xeneth.design
@xeneth.design
A Quixotic Game Designer in Exile
xeneth.design - He/Him
xeneth.design - He/Him
If this is parody, it's funny but needs to put ONE toe over an irony line somewhere to seal the wink...
If this is an actual Amazon ad, they've succeeded in producing some sort of Upright Citizen's Brigade sketch about themselves?
If this is an actual Amazon ad, they've succeeded in producing some sort of Upright Citizen's Brigade sketch about themselves?
November 16, 2025 at 7:25 PM
If this is parody, it's funny but needs to put ONE toe over an irony line somewhere to seal the wink...
If this is an actual Amazon ad, they've succeeded in producing some sort of Upright Citizen's Brigade sketch about themselves?
If this is an actual Amazon ad, they've succeeded in producing some sort of Upright Citizen's Brigade sketch about themselves?
I definitely didn't appreciate it at the time, but the limitations of a broadcast schedule exposed us to so many different things!
I fear for the generations that may get railroaded into watching limited genres while only being aware of products and services they're likely to buy into.
I fear for the generations that may get railroaded into watching limited genres while only being aware of products and services they're likely to buy into.
November 16, 2025 at 2:36 PM
I definitely didn't appreciate it at the time, but the limitations of a broadcast schedule exposed us to so many different things!
I fear for the generations that may get railroaded into watching limited genres while only being aware of products and services they're likely to buy into.
I fear for the generations that may get railroaded into watching limited genres while only being aware of products and services they're likely to buy into.
My kneejerk reaction was, "well not the ads though..."
...But, upon reflection, I DO kinda miss commercials that aren't algorithmically targeted and tailored.
Little windows into other demographics; appeals to those older or younger than you, of other genders or socioeconomic backgrounds...
...But, upon reflection, I DO kinda miss commercials that aren't algorithmically targeted and tailored.
Little windows into other demographics; appeals to those older or younger than you, of other genders or socioeconomic backgrounds...
November 16, 2025 at 2:36 PM
My kneejerk reaction was, "well not the ads though..."
...But, upon reflection, I DO kinda miss commercials that aren't algorithmically targeted and tailored.
Little windows into other demographics; appeals to those older or younger than you, of other genders or socioeconomic backgrounds...
...But, upon reflection, I DO kinda miss commercials that aren't algorithmically targeted and tailored.
Little windows into other demographics; appeals to those older or younger than you, of other genders or socioeconomic backgrounds...
She needn't even be a reliable narrator.
"Federation scientists are idiots, other bounty hunters can't be trusted, I work alone and no one cares for me or can help on my missions."
The player should see it HER way. Mystery could even mean the above isn't true, but your perspective is limited!
"Federation scientists are idiots, other bounty hunters can't be trusted, I work alone and no one cares for me or can help on my missions."
The player should see it HER way. Mystery could even mean the above isn't true, but your perspective is limited!
November 16, 2025 at 2:18 PM
She needn't even be a reliable narrator.
"Federation scientists are idiots, other bounty hunters can't be trusted, I work alone and no one cares for me or can help on my missions."
The player should see it HER way. Mystery could even mean the above isn't true, but your perspective is limited!
"Federation scientists are idiots, other bounty hunters can't be trusted, I work alone and no one cares for me or can help on my missions."
The player should see it HER way. Mystery could even mean the above isn't true, but your perspective is limited!
1) Samus Aran
2) Sense of Mystery
That's it!
Tempted to over-characterize and flesh out Samus' past/motivations? *Taps Mystery Sign*
Tempted to over-worldbuild and flesh out a supporting cast? *Taps Samus Sign*
2) Sense of Mystery
That's it!
Tempted to over-characterize and flesh out Samus' past/motivations? *Taps Mystery Sign*
Tempted to over-worldbuild and flesh out a supporting cast? *Taps Samus Sign*
November 16, 2025 at 2:18 PM
1) Samus Aran
2) Sense of Mystery
That's it!
Tempted to over-characterize and flesh out Samus' past/motivations? *Taps Mystery Sign*
Tempted to over-worldbuild and flesh out a supporting cast? *Taps Samus Sign*
2) Sense of Mystery
That's it!
Tempted to over-characterize and flesh out Samus' past/motivations? *Taps Mystery Sign*
Tempted to over-worldbuild and flesh out a supporting cast? *Taps Samus Sign*
Oh, that was DEFINITELY not an endorsement of the status quo; your approach should be way more common!
Easier to imagine and align on vibes across disciplines.
E. G. Level design and art hearing that background every time they test their work; there's no way that wouldn't enrich the spaces!
Easier to imagine and align on vibes across disciplines.
E. G. Level design and art hearing that background every time they test their work; there's no way that wouldn't enrich the spaces!
November 13, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Oh, that was DEFINITELY not an endorsement of the status quo; your approach should be way more common!
Easier to imagine and align on vibes across disciplines.
E. G. Level design and art hearing that background every time they test their work; there's no way that wouldn't enrich the spaces!
Easier to imagine and align on vibes across disciplines.
E. G. Level design and art hearing that background every time they test their work; there's no way that wouldn't enrich the spaces!
Your average game composer or audio engineer is likely a MIRACLE WORKER of hot-dropping into projects with already established visual languages and styles to perform HERCULEAN feats of vibe-matching!
November 13, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Your average game composer or audio engineer is likely a MIRACLE WORKER of hot-dropping into projects with already established visual languages and styles to perform HERCULEAN feats of vibe-matching!
Also a side effect of most game audio design and composition being contractors that aren't part of the core team and thus not typically as "present" for a lot of the intensely creative foundation-laying...
November 13, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Also a side effect of most game audio design and composition being contractors that aren't part of the core team and thus not typically as "present" for a lot of the intensely creative foundation-laying...
Notably, audio is FREQUENTLY the last thing added in traditional flows/pipelines...
Which isn't to say anyone's out there claiming the opposite wisdom; to save sound for last, so much as that's how a lot of dev shakes out in terms of key stakeholders/prototypers not being audio focused...
Which isn't to say anyone's out there claiming the opposite wisdom; to save sound for last, so much as that's how a lot of dev shakes out in terms of key stakeholders/prototypers not being audio focused...
November 13, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Notably, audio is FREQUENTLY the last thing added in traditional flows/pipelines...
Which isn't to say anyone's out there claiming the opposite wisdom; to save sound for last, so much as that's how a lot of dev shakes out in terms of key stakeholders/prototypers not being audio focused...
Which isn't to say anyone's out there claiming the opposite wisdom; to save sound for last, so much as that's how a lot of dev shakes out in terms of key stakeholders/prototypers not being audio focused...
Right, isn't there a whole other less edited Big Brother feed that fans of the more heavily edited product deride other fans for watching?
November 13, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Right, isn't there a whole other less edited Big Brother feed that fans of the more heavily edited product deride other fans for watching?
I suspect there's a player archetype lurking out there that's EXTREMELY bothered by them, like to the point where they'd rather lose than suffer a form of "conclusion limbo."
Do you remember if it was someone in board game spaces that impressed their preference upon you so strongly?
Do you remember if it was someone in board game spaces that impressed their preference upon you so strongly?
November 12, 2025 at 9:49 PM
I suspect there's a player archetype lurking out there that's EXTREMELY bothered by them, like to the point where they'd rather lose than suffer a form of "conclusion limbo."
Do you remember if it was someone in board game spaces that impressed their preference upon you so strongly?
Do you remember if it was someone in board game spaces that impressed their preference upon you so strongly?
Having never ordered anything but a complimentary Ginger Ale while flying, I momentarily forgot the drink exists and thought you saw someone shopping online for a Milwaukee tool set...
November 12, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Having never ordered anything but a complimentary Ginger Ale while flying, I momentarily forgot the drink exists and thought you saw someone shopping online for a Milwaukee tool set...
OW!
There's just this Campo Santo shaped wound in our hearts and only the other readers out there know how to poke at it just so...
There's just this Campo Santo shaped wound in our hearts and only the other readers out there know how to poke at it just so...
November 12, 2025 at 9:02 PM
OW!
There's just this Campo Santo shaped wound in our hearts and only the other readers out there know how to poke at it just so...
There's just this Campo Santo shaped wound in our hearts and only the other readers out there know how to poke at it just so...
Extremely tricky to separate all the external societal pressures to pair off from the internal companionship pressures to just have a consistent "teammate" against the horrors of life.
Is that critical ally SUPPOSED to be singular? A lover? If so, why?
It's great if you can find that, but...
Is that critical ally SUPPOSED to be singular? A lover? If so, why?
It's great if you can find that, but...
November 12, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Extremely tricky to separate all the external societal pressures to pair off from the internal companionship pressures to just have a consistent "teammate" against the horrors of life.
Is that critical ally SUPPOSED to be singular? A lover? If so, why?
It's great if you can find that, but...
Is that critical ally SUPPOSED to be singular? A lover? If so, why?
It's great if you can find that, but...
Oh, that is such a completely unnecessary and delicious move; the kind of thing you bake in and only "get away" with due to the actress, costumers, make up artists, etc. truly understanding the assignment.
November 12, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Oh, that is such a completely unnecessary and delicious move; the kind of thing you bake in and only "get away" with due to the actress, costumers, make up artists, etc. truly understanding the assignment.
