Part 1 | Part 2 --- Prologue When I was a real young kid, I watched my neighbor shoot my cat with a rifle; I watched her eyes go dar...
I spent about a month writing this. It's a 13k-word essay that uses a mix of humor and dramatic flair to tackle the subjects of escapism, gender, memes, philosophy, and the meaning of life or whatever, inspired by my time playing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. It also attempts to answer questions like "Is Marche the bad guy?" once and for all.
(It uses some experimental grammar that I have been fooling around with, but overall I think it's very easy to follow, although a long long read.)
If you read it in full, and it made you feel something, let me know either here or PM or on Mastodon or via email.
Thanks.
We are living within the bowels of a veritable ouroboros of commodification—a corporate dragon of the highest order, itself filled with...
It's called CORPORATE DRAGON SLAYER or: Writing Is Punk Rock
this was interesting. dark ending, which i appreciate. was it a nuclear bomb? (i guess that would be giving it away, huh?)
i have changed some bits of both chapters already, actually. but it was merely grammatical stuff. i do very extensive editing before i post a chapter, which is part of the reason it takes me so long to release new chapters. i do have a slight fear of "getting stuck" because i committed to a certain plot point or character quirk in an earlier chapter (and i don't plan to make changes of this nature retroactively), so, in this way, i'm sorta bound by what i have already released, which is an interesting limitation to say the least.
*and i appreciate your interest!
Chapter I: I Will Avenge My Predecessor! Our story begins, like so many stories, in a tavern; there, a bard sits; he recites a poem to...
i wrote this essay, using the video game Romancing SaGa 2 as a springboard to tackle questions such as:
- “is life worth living?”
- “ought we eradicate all life to prevent suffering?”
- “is creating new life justified given the potential for suffering?”
if you read, let me know your thoughts here. thanks.
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 --- The contrast of the sky was tuned to the highest setting, and a filter of glittering blue like the wate...
I'm self publishing a novel, releasing chapters as I write and edit them. The novel is a sci-fantasy influenced by JRPGs, 90s anime, Ancient Greece, and cyberpunk stuff like Samuel R. Delany's Nova. It's fairly derivative, wearing influences on its sleeve.
I've always wanted to write a novel, so I pulled the trigger and decided to Just Do It™. It has been a great learning experience thus far. I've released two chapters, and plan to keep releasing chapters between other projects I'm working on.
If you read any of it, please let me know what you think. I am kinda soft when it comes to my work, so if your feedback comes off as passive aggressive, meanspirited, insensitive, etc. I'll likely just ignore you.
for you, none; why would you sign up for more than one to begin with? this is for anyone who hasn't signed up for multiple yet-another-indie-writing platforms and is looking for a federated write freely instance to join (considering write.as is closed for registration).
Starting a blog at howdoyouspell.cool is simple, all you have to do is visit howdoyouspell.cool and sign up — no email required. Please t...
registration is invite only at the moment, so please review the community guidelines then let me know if you'd like to join; i'll send you an invite link.
howdoyouspell.cool is an open community of writers who value privacy, autonomy, and creative writing – and, most importantly, we reject corporate interests and monetary incentives. We aim to be a no-pressure, polite community of writers from all walks of life, away from the ten-thousand-word user agreements of corporate-controlled platforms. If you consider yourself even the most amateur of writers, you’re welcome here. Too often, writers leave their work languishing in a folder somewhere – this community aims to change that by providing a safe space for expression without fear of ridicule or some big-word conglomerate stealing your words to power a fake-sentient SQL table.
example blog: https://howdoyouspell.cool/forrest/
same. i have an art book of his stuff on my living room coffee table; it's been there for years. i've got an old copy of the Sandman issue illustrated by him as well; Morpheus looks especially moody in Amano's style.
