Cool Rock
Sep. 1st, 2026 03:05 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
theworksofegan_feed
Saw this cool rock last week on our way to the grocery store. I believe it was gone by our next trip.
theworksofegan_feed
Animal Crossing: New Leaf Pattern Complaints
Sep. 1st, 2026 02:15 amtheworksofegan_feedI was going to make a post purely to save the QR codes for some Animal Crossing: New Leaf patterns that I wanted to put somewhere I wouldn't lose them, but then halfway through posting I realized you can save backups of your patterns in-game. So instead I'm going to use this post to gripe about a 13-year-old game for a second.
I'll lay it out plain: If you want to lay down roads in your town in this game, the only way to do that is by placing custom designs on the ground, square by square. That's a bit of a pain, but it's doable, it's the way the game works, it's fine.
What I did not know before or during the process of laying out a fairly intricate system of roads all over my damn map is that if at any point you replace the road pattern that you're laying down from your pattern book with a different pattern, the game replaces all instances of that pattern in the world with the new pattern. So now all your roads are made of Bart Simpson's face or whatever (that was just the first thing I could think of, I did not import Bart's face into my game).
This wouldn't be such an issue if the game gave you any goddamn space for patterns, but you're only given 8 slots. If you're laying down a particularly intricate pattern of road, with individual top, bottom, left, right, middle, and corner pieces, that's going to take up most of your slots! So if I decide I want to recreate Kim Kitsuragi's jacket, I'm SOL because I've got to hang onto these road patterns for the rest of my life unless I want my town's grounds littered with jackets (I don't).
Anyway, that's all! I'm sure there are 13 years of reddit threads complaining about the same, but now I'VE complained about it.
New Leaf is great, though. Having a really good time getting back into it.
Book Bingo 2026
Aug. 31st, 2026 05:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dismallyoriented
For those of you not on tumblr, the user batmanisagatewaydrug has been organizing a Book Bingo for about 2 years now. It's essentially a reading challenge centered around a bingo board filled with different reading prompts - each cell of the bingo board contains a type of book/text to read, and you fill the squares by reading books which fit these prompts. You can aim for a single bingo, a full blackout board, or anything in between. I've been doing the 2026 Book Bingo since the beginning of this year, having vaguely followed the inaugural bingo in 2025. And in the interests of sharing what I've read so far, I've compiled a roughly chronological list of each of my bingo books with my thoughts about each of them. My absolute favorites are marked with *'s.
The vast majority of these have been audiobooks because that’s the format that fits best to my life right now. Many thanks to the Queer Liberation Library for supplying several of these copies, as well as The Transfeminine Review for pointing me toward several of these titles.
( Bingo blurbs and reviews )
✎
Aug. 31st, 2026 10:12 ambeehaikui'm stuck in yet another intro class due to a credit not transferring and the other people in class are 1.) SO YOUNG. i'm only 23 but i feel old as hell in here. and 2.) really disrespectful to the professor. they'll start packing up and like, standing up having full volume conversations 10 minutes before class is over while the professor is STILL LECTURING
realisation
Aug. 30th, 2026 06:57 pmkossaiused to really enjoy dig into random questions online , because often would find answers . now those same questions , even if try very hardest to block out AI results , will lead into sites that definitely did not have real person at helm .
sure , do not strictly need to find answers to most of these questions - usually just inspire by random videos , like otter with ice cubes or something - but this is no longer fun . can not be sure if any given website actually share real information , so have to dig further in and try to find out , because obviously do not know enough about topic to judge with critical eye . some things can unfortunately turn out to be very wrong , but look plausible enough to fool critical eye , whether human or LLM write .
obviously this is problem since very start of people share information with each other , not like any format is exempt , but current availability of LLMs and other generative tools make so , so much worse online . would not even know what kind of books to seek out because these questions come at complete random , with pretty much any topic imaginable .
sure , do not strictly need to find answers to most of these questions - usually just inspire by random videos , like otter with ice cubes or something - but this is no longer fun . can not be sure if any given website actually share real information , so have to dig further in and try to find out , because obviously do not know enough about topic to judge with critical eye . some things can unfortunately turn out to be very wrong , but look plausible enough to fool critical eye , whether human or LLM write .
obviously this is problem since very start of people share information with each other , not like any format is exempt , but current availability of LLMs and other generative tools make so , so much worse online . would not even know what kind of books to seek out because these questions come at complete random , with pretty much any topic imaginable .