Much like how introverts expend energy to be social and recharge in solitude and vice-versa for extroverts, some people weirdly expend energy in joy/celebration and need to grump out and complain in order to recharge.
November 12, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Much like how introverts expend energy to be social and recharge in solitude and vice-versa for extroverts, some people weirdly expend energy in joy/celebration and need to grump out and complain in order to recharge.
The secret is they don't ACTUALLY hate the thing; or rather, they enjoy dunking or complaining about it much more than they dislike it.
If you don't find talking shit and being negative entertaining you'll never grok it.
For a specific archetype, "hater energy" is a power source in and of itself...
If you don't find talking shit and being negative entertaining you'll never grok it.
For a specific archetype, "hater energy" is a power source in and of itself...
November 12, 2025 at 6:57 AM
The secret is they don't ACTUALLY hate the thing; or rather, they enjoy dunking or complaining about it much more than they dislike it.
If you don't find talking shit and being negative entertaining you'll never grok it.
For a specific archetype, "hater energy" is a power source in and of itself...
If you don't find talking shit and being negative entertaining you'll never grok it.
For a specific archetype, "hater energy" is a power source in and of itself...
What happens when some classic board or card game is a series of scripted encounters?
Could you build a little RPG out of all the parts of FTL, sorta like the Blizzard RTS campaign missions without bases?
Is there a take on Vampire Survivors that pours some degree of the Castlevania BACK IN?!
Could you build a little RPG out of all the parts of FTL, sorta like the Blizzard RTS campaign missions without bases?
Is there a take on Vampire Survivors that pours some degree of the Castlevania BACK IN?!
November 11, 2025 at 6:25 PM
What happens when some classic board or card game is a series of scripted encounters?
Could you build a little RPG out of all the parts of FTL, sorta like the Blizzard RTS campaign missions without bases?
Is there a take on Vampire Survivors that pours some degree of the Castlevania BACK IN?!
Could you build a little RPG out of all the parts of FTL, sorta like the Blizzard RTS campaign missions without bases?
Is there a take on Vampire Survivors that pours some degree of the Castlevania BACK IN?!
I can DEFINITELY see how especially thinky, turn-based affairs in roguelike forms could also seriously fail to respect the player's time!
Looping back to the positive Inscryption example; super interested in linear narrative takes on genres known for being run-based loops...
Looping back to the positive Inscryption example; super interested in linear narrative takes on genres known for being run-based loops...
November 11, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I can DEFINITELY see how especially thinky, turn-based affairs in roguelike forms could also seriously fail to respect the player's time!
Looping back to the positive Inscryption example; super interested in linear narrative takes on genres known for being run-based loops...
Looping back to the positive Inscryption example; super interested in linear narrative takes on genres known for being run-based loops...
Absolutely!
Are there any examples that stand out to you as missed opportunities; roguelikes you would have loved to see granted a "campaign mode?"
For whatever reason my mind keeps dragging me back to FlintHook, a Tribute game from 2017, before the trend had even solidified in hindsight...
Are there any examples that stand out to you as missed opportunities; roguelikes you would have loved to see granted a "campaign mode?"
For whatever reason my mind keeps dragging me back to FlintHook, a Tribute game from 2017, before the trend had even solidified in hindsight...
November 11, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Absolutely!
Are there any examples that stand out to you as missed opportunities; roguelikes you would have loved to see granted a "campaign mode?"
For whatever reason my mind keeps dragging me back to FlintHook, a Tribute game from 2017, before the trend had even solidified in hindsight...
Are there any examples that stand out to you as missed opportunities; roguelikes you would have loved to see granted a "campaign mode?"
For whatever reason my mind keeps dragging me back to FlintHook, a Tribute game from 2017, before the trend had even solidified in hindsight...
Also level design is one of the toughest things to polish, and I think we're long overdue for a big re-appraisal and conversation about the state of procedurally generated spaces, given how frequently roguelike level algorithms still fall short of Spelunky, the decade's old bleeding edge!
November 11, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Also level design is one of the toughest things to polish, and I think we're long overdue for a big re-appraisal and conversation about the state of procedurally generated spaces, given how frequently roguelike level algorithms still fall short of Spelunky, the decade's old bleeding edge!
Using a difficult-to-produce asset like a boss fight as an example, I feel like if the design goals were "purer," you'd see way more examples of a boss changing after you defeat it X times, or boss affixes that randomly add to its arena or moveset.
Signs of content intended to be repeatedly run...
Signs of content intended to be repeatedly run...
November 11, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Using a difficult-to-produce asset like a boss fight as an example, I feel like if the design goals were "purer," you'd see way more examples of a boss changing after you defeat it X times, or boss affixes that randomly add to its arena or moveset.
Signs of content intended to be repeatedly run...
Signs of content intended to be repeatedly run...