Justifying the Games I’ve Been Playing lately
So, I’ve been playing video games lately, and I cannot really feel okay playing them without giving myself some justification for playing them.
cw: not being able to have fun or relax without coming up with some excuse about how it is actually being productive
So here we go, my guilt driven article to justify my every minute of the day as being productive towards the system
Super Solvers Club and other The Learning Company Games
“The easiest way to do a Horror Game is to take the same game play of Educational Games of old, and just replicate them with no effort towards accuracy of subject material” — Bradlen Grahang Hayesm, Ideal For A Dragon
So, I’ve been working on learning spiritual stuff lately. How to do my Neo Pagan stuff a bit less lazy like. As well, I’m looking at my general enjoyment of the concept of being an Eclectic Witch — but well, my whole doing this stuff is rather weak. Right now, I’m going through books and stuff, but I’ve also got a better idea for how to teach the various elements.
Essentially, I could go half ass on making a pretty keen Indie Horror game, if I were to just replicate the feel and various nostalgic elements of various games by The Learning Company — and just have it be straight out educational material on various Neo-Pagan concepts and ideas.
The bonus part of this, is if I list these games as Indie Horror as oppose to Educational Material for Neo-Pagan stuff I do not have to worry about criticism for the various inaccuracies I will invariably make in the material I am presenting
For the most part, it will create a way to handle stealth education on various Neo-Pagan concepts, that should people look up, they will get a much better understanding than anything I could personally give. While at the same time, it does allow for something to have a Horror Game feel and aesthetic without any particular effort on my part.
Sure, you could get upset with me for justifying a lot of the stigma towards Neo-Pagan notions and ideas… but the low amount of effort I am making here more just exposes these stigmas.
The other side of this, is I’ve found a series of games on Android’s Play Store by a company called “Terry Young Studio” which — are not going to teach you a foreign language. So much as they are Flash Card programs that do not suck as bad as nearly every other Flash Card product out there.
This has me remembering the Reader Rabbit series. A series of games that I personally do not have nostalgia towards — but have me wondering where the games out there for polyglots done in a similar style to that sort exist. Yes, there are a few Shovelware Titles for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii… but well, most of them are not on par with the Reader Rabbit series.
Right now, the plan is to create a video game framework, that I then load material from Shtooka Project. Mostly to just get something out there that is completely awful, but at least something that is out there. Maybe some stuff that is pretty much lifted from public domain FSI, DLI and Peace-corp courses, loaded into video game frameworks.
There is a chance there is material that is pretty much Reader Rabbit for polyglots — I’ve just not ran into it yet. Hell, there is prolly a version of Reader Rabbit en francais or en espangiol, etc. I’ve not been able to locate this however.
Though — I’ve not been playing Reader Rabbit, as I’m worried I’d be very very bad at it. That is the thing about revisiting children’s educational games as an adult… the notion that I might not completely ace the games without any mistakes.
So I’ve been playing entries in the Super Solvers Club, so that the nostalgia I have over those games can shield me from not being perfect at them. You see… being good at them isn’t good enough — as these are literally aimed at children, and being merely good at something that is towards children… kind of hurts the ego a little bit. I want to believe I should be better at them.
The idea is to play those games, so that I can be all, “yeah, I’ve got the ingame mechanics of how to move about this stuff figured out” — so I can stop blaming the in game controls and in game logic being wonky on why I suck. Then face down the fact that there are some key and critical skills that are on the base level that have became rusty as an adult. Then work on getting those skills not as… rusty. That is the InsistentTerminology I shall deploy here.
I will also look into loading Number Munchers and the Carmen Sandiego games — for figuring out how to load them into either Polyglot educational games or for low effort Indie Horror games.
I mean — the only thing separating Carmen Sandiego from a Lovecraftian Horror game is Carmen Sandeigo taking place in a region relatively close to IRL. You could create a fun little horror investigation game, by replacing the fact and information set of a Carmen Sandeigo game with cosmic horror material. Ideally have it be on par for racist depictions as some of the earlier entries in that franchise from the 80s, and still have it be a step up from HP Lovecraft’s writings enough to get people praising you
Touhou Project, Puyo Puyo, Chess and Picross
“Seduction is like a game of chess
And I’m the queen
Wait” — Daniel Sexbang of Ninja Sex Party — Mansion Party
While my 3DS and DS have their screens broken I’m not able to do much for Picross at this point in time. Though, those have been working to improve my ability to analyse things based upon a somewhat consistent rule set. Which is helpful towards problem solving.
