Scratching an Itch

#29 Nethack

Nethack [https://www.nethack.org/] is one of the defining roguelikes. I talk a bit about what it is really about from a subjective experience and compare it a bit to Hades, one the current roguelike poster-children. One of the differences, which I think is very important, is how they represent progress between runs: Nethack doesn’t represent it at all, whereas Hades has both upgrades for your character as well as narrative elements that get elaborated as you play the game. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zivanovic.substack.com [https://zivanovic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#28 Doki Doki Literature Club

Doki Doki Literature Club [https://teamsalvato.itch.io/ddlc] by Team Salvato is perhaps the most famous visual novel dating sim game out there because there’s a big twist. I liked both the dating sim AND the twist! The dating aspect is operationalized as poem-writing, where you have to show that you understand the girl you want to get closer to by picking the words she would like. I thought that was really neat. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zivanovic.substack.com [https://zivanovic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#27 How a puzzle game became a roguelike

Dice of Dusk by Kultisti is a puzzle roguelike game. It has random generated puzzles, progression, and builds! It also has a timer to create pressure, and one thing I forgot to mention in the episode is that this has another amazing side effect: “easy” levels become challenging in that you are trying to solve them as fast as possible to bank time for future stages. Good design serves two purposes at once. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zivanovic.substack.com [https://zivanovic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#26 Star Realms vs Ascension

Star Realms has player life; Ascension has a victory point pool. Both games have the core mechanic of buying cards from the center row to build your deck in a play session. However, they feel completely different. Yesterday, I talked about how that decision for the victory condition changed mechanics, and today I’m using the theory of constructed emotion to explain how that changes perception and therefore emotional experiences. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zivanovic.substack.com [https://zivanovic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

#25 Star Realms

Star Realms by White Wizard Games [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.starrealms.starrealmsapp&pcampaignid=web_share] is a deckbuilding game just like Ascension [https://substack.com/@zivanovic/note/p-192144186?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=fcl1f]. However, unlike Ascension, Star Realms is a confrontational game, where the goal is to deplete the other player’s authority. This results in some huge mechanical and emotional differences for the same core mechanic. In this first of a two part series, I talk about the mechanical changes the win-condition results in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zivanovic.substack.com [https://zivanovic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]