yup, I started on Beehaw and realized I didn’t miss the downvotes and that it made interacting with comments sections feel much more in good faith. Later moved to my current instance after specifically looking for small instances with applications and no downvotes but federated with (almost) everyone. I know downvotes are still there for most other users but I don’t see them and it’s freeing!
surrendertogravity
Not here for games, but I want to shout out Heave-Ho! because it's a wonderful co-op game! Goofy physics co-op platforming. :)
The game mechanic loops around unlocking new plants in Horticular are very satisfying to me, and I especially enjoyed building habitats to attract new animals to the garden. Wanting to collect all the plants and animals in the demo really sucked me in! :)
Interesting question! For me it feels like both a social group and age-based thing. I know of a couple co-workers in their 30s / mid 40s who play video games and we’ll chat about games very occasionally. My ex’s friends were all mid-twenties folks and gaming was one of their multiple hobbies.
But in general, I wouldn’t bring video games up with the majority of my other co-workers, and certainly not during small talk with more-or-less strangers (chiropractor, barbers, etc), whereas every other hobby I’d be cool talking to strangers about. I think I’ve been socialized to feel like gaming is “immature” and only to be talked about with other people “in the know” so I don’t feel judged for enjoying it.
ahh yeah I forgot about that; it's been a while since I created my accounts. not sure if that's an option that instance owners can set by default for new accounts or not.
Here's what I've tried so far:
Botany Manor – low poly indie game where the puzzles are figuring out how to grow plants. the low poly is done well and feels very painterly and cozy! the puzzles feel very short and easy to solve, and I suspect that won't really change in the full game. I'm hoping it'll be a $10 to $15 dollar game that I can pick up and complete in a weekend.
Jusant – a slightly janky but enjoyable rock climbing game. I'd be very curious to know if actual rock climbers feel it was represented well here? I think rock climbing in general isn't usually the focus of an entire game so it's neat to see it become the main game mechanic here. the physics can be a bit janky if you do things that you're probably not supposed to do (eg. I almost got stuck with the rope under a metal support beam once) but as long as you don't try to break it, things go well. If this releases around the $20 to $30 price point it'll be a definite buy from me.
Sticky Business – create your own stickers and sell them! the final game needs a much broader range of options for your sticker creation, and needs a better UI view of all your stickers once you start packing them for orders. the writing feels a little clunky and generic, but it helps provide a little motivation for why you're selling the stickers. also has a slider for music in the options but was dead silent in the demo?? honestly got my fill of it during the demo so I can't see myself picking up the full release.
Haven't played it yet, but I'm looking forward to trying the demo of Stray Gods – it's got the Greek Gods vibe of Hades, and I'm a Dragon Age fan so have to give it a shot for David Gaider's writing.
Oh and I also have to plug the demo for Horticular! It's a relaxing, gorgeous, and satisfying garden design sim. I'm super excited for the full release of the game whenever it comes out; I played ~10 hours straight last year when the demo first launched, and it looks like it's been well polished for this year's Next Fest.
Here's what I've tried so far:
Botany Manor – low poly indie game where the puzzles are figuring out how to grow plants. the low poly is done well and feels very painterly and cozy! the puzzles feel very short and easy to solve, and I suspect that won't really change in the full game. I'm hoping it'll be a $10 to $15 dollar game that I can pick up and complete in a weekend.
Jusant – a slightly janky but enjoyable rock climbing game. I'd be very curious to know if actual rock climbers feel it was represented well here? I think rock climbing in general isn't usually the focus of an entire game so it's neat to see it become the main game mechanic here. the physics can be a bit janky if you do things that you're probably not supposed to do (eg. I almost got stuck with the rope under a metal support beam once) but as long as you don't try to break it, things go well. If this releases around the $20 to $30 price point it'll be a definite buy from me.
Sticky Business – create your own stickers and sell them! the final game needs a much broader range of options for your sticker creation, and needs a better UI view of all your stickers once you start packing them for orders. the writing feels a little clunky and generic, but it helps provide a little motivation for why you're selling the stickers. also has a slider for music in the options but was dead silent in the demo?? honestly got my fill of it during the demo so I can't see myself picking up the full release.
Haven't played it yet, but I'm looking forward to trying the demo of Stray Gods – it's got the Greek Gods vibe of Hades, and I'm a Dragon Age fan so have to give it a shot for David Gaider's writing.
Oh and I also have to plug the demo for Horticular! It's a relaxing, gorgeous, and satisfying garden design sim. I'm super excited for the full release of the game whenever it comes out; I played ~10 hours straight last year when the demo first launched, and it looks like it's been well polished for this year's Next Fest.
This has happened to me once, where I only saw I had a comment I could reply to by going to the post itself.
I’m seeing other issues with federation not working so I suspect this has something to do with that..?
Awe, I was hoping to see a Hadean Lands mention in the book, but it was on his “these didn’t make the book but are great” list.
The list of games written about can be found on his substack archive here: https://if50.substack.com/archive
Great job!! Our apartment dishwasher stopped dissolving the dish detergent and their maintenance people didn’t do anything about it, so maybe I’ll have to look up the manual and a video or two. :)
now I’m curious what the click-bait title pays off with. Is the answer “figure out what emotions you have around the thing, feel through them, then just do the thing”?
Reminds me of this neocities site that has a collection of Gameboy Camera photos collected from the internet.