Misha
@the-goblin.bsky.social
Prof of Digital Game Design at CCNY. Formerly @otspiii on Twitter. Games: Sumer (Switch, Steam), Goblin.bet, various TTRPG stuff
It's the phrase "If [thing happens], then I consider that good" that has become an enduring structure of my mind
October 19, 2025 at 8:38 PM
It's the phrase "If [thing happens], then I consider that good" that has become an enduring structure of my mind
Reposted by Misha
this is my game, I Don’t Remember When I Started Killing Bugs Again. to play, you log it every time you kill an insect. this is also available as a web app @transwron.gs made with me. people tell me it changed their behavior- they think twice about hurting insects when they remember the rules.
October 18, 2025 at 2:15 AM
this is my game, I Don’t Remember When I Started Killing Bugs Again. to play, you log it every time you kill an insect. this is also available as a web app @transwron.gs made with me. people tell me it changed their behavior- they think twice about hurting insects when they remember the rules.
What I like about them is the world becomes really tight and concrete. Everything is in proximity, and if it's not on a room key it doesn't exist. Since you know everything that exists, and since that's small enough that you can still visualize it, non-arbitrary improvisation becomes a lot easier
September 30, 2025 at 3:03 PM
What I like about them is the world becomes really tight and concrete. Everything is in proximity, and if it's not on a room key it doesn't exist. Since you know everything that exists, and since that's small enough that you can still visualize it, non-arbitrary improvisation becomes a lot easier
I agree with everything in the response, but to add to it--if it looks to you like it would be grindy, you're probably imagining it as a series of combat encounters. It's more of a hyper-condensed setting, where most figures easily could be enemies, but can also be negotiated with or even befriended
September 30, 2025 at 1:36 PM
I agree with everything in the response, but to add to it--if it looks to you like it would be grindy, you're probably imagining it as a series of combat encounters. It's more of a hyper-condensed setting, where most figures easily could be enemies, but can also be negotiated with or even befriended
Trying to ground them but keep them whimsical and violent, I've started running them as immortal; when they die, they later reform in the nearest muck, memories intact. Lets them be (self) destructive, amoral, flippant, curious, and dangerous while still being people.
September 26, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Trying to ground them but keep them whimsical and violent, I've started running them as immortal; when they die, they later reform in the nearest muck, memories intact. Lets them be (self) destructive, amoral, flippant, curious, and dangerous while still being people.
My roommate wrote a Pokemon RPG and it made me think 'I should try that', which roundabout led to me discovering The Forge.
September 13, 2025 at 12:45 PM
My roommate wrote a Pokemon RPG and it made me think 'I should try that', which roundabout led to me discovering The Forge.
The fact that this is the new 'sic semper tyrannis' is sending me to an alternate dimension
September 12, 2025 at 2:59 PM
The fact that this is the new 'sic semper tyrannis' is sending me to an alternate dimension
This gets at something I like about the 'gp=xp' mechanic in osr games. It gives you a goal to chase, but that goal is sociopathic if you play it 100% straight. It solicits you to be a monster, which adds a real weight to any time you act charitably that you wouldn't otherwise get
September 8, 2025 at 1:19 PM
This gets at something I like about the 'gp=xp' mechanic in osr games. It gives you a goal to chase, but that goal is sociopathic if you play it 100% straight. It solicits you to be a monster, which adds a real weight to any time you act charitably that you wouldn't otherwise get
Reposted by Misha
a friend of mine who's worked on a somewhat recent free multiplayer game says this about player feedback that I feel like is very astute
hearing the feedback is frequently important but responding to it well almost never means just doing what the players say they want
hearing the feedback is frequently important but responding to it well almost never means just doing what the players say they want
August 26, 2025 at 7:14 PM
a friend of mine who's worked on a somewhat recent free multiplayer game says this about player feedback that I feel like is very astute
hearing the feedback is frequently important but responding to it well almost never means just doing what the players say they want
hearing the feedback is frequently important but responding to it well almost never means just doing what the players say they want
This is good, but I was actually expecting CaW to be the problem solving option before you got to it. Maybe there's a distinction in there between Combat as Optimization Puzzle vs Freeform Puzzle?
Also I think a lot of combat gets run as much as a easy to prep pacing mechanism as anything else.
Also I think a lot of combat gets run as much as a easy to prep pacing mechanism as anything else.
August 24, 2025 at 4:50 PM
This is good, but I was actually expecting CaW to be the problem solving option before you got to it. Maybe there's a distinction in there between Combat as Optimization Puzzle vs Freeform Puzzle?
