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One of the troubles with asymmetric game design like this is that you have to disallow game mechanics or strategies which are fun in single player mode which would be catastrophic in multiplayer.

(A surprising amount of non-entertainment software has this problem, too.)
There are related insights, like "Why don't we make the enemies smarter?"

The customer doesn't want to be challenged. The customer wants to feel challenged prior to winning.
(One of the great, great lines about this was lampooned in World of Warcraft by the developers, in the speaking voice of a boss character: "Kill the one in the dress!"

*Of course* if the NPCs were genre savvy they'd kill the healer first, but their job *is to lose.*)
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Patrick McKenzie
@patio11
Public service announcement: if you’re worried about hitting your US tax filing deadline, you can get an automatic extension for filing through October with approximately 2 minutes of work. This is available every year but might be more salient this year. irs.gov/forms-pubs/ext…
n.b. This does not change the timing of payment obligations.

Also n.b. If you work with a competent accountant they automatically file this every year because it is free option value to do so.
I was confused about that the first time an accountant told me they were doing it.

“I’m not doing my job if you ever eat a non-timely filing penalty, plausibly facts will come to light after deadline which might change contents of return and this saves you rework, and...”
Read 4 tweets
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Patrick McKenzie
@patio11
Want to blow your mind?

There's a software company for every type of company in the world with white collar (or trades) employees.

There is a mini-ecosystem of companies for every... , in fact.

There are multiple companies competing for each niche in that ecosystem.
Software is eating ^H^H^H^H^H^H enhancing the world, in fractal detail, everywhere economic activity happens.
And for every one of these miniature ecosystems there are multiple PE funds and/or rollups trying to buy as many of the viable companies as they can get to say yes.
Read 4 tweets
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Patrick McKenzie
@patio11
Ruriko has been watching Breaking Bad to practice her English, which has been working a little too well, particularly since she does not realize when she is not channeling "native English speaker" and instead channeling "Jesse Pinkman."
"Hey is today payday?"
"Yes honey."
"#%()#) where is my money?!"
"Not the contextually appropriate way to say that."
"It's cool yo."
I don't routinely have this sort of problem in Japanese anymore but a long time ago:

Friend: Can you tone down the politeness a little? It's... weird.
Me: I am afraid that I cannot.
Friend: Creepy dude.
Me: Begging your pardon but I am linguistically incapable of it at present.
Read 5 tweets

Related threads

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CARLOS SEKIRO
@ilapso
TOP 5 JOGOS AAA QUE RESPEITARAM O SINGLE PLAYER DA DÉCADA:

• O verdadeiro GOTY de 2015.
TOP 5 JOGOS AAA QUE RESPEITARAM O SINGLE PLAYER DA DÉCADA:

• O verdadeiro GOTY de 2015 (segundo semestre). Melhor da franquia. Você sabe que sim. Ainda um "A Hideo Kojima Game".
TOP 5 JOGOS AAA QUE RESPEITARAM O SINGLE PLAYER DA DÉCADA:

• "Ai, o dois é ruim" - TOMA ESSA E CALA A BOCA. É FUNSTRATION QUE VOCÊ QUER? CURTE ESSE LOTRIQUE E LORIANO!
Read 18 tweets
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GSK🌭
@gosokkyu
Success' producer on Umihara Kawase Bazooka: "it took around a year to port Fresh!, so it'd be a waste to leave it at that... we felt we'd done what we could with "reach-the-goal" gameplay in Fresh!, and rather than patching Fresh!, we wanted to take a new approach" (cont'd)
"incidentally, as the producer was thinking about proposing an Umihara Kawase fighting game to Kondo-san, Kondo-san told me he'd been thinking about the idea himself—when the producer & the creator both hit on the same idea, it makes no sense not to do it"
"since Umihara Kawase is a traditionally solo experience, my producer's edict was to add a single-player mode; the image for this mode is like Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands, where 2 players can work together or mess with each other a la Mario Bros"
Read 5 tweets
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visakan veerasamy
@visakanv
you know what's a thing i've wanted for a long time – and maybe this exists, but I think probably not in the way that I'd like:

a "game" in a browser tab that feels like a video game "dashboard" / "war room".

A GTD app designed by a game company, like Firaxis games, or Blizzard
There's this "build your city" or "build your skill tree" dynamic in a lot of fun video games that I've never quite seen beautifully explored in a non-gaming context

In Heroes 3, you start out with a simple city (left) then you upgrade it bit by bit (right). very satisfying
In games like Diablo or World of Warcraft, you start with a character that's "underdressed", and you level them up – you learn new skills, get new gear – and your character visibly reflects your progression. Very satisfying
Read 14 tweets
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Sizhao Yang
@zaoyang
1/ What are the experiments from crypto in 2015 to 2018? What are the underlying beliefs and thesis that were validated or invalidated? Feel free to add your own.
2/ The beginning was the ultimate OG Bitcoin with Nakamoto Consensus. The underlying assumptions were private key = value (bearer shares), security at all cost, domain specific validation (UTXO validation), single player mode (store of value), and a community around collectible.
3/ The problem was how do you distribute this as a global currency. There are two economies: the services & goods economy and the financial economy. People took the currency and tried to add merchants to bootstrap the demand. Coinbase started with this, and instead pivoted.
Read 38 tweets
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Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover
Shower thoughts 🚿 on synchronous participatory media, inspired by an afternoon playing Super Smash Bros...
Media is often more enjoyable when experienced with friends or likeminded people.

E.g. Rarely do people go to the theater or a concert alone.
Media is social lubrication, a vehicle to bring friends and likeminded people together. It gives people something to talk about and a sense of belonging.
Read 7 tweets
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JG
@jgheller
1/ If we want to have positive change -- say eat better or be kinder -- we should always strive to play games where honesty is the optimal strategy. Below, a thread on the topic
2/ When we are in single player mode - alone with our thoughts - we lie to ourselves all the time.

We tell ourselves stories to explain away events and behaviors in our favor all the time.

We find ways to hides from ourselves so we don’t register what we see.
3/ Some examples of how we lie to ourselves all the time:
We think our motives are altruistic -- and tell others as much -- when self-interest is often the real drive. @kevinsimler shows how increases in health care expenditure is mostly about conspicuous consumption
Read 23 tweets

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