I recently started gaming again after a twenty year gap. Back in the day I used to go for high difficulty and complete everything. Now, I’m playing on easy difficulty setting. Partly cos I’m in my 50s, reactions are slower and my hands are a bit fucked up. Partly because I want to enjoy the story and the experience - if I get stuck on a fight and keep dying I get frustrated eventually and angry with myself for not being as good as I want to be. That feeling is not what I’m gaming for, so yeah, easy setting.

I haven’t played hollow knight because I’m told it’s frustrating and difficult, and, while the aesthetic really appeals to me I don’t wanna be frustrated. But I’m so happy for all the people who have been waiting for this and are enjoying it, sometimes we do get nice things!

They’re republicans, eh?

You’re welcome.

Thanks! So I’m thinking to play amnesia next but you’ve just added to my wishlist.

I’ve been recommended alien isolation but never alien v predator. You think it’s worth a look then? Sounds like you get just what I meant about jump scares, I’ll check it out.

Yeah I’ve been playing prey and enjoying it. I’m really crap at games that need coordination tho, playing it on easy mode and feeling cautiously confident rather than bullet proof.

I’ve just looked up a plague tale, thanks for the suggestion, looks just what I’m after.

I struggle with retro aesthetic. I grew up with 8 bit graphics and got no desire to return to those days now that computers so much better! But I’m not closed to anything.

And yeah I entirely agree with you about horror. I don’t want something that just scares me, I wanna be appalled.

Thanks!

Yeah I’ve meant to play subnautica but I only really have time to game for an hour or so in the evening and seems like subnautica might take more commitment.

Played soma. Liked it, liked the atmosphere and the end a lot.

Haven’t played outer wilds - I’ve heard the recommendations, somehow mostly avoided spoilers. I know I should but seems like first part takes a while and I’ve not got past it. Maybe it should play that next.

Yep, thanks, that looks great. Actually I don’t know what to make of the trailer but I’ll give it a try, cheers.

Thanks I’ll look em up

Now that sounds like a solid recommendation right there! I’ve just bought it, thanks mate.

(It’s safe to come out now)

Oh wow okay that makes it intriguing! I’m guessing some NPC info will suggest that they’ve done bad things but they had a traumatic background? Others will be upstanding Christian Sunday school teachers who are suspected of domestic abuse but nothing proven? The shabby secret millionaire, the person who will always help anyone out but has a ten thousand yard stare? The little guy who’s scared of everything and everyone pities. The pretty woman who committed the unforgivable sin of having a sex life. The wealthy salesman who knows his customers will spend years paying for useless crap. Etc etc

Yeah you could do a lot with that!

Still, I kinda think you’ve got to involve the player on an emotional level for it to really bite em hard. You could definitely do that through diary, letters, recordings etc. You could actually make it pretty fuckin dark, especially if the player suffers consequences for not hurting anyone.

If you can do it right.

Hey if it works out, sounds like something I’d buy.

Okay, I’ve just looked these up, are we talking amnesia the dark descent? Yeah that looks right up my street.

Interesting idea.

I think the moral choices people make when gaming are often different from the choices they’d make IRL. Who amongst us hasn’t taken down an NPC with a shotgun just because they were irritating?

You can get closer to an accurate reading of a player’s moral compass if you can make them emotionally involved with the characters or the game. If you have been manipulated into caring about the fate of an NPC, you’re more likely to go out of your way to help them, even if it is too the detriment of your own character.

It’s that successful emotional manipulation that, IMO, is one of the signs of genuine art. No idea how to accomplish this. Good luck with the game, like I say it’s an interesting idea.

I’ll switch away from Android when there’s a good alternative, but I’m not very technical and need something with a nice GUI and an easy installation process. Hopefully Linux will offer something like that someday, but I don’t think it’s there yet.

Yeah, wasn’t disagreeing with you. Capitalism is a fundamentally unsustainable system, it’s always going to eventually metastasise into a situation where a very few control almost all of the resources and the vast majority are desperate and impoverished. There might be meritocratic aspects to it in its early stages, but later on skills, talents and hard work won’t get you shit unless you’re rich.

It’s a vicious circle :

1. People can’t afford to have kids
2. Aging population
3. Labour shortage
4. Use more immigrant labour
5. People start getting pissy about immigrants
6. People vote for right wing candidates
7. Decrement the social wellbeing counter and return to 1

TBH I’d just say were seeing capitalism approach its final inevitable form.

Oh yeah sure. I’m here after all, jumped ship from Reddit a year or so ago and I actually prefer Lemmy.

I jumped ship from twitter to mastodon around the same time. And while I like the idea of mastodon and I like the interface, fact is that Reddit / lemmy is a different sort of usage from twitter / bluesky / mastodon. Twitter I mostly used to keep up with my favourite content creators, and occasionally shout at clouds. Those content creators just aren’t on mastodon, they’ve mostly moved to bluesky. Those are the users that are the foundation of a platform like that. So yeah, I use lemmy and bluesky now.

TBH I’m not sure mastodon could scale up big anyway - it would be a nightmare trying to regulate bad content and comply with local laws etc.

A rimjob.

Yeah, but bluesky has users.

I got banned for the same reason after a comment that contained a direct, attributed quote from Donald trump. TBF he is a hateful little shit so I probably should have known better.

Another option is I’m full of shit! I just looked it up, it is Worcester cathedral and was founded in 680. I think what I put in my comment was a childhood memory that I somehow never questioned.