Gamers Nexus out there casually providing the best coverage of tariffs
Let’s say you’ve got a power supply. Let’s say it’s at 145% as a base unit, ’cause right now it probably is. That’s not the only tariff – that’s just one of them. Percentage aluminium by weight? You’ve got to figure that out, and you need to know where it came from, because that’s an additional tariff. Sometimes. Percentage steel by weight? Same question, same fluctuating situation. How the fuck do you figure out where the aluminium legs on a resistor came from?
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Let’s say you’ve got a power supply. Let’s say it’s at 145% as a base unit, ’cause right now it probably is. That’s not the only tariff – that’s just one of them. Percentage aluminium by weight? You’ve got to figure that out, and you need to know where it came from, because that’s an additional tariff. Sometimes. Percentage steel by weight? Same question, same fluctuating situation. How the fuck do you figure out where the aluminium legs on a resistor came from?
( Read more... )
How Cats Broke The Game
Apr. 5th, 2025 02:51 amWarning: Do not watch with mouth full.
A hilarious look at Earth's biosphere as game development, in this installment explaining why cats are such a superior build.
A hilarious look at Earth's biosphere as game development, in this installment explaining why cats are such a superior build.
Indie Web Recommendations
Jan. 27th, 2025 08:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedes has a list of indie web fansites. None of these sound like my kind of fandom, but I'm delighted to see someone promoting them. I am actively looking for individual fansites that have fanfic and maybe some art. Online Friends Are Real Friends
Dec. 26th, 2024 05:25 pmThey thought their son lived an isolated life. But when he died, friends showed up in droves.
Mats Steen's parents were shocked to learn their severely disabled son had lived a rich, independent life they knew nothing about.
Mats Steen was only 25 years old when he passed away, his body succumbing to the genetic disease that had slowly taken his mobility since childhood. He'd lived in a wheelchair since his early teens, and by his 20s, his physical abilities had deteriorated to the point of only being able to move his fingers. He could push buttons and use a mouse, and he spent nearly all of his waking hours playing video games in his parents' basement.
[---8<---]
As his online life was revealed, the family learned that Mats began his days with a routine 30-minute sprint through the forest. He frequented cafes and pubs, chatting with strangers and flirting with women. He sat by campfires having heart-to-heart conversations. He made friends and enemies. He fought heroic battles. He supported people in times of need. He gave advice that people took. He experienced his first kiss.
And he did it all as "Ibelin," his handsome, muscular avatar in the online game World of Warcraft.
The next time someone claims that online friendships aren't real and don't make a difference, belt them with this.
And just in case I haven't said it recently, I treasure my readers and value the time I spend with you-all. You're a boundless source of inspiration and you often tip me to cool things I might not have found otherwise.
Mats Steen's parents were shocked to learn their severely disabled son had lived a rich, independent life they knew nothing about.
Mats Steen was only 25 years old when he passed away, his body succumbing to the genetic disease that had slowly taken his mobility since childhood. He'd lived in a wheelchair since his early teens, and by his 20s, his physical abilities had deteriorated to the point of only being able to move his fingers. He could push buttons and use a mouse, and he spent nearly all of his waking hours playing video games in his parents' basement.
[---8<---]
As his online life was revealed, the family learned that Mats began his days with a routine 30-minute sprint through the forest. He frequented cafes and pubs, chatting with strangers and flirting with women. He sat by campfires having heart-to-heart conversations. He made friends and enemies. He fought heroic battles. He supported people in times of need. He gave advice that people took. He experienced his first kiss.
And he did it all as "Ibelin," his handsome, muscular avatar in the online game World of Warcraft.
The next time someone claims that online friendships aren't real and don't make a difference, belt them with this.
And just in case I haven't said it recently, I treasure my readers and value the time I spend with you-all. You're a boundless source of inspiration and you often tip me to cool things I might not have found otherwise.
Roleplaying Databases
Dec. 19th, 2024 05:56 pmstepnix points out that it's hard to find summaries of tabletop roleplaying games, especially compared to other things like books or movies. RPGGeek is well worth a look. While it doesn't have detailed summaries, it does have a lot of searchable features and it supports things like reviews and playthrough videos.Video Game Cities
Dec. 5th, 2024 04:41 amThis video has a great analysis of urban design in video games.
I don't play video games, but I'm intrigued by the infrastructure. Also, as a worldbuilder, I'm familiar with the need to make it seem like the rest of the world is out there while showing only a small sliver.
