EvaUnit02

Got in a great 7P game of Ares' The Thing. I was the starting alien. I infected someone and they, in turn, interacted with someone else.

Just as the rescue helicopter was to arrive, I decided to out myself as an alien. That instantly cast doubt on those two other players, one of which was actually human. The humans left him behind and we won. So fun.

I think it's just an effort to collect a licensing fee.

Price per unit time suggests that the only value of a game is in how much time it consumes.

The value calculus is going to be different for everyone but for me, I tend to look for:

• A game which is a game first and foremost rather than an entertainment experience. That is to say: something that demands decision making of me in which I can either increase or decrease the payoffs of those decisions. Games which focus heavily on cinematic scenes, heavy QTEs, or long dialogs disinterest me.

• I am often willing to take a punt on a game that tries to do something creative and interesting.

• I tend to not like games that demand a high degree of memorization and/or dexterity.

• Games which perform well. A recent example of a regretful purchase I made was with Shin Megami Tensei V. I adore the series but the framerate on the Switch really brought my experience down to a level where I just didn't want to play anymore.

The weights of these things will change from game to game and other elements may enter or exit the equation from time to time, of course.

tri-Ace games have fantastic combat mechanics, imo. Give the original Valkyrie Profile, any Star Ocean (later games have more intricate combat), or Resonance of Fate a spin.

I'm not sure how ad blocking is going to work once more and more ads are delivered via the domains you don't want to block.

Most jobs in the game industry are employment, not contracts.

I recoiled when I read, "my dad actually owned a PS2 when I was born." Oh time, you cruel beast.

Amen.

I think there are enough tabletop games in the hobbiest game space for everyone. That means there's a very wide range of games from the simplistic to the complicated. I think if expectations are not kept in check, it can be easy to bite off more than one can chew.

Moreover, everyone's going to find different things complicated. I've been in this hobby for decades. I don't find Gloomhaven particularly complicated. I very much enjoy hex and chit war games. But god damn, I cannot wrap my head around Oath. There's just something about it in which the rules don't click for me.

One of the first things I do when considering a new purchase is head over to BGG and read some reviews. If it looks up my alley, then I'll give the game a go.

People have different preferences but generally, "up" is the thumb button.

There's an "up" button as well.

It's basically just an arcade stick where you replace the lever with buttons.