What Else Is On? August 29th, 2026
Aug. 29th, 2026 08:17 pmtheworksofegan_feed'What Else Is On?' is a collection of things from elsewhere on the web that I want to share.
Howdy, folks! It's been such a weird and busy month that I almost forgot I needed to do one of these! I've had a lot of freelance work coming in this month, and as of this last full week of August, I finally found another full-time job after being freelance/unemployed for coming up on a year. So this'll be a bit of a sparse issue as a result.
Regardless, let's see what else is on!
🎵 Put This On
Every once in a while my girlfriend finds some banger of an album on YouTube, and just this morning she blessed us with this gem! Great jazz fusion album from the 80s. Love the cover art too!
📚 Read This
Why some people mow a lawn better than others - The Pudding
A few weeks ago, The Pudding asked people to mow a series of digital lawns, taking the most optimal path possible. I did this, and I scored very high, but did not mow "perfectly" for reasons I consider arbitrary but it's fine. Anyway, they're back with a write-up examining people's methods, and it's a fun read.
Reading Games Writing: This Sacred Body / This Bloody Mind by Artemis Octavio - Breaking Arrows
Steven Santana hits upon some of what I love most about the depiction and vibe of Disco Elysium and its post-revolutionary setting.
Why it matters who South of Midnight’s publisher is - No Escape
The original point of this piece is now moot, as explained in an update up top, but it's still a good read on the value of doing journalism and being sure about a thing, and the dangers of rushing to a desired conclusion.
📺 Watch This
Overnight Ferry Trip on the Rough Sea of Japan | Niigata to Hokkaido - Solo Travel Japan
My girlfriend and I have been watching this guy's videos nonstop for weeks now. There are many, many Japanese travel channels out there, but this one is quickly becoming our favorite. The little snippets of personality and humor that the host lets through in the subtitles, and his single-minded focus on food are really charming. I feel like this video gives a pretty good idea of what he's about. He's got tons more where this came from, and they're incredibly easy to blow through while falling asleep on the couch.
5 Minute Gnome | Beginner Wood Carving Guide | Knife Only - Alec LaCasse
This is a random YouTube algo find. I guess I give off whittling vibes. Could be worse. I just like how chill this dude is about the craft and about helping folks get started. I kinda want to whittle now!
🎮 Play This
$19.99 - Steam, PS5, Switch 2
I wrote about Big Walk earlier this month. It's an absolute masterpiece. I love it. Play it with some friends ASAP.
VHOLUME - Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels Tiercelin
$8 - Steam
Haven't picked this one up for myself yet, but I played the demo on Steam a while back, and it's got good vibes. A good-feeling parkour game is hard to find and, I have to imagine, even harder to make.
🌐 One Good Website
CARI - The Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute
"An online community dedicated to developing a visual lexicon of consumer ephemera from the 1970s until now." A great resource for putting words to things you only remember visually.
Thanks for reading! Til next time! 👋
words
Aug. 29th, 2026 08:41 amkossaisometimes people see how kossai use words , and assume this is easy because of remove specific pieces . wish that was true , wish this was easy . wish did not feel like need to say some parts in " fancier " ways just for people to take seriously . have to go out of way to choose those fancier words , when even plainest ones still hurt over time .
and then people expect to put up with comments about this - easy to read and hard to read both frustrate actually ! not some kind of fun little choice - if really ask will say adaptive idiolect , specific non-standard dialect that form as adaptation to struggles . that feel like if someone compliment kossai because of " calm slow walk " - like do not care about how much this put at struggle in world , just that get to feel some kind of personal convenience .