Touhou Project is something that allows me to train the part of my brain that can navigate a lot of material and what not, metaphorically thread a needle to hit the mixed analogical nail on the head. This game series is… something I’m not currently that decent towards playing at this point in time.
Though, half an hour a day minimum towards a thousand hours — as the ideal towards building a skill.
One thousand hours will not be mastery of anything. It however is enough to impress people who have not worked towards learning the skill. Mastery is ultimately the infinity that you will approach but never reach. Well, except in anal probing. As I understand aliens have learned all they can of humans via the act of anal probing. Now they just do it for fun, and for middle school field trips. Like dissecting a frog.
That is a mental image… aliens viewing probing us, how a school student would view dissecting a frog.
Ultimately I’d love to be able to read a fast moving scenario — and dodge everything. Like step into a shower and remain 100% dry. As is the ideal all adults strive towards.
To this end, learning how to Chess is somewhat a goal. As it is all about reading a board, and seeing what pieces have the most control, and working the board to increase the control of it. As skill I’m not too particularly good at doing.
Most of my interest in learning Chess, comes from people deciding I am intelligent… despite me having opened my mouth several times prior to that decision. With me opening my mouth after it somehow not invalidating said decision.
Then after erroneously deciding I have the smart, deciding this means that ergo, I must be great at Chess.
The “I beat the smart kid at Chess” dance never stops being this weird and odd behaviour I see people repeat in front of me. Especially since most of it requires a set of logical conclusions that I am at odds with the direction they went, and some of the very Axioms it has been based upon.
I mean, yes, I do intend to, eventually, get a Nobility from Sealand and around the same time, a subscription to The New Yorker. Which I will end up doing up Business cards that lists “Land Owner” and “Subscriber to The New Yorker” as important titles I hold onto on the card. However, that is mostly done in my weird snide tongue in cheek manner… that somehow goes over people’s heads constantly.
This doesn’t mean I am smart anymore than “der Kluge Hans” (AKA Clever Hans) holds a PhD in Theoretical Maths. Hell, most of my smarts comes from me using empathy in a way similar to der Kluge Hans capacity towards the Maths.
Speaking of reading situations, getting really good at Puyo Puyo is also a skill that works towards that end. Though… Puyo Puyo is a game with a lot of strategy involved that I’m still reading through material on how to play it effectively. Unlike Tetris which is a bit more straight forward — which is also its own thing.
Bridge is retired for now
“Understanding the card game of Bridge is simple. Essentially it is like Go Fish based around the Roman Empire and Faustian Legends. Except it is nothing like Go Fish and has nothing to do with the Roman Empire or Faustian Legends” — Daniel von Wondershluctsh, Musings for the Villainous Vagabond
So, a game of strategy that I am putting on the back burner for learning or knowing is Bridge. Mostly because only really old people who are past the point of dementia are the main people who seem inclined to play this game.
Yes… there is a lot of material for learning this game… but right now I only have so many hours in the day, that I am totally spending on important stuff. That is the point of this article, how the stuff I am doing is still totes valid, and I am still working as a functional cog in society — and I am not tempted with anything but being more productive towards having society go forward.
Not being productive is bad under Capitalism. Which is why it is better than Communism, which isn’t about productiveness for the sake of being productive. Apparently.
Eventually, I will get back to working on doing good at Bridge. This will require me improving my skill in computer programming, to create AI Bots that mimick the various characters in books about Bridge games.
This will also be once I’ve got a better handle on Cartomancy. Not just cartomancy, but the various elements that get associated with Cartomancy.
The idea is to make a version of Bridge that is a bunch of demons meeting to do a card game for the souls of man kind. Like Chris De Burgh, except without the Abrahamic God, and just various entries from Ars Goetic playing for lost souls.
Instead of the standard descriptions for the French Style Suits, it would instead be replaced with either elemental descriptions for how the cards work, the different entries in the journal in the Tarot Cartomancy style — or various things that people who know about how Elementals Work, how Cartomancy handles stuff and mixtures in with Alchemy and the Four Humours to the mix — would pick up on right away. However it might be a bit weird for people who aren’t 100% familiar with that stuff.
It would be a fun game to be able to play up to a certain level of polish, and then send to various Let’s Play Streamers out there — to have them comment on it.
That is also kind of part of what I want to be able to do with the other Low Effort Horror game stuff as well. If I can have people quickly figure that stuff out, without spending too much time studying the material, then it means I’ve kind of succeeded at stuff.