clyde

I wanted to mention that the appeal for me is 95% style and theme. The gameplay isn't interesting, the story is just something to build off of, but listening to her sing about everything in the game made me smile a lot.

A conversation I would love to have is "Why make games?" When I play finished products (gamma games?) part of the experience is often considering the potentials that the game never achieved but hinted at. Alphas seem to have this quality of inspiration one-hundred fold. Games like Spacebase DF-9 being in such early stages and the sense that the developers are listening to suggestions create a hope-rich environment. For someone like myself who doesn't have the chops to make a systems-driven game but has a LOT of opinions about how they could deviate from their predecessors and what the benefits of doing so may be, the alpha-experience is both ecstatic and depressing. One thing I really like about it is that I spend some of my free-time working out some of the complexities of how to implement my ideas. Of course this leisure-activity doesn't involve bug-squashing and fully realized art-assets, but it does provide a sense of how much a feature may require, often leading to extrapolated insights. So that is a fun way to enjoy the games as they are being made. It's like problem-solving fan-fiction. The depressing part is when reality sets in as you describe. This reality often evokes a frustration with perceived homogeneity. I end up asking myself "Why would they make [genre-game] again when they could have made something that fills a different need?" I'm not saying that Spacebase DF-9 will do this, I'm not even saying that they shouldn't do it; I'm just presenting the experience I end up having as an overly informed alpha-player who loves to doodle plans for other people's games. I'm not entitled to anything, I'm just frequently disappointed with my musings of lost potential. I'm not suggesting a different course of action, I just wanted to explain why I find myself asking "Why did they make this game?" when games are made. Was it an elevator-pitch that they wanted to see realized? Are they attempting to simulate a problem relevant to their lives so they can self-medicate? Did they enjoy the implied character-narratives of FTL and want a game that emphasized them? Did they play too many alphas and realize that if they didn't make genetic-algorithm environment to simulate the evolution of real-world economies then no one else will? "Why did they make the game?" isn't a more important question that "How?", but it's one worth mentioning too.

Let's take a moment to think about all the more unfortunate people who aren't on the Idle Thumbs forums due to Ninja-Turtle accidents.

I was just now thinking how creepy it would be to watch multiple streams of the same Daily and when each player gets to a certain point, they say something ritualistic and then commit suicide in a very specific manner. Then they just go "I don't know what happened there, well, I guess that's the run for today."

Irishjohn, Usually the loss of accrued resources and accomplishment is what pains me at death; this time is was because I wanted to find out more about teaching about communism to american youth as a european expatriate. Patrick, your musings about shop-keeper message-boards were interesting. Because you mentioned that you died the same way as IrishJohn, when I heard that bat flap, it was tense. You guys make me want to capture a Daily-challenge or two, but I doubt I'll be able to say more than "Oh shit!" and "Are you fucking kidding me?" the entire time.

Yeah. It was interesting to me that I seemed satisfied after posting that I wanted to post. I didn't end up having anything to say. Well, I guess I told El Muerte that their reassurance was helpful. I don't know if I would have had the courage to say that sober.

Your reassurance is proving helpful. Don't think it is not.

Is it possible that your frame-rate is different?

Sean got it right. Video-games don't punch people, kids punch people (so many times).

I've gotten the impression that The Idle Thumbs crew has an affinity for systems-based gameplay that involves unforeseen causality that affects the narrative. The grenade rolling down a hill, FTL compromises, Spelunky's tendency to bring cascading disaster from a simple mistake, and the system that created the environment for Ragnar's story in Crusader Kings II all demonstrate this love of the chain-reaction. I was reading an interview of JP LeBreton in which he fantasized about the type of potential system-based chain-disasters that is a guiding principle for Spacebase DF-9 http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/10/15/revealed-double-fines-sci-fi-dwarf-fortress-spacebase-df-9/ and soon afterward read this article about the illusion of nuclear security: http://www.thenation.com/article/176631/eric-schlosser-and-illusion-nuclear-weapons-safety?utm_campaign=rand_socialflow_facebook&utm_source=rand_socialflow_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow# Here's a relevant excerpt: "As Schlosser shows, the basic problem is that these weapons systems are not only complicated but complex—their parts, including the humans who manage them, interact in ways that are hard to understand and control, especially in unusual circumstances. The weapons look sturdy, but in fact they degrade and require frequent maintenance. It was just such normal housekeeping that set off the Damascus accident. The lug in a technician’s wrench slipped out during a routine task, ricocheted off several pieces of equipment and the silo wall, and in an unpredictable carom shock, knocked a hole in the fuel tank. This had never happened before, and there were no plans for how it could be managed. Very intelligent and well-trained personnel made well-meaning decisions, but many of them were probably misguided. Even if they had made other choices, the missile might have been doomed. The Air Force had mandated the use of a different kind of wrench, but it was not immediately available and the team was running behind schedule. This pattern should not surprise us: a normal response to cumbersome regulations is to develop work-arounds and shortcuts. It is hard to imagine any organization without them, and so it would be foolish to say that we can solve these problems by making sure that everyone works by the book." I figured it could make for an interesting thread.

I had no idea that you could throw ropes down.

What the hell is wrong with you?

This is why we can't have nice things.

That stuff about rebalancing the variables to sew up exploits is really interesting. Do you think the exploits could be dealt with better? Can they be dealt with well by changing modifiers, or would it require the introduction of additional systems (in your opinion)?

I always have such a difficult time with temporary solutions. I agree that intoxication elevates the risk for women unfairly, but we should also be trying to create circumstances in which the ladies can walk around naked, high as a kite, with little risk of being harmed. http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/10/sexual_assault_and_drinking_teach_women_the_connection.html

Am I the only one who is incapable of getting this onto my iphone?

You never seemed to vocally recognize what killed you. I thought that was a pretty interesting death, one that I wouldn't have even considered. Also, I may be the only one, but I would love to hear about communism in China as you play.

That was really hard.

This worked for me. The hardest part was the first few games, just not being sure if we were remembering all the rules (like that corporations have to pay an extra credit for every piece of ICE already installed on a server). It is a lot to remember at first, but the rulebook has a section that breaks down the steps of a run (which we looked at a lot during the first few games). I found some of the terms to be a bit confusing at first such as "approaching" versus "encountering"; "accessing" versus "revealing". If you can find someone who is interested in learning it with you, I recommend that method. The debate about whether ot not Mega-Corps or Runners are advantaged can be really fun as you learn the game and discover useful strategies.

http://spacebasedf9.com/devplans This list causes me to drool with skeptical anticipation. Some of the stuff on there like laws, teleporter-malfunctions, and being able to tag citizens so security keeps an eye on them ( there's got to be a good N.A.S.A./N.S.A. joke in there) tickles the trickster in me.

The "new content"-button has become my favorite button on the internet.

No problem.

I enjoyed that. I think the speaker would experience less frustration if he realized that gamers who claim that people should take games seriously are not necessarily the same gamers who say that games are apolitical, but he makes a great argument afterwards.

All I remember is wanting that jetpack, but not being able to afford it; running out of bombs early and not being able to get to the black-market because of it; a ufo destroying Kali's altar as I was carrying a damsel for my second sacrifice; and the temple being really scary. I'm definately proud of that run. The game is so hard when bombs are scarce.

Tipping is a racist institution. I think it should be banned by law.