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xeneth.design

@xeneth.design

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A Quixotic Game Designer in Exile xeneth.design - He/Him

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xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 2h

Yeah, the BIG player choice hurdles are ultimately creative intent and authorial control.

It's not like fidelity ISN'T a factor, but they chose a bit of an unfortunate example there...
Note how few old RPGS actually chose to branch in that particular way despite the relative "cost" being lower.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 3h

Woof, if that's what passes for "dominance..."
Did Battle Aces really die because people are still hung up on Starcraft 2?
From outside, I weep for the state of the genre.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 6h

Sauce, if that's a thing you require:
archive.org/details/douj...

同人誌GAME FREAK : GAME FREAK : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

☆同人誌GAME FREAK.7z タイトルページ数サイズ発行年月日備考 GAME FREAK Vol.1 14 A5 1983/5/28 ...

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 6h

Love this adorably queer rendition of "Super Mario" in a 1984 Game Freak zine, from long before the broader internet "Rule 63 style" fetishization, labelling, and categorization of such artistic pursuits.

"MARIO BROS." Illustration of "Mario" jumping and punching scaffolding to upset a koopa troopa, only they've got cute plaid overalls and long, billowy light colored hair instead of the usual short dark hair and moustache.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 7h

Reasonably certain that if it wasn't for that bold, incongruous album-cover-like choice of box art back in the day, I'd never have heard of Forsaken.

Heh, I certainly didn't expect it to be a Descent-style six axis shooter! Could never wrap my head around the controls back in the day, though.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 8h

I'm not really one for #VirtualPhotography and rarely touch the various detailed photo modes that AAA games revel in, but the sheer surrealism of #BabySteps is pretty inspiring...

I shall title this piece: "The Smith's Apprentice"

Screenshot from the video game Baby Steps, depicting the main character, Nate, standing barefoot on top of an Anvil in a dirty onesie wearing a crown.
A baby bird is perched on the log the anvil is affixed to, staring up at Nate while an older man in blue jeans and periwinkle dress shirt sits nearby with his hands on his knees, staring at the ground dejectedly.
There's a grinding wheel and a couple of tables with assorted trophies on one of them tucked into this mossy hollow in the rocks for some reason.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

Hm... Yeah, not gonna lie I have no idea where the bar is currently located, but excited for people that have been keeping torches like Digimon lit despite the Pokémon headwinds.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

Was all teed up to make a Mr. Wagoo joke, but didn't have the Nintendo sauce lined up, well done!

Crudely shopped edit of a Mr. Magoo cartoon to transform him into "Mr. Wagoo" by making him look more like Wario from Nintendo games.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

The linear entertainment just keeps feeding you information even if you're not keeping up with it, which is why I love the ability to pause a show to discuss things, (much to my partner's chagrin!)

I miss theaters less than some folks do, and thus perhaps should have my media privileges revoked.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

I'm much less experienced and less certain about applying "reasons for watching" to, say, a film expecting you to read between the lines of presented story.

These are ways for a non-interactive medium to BECOME interactive, but if you're not willing to engage, there's no i/o loop regulating that...

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

A lot of game design boils down to tracing "reasons for play," like if your job involves solving open-ended problems, maybe you love grindy RPGs with solved paths, but if your job is grindy manual labor you play to creatively challenge yourself.

Does this apply to more passive media though?

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

What was it before? Obscura: Veil of Twilight?

I worry about stuff like this a lot from the perspective of someone who feels that names hold a lot of power.
There are prospective titles I'd never breathe into the world for fear of manifesting a scenario where I won't get to use them.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

At some point in the company's past, the Guillemot family performed a powerful ritual.

It's impossible to know which aspects/entities were bound to UbiSoft by blood, but there are signs...
SOME of the nepotism is due to clauses, and BG&E being on the books somewhere appears to be a requirement.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

That's a real thing? We're letting the corporations make up holidays now?
I suppose it says a lot about me that I have Prime and use their services but remain unaware that there's a "Prime Day!"

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

Moon Studios has pre-submitted No Rest For The Wicked to your jam and is demanding accolades for shoehorning resource collection and life sim elements into their tough-as-nails ARPG.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

"This period" being... can't be a slow games release period, we don't appear to have those any more!

Some sort of corporate sanctioned capitalist holiday?
Is it Jeff Bezos' birthday or something?

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

Thank goodness, I was scrolling and becoming increasingly terrified at the lack of "Korean Animation Studio" or "Rat Is Better At Driving Than Bear?!"

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

This inverse applies too; you also can't maintain an intentionally traumatic horror experience that's just wall-to-wall threats and fleeing and combat and STAKES, without safe rooms, slower exploration parts, and reprieves to offset the scares.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

When trying to cast "Cozy" as a genre instead of something like a tone modifier, you'll find that the barriers between it and Psychological Horror are like, shockingly thin.

Creepy stuff is leaking into life sims, and inviting safe spaces with cozy ambiance have always been in Survival Horror.

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

Right?
What does "Trouble" look like in the context of releasing a game that makes enough money that you can live to create more games?

At some point the definition of "Successful" shifted to mean "Stratospherically catapulted into the 1%!"

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

What a bloody missed opportunity for there to be an entire Lord Jabu-Jabu's Belly style setpiece soulslike dungeon inside a massive ergo corrupted whale-turned-kraken this was...

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 1d

Amended: Aeromachina somehow didn't make it onto my wishlist in the moment despite really enjoying the Test-Flight demo!

Mascot platformer revivals often lack this level of integration, where identities inform capabilities that shape level design suggests upgrades that reinforce identity in a loop.

Marxz Vulpez @marxzvulpez.bsky.social · 2d

LRP: the Aeromachina demo rules and I'm super looking forward to the full game, please check it out if you're able

store.steampowered.com/app/3744860/...

AEROMACHINA: Test-Flight on Steam

Master fight and flight as Bogey the android jetfighter, in this special introduction to the world of AEROMACHINA!

store.steampowered.com

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 2d

At the time, "Blast Away The Wall" was a more effective hint because the rules of what a video game could be/do were melting before your very eyes.

The design possibility space seemed infinite and we were trying EVERYTHING. Playable Luigi sounded possible, what's a one-off destructible geo corner?

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 2d

See, this is why passing works into public domain is important; a whole game OST filled with Toccata & Fugue and Night on Bald Mountain leitmotifs?!

Maybe we should be doing it sooner, like 75 years?
Imagine if you could just legally have a whole Elvis themed street racing racing game or whatever!

xeneth.design @xeneth.design · 2d

Played the #Vampire'sBestFriend demo, and can confirm it's got the retro juice.

HEADS UP if you're into:
-Failing fast to learn a lot, Meat Boy style
-Precision platformers like Celeste or HopShot
-UFO 50's simple "2 buttons control deep movement" steez and novel mechanics (Mooncat GOTY)

sink @sinksadventure.bsky.social · 2d

My new open world precision "batformer" Vampire's Best Friend is out now on Steam and itch with a 10% launch discount!

Vampire hunters are after a mischievous vampire girl, and it's up to her pet bat to save the day!