can work on short comic for hours of day , and no one really understand how much work and energy that really take , how this work hurt and exhaust . but sometimes need to share things - not even out of personal pride or wish to teach general public , but just necessity to communicate with someone unfamiliar . at least once specific topic comic is done , might never need to make that one again . humans need to develop telepathy yesterday , chop fucking chop .
and then people expect to put up with comments about this - easy to read and hard to read both frustrate actually ! not some kind of fun little choice - if really ask will say adaptive idiolect , specific non-standard dialect that form as adaptation to struggles . that feel like if someone compliment kossai because of " calm slow walk " - like do not care about how much this put at struggle in world , just that get to feel some kind of personal convenience .
can work on short comic for hours of day , and no one really understand how much work and energy that really take , how this work hurt and exhaust . but sometimes need to share things - not even out of personal pride or wish to teach general public , but just necessity to communicate with someone unfamiliar . at least once specific topic comic is done , might never need to make that one again . humans need to develop telepathy yesterday , chop fucking chop .
blah
Aug. 28th, 2026 09:49 pmkossaigiven that use exact same base layout on every page of website , can not help but wish could have way of just automatically construct . part of why drag feet in some parts is because process just annoy , even when this layout code is very simple .
wish could find way to reduce number of pages so that any potential future layout changes do not fall dead in water , particularly with gallery and event showcases , but then think best solution for that would be some kind of javascript lightbox . as much as possible , want to keep javascript features optional only . will miss out on random music showcase , maybe silly minigame or two , but nothing too significant .
and if really did want to do iframe layout , well , that would need entirely new layout anyways - current one build for each page to have different number of sections . but never manage to make iframe layout work in prior experiments , and think iframe navigation is usually massive pain , so really do not care to try again .
wish could find way to reduce number of pages so that any potential future layout changes do not fall dead in water , particularly with gallery and event showcases , but then think best solution for that would be some kind of javascript lightbox . as much as possible , want to keep javascript features optional only . will miss out on random music showcase , maybe silly minigame or two , but nothing too significant .
and if really did want to do iframe layout , well , that would need entirely new layout anyways - current one build for each page to have different number of sections . but never manage to make iframe layout work in prior experiments , and think iframe navigation is usually massive pain , so really do not care to try again .
psychology as default plurality
Aug. 28th, 2026 10:52 amkossaicrosspost from tumblr .
sometimes others who mean well say things like , " traumagenic and endogenic experiences not so different after all " - and sometimes that is true . even with proof that trauma did not influence formation , some collectives do express in ways that can appear very similar , and may or may not have symptoms to associate with dissociative disorder .
but this attempt to appeal also ignore everyone who fall outside of psychological boxes , and that frustrate . some will haphazardly suggest that psychological frameworks can apply to everyone , even those who already choose to exempt - as if that choice do not almost always come from experience .
no doubt there might be individuals of such collectives who personally benefit from , say , IFS therapy - but even this suggestion is made on whole basis , to understand collective through IFS . individuality - individual memory , individual desire , individual life - is not seen as something to really take seriously : need to give reason , give purpose , give role .
various therapies for trauma could potentially be helpful to anyone with trauma , which still often include collectives not formed through trauma influence , given state of modern world and societies . but have to take into account that even if respectfully do not pathologise plurality , some therapists know jack all about how to actually help , especially with any marginalisations in play - and bad therapy can harm worse than none at all .
approaches which diminish or discard roles of spirituality and religion can lead to massive collective hurt and denial . not every experience will make sense under psychological frameworks , and that give choice of how to handle - accept or deny ? even where psychological frameworks may still technically be viable , this is still form of denial , and denial still set back progress to find harmony .
openness to explore different approaches and frameworks is good thing , and think communities should encourage this - wrong answer is never end of journey , and life will continue on even if need to step back and rearrange puzzle pieces . but this is never what actually end up happen - instead suggest this one set of frameworks and approaches as " ideal " for everyone to learn from . spirituality is seen as secondary fringe , and anything else is often unseen at all .
