@turbohermit@peoplemaking.games
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turbohermit

@turbohermit@peoplemaking.games

Ex-technical artist, now narrative and game designer, writing resources for aspiring and experienced game makers alike.

Loves indie and experimental stuff, music, food and writing

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turbohermit, to gamedev
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I think its time to start talking about alternative economies. The game industry is fucked if we let techbros rugpull us every few years. How can we fund games ourselves, among ourselves?

turbohermit, to gamedev
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I've just launched a blog post about systemic design for narrative games! There are tips about leveraging systemic principles to create a world that feels alive through story and UX.

https://newtonarrative.com/blog/systemic-game-design-and-how-to-apply-it-to-storytelling/

turbohermit, to gamedev
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New to narrative? Here is a recommendation to play and study!

Steve Jackson's Sorcery! 2 in particular. It's a pretty straightforward choose-your-own-adventure game, but there's a particular minigame I love...


1/5

turbohermit,
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At some point, you're introduced to Swindlestones. It's a simple luck and bluff game. Here's how it works: you make increasingly higher claims about your results, until someone calls the bluff. If they were right and your claims are false, you lose one die.
2/5

turbohermit,
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This repeats until you're out of dice, and as a consequence you lose whatever you bet, usually gold. Where this gets interesting, is the banter during the game. The higher your claim is, the more useful the information your opponent is chatting about.
3/5

turbohermit,
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So instead of going to the tavern keeper or simply bribing someone for rumors, quests or information, you have to play this game in a risky fashion. But you don't want to lose your bet either, because gold is pretty scarce and necessary for basic supplies.
4/5

turbohermit,
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I thought this was a really clever way of handling clues and exposition. Is that enough reason to play Sorcery? That's up to you.

https://www.inklestudios.com/sorcery/


5/5

turbohermit,
@turbohermit@peoplemaking.games avatar

@golgaloth Interesting thanks! I reckoned there was a real-world equivalent of it, but I was particularly interested in how the game narrative tied into the dice bluffing aspect of it.

turbohermit, to gamedev
@turbohermit@peoplemaking.games avatar

Balancing games is hard, so here's a quick tip! Decide on the scale of your numbers: big numbers grant you granular control, but they're less relatable for users. Small numbers increment fast (2 is double as strong as 1), but are simple to understand.

🎮

turbohermit, to gamedev
@turbohermit@peoplemaking.games avatar

I've talked about starting my journey with before. When I was a kid, I loved imagining my own little stories in existing franchises. I didn't re-enact stories as much as I made up my own, within the confines of a world I already knew and loved.
1/10

turbohermit, to gamedev
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If you recently got laid off and are living off of severance, I was in the same situation a few months ago. I did some (basic) legwork then on how you can potentially extend that runway, to rest, or to start your own creative endeavour.


1/14

turbohermit, to gamedev
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OK we had some success on the previous thread on marketing so let's do another one! This time we'll talk about content recycling (but maybe not in the way you think)

turbohermit,
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I know a lot of indie devs and artists who are hesitant to repost things they've made. It can often feel that we're expected to make fresh content all the time, and are only allowed to highlight existing works when the appropriate hashtag comes around again. (, etc)

turbohermit,
@turbohermit@peoplemaking.games avatar

A lot of creatives I know struggle with the following:

  1. You make something cool.
  2. You post about it.
  3. Nobody sees it because the algorithm doesn't pick it up.
  4. You feel dejected and don't want to think about that piece anymore. (or a similar spiral)

Rinse and repeat.

turbohermit,
@turbohermit@peoplemaking.games avatar

This feeds into the idea that people want new stuff from you. That's not the case. The problem is number 3: nobody sees your stuff because of the monolith that is the algorithm. The people that follow you LIKE your work. That's why they're here!

turbohermit,
@turbohermit@peoplemaking.games avatar

So the solution is to get them to see it. But HOW do we get them to see it? Can you just post the same thing over and over again? Technically, yes, if you change it up a bit you don't get flagged as a bot. But it's not as effective as posting ABOUT your work.

phanjam, to 3goodthings
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@3goodthings
Chicken lollipops
Garlic fried rice
Lemon mayonnaise

turbohermit,
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@phanjam @3goodthings

Im sorry, chicken whatnow?

turbohermit, to random
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What do triple-A game studios still have to offer these days? What's the point of working overtime constantly if you do not have the promise of job stability and growth opportunities?

1/6

turbohermit,
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What's the point of all the shitty monetization practices if they still fire a quarter of their team? What's the point of buying out talented studios just to gut them? What's the point of milking IPs we all love to death if the company still folds in the end?
2/6

turbohermit,
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This is the reality of multinational corporations driven by nothing but shareholder interest. All they have to offer now is a firsthand experience of toxic company culture and bad working conditions.
3/6

turbohermit,
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Venture capital funding is dried up. Publishing companies are taking no risks. Studios are folding left and right. Every company desperately hiring will collapse soon too. There is nothing to gain from working for others at the moment.
4/6

turbohermit,
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Consumers are weary of dealing with greedy, faceless corporations. They're sick of microtransactions, gambling, needless launchers and their favorite games dying.

Regardless, they still want to play games. They still want to buy games.
5/6

turbohermit,
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Work on your own game NOW! Make a worker coop NOW!


6/6

turbohermit, to gamedev
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Systemic Game Design is a concept explain often to beginner game makers. So, let's make a thread that we can refer back to

The jist of it: systems that change the game state are self-enclosed. But that's a bit abstract, so let's jump into an example!


1/14

turbohermit, to gamedev
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based on the layout on this picture, who do you think gets the first turn?

turbohermit,
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@MIfoodie Ah yeah that's fair! If all slots were filled, which character do you think would take the first turn on a new combat?

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