However, I'm reminded of generative science fiction games, where you move through potential space, and when you want to explore a planet, then the engine creates that one for you -- rather than creating the whole galaxy when you don't need the parts you aren't in. With cities, you could design the key parts in full, the adjacent parts in a bit less detail, and just provide generation rules to fill in other bits if and only if players activate them. Most probably won't.
I don't play video games, but I'm intrigued by the infrastructure. Also, as a worldbuilder, I'm familiar with the need to make it seem like the rest of the world is out there while showing only a small sliver.
However, I'm reminded of generative science fiction games, where you move through potential space, and when you want to explore a planet, then the engine creates that one for you -- rather than creating the whole galaxy when you don't need the parts you aren't in. With cities, you could design the key parts in full, the adjacent parts in a bit less detail, and just provide generation rules to fill in other bits if and only if players activate them. Most probably won't.
My partner spotted this game today. Given the small size of the box, the "swords" are presumably sized more like knives. But there are many fine swords of foam that you could use instead.
My economic simulation of spacefaring kittens
Kittens Game is a clicker game that you can play in your browser. It makes a strong first impression, as it tempts you into choices that will kill off your kittens within twelve minutes. But I’m not here to review the game, I’m here to talk about spreadsheets!
Clicker games often support passive gameplay (e.g. leave it running overnight), active gameplay, or any combination of the above. On the very active end, you could try to optimize it, setting up spreadsheets to run calculations. So, I spent a thousand years tinkering with spreadsheets, and I liked it. There’s a story there, a mathematical story.
Gamers are nerds, and nerds often enjoy things that most people don't. I have repeatedly seen nerds use advanced techniques just for the sake of figuring out how to get better results in a game. When I was in high school, I knew kids who taught themselves statistics and probability so they could minmax their roleplaying characters.
Kittens Game is a clicker game that you can play in your browser. It makes a strong first impression, as it tempts you into choices that will kill off your kittens within twelve minutes. But I’m not here to review the game, I’m here to talk about spreadsheets!
Clicker games often support passive gameplay (e.g. leave it running overnight), active gameplay, or any combination of the above. On the very active end, you could try to optimize it, setting up spreadsheets to run calculations. So, I spent a thousand years tinkering with spreadsheets, and I liked it. There’s a story there, a mathematical story.
Gamers are nerds, and nerds often enjoy things that most people don't. I have repeatedly seen nerds use advanced techniques just for the sake of figuring out how to get better results in a game. When I was in high school, I knew kids who taught themselves statistics and probability so they could minmax their roleplaying characters.
stepnix has an interesting post about game design and play, regarding character development. There is a list of excellent questions for creating character relationships.I have seen other lists that help create connections within a party, so you don't have characters wandering off, working at cross-purposes, or fighting with each other. So for instance, a party made of characters who all grew up in the same village (e.g. a party formed to deal with the dragon menacing said village) could require each pair of characters to list one positive connection (like both helping to harvest the apple orchard between their farms) and one challenging or competitive connection (like bickering over who has the "better" singing voice). A party made of newly introduced characters (e.g. hired from a busy port city to go hunt sea monsters for spell components) could instead focus on finding common ground that they just happen to share (e.g. two are elves, three are scrimshaw artists, and two are knot crafters) so that each character has some connection to each other character on which to build a relationship.
Free Games
Oct. 20th, 2024 08:40 pmGenres Game System offers two free roleplaying games in PDF format. Toonzy is a cartoon game. Going Somewhere is science fiction.
Games as Art of Agency
Oct. 19th, 2024 08:23 pmstepnix posted about games as art of agency, based on this article, which is a smaller version of a larger book on the topic.Games may seem like a waste of time, where we struggle under artificial rules for
arbitrary goals. I suggest that the rules and goals of games are not arbitrary at all.
They are a way of specifying particular modes of agency. This is what make games a
distinctive art form. Game designers designate goals and abilities for the player; they
shape the agential skeleton which the player will inhabit during the game. Game
designers work in the medium of agency. Game-playing, then, illuminates a
distinctive human capacity. We can take on ends temporarily for the sake of the
experience of pursuing them. Game-play shows that our agency is significantly more
modular and more fluid than we might have thought. It also demonstrates our
capacity to take on an inverted motivational structure. Sometimes we can take on
an end for the sake of the activity of pursuing that end.
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Philosophical Questions: Memory
Aug. 10th, 2024 01:20 pmPeople have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.
Human memory has been shown to be incredibly unreliable. With that in mind, how do you know which of your memories are genuine and which have been altered or made up?
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Human memory has been shown to be incredibly unreliable. With that in mind, how do you know which of your memories are genuine and which have been altered or made up?
( Read more... )