there is certain responsibility that need to take when make suggestions of spirituality . not all collectives who explore spiritual frameworks have experiences which line up , so might end up with some hurtful setbacks , or trigger other internal reactions like psychosis . even to genuinely seek out these experiences can be detrimental , especially without spiritual and metaphysical safety precautions . this is why kossai might talk about experiences , but not instructions on how to open gates or find bonds - need to learn more than just instructions to maintain safety .
but those who suggest psychological frameworks as answer tend to not take this same responsibility . psychology is default approach , and everyone come with brain , so feel as if can just say obviously helpful to everyone , with no such thing as detriments or safety concerns . anyone who reject just " did not try hard enough " and need to accept place in life anyways , as if that could do anything but turn further away out of spite and frustration .
( seriously ! even if some approach that never try before might turn out useful , who would want to actually try when deliver like this ? there can still be unique expressions and considerations to take into account : consider that even spiritual collectives' trauma-influenced members may not form or arrive like psychological ones do . )
there is no universal public to give universal information here , even if at times ( like this post ) might need to simplify for sake of broad-strokes communication . experiences of plurality do not and can not all fall into one set of frameworks and approaches , one set of individuality and elaboration , one set of mechanics , one set of anything . only thing which bind together is that plural approach of selfhood and identity - more than one , one of many , sometimes one and sometimes more , any experiences that fall outside realm of singular oneness - is helpful .
minecraft ~ think out loud
Aug. 27th, 2026 02:48 pmkossaicontinue to run into 3 million project ideas because different people like different areas and styles :P but anyway ! currently have pet island which include enclosures for various animals , but also villagers - both cured zombie villagers , as well as some stolen away from natural villages .
also have large central island , but most of that area is still entirely unused , just default forest generation . so idea is to bring more enclosures onto main island , and then repurpose original pet island into just false village . underground component is super cute , but think can work with this if turn each of those buildings into " exit point " where kossai can observe from , but without doors villagers can use .
big idea , but hopefully others will like and can start to work on this >:)
also have large central island , but most of that area is still entirely unused , just default forest generation . so idea is to bring more enclosures onto main island , and then repurpose original pet island into just false village . underground component is super cute , but think can work with this if turn each of those buildings into " exit point " where kossai can observe from , but without doors villagers can use .
big idea , but hopefully others will like and can start to work on this >:)
kossai & general dysphoria around front
Aug. 25th, 2026 12:12 amkossaieven in comparison to many other collectives , kossai do feel like have somewhat unique relationship with body dysphoria .
front pass around on scale of hours , and bar very specific circumstances , do so with full control . there is nothing which can obligate someone specific to front , just one's own desire - could be days apart or full years apart .
one analogy that use is that of hotel room - although front is more of object than literal space , think work well enough for point here . front is not home which anyone is bound to , nor place where doors lock behind . do not get to control too much about how this room look , and have responsibility to keep in decent shape for whoever come around next , but can at least find things to appreciate even if not personal first choice . patterns in floor and ceiling become familiar , sometimes see wonderful things out of window , or even just enjoy utility of bed and desk .
room is something which choose to experience , and do not need to be in for very long . some who front find no discomfort at all because of this impermanence , others find discomfort is present but easily tolerable - not many at all find truly intolerable . of course would be nice if no one would need to feel at all , but for that would need perfect , fully accurate shapeshift ability and mainstream respect of plurality , which ... well , rather out of reach right now , sadly !
do not wish to feel worse or more intensely dysphoric , of course - feel like all in all pretty well off . like , in collectives where front is not well under control , people can be hit with incongruence at any time , possibly without any warning or time to prepare . in collectives where switches happen less frequently or get frontstuck , even experiences that start euphoric may sour , and ones that start dysphoric will drag on . in small collectives where maybe never have to deal with these kind of compromises , even one person who differ can feel like life play cruel joke .
definitely get why others see these experiences as universal , but think this is exactly why good to talk about difference .
