are stripped of their family ties to emphasize the role of the CEDF in representing and protecting ALL Chiss, but no Chiss will go without a name. The family I was born to encouraged my enrollment with the Defense Force, as I have a tendency to ignore the finer points of Chiss hierarchical relationships and solve disagreements with violence. I refuse to be coy about this; lies may suit the diplomats but no true Chiss should have to serve a double-life at the dinner table. It is perhaps ironic then, that the Defense Force chose me as a suitable candidate to be trained in Espionage, Counter-intelligence, and Assassination.
Well, maybe not that last one.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “SWTOR: Rix’larril’an of the Ascendancy 1.01 – I Hate Hutts”
– Shamus, Wednesday Dec 27, 2006
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings Remaster XLIV: The Exodus Continues”
Time is moving weird.
The first three months of the pandemic move in a weird blur. Logan comes home from college, makes some crochet, learns to draw an apple, makes some online friends, and then it’s suddenly 2021. The new year is celebrated and nothing really changes. People sort of start going out a little more, but it’s not a feeling of safety, it’s a feeling of a slow building blind spot to the issue.
Michael’s parents get sick twice, and only start taking things seriously when one ends up in the ICU. They both live, but suddenly their Facebook posts are a lot less about overbearing government, and a lot more about wishing friends happy birthday. Other families aren’t so lucky. We know this song and dance.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Sims 4 Overthinking: Slurs”
This week is we have just celebrated Halloween. This is from yesterday. This is my sibling’s yearly Halloween charcuterie.
The candles are droopy because they are cheese. The flames are not providing light because they are almonds.
What are you guys up to?
Ever wonder how seemingly sane people can hate popular games? It can happen!
One of the highest-rated games of all time has some of the least interesting gameplay.
No Man's Sky is a game seemingly engineered to create a cycle of anticipation and disappointment.
Here is how I'd conquer the game-publishing business. (Hint: NOT by copying EA, 2K, Activision, Take-Two, or Ubisoft.)
A look back at one of my favorite games. The gameplay was stellar, but the underlying story was clumsy and oddly constructed.
A look at the main Borderlands games. What works, what doesn't, and where the series can go from here.
What's wrong with a game being "too videogameish"?
Sometimes in-game secrets are fun and sometimes they're lame. Here's why.
An unhinged rant where I maybe slightly over-reacted to the water torture of Souls evangelism.
Did you anticipate the big plot twist of Batman: Arkham City? Here's all the ways the game hid that secret from you while also rubbing your nose in it.
T w e n t y S i d e d
