hey look a title

(With reference to this post here.)

You've probably seen me talk on this blog in the past about games that are so high concept they're barely playable. To be very clear, I'm not misusing the term "high concept" to mean "weird" here; I'm talking about games whose mechanical design prioritises thematic consistency with their narrative high concept more highly than they prioritise actually being playable games.

While I often frame this as a criticism (and rightly so!), it's only really a problem when a game's misguided fidelity to its narrative high concept at the expense of actually-being-a-playable-game is expressed in tedious or predictable ways. When they really go off the rails, games of this type can be worth engaging with as art pieces: not in spite of, but because of the fact that they're functionally unplayable.

TL;DR: Eternal Sonata sucks, but it sucks in an interesting way.

the average human lifespan globally is 70+ years

taking the threshold of adulthood as 18, you are likely to spend at least 52 years as a fully grown adult

at the age of 30 you have lived less than one quarter of your adult life (12/52 years)

'middle age' is typically considered to be between 45-65

it is extremely common to switch careers, start new relationships, emigrate, go to college for the first or second time, or make other life-changing decisions in middle age

it's wild that I even have to spell it out, but older adults (60+) still have social lives and hobbies and interests.

you can still date when you get old. you can still fuck. you can still learn new skills, be fashionable, be competitive. you can still gossip, you can still travel, you can still read. you can still transition. you can still come out.

young doesn't mean peaked. you're inexperienced in your 20s! you're still learning and practicing! you're developing social skills and muscle memory that will last decades!

I was going to make a list, but then i realized this is a good time to share this book

Making Stuff and Doing things is a whole collection of old punk DIY zines about making and doing just about anything, even things you probably never knew you wanted to do.

Book binding? In there.

Making bowls from old vinyl records? I made a whole ton for my brother’s grad party last year.

Basics of guitar? Making rubber stamps? Silk screening? Composting? Homemade beer, root beer, and wine? Soymilk?? Quill pens??? All in there.

Since it’s more punk, it doesn’t have a ton of the folksy, cottage vibes/hobbies, but it’s all about being resourceful and sustainable, which they both have in common.

And for those people who have access to mobility devices but might benefit from a second chair they can abuse without risking expensive damage…

Erik Kondo has made a website, Open Source Innovations, that details plans for DIY wheelchairs. These wheelchairs can be made from common materials like wood, plastic, and pvc. They are lightweight and can be custom fit to the user allowing from the same degree of movement you would get from a custom chair. And they are durable and easily repairable. (he has been stress testing his latest design by dropping it down stairs, dropping it out of a car, launching it across a driveway, and throwing it off a deck). Its 12lbs and I think he said its was in the $200 ish range for parts.

I'm gonna add to this.

It stifles adult's creativity too.

Don't put restrictions on people's creativity.

That Mary-Sue OC you made as a child? That's a template for a well rounded character. Develop that shit. Flesh them out. Make them even better. Figure out what superpowers they really need and what ones are just extra. Let the character grow with you.

But you won't have that template to work off of if you were told not to make it.

Also, let people have power fantasies. Let that bullied isolated kid have an OC who's super powerful and surrounded by friends.

This is a movie about a kid who leaves her birth family.

Not a kid who find that they have a secret lineage or something that allows them to find their ‘true family’ - this is a movie about a kid whose true birth family is made up of bad people. So she gets out. And that is played as the right thing to do. She isn’t punished for it or made to feel bad about ‘abandoning her family’. There isn’t an underlying ‘but they’re your family and you have to love them’ or ‘they’re your family and they love you even if they don’t show it well or do hurtful things’ message of the kind that I see OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER in media. Matilda gets out and lives happily ever after because of it.

The Origin Story of Rhinoceress

Cindy Shears used to be an ordinary girl until one day, she discovered her superpowers. However, her family were not happy about it so they took her in to be studied by Doctor Kavita Rao. She discovered a DNA variance unique to Cindy and suggested her parents leave Cindy in her care until a cure could be found. Abandoned and locked up, Cindy used her super strength to break out and become the Rhinoceress. While she does engage in some illegal work as a super villain, she also bartends and bounces at the Invisible Light nightclub.

Cause like

I dont know about anyone else

But I am perpetually hovering three inches above the strong subconscious belief that everyone knows what they're doing at all times except me, so if you change your normal patterns and I notice, then I will assume it is an intentional choice with a thought-out plan behind it and I will avoid interfering

"I feel like I'm the only one who does this chore. Can we start taking turns?"

"I'd like you to ask me how I'm doing more often."

"It bothers me when this area stays messy so long. Can you do X when Y happens?"

"I feel like the onus is on me to initiate X, and it's wearing me down. Could you try making the first move more? Like 3-4 times a week?"

"I'm feeling upset right now and I'd like to spend some time with you."

"When X happens, I feel like you're taking my work for granted."

"I'm feeling neglected. Could you do X?"

"I'm burnt out and need help."

"I feel like I'm the only one putting effort into X."

"Do you notice this?"

"Are you bothered by this?"

"I am bothered when this happens."

"X habit of yours bothers me."

time + work = healing (a soft sequel to this comic)

GLaDOS: There are no other humans in this facility. Just you. Therefore, you lack a source of envy of which would trigger the feelings of insecurity in your tiny simple human brain.