White Freckles is a psychedelic pop song written by singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist-whatever Ariel Pink and co-written by the mys...
i wrote a thing about Ariel Pink. but it's more of a wrestling match with the cognitive dissonance that comes with enjoying music that's made by gross people. kinda a "separating the art from the artist" thing, kinda not. bound to inspire some negativity from some, but the goal is to explore this weird dynamic that happens between art and artist and fan in an open, cordial way.
i am imagining, if you will. fascinating and creative. nice work. there is so much going on around us, we care about so little in the grand scheme of things.
On Computer Games Monthly is a gaming magazine styled as if it were created in the early 2000s. Within its wistful pages, writer and editor forrest and a...
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17152252
> ! > > On Computer Games Monthly is back w/ the 2nd issue of the #fediverse’s only free unofficial gaming-slash-creative-writing magazine. > > Inside you will find articles written by some of Mastodon's wackiest residents; nostalgic ramblings, societal critiques, personal stories, and fictional tales using #videogames as the delivery mechanism. > > Issue #2 covers games released in and around December 2000 and features the following titles: > > Dark Cloud > > Pokemon Crystal > > The Bouncer > > Rollercoaster Tycoon > > Guilty Gear X > > Phantasy Star Online > > Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo > > > ----BONUS CHAO MINIGAME---- > There is a small minigame in this issue; 16 bonus chao (yes, chao from the Sonic series) have been placed throughout the magazine. If you find them all: send me an email/message and I'll place you on the illustrious BONUS CHAO CHAMPION list on the archive! > > https://archive.org/details/on-computer-games-monthly-december-2000-magazine
On Computer Games Monthly is a gaming magazine styled as if it were created in the early 2000s. Within its wistful pages, writer and editor forrest and a...
On Computer Games Monthly is back w/ the 2nd issue of the #fediverse’s only free unofficial gaming-slash-creative-writing magazine.
Inside you will find articles written by some of Mastodon's wackiest residents; nostalgic ramblings, societal critiques, personal stories, and fictional tales using #videogames as the delivery mechanism.
Issue #2 covers games released in and around December 2000 and features the following titles:
Dark Cloud
Pokemon Crystal
The Bouncer
Rollercoaster Tycoon
Guilty Gear X
Phantasy Star Online
Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo
----BONUS CHAO MINIGAME---- There is a small minigame in this issue; 16 bonus chao (yes, chao from the Sonic series) have been placed throughout the magazine. If you find them all: send me an email/message and I'll place you on the illustrious BONUS CHAO CHAMPION list on the archive!
https://archive.org/details/on-computer-games-monthly-december-2000-magazine
a four-part essay on building the best goddamn theme park ever
hot off the on computer games presses: a four chapter rant about capitalism with some personal stories mixed in
they're aimed at teens/young-adults but it's fun spotting the direct inspirations and differences. also, several Studio Ghibli films are based on books: Howl's Moving Castle, Tales from Earthsea, The Secret World Of Arietty (kind of), and maybe a few others.
weird mix, but Kiki's Delivery Service during the day and Infinite Jest before bed.
TLDR: which games do WEAPON BREAKING without making you want to tear your hair out?
i'm playing through Dark Cloud and had forgotten how tedious the weapon system is. weapons function as "leveling up" instead of using a traditional experience-based system. weapons need to be upgraded, fused, and repaired throughout the game. and a durability system dictates that once your weapon hits 0 durability, it breaks. broken weapons can cost you hours of gameplay if you're not careful. there's even the possibility of breaking all your weapons and starting from square one near the end of the game if you're not vigilant with repairs.
for Dark Cloud, this weapon system is a unique leveling system that differentiates itself from its action-rpg peers. it introduces a level of risk that keeps you alert while making weapons you've upgraded-and-maintained feel like valuable treasure. however, this system is also tedious to keep up with as weapon durability decreases quickly and repairs are time consuming.
after hours of playtime, i think i've isolated the reason why the weapon system is so annoying: menus. the entire system is menu-based. i often find myself pulling up the menu mid-battle to repair my weapon. there are automated repairs, but these require some setup. if Dark Cloud somehow incorporated more interactive ways (outside of a pause menu) to repair weapons or made weapon durability decrease at half the rate or made a broken weapon repairable (instead of gone for good), this would have gone a long way to reduce tedium.
games like Breath of the Wild are often criticised for similar weapon-breaking systems, and it got me thinking about the fact that i have NEVER seen a weapon-breaking system praised or even vaguely complimented.
are there any games that do weapon breaking especially well, and why?
