Rob "Wear A Spooky Mask" Rich
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robsteinone.bsky.social
Rob "Wear A Spooky Mask" Rich
@robsteinone.bsky.social
(he/him) Designer, amateur toy art critic, goofball. Writer for Slashgear, Columnist and Exploits Games Editor at Unwinnable.
BLM + ACAB
https://linktr.ee/RobsteinOne
Maybe I'm just in the mood for a combination of macabre beauty + depression 🤷‍♂️
November 16, 2025 at 1:43 AM
It's absolutely *astonishing* to look at, obviously, but beyond the most immediately obvious appeal of a dark and twisted claymation-looking world, it's also got a bit of a "slightly messed up fantasy" kinda like Labyrinth. And it's somber as hell.
November 16, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Reposted by Rob "Wear A Spooky Mask" Rich
I could not get my old job back. Riot had forced me into unemployment in what we now know to be the worst job market in industry history.

I finally found Riot’s Head of People on LinkedIn and sent her a 2000-word message explaining in detail how badly they had fucked me and asked them to explain.
November 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Rob "Wear A Spooky Mask" Rich
They did not tell me why or what happened. My recruiter’s boss simply had a video call with me where he told me the position was no longer available and they would “try” to find me something else. No one from his team would ever contact me again, even after multiple followups on my part.
November 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Hell, why not make it play when you *activate* either of the two sites of grace, rather than require the player rest at them?

Point is, there are ways to design around player unpredictability that aren't simply yelling in their ear/face about it. Yeah it's tougher, but it's also better.
November 14, 2025 at 10:26 PM
The issue was that the *necessary cutscene* that you have to view in order to unlock the ability to level-up is (was? no idea if they patched it) tied to one of only TWO sites of grace.

Yeah the game could've tried to lead me by the nose but it would be way better to just PLAY THE SCENE WHEREVER.
November 14, 2025 at 10:23 PM
This also makes me want to circle back to a thing I wrote for SlashGear 3+ years ago, calling out the poorly-planned way Elden Ring handles the introduction of its leveling system.
Elden Ring Has A Major Design Flaw That Players Aren't Talking About - SlashGear
An unfortunate "Elden Ring" design choice may leave many players entirely unaware that they've missed an important game feature. Here's the problem.
www.slashgear.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:20 PM