Rooslawn
@unmappedworlds.bsky.social
I'm Rooslawn and I write something about games every Monday on my indie site, https://unmappedworlds.com.
Morrowind and OSRS really did their fast travel right. Why hasn't there been as much love put into these systems since the 2000s?
December 19, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Morrowind and OSRS really did their fast travel right. Why hasn't there been as much love put into these systems since the 2000s?
Every time I alt-tab to check a wiki I feel a small part of my soul leave my body.
December 18, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Every time I alt-tab to check a wiki I feel a small part of my soul leave my body.
"Just don't use fast travel then" is not a design philosophy. I want meaningful diegetic fast travel systems in my games.
December 17, 2025 at 4:23 PM
"Just don't use fast travel then" is not a design philosophy. I want meaningful diegetic fast travel systems in my games.
Dowloaded Tides of Torment only to spend 10 hours in a Throgg campaign. Buggy hunts aside (CA, please fix!), it's the most fun I had in a while.
Pic is Nano Banana's attempt at Throgg riding N'Kari.
Pic is Nano Banana's attempt at Throgg riding N'Kari.
December 16, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Dowloaded Tides of Torment only to spend 10 hours in a Throgg campaign. Buggy hunts aside (CA, please fix!), it's the most fun I had in a while.
Pic is Nano Banana's attempt at Throgg riding N'Kari.
Pic is Nano Banana's attempt at Throgg riding N'Kari.
Hot take. Fast travel is kind of awesome, when done right. Morrowind, Old School RuneScape, Dragon's Dogma... Fast travel can kick ass.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/fast-travel-is-awesome/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/fast-travel-is-awesome/
unmappedworlds.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Hot take. Fast travel is kind of awesome, when done right. Morrowind, Old School RuneScape, Dragon's Dogma... Fast travel can kick ass.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/fast-travel-is-awesome/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/fast-travel-is-awesome/
Me: I don't care about achievements. Also me: sees 92% completion and twitches.
December 14, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Me: I don't care about achievements. Also me: sees 92% completion and twitches.
I've spent more time reading about games and watching videos about games than playing them this year and I'm choosing not to examine that.
December 13, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I've spent more time reading about games and watching videos about games than playing them this year and I'm choosing not to examine that.
So my wife asked me how is my Warhammer 401k game going...
Pic via Nano Banana.
Pic via Nano Banana.
December 12, 2025 at 5:08 PM
So my wife asked me how is my Warhammer 401k game going...
Pic via Nano Banana.
Pic via Nano Banana.
Me: I should try something new. Also me: boots up Total Warhammer for the 400th time.
December 11, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Me: I should try something new. Also me: boots up Total Warhammer for the 400th time.
My gaming backlog has achieved sentience and is now judging me.
December 10, 2025 at 4:23 PM
My gaming backlog has achieved sentience and is now judging me.
I don't get it - I felt like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was everything I wanted in a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, but at some point I just stopped playing and haven't gotten back into it. Like it looks good, it feels like the zone, I have no idea what's wrong with it.
December 9, 2025 at 5:14 PM
I don't get it - I felt like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was everything I wanted in a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, but at some point I just stopped playing and haven't gotten back into it. Like it looks good, it feels like the zone, I have no idea what's wrong with it.
Achievements ruin games for me. Blame it on mild OCD, or my love of checklists - these are hard to ignore. They can lock me into specific playstyles I might not enjoy. Oh, oh, and sometimes they even spoil things for the game. Am I alone in this?
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-hate-achievements/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-hate-achievements/
unmappedworlds.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Achievements ruin games for me. Blame it on mild OCD, or my love of checklists - these are hard to ignore. They can lock me into specific playstyles I might not enjoy. Oh, oh, and sometimes they even spoil things for the game. Am I alone in this?
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-hate-achievements/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-hate-achievements/
Love feeling alone in a video game, like when no one is around for miles. Or maybe I'm the last person in the universe? It just feels so cozy.
December 7, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Love feeling alone in a video game, like when no one is around for miles. Or maybe I'm the last person in the universe? It just feels so cozy.
Is it weird to love games I haven't finished? I rage quit Nier Automata after losing an hour and a half of progress, but it's still among my favorites...
December 6, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Is it weird to love games I haven't finished? I rage quit Nier Automata after losing an hour and a half of progress, but it's still among my favorites...
So... Anyone else wishes they knew less about games? Like I wish I didn't immediately look at the game and understood all the mechanics at play. Miss that feeling of wonder.
December 5, 2025 at 5:29 PM
So... Anyone else wishes they knew less about games? Like I wish I didn't immediately look at the game and understood all the mechanics at play. Miss that feeling of wonder.
Loved Return to Castle Wolfenstein as a kid. Never got far, just ran around the map because I didn't know what to do or where to go, and I didn't think to read the objective text.
December 5, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Loved Return to Castle Wolfenstein as a kid. Never got far, just ran around the map because I didn't know what to do or where to go, and I didn't think to read the objective text.
Yeah, RuneScape, make quests impossible to complete without guides, and then make fun of me for using a guide.
December 4, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Yeah, RuneScape, make quests impossible to complete without guides, and then make fun of me for using a guide.
Oom... Am I the only person whose happy place is the Total Warhammer faction selection screen?
December 3, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Oom... Am I the only person whose happy place is the Total Warhammer faction selection screen?
I can't believe there are people out there who play Frostpunk like it's their Stardew Valley.
December 2, 2025 at 3:08 PM
I can't believe there are people out there who play Frostpunk like it's their Stardew Valley.
Hot take: Total Warhammer is cozier than Animal Crossing.
I did write 2000 words explaining why orchestrating fantasy genocide is actually very relaxing, thank you very much. I will now be taking questions
unmappedworlds.com/posts/total-...
#TotalWar #CozyGames #VideoGameEssays #Warhammer
I did write 2000 words explaining why orchestrating fantasy genocide is actually very relaxing, thank you very much. I will now be taking questions
unmappedworlds.com/posts/total-...
#TotalWar #CozyGames #VideoGameEssays #Warhammer
December 1, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Hot take: Total Warhammer is cozier than Animal Crossing.
I did write 2000 words explaining why orchestrating fantasy genocide is actually very relaxing, thank you very much. I will now be taking questions
unmappedworlds.com/posts/total-...
#TotalWar #CozyGames #VideoGameEssays #Warhammer
I did write 2000 words explaining why orchestrating fantasy genocide is actually very relaxing, thank you very much. I will now be taking questions
unmappedworlds.com/posts/total-...
#TotalWar #CozyGames #VideoGameEssays #Warhammer
I hate Starfield. I don’t appreciate the lifeless NPCs, and I despise the faction design. I find the worlds barren and the plot lazy. And ugh, the loading screens.
Oh, one more thing: I’ve never played Starfield.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/becomi...
#GameCriticism #GameDesign #VideoGames
Oh, one more thing: I’ve never played Starfield.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/becomi...
#GameCriticism #GameDesign #VideoGames
November 24, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I hate Starfield. I don’t appreciate the lifeless NPCs, and I despise the faction design. I find the worlds barren and the plot lazy. And ugh, the loading screens.
Oh, one more thing: I’ve never played Starfield.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/becomi...
#GameCriticism #GameDesign #VideoGames
Oh, one more thing: I’ve never played Starfield.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/becomi...
#GameCriticism #GameDesign #VideoGames
From Witcher 3 to Elden Ring, from Baldur’s Gate III to Death Stranding and beyond into Outward, Subnautica, Prey... I finish the game, kick off another playthrough, only to abandon it shortly after.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-i-...
P.S: I have an email newsletter now!
#VideoGames #IndieGames
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-i-...
P.S: I have an email newsletter now!
#VideoGames #IndieGames
November 17, 2025 at 4:35 PM
From Witcher 3 to Elden Ring, from Baldur’s Gate III to Death Stranding and beyond into Outward, Subnautica, Prey... I finish the game, kick off another playthrough, only to abandon it shortly after.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-i-...
P.S: I have an email newsletter now!
#VideoGames #IndieGames
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-i-...
P.S: I have an email newsletter now!
#VideoGames #IndieGames
What it's like gaming as a dad to an infant - and how I'm struggling with my identity as a "hardcore" gamer. Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, retro handhelds - and a whole lot of sleep deprivation.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/gaming...
#Gaming #Parenting #SteamDeck #NintendoSwitch #Anbernic
unmappedworlds.com/posts/gaming...
#Gaming #Parenting #SteamDeck #NintendoSwitch #Anbernic
November 10, 2025 at 4:33 PM
What it's like gaming as a dad to an infant - and how I'm struggling with my identity as a "hardcore" gamer. Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, retro handhelds - and a whole lot of sleep deprivation.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/gaming...
#Gaming #Parenting #SteamDeck #NintendoSwitch #Anbernic
unmappedworlds.com/posts/gaming...
#Gaming #Parenting #SteamDeck #NintendoSwitch #Anbernic
There was a time when a bootleg CD pirate at a mall near my school was my only game curator. 'twas a different time.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/on-abu...
#VideoGames #IndieGames #Nostalgia #ArxFatalis #GamingBacklog
unmappedworlds.com/posts/on-abu...
#VideoGames #IndieGames #Nostalgia #ArxFatalis #GamingBacklog
November 3, 2025 at 5:47 PM
There was a time when a bootleg CD pirate at a mall near my school was my only game curator. 'twas a different time.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/on-abu...
#VideoGames #IndieGames #Nostalgia #ArxFatalis #GamingBacklog
unmappedworlds.com/posts/on-abu...
#VideoGames #IndieGames #Nostalgia #ArxFatalis #GamingBacklog
There's something magical about building a town from a single shack into a bustling metropolis. I like high octane games, but city builders are special.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/the-qu...
#CityBuilders #CitiesSkylines #Foundation #FarthestFrontier #Becastled #Banished #SurvivingMars #IndieGames
unmappedworlds.com/posts/the-qu...
#CityBuilders #CitiesSkylines #Foundation #FarthestFrontier #Becastled #Banished #SurvivingMars #IndieGames
October 27, 2025 at 3:56 PM
There's something magical about building a town from a single shack into a bustling metropolis. I like high octane games, but city builders are special.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/the-qu...
#CityBuilders #CitiesSkylines #Foundation #FarthestFrontier #Becastled #Banished #SurvivingMars #IndieGames
unmappedworlds.com/posts/the-qu...
#CityBuilders #CitiesSkylines #Foundation #FarthestFrontier #Becastled #Banished #SurvivingMars #IndieGames