Also I think a lot of combat gets run as much as a easy to prep pacing mechanism as anything else.
Also I think a lot of combat gets run as much as a easy to prep pacing mechanism as anything else.
I spoke with someone who liked modules for getting fussy structure done, but wanted easy reskinning/tweaking top, and now I'm tempted to write explicitly vibeless scenarios. Maps, some interesting traps, basic faction dynamics, but you gotta bring the gonzo to it yourself. You can bring it anywhere
August 24, 2025 at 3:43 AM
I spoke with someone who liked modules for getting fussy structure done, but wanted easy reskinning/tweaking top, and now I'm tempted to write explicitly vibeless scenarios. Maps, some interesting traps, basic faction dynamics, but you gotta bring the gonzo to it yourself. You can bring it anywhere
So chairs exists as events: people looking at an object and thinking "that's a chair", talking about chairs, sitting somewhere "because it's a chair", factories solicited to build "chairs" b/c people buy "chairs", etc. Each event reinforces the others, holding the pattern of "chair" in existence.
August 5, 2025 at 2:27 PM
So chairs exists as events: people looking at an object and thinking "that's a chair", talking about chairs, sitting somewhere "because it's a chair", factories solicited to build "chairs" b/c people buy "chairs", etc. Each event reinforces the others, holding the pattern of "chair" in existence.
I like Niklas Luhmann's take on system theory for getting around the issue of "if essences are nonsense, why do things exist?"--his 'system' is a loop of self-creating actions (not passive essences). So a chair is less about a certain shape and more about self-replicating events
August 5, 2025 at 2:21 PM
I like Niklas Luhmann's take on system theory for getting around the issue of "if essences are nonsense, why do things exist?"--his 'system' is a loop of self-creating actions (not passive essences). So a chair is less about a certain shape and more about self-replicating events
The anthem started playing and I immediately thought of you.
July 29, 2025 at 11:53 PM
The anthem started playing and I immediately thought of you.
You misunderstand the nature of the threat. There's a decent chance I'll prototype this over the weekend just to get the intrusive thought out of my head
April 24, 2025 at 3:57 PM
You misunderstand the nature of the threat. There's a decent chance I'll prototype this over the weekend just to get the intrusive thought out of my head
It wouldn't be too hard to make a discord bot that automated some aspects of the bookkeeping (threat)
April 24, 2025 at 1:42 PM
It wouldn't be too hard to make a discord bot that automated some aspects of the bookkeeping (threat)
There's enough going on that I'm still enjoying it a lot, but it is very demoralizing each run I play seemingly well and simply draw zero of the rooms that hard lock winning
April 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
There's enough going on that I'm still enjoying it a lot, but it is very demoralizing each run I play seemingly well and simply draw zero of the rooms that hard lock winning
Yeah, my biggest question right now is how reliably a top player equipped with full understanding can 'beat' it on a run. Am I just missing out on room-pool management strategies or is it really a RNG-grinding game?
April 13, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Yeah, my biggest question right now is how reliably a top player equipped with full understanding can 'beat' it on a run. Am I just missing out on room-pool management strategies or is it really a RNG-grinding game?
Yeah, as someone coming into system theory via Luhmann (via Deleuze) I'm also very curious to hear more.
April 8, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Yeah, as someone coming into system theory via Luhmann (via Deleuze) I'm also very curious to hear more.
I'm thinking of the movie, where it starts off as "we're testing FTL travel" and morphs into "hell is real and using FTL travel takes you there".
March 12, 2025 at 4:06 PM
I'm thinking of the movie, where it starts off as "we're testing FTL travel" and morphs into "hell is real and using FTL travel takes you there".
Playing as a Technocrat in the World of Darkness would qualify, although that's not exactly a written story.
March 12, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Playing as a Technocrat in the World of Darkness would qualify, although that's not exactly a written story.
Event Horizon, maybe? I feel like this dynamic probably usually plays out as horror (your neatly ordered world is an illusion) or anti-dystopia (They are hiding the beauty of the world from you in order to control you).
March 12, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Event Horizon, maybe? I feel like this dynamic probably usually plays out as horror (your neatly ordered world is an illusion) or anti-dystopia (They are hiding the beauty of the world from you in order to control you).
It's been a few years now! I just don't post anywhere
February 16, 2025 at 8:19 PM
It's been a few years now! I just don't post anywhere