Things Roundup 15.11.2024
The only politics & election commentary I'll point to right now (though I have read a few good things) is Ian Williams' Notes From A Classroom, which talks through his direct experience interviewing college students in his class and their positions.
I found this quick fire explanation of how fine dining restaurants deal with unruly tables without disrupting the 'hospitality' mindset for everyone involved very interesting. In a sense, the table gets their leisurely tasting menu experience sped up and a 'tour of the kitchen' which ends in being shown the door. I can see the logic here, you may not want a direct confrontation with a table to add a large disruption to an already disruptive evening for everyone else. But on the other hand, people like this thrive on feeling special and being uniquely unaware of other people's feelings, getting a kitchen tour is just reinforcing that. I wouldn't say American hospitality culture is people-pleasing as it is deferential, and frankly some people just need to be publicly shamed instead of quietly excused.
Dan Thurot has reviewed City of Six Moons, a game I am keen on getting around to. Part game, part art project about the understanding of games, linguistics, and logic.
Rascal has published a huge rollercoaster of an investigative piece on World of Game Design, a publishing/services outfit for tabletop RPGs.
A twine game by Brendan McLeod on the experiences his character in a game of Wolves Upon The Coast. This game was a large West Marches style game that I was also a part of and has recently concluded, after nearly a year of play. It's been very rewarding for me and something I may write on in the future.
Nat Clayton documents (almost) every cat she met in one year.
There's not much new in this extensive interview with Leder Games' artist Kyle Ferrin talking about the bullshit that is LLM/AI 'art' but I do want to highlight this quote:
So if a publisher comes to me and says, ‘We have this great board game idea, but we have to use AI art because we can’t afford to do it any other way’, it’s exactly that – you don’t get to do it then. Pay somebody.
Megan Carnes documents her experiences managing ADHD without medication.
A quick design breakdown on an interpretation of HP, Strain, and Radiation rules for a TTRPG by slasherepoch.
On an Amtrak for 48 hours going from Chicago to Miami by a Sun-Times reporter.
A wonderful piece of about things ending - MMOs, plays, and the movie Eephus by Aurahack.