=== ANCHOR POEM ===
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
 @user-569
 
 it's impossible for a genre to die. they just go stagnant, as other styles of
 art rise around them, waiting for the day when the other styles give insight
 into the stagnant style's design.
 
 they say that there are no unique ideas, and that you should combine 2-3 ideas
 from different genres to create a decent gameplay loop. I personally disagree,
 but when seeking to revive a "dead" genre you just need to pull in mechanics
 from other games. Games which didn't exist when the genre "died".
 
 For example, deckbuilders did not exist by the time RTS games "died". And yet
 new strategy games are being made all the time, some incorporating
 deckbuilding elements.
 
 Really, a genre only "dies" when the market is saturated by a bunch of
 corporations piling in on a specific formula that "works" (like how every RTS
 made between 2000 and 2010 was either a C&C clone or a Warcraft III clone)
 - this saturation causes people to stop buying strategy games.
But there's so much room for innovation. They strangle the market and say it's "dead" like... duh
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘

=== SIMILARITY RANKED ===

--- #1 fediverse/3063 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
 @user-570 
 
 true. the "massively multiplayer" aspect of WoW is about as important to the
 game as the "A" is in "ARPG".
 
 I can't help but feel like the "impromptu groups" functionality feels a bit
 better than matchmaker instancing... though anything worth running a group for
 in WoW after TBC was instanced >.>
 
 Honestly I think there's just too many games these days for people to really
 get "into" MMORPGs, unless they're sufficiently unique in their mechanics
 (like EVE or Runescape)
 
 any ARPG MMOs are dead on launch, as you said. That design space is tapped
 out, at least for now, until someone comes along and makes it a deckbuilding
 roguelike or whatever. cough cough
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘

--- #2 fediverse/4877 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────
 you can make a functional prototype for almost any game in Warcraft 3's map
 editor
 
 that's why no real-time strategy game ever made an editor as good again
 
 FPS editors peaked at Unreal Tournament 2004 imho
 
 RPGmaker eliminated a whole class of game design jobs
 
 platformers you can make in godot
 
 menu based games too, though Twine also works well for that
 
 etc etc until you have a prdouct that you can justify sinking money into an
 engine for
 
 (the engine isn't THAT expensive geez and it's the most fun part to write)
 
 yeah I think you got this backwards, we should pay for the CONTENT not the
 structure it lives in. Why not just use godot? why not use a Warcraft 3 map?
 there are some things you can't do in Warcraft 3. You couldn't make Supreme
 Commander, probably, at least it wouldn't be as good.
 
 etc etc that's how it goes...
 
 game design, amiright? I miss thinking about that. Anyway gtg gotta log off
 for a bit [101  characters remaining]
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────┘

--- #3 fediverse/1716 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────
 if a game presents itself that you know you'll like, at a certain point your
 tastes are so refined and specific that you can think to yourself "... it's a
 sign, I gotta play this" because moments that you find a game you're really
 "into" are pretty rare.
 
 I've never been wowed by graphical technology beyond, like, a tech demo or.
 It's cool to see, but it never sold games to me. I was always into mechanics,
 because they were the kind of thing you could learn from when making your own
 games to play.
 
 I spent a lot of time outside because my mom would only let me use electronics
 for 1 hour per day. Ahhhhh it was always my favorite part of the day.
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent══════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────┘

--- #4 fediverse/2098 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┐
 ┌──────────────────────┐                                                         │
 │ CW: games            │                                                         │
 └──────────────────────┘                                                         │
 The difference between tactics and strategy is a level of abstraction.           │
 Tactics are crucial, but context dependent. Strategy is ALWAYS useful as a       │
 method of planning.                                                              │
 If you typically play base-builder games like Starcraft or Age of Empires, try   │
 playing a game like Supreme Commander or Factorio - both of them are one level   │
 of abstraction up.                                                               │
 If you typically play arcade turn-based strategy games like Civilization or      │
 Catan, try going up a level of abstraction with Dominions 6, or any game         │
 developed by Paradox Interactive like Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings, or         │
 Stellaris.                                                                       │
 If you tend to play luck-based games like Poker or Monopoly, try playing an      │
 actual game instead of resolving a system that's predetermined by the initial    │
 board state and results of chance-based-mechanics with minor (if any) input      │
 from players, like perhaps Star Realms, Magic the Gathering, or Dungeons and     │
 Dragons. Each highlight a different type of choice in their mechanics. You       │
 should probably try all three if you care about strategy.                        │
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═══════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────┴──────────┘

--- #5 fediverse/3578 ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────
 It's so sad how some of the best games ever made get glossed over because the
 fun you remember is the friendship and fantasy you felt rather than the game
 itself
 
 time marches forward, and culture changes to no longer fit the old tools quite
 right. Plus they look like PS1 graphics ewwwwww look at those muddy textures
 and blocky bits arranged into triangles and meshes! how dorky, how retro
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┘

--- #6 fediverse/895 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────
 most video game ideas suck
 
 most of the time they're like "oh what if we had a racoon who found a magic
 hat and saved the world from sentient apple blossoms"
 
 that's not a game idea, that's a painting
 
 a game is mechanics, and you can use the aesthetic to justify the mechanics,
 but not generally the other way around.
 
 the art isn't bad, but the art isn't the game. a game idea is "what if
 tic-tac-toe had an extra square in the center" or "what if chess was played
 with checkers, to hide your moves from your opponent"
 
 there have been thousands of super mario bros. if games were designed as an
 API, we could use whatever visuals we wanted, and those could be copyrighted
 and sold if you really want. but mechanics are the basis for everything they
 are built on, so doesn't it make sense to separate the two? abstracting the
 logic such that two complementary functions are accomplished, [see code editor
 idea], more flavors of game could be produced.
 
 rulesets can be switched in and out too, as an API is just an engin
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┘

--- #7 fediverse/3931 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┐
 ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐                                  │
 │ CW: politics-mentioned-DRM-media-piracy-pol │                                  │
 └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘                                  │
 if people pirate media, it's more of an indication that they'd rather spend      │
 their money elsewhere rather than an indictment of their character.              │
 torrenting movies is easy. Kinda makes me think all media should run on a        │
 "tip" system where you pay for better service after receiving service.           │
 I mean, after all, that's how they justify underpaying restaurant workers,       │
 isn't it?                                                                        │
 "if they want more money, they should work for it"                               │
 yeah, so... maybe we need something more than Marvel, Disney. Maybe we need      │
 more cool, small games from designers who believe in what they're doing. Maybe   │
 copyright holders should demand a standardized cut, rather than exclusive        │
 distribution rights. maybe maybe maybe.                                          │
 truth is nothing will be solved unless the problem is addressed at the root.     │
 For every hole you patch in the boat, there's a guy walking around with a        │
 hammer.                                                                          │
 Honestly... I don't believe there's any reason for someone to be a millionaire   │
 except to compete on the "wealth" leaderboards.                                  │
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────┴──────────┘

--- #8 fediverse/3039 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
 @user-570 
 
 I'd LOVE a game which taught toki pona!!
 
 You've brought some of this up before. I'm uninterested in co-opting some
 existing thing in a way I then can't support myself off of.
 
 Well my points are these:
 
 MMOs are difficult because of the added complexity in their networking
 
 an open source networking solution exists
 
 however no open source client solution exists
 
 but one could be written, which is about as hard as making a game using Bevy
 or Raylib or Love2D, and if one were written, then games could easily be made
 on-top of them which you would then support yourself off of. I mean... I'd
 want to support myself too haha, and I can think of like 100 different games
 that could be made in an engine like that.
 
 the idea is that by opening up more design space you can apply your ideas as
 an early pioneer in a particular design direction that hasn't been able to be
 explored because the up-front investments in making an MMO are huge.
 
 Meanwhile, with this system you could script them in Lua very easily.
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘

--- #9 fediverse/4783 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────
 I think it'd be cool if strategy games had slightly randomized rules each time
 you played them
 
 everything from +/- 5% hp to this particular unit to every airplane factory
 has 10% production speed but builds 10 units at once
 
 and at the start of the game each player is given 1 minute to go over the
 "patch notes" and build out a strategy
 
 both of which they can reference throughout the game. Why don't games come
 with a built-in scratch-notepad that syncs to a file on your directory of
 choice? Maybe a small little paint program dropping pngs?
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────┘

--- #10 fediverse/1602 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────┐
 @user-1037                                                                       │
 those all seem really cool though! They all kinda have the same basic UI tho,    │
 kinda feel like there's opportunities for different kinds of expression. Like,   │
 in game design there's a lot of different genres, and yeah sidescrollers         │
 include mario and sonic but they're both very different experiences. So too      │
 perhaps could we interact with our computers by programming them in more         │
 engaging ways.                                                                   │
 they say some people are visual learners, others need to be taught, some         │
 people need to watch someone else doing it, and a few might just learn by        │
 plugging their brains into a computer and downloading a black belt in kung fu.   │
 Maybe typing long paragraphs of logic makes sense for some people, I know for    │
 most it doesn't come naturally. Maybe some people are more used to like,         │
 looking at maps that you can examine at different levels of abstraction. Like    │
 players who play Paradox games zooming from a national perspective to states     │
 and individuals and all the other things they might want to strategize using.    │
 Or m                                                                             │
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────┴──────────┘

--- #11 fediverse/982 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────
 @user-707 @user-708 
 
 using this to control the buttons in VRchat would be like a person with a
 prosthetic interacting with real life :O
 
 minus the physicality of course, but that's next.
 
 can't wait to play Warcraft 3 and think "select all healers" so I can point
 them at a dying unit with my mouse.
 
 or world of warcraft where your rotation begins to feel like a song.
 
 maybe even a text-based adventure, where you reading the text corresponds to
 the results of the simulation, https://www.spreeder.com/app.php style. could
 make it so that if you wanted something else to happen, you had to willfully
 think it while the words are flashing in front of your eyes - the game would
 pause if you blinked, perfect for phones btw...
 
 could be a locally networked thing, like four to six people hanging out and
 playing a game like pictionary or charades. except, a story that developed,
 and whoever wanted could change it while everyone was reading it at once.
 sorta like a competition to see who can make the best twists and false endings
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┘

--- #12 fediverse/240 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────┐
 ┌──────────────────────┐                                                         │
 │ CW: game-design      │                                                         │
 └──────────────────────┘                                                         │
 i like to design games. my darling is a game based on Majesty (2000) the         │
 Fantasy Kingdom Sim. you can think of it like a management strategy game where   │
 you control the knobs and levers that a fantasy monarch might have -             │
 allocating funds, placing quest bounties, hiring heroes, and organizing the      │
 peasantry. the important part is that your units are not controllable - they     │
 just do their own thing.                                                         │
 unrelated, but I think we should design games as APIs that a user's preferred    │
 tool could interface with and render as they will. it'd help a lot with          │
 cross-platform compatibility and would allow people to customize parts of the    │
 game to their desires.                                                           │
 unrelated, but I think if you could design an AI that could play games           │
 (perhaps through an API) that it hadn't been trained on, I think you would       │
 have a pretty convincing argument for abstract "problem solving" capabilities.   │
 unrelated, but games like the one I described are good for situations where      │
 people don't have to trust their monarch. to it you are AGI                      │
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┴──────────┘

--- #13 fediverse/3047 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
 @user-570 
 
 specifically in relation to MMOs, I think the scaling aspects of the genre
 have never truly been utilized. Even something as simple as Agar.io (or
 similar, can't remember any names teehee) with massive amounts of people (I
 later learned they were bots, whoops) can utilize scale quite well, if
 implemented well.
 
 The Massive part of MMO is valuable I believe, which is a big reason why I
 like games that scale like Supreme Commander and Factorio.
 
 The Multiplayer part of MMO is valuable because multiplayer brings randomized
 outcomes, which are always more fun than playing against bots. Multiplayer
 combined with Massive gives room for community, but only if the game is
 designed to encourage it.
 
 Online... you can't have multiplayer without online haha
 
 I believe you can make massive games with very few players, and you can make
 intensely isolating games with lots of players (like WoW today)
 
 and the middle ground in old WoW where guilds are required to do anything
 worked well for a while, but no longer.
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘

--- #14 fediverse/825 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────┐
 in the past, for most of there day, there was just... nothing to do. it's        │
 like, nothing to take up your time, nothing to be pulled toward the present.     │
 but when I was growing up, I had access to video games. and movies. and later,   │
 TV, after the internet, which was a weird combination of ordering of events.     │
 Almost like because of that, I'd have a different interpretation of events.      │
 yeah but like, there's always a continuation of implemented support, [that's a   │
 weird way to express "the state of being shown news broadcasts over a period     │
 of time, measured in terms of engagement"]                                       │
 ... what was I saying? oh yeah what I'm doing here is unethical, like            │
 obviously I shouldn't be shouting in such a public place. Why would I do it if   │
 not for an intense and extreme feeling of being ignored or un-[trusted, worthy   │
 of guiding direction based on merit] gosh merit is such a tricky concept too,    │
 like how is it measured, and {that doesn't matter                                │
 ... what was I saying oh yeah I should probably go shout into a void that        │
 nobody ca                                                                        │
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┴──────────┘

--- #15 fediverse/3101 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
 if you don't have a lot of time but still like games, like for example a new
 parent or if you're focused on your career or always traveling, I recommend
 the game
 
 Star Realms
 
 in the digital version, which can be played on a phone or computer, has a mode
 called "48 hour turns" where each of your moves has time to think for two
 entire days. Most of the time you won't need two days, but it gives time to
 work on other things.
 
 for people who enjoy this mode, it is not uncommon to have 3-5 games running
 at once. When they have time, they can play as many as they can, and as long
 as they're keeping up with it there's very little chance they'll lose time.
 
 kinda like words with friends, except space strategy.
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘

--- #16 fediverse/290 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────┐
 you're supposed to play the same games as your friends so that you all learn     │
 the same lessons at the same times. creates for a more cohesive familiar         │
 structure.                                                                       │
 applies also to family movie nights... but it's much more apparent with games    │
 as you'll often play them for weeks, months, and sometimes even years if you     │
 keep learning and enjoying them... book clubs are too open to interpretation,    │
 your pathways don't get a chance to align. games are perfect because they        │
 imply reaction.                                                                  │
 also helps if they're multiplayer, so you can share with another. preferably     │
 with healthy, respectful competition and a sense of shared brotherhood and       │
 trust.                                                                           │
 the toughest opponents are the ones that aren't aggressive. the ones that let    │
 you grow uncontested. by taking only neutral resources they guarantee that       │
 your growth isn't impeded, as after all an equal foe is what you learn best      │
 from.                                                                            │
 to a tree, the loss of a branch (cleanly cut) would feel like an empowering of   │
 the main limb. inspiring it to reach higher and beyond... +h2o1                  │
a flow diagram of tubes or pipelines or something. branches in a tree? okay yeah so when a plant absorbs light from the sun it evaporates water from inside itself. which is why succulents are so slow-growing, they take too long to dissipate water because they need to keep as much of it as they can (arid environments) - they evolve to be very... dense, as opposed to leaves which are thin like paper and radiate water much better. essentially acting as solar panels hooked up to giant humidifiers. anyway. the evaporation from underneath the leaf causes there to be an outflux of water - meaning water is removed from the system. in the same way that wetting one end of a power towel will spread the moisture to another part, so too does a plants transpiration (evaporation from under the leaf caused by the sun providing energy for photosynthesis) make part of the plant drier. this causes water to be pulled from the wet part of the napkin (toward the leaf) which (conveniently enough) delivers vital minerals and nutrients that the plant needs to grow and maintain itself. carried along as aqueous solutions of water and molecules, (aqueous meaning a mixture of dust and liquid, like salt dissolving in pasta water) with the minerals being left behind and used for building. carbon usually goes toward structure, while nitrogen inspires new growth. different particles cause different effects, and sometimes there's some that just... aren't that useful to the plant.  though there's always seeds.
                                                            ┌───────────┤
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┴──────────┘

--- #17 fediverse/4608 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────
 every time a game developer makes a game where the world is in peril and the
 main character must save it, for every successful playthrough where the good
 guy wins there are thousands of doomed worlds where the player got distracted
 or bored and left the people to rot.
 
 how tragic.
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────┘

--- #18 fediverse/5177 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────
 ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
 │ CW: capitalism-mentioned-four-times │
 └─────────────────────────────────────┘


 when they say "capitalism is a competitive game" what they mean is "capitalism
 is a game where everyone wins when someone else loses" and what we hear is
 "capitalism is a game of trying to screw you out of as much money as possible"
 and the truth is "capitalism is a game that you can't play" because 95% of the
 people who will read this toot are not stock-owners.
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────┘

--- #19 fediverse/4126 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────
 ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │ CW: capitalism-mentioned-periodic-sine-curves-not-present-oh-also-capitalism-ment │
 └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


 if you think one person's worth is more valuable than another's, then you are
 at best a eugenicist, at worst a traitor to humanity.
 
 ... wow fiery rhetoric, real strong I guess. /eyeroll
 
 truth is that everyone can do what they can do - some people are not built for
 work. And that's okay, they're just as valuable, in the same way that F2P
 mobile game developers value the players who AREN'T whales.
 
 whales cannot survive without krill, and krill cannot survive without their
 food source (which is probably like, fish poop I guess?) which requires poop
 from fish
 
 and, like, they can't all be the same type of fish, or poop, or whale, because
 then you'd get excessive stagnation which leads to loss of moderate-term
 growth.
 
 ... did you say... not, short-term growth?
 
 wait please come back
 
 ... yeah we all know you're not serious, ha who would have ever heard of that,
 "medium-term growth" ha what a noob, can't even capitalism right l m a o
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────┘

--- #20 fediverse/1176 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────
 @user-883 
 
 we should build a stockpile of things like this, and if the supply ever dips
 below a certain threshold (20% maybe?) we should spin up a new factory that
 produces them until we're back at a healthy margin, based on present (and
 projected future) demand.
 
 It seems like just a video game console, but these are our heritage. They
 define our culture in a way that is incalculable in value. WHY would we ever
 run out? It's inconceivable, it's not like they go bad! Okay maybe the
 batteries corrode or something, but that's a solvable problem.
 
 Maybe even on the second production run we could improve them somehow, I
 dunno. Give them a better processor that's fully backwards compatible, so we
 can make new and better games for them.
 
 Or just leave them as they are, I dunno I'm not a market analyst. But the
 point is that we, in this technologically advanced future society, should not
 run out of gameboys.
                                                           ┌───────────┐
 similar                        chronologicaldifferent═════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┘