David was a normal middle-aged man with a wife, a mortgage, and some cats … until he got his hands on Phantasy Star Online.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14812704
> a short story / black comedy i wrote about gaming addiction and the value of digital treasures
if you read it, let me know what you think.
(written with over 70 footnotes that add context and flavor to the '90s-00s setting. some of the footnotes are paragraphs long. the footnotes are not necessary to understand the story as they function more as a way to break the third person perspective to provide context & personal stories around the various 90s-2000s things that pop up throughout the story. NOTE: if you read on the site, you can click a footnote number, then click the arrow after the actual footnote to take you back. you can also skip the footnotes entirely if breaking up the text takes you out of the story too much.)
David was a normal middle-aged man with a wife, a mortgage, and some cats … until he got his hands on Phantasy Star Online.
a short story / black comedy about gaming addiction and the value of digital treasures
ANYONE PLAY ON THIS SERVER? i started a character a few weeks ago, named "Buru." i typically play on the Fodra Ship1 from 9pm - 1am et. i am in the midst of several projects and my attention span is less-than-stellar, but if you see me on, say: "HELLO IT IS [BLANK] FROM LEMMY - WOULD YOU CARE TO EXPLORE RAGOL WITH ME?"
From the about page: "Ephinea is a PSOBB server that aims to replicate the official SEGA experience, while also adding quality of life changes alongside extra features to spice up PSO and give it more of a modern feel. This means:
- Experience rates are default.
- Drop rates are default.
- Rare enemy rates are default.
- Class parameters are default.
- Item parameters are default, with some minor exceptions.
- There is no custom equipment.
The drop tables are changed from the original SEGA drop tables, mainly in Ultimate with some minor changes in other difficulties, due to balance concerns. “Iconic” drops, such as Sealed J-Sword and Handgun: Guld are still where you’d expect them, however. There are no plans to change the fundamentals of the game, as we wish to offer a server that players can always come back to and experience PSO as they remember it."
RESOURCES!
min-maxing in online games promotes an environment of elitism that forces anyone who plays with the min-maxer to conform to a very narrow play-style; this by-default limits gameplay options for other players, and often leads to ridicule and negative experiences when the non-min-maxer does not have the "perfect build for tanking Odin" or whatever.
min-maxers are boa constrictors wrapped around innocent little field mice. the mice just want some cheese but the snakes are eating them alive and i am the mongoose
stop min-maxing. start max-mining.
discuss.
what do you drink while playing games?
personally, i drink water but i am concerned about microbes having sex in said water. i also drink coffee and, twilight: wine.
On Computer Games Monthly is a gaming magazine styled as if it were created in the early 2000s. Within its wistful pages, writer and editor forrest and a...
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13971279
> On Computer Games Monthly #1 > > https://archive.org/details/OCGM-1-Nov-2000 > > > ! > > > I have been working on a passion project for the last two months; a retro games magazine, and it's finally completed! This #zine is a digital celebration of nostalgia; a collective of writers from the federated internet that strives to capture the subjective quality of gaming with stories about life-and-stuff told through the lens of video games. Issue#1 covers November2000 and features: Breath of Fire IV, Counter Strike, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, love letters to the Dreamcast and PlayStation consoles, and much more.
not sure. didn't expect anyone would want to subscribe. i do plan on making more, but it will be awhile. you can always follow me on mastodon @buru5@mstdn.games or follow the blog which i post some of the magazine articles in: oncomputer.games
took about two months. i have a full-time job and two kids as well, so would have taken less time if i didn't have Grown Up Stuff to do.
that's what this is -- except it's free! hope you like it.
On Computer Games Monthly is a gaming magazine styled as if it were created in the early 2000s. Within its wistful pages, writer and editor forrest and a...
On Computer Games Monthly #1
https://archive.org/details/OCGM-1-Nov-2000
I have been working on a passion project for the last two months; a retro games magazine, and it's finally completed! This #zine is a digital celebration of nostalgia; a collective of writers from the federated internet that strives to capture the subjective quality of gaming with stories about life-and-stuff told through the lens of video games. Issue#1 covers November2000 and features: Breath of Fire IV, Counter Strike, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, love letters to the Dreamcast and PlayStation consoles, and much more.
On Computer Games Monthly is a gaming magazine styled as if it were created in the early 2000s. Within its wistful pages, writer and editor forrest and a...
On Computer Games Monthly #1
https://archive.org/details/OCGM-1-Nov-2000
I have been working on a passion project for the last two months; a retro games magazine, and it's finally completed! This #zine is a digital celebration of nostalgia; a collective of writers from the federated internet that strives to capture the subjective quality of gaming with stories about life-and-stuff told through the lens of video games. Issue#1 covers November2000 and features: Breath of Fire IV, Counter Strike, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, love letters to the Dreamcast and PlayStation consoles, and much more.
I appreciate you taking the time to read the peice and your sincere feedback! I won't make any changes to the piece now, as I consider it finished (even if flawed), although I will incorporate your feedback into my future writing; especially the bit around tenses and perspectives, something I need to work on across all my writing.
I can see how the references to Arcadia may be perceived as pretentious, was a risk. The original reference comes from the title of the painting "Et in Arcadia ego," which is the first chapter's title. Specifically, the second popular interpretation regarding nostalgia.
"...this second version shifted the focus from a warning about the inevitability of death to a contemplation of the past and a sense of nostalgia."
Plus, yes, it sounds like Arcade (lol) and it's used in a similar fashion in a manga/anime I enjoy titled "Space Captain Harlock: Arcadia of my Youth." In the essay's sense, we view our youth as Arcadia -- the golden age of splendor when everything was grand and intoxicating; a place in our mind we try to get back to.
The second chapter is a reference to 'unaware' (or maybe 'ignorant'), and refers specifically to Jake living in my (or maybe his own) Arcadia but being unaware of it (considering his condition), the third chapter title simply continues the Latin naming convention with "My Golden Years." So, yes, maybe a bit pretentious.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11845835
> i run a gaming blog that is more like a creative writing blog. i just published this essay. the essay's main theme is nostalgia and living-in-the-past told personal stories. > > if you read it, let me know what you think. thanks.
i run a gaming blog that is more like a creative writing blog. i just published this essay. the essay's main theme is nostalgia and living-in-the-past told through personal stories.
if you read it, let me know what you think. thanks.
looks alright color scheme is a bit gaudy and not a huge fan of the big miyoo logo. they can do better than this, i think. i have the miyoo mini plus and really enjoy it so have high hopes.
Permanently Deleted
thanks for the basic lesson in freedom of speech. had never seen that xkcd comic before so it was extremely enlightening. i feel 100x smarter now.
do you think the creator would be ok with just censoring millions of people for no reason other than they happen to use threads, though, do you think that is what the comic is promoting? or maybe it's more of a commentary on hate speech and the consequences of bigotry in a society with free speech, ever think of that? just a thought.
anyways, enjoy your mass censorship.
what? all federated servers i use have a block function. again, why are you telling me what to do? and this discussion on "server standards" -- if we're being honest -- is really just a discussion about censorship. you're promoting censorship. congratulations.
extremely weary of any call to arms like this, especially when i am exclaimed to "need" to do something. the block function exists in almost all federated platforms, including the ability to block entire instances; use it and, like META: stop pushing YOUR OWN AGENDA on everyone else.
i am trying to figure out if this had some clever intention behind it related to the ouroboros or if you're really just an insufferable human being -- can you confirm, please?
this feels a little weird, considering this is one of the main reasons people dislike FFXVI; "i'll fix the reason you don't want to play the game if you just buy the game!" seems like he knows what he's doing and is being a little sneaky.