✎
Aug. 23rd, 2026 08:00 ambeehaikucurrent mood: nervous/excited in an amped up way
current music: evil by interpol
current beverage: coffee (and water)
current activity: watching the cats that have started hanging out around my patio!
i'm looking forward to... hanging out with friends :)
i'm feeling grateful for... this summer! it was a real success, i think
notes: my biggest goal this summer was to get my social life going and i think i finally have. i've been hanging out with other students in the geo department and finally crossed from "good acquaintance" territory into full friendship! i've also gotten back in touch with some friends i lost contact with for a little while, most notably one of my closest friends from my old school, and it's just so so exciting to talk again. school starts TOMORROW and i'm really nervous but at the same time i have so much to look forward to, so i'm trying to stay focused on what i'm excited about rather than the things that make me anxious. i think i'm most nervous about attendance. it's been a long-running problem for me because it seems like geoscience classes are always early in the morning and multiple of my disabilities make waking up before my body is "ready" extremely difficult. i've gotten progressively better throughout the years, so i'm able to see improvement, but this semester is SUPER important and i really need to build that reliability. last semester was supposed to be focused on that, but (and i don't remember how much i talked about it here) the first half of my year was batshit insane and it was only late late may that things started to calm down. i'm definitely challenging myself with what i'm taking on, but almost all of it is stuff i'm super interested in and/or stuff that moves my academic plans forward, so i'm hoping staying motivated will help me keep it together. wish me luck! ^_^
current music: evil by interpol
current beverage: coffee (and water)
current activity: watching the cats that have started hanging out around my patio!
i'm looking forward to... hanging out with friends :)
i'm feeling grateful for... this summer! it was a real success, i think
notes: my biggest goal this summer was to get my social life going and i think i finally have. i've been hanging out with other students in the geo department and finally crossed from "good acquaintance" territory into full friendship! i've also gotten back in touch with some friends i lost contact with for a little while, most notably one of my closest friends from my old school, and it's just so so exciting to talk again. school starts TOMORROW and i'm really nervous but at the same time i have so much to look forward to, so i'm trying to stay focused on what i'm excited about rather than the things that make me anxious. i think i'm most nervous about attendance. it's been a long-running problem for me because it seems like geoscience classes are always early in the morning and multiple of my disabilities make waking up before my body is "ready" extremely difficult. i've gotten progressively better throughout the years, so i'm able to see improvement, but this semester is SUPER important and i really need to build that reliability. last semester was supposed to be focused on that, but (and i don't remember how much i talked about it here) the first half of my year was batshit insane and it was only late late may that things started to calm down. i'm definitely challenging myself with what i'm taking on, but almost all of it is stuff i'm super interested in and/or stuff that moves my academic plans forward, so i'm hoping staying motivated will help me keep it together. wish me luck! ^_^
titanium court ~ first impressions
Aug. 21st, 2026 08:48 pmkossaicould not resist urge to buy because this loop is really fun , so ... about 4 hours in now ! main loop is in wars that take match 3 high tide and tower defense low tide , with sprinkle of roguelike elements to bring together . even with losses player can get progressively stronger , so not necessarily horrible to lose ... which so far kossai lose every time , not actually sure yet what happen when win . unluck and mismanagement hooray !
there is also story which learn more about in court exploration segments , and really want to see where both characters and commentaries go , though game promise not to " lore dump " . do not want to say too much more yet , but will at least make important note of bright colours and surreal nature . nothing that flash so far as encounter , but have accessibility settings to reduce other motions , so hopefully that is good safety . as for surreal nature , there is lots of commentary on what people place value in or senselessly consider to be real , which include actually real objects and concepts - something to keep in mind if that sound like destabiliser .
to get slightly more in depth on this possible destabilisation : ( Read more... )
there is also story which learn more about in court exploration segments , and really want to see where both characters and commentaries go , though game promise not to " lore dump " . do not want to say too much more yet , but will at least make important note of bright colours and surreal nature . nothing that flash so far as encounter , but have accessibility settings to reduce other motions , so hopefully that is good safety . as for surreal nature , there is lots of commentary on what people place value in or senselessly consider to be real , which include actually real objects and concepts - something to keep in mind if that sound like destabiliser .
to get slightly more in depth on this possible destabilisation : ( Read more... )
Some More Custom 3DS Themes!
Aug. 21st, 2026 11:47 pmtheworksofegan_feedIn the last few weeks since acquiring my dream 3DS, I've been getting back into making custom themes. It's a hobby I've poked at here and there since making my first MegaMan Battle Network 2 theme last year, but now I finally have some more finished themes to show for it!
These themes will all be available on ThemePlaza soon, but they're currently in the process of being approved. I'll update this post when they become available. In the meantime, if you're interested, keep an eye on my profile here!
Final Fantasy Tactics
Opening Sound: Level Up SFX
BGM: Desert Land
A game with such good music and SFX was ripe for theme creation. I really like this track, and I'm reasonably happy with the art, but if I were to make another FFT theme, I think I'd go with the shop for both.
Boktai 2
Opening Sound: Piledriver Activation SFX
BGM: City of Death
I'm mostly happy with this one, but it was a bit slapped together. As evidenced by the fact that the top screen art is from Boktai 2, and the bottom screen art is from Boktai 1. I can do better. I'm listening and learning.
Boktai Crossover
Opening Sound: Piledriver Activation SFX
BGM: Shademan B
I love Boktai, I love MegaMan Battle Network, and I love that these two series crossed over and collaborated so much. So I have some very cool art of Django and MegaMan to pull from, and this wonderful music track of the Battle Network theme done in the Boktai soundfont. Love it.
Also the first theme I made where I just went for a solid color bottom screen, and I think that's fine.
Backyard Football '99
Opening Sound: I don't remember what sound this is.
BGM: Treehouse BGM
I think this is an okay theme, I really just love this music. And the game has some great sounds to play with. Still a good option if you're really looking for something to leave open and vibe with.
Bidoof
Opening Sound: Bidoof Cry SFX
BGM: Animal City - K.K. Slider
In the midst of my custom theme craze, I decided it would be fun to make one for my girlfriend, and if there's one thing she loves, it's Bidoof. The art is taken from a special card from Pokemon TCG Pocket. It's adorable. The music is "Animal City" from Animal Crossing, which is kind of a long story. Over time this track morphed into us singing "Bidoof, Bidoof, Bidoof, Bidoof, Bidoof" to vaguely the same tune for reasons I cannot remember. Anyway, uh... she really liked it.
Mario Paint
Opening Sound: Mode Switch SFX
BGM: Creative Exercise
I'm extremely happy with this one. I spent a good amount of time getting the crop and sizing of the top screen art just right, and I think it works well, but I do wish the pixel art hadn't gotten slightly squashed when re-sizing for the 3DS screen. Something I may fix in the future. Still a banger, I think. Really happy with the colors of the bottom screen buttons.
EarthBound
Opening Sound: Spell Learned SFX
BGM: Your Name, Please
This is my current daily driver. I was really cooking with this one. First theme for which I tried scrolling art for the top and bottom screens, and it works well. Both loop seamlessly. The UI colors are based on the "peanut" text box colorway, which is always my choice at the start of the game. It looks very orange here, but the 3DS display dulls it slightly, so it ends up closer to the color used in-game. I love the sounds, I love the music. I think I really got the audio levels right with this one. EarthBound rules.
--
That's it for the moment! I think my next theme will probably be an updated version of FFT with the shop music and background art. Very cozy. Then maybe Kirby's Dream Course? Or something Digimon related?
I'm having a lot of fun.
non-ecology of cosy games
Aug. 20th, 2026 10:53 amkossaikind of touch on this with minecraft not too long ago , but think so many games that want to be cosy , and especially conscious about environment , just end up encourage excess and abuse instead . can not expect to account for every loophole and make every path of abuse impossible , and do not think really need to , but need to still make slow , conscious alternatives reward just as much if not more .
instead , well , take stardew valley for example . people learn there was no in-game downside to this heavy optimisation , so take advantage as much as possible . then , these players end up with mass excess of money and nothing left to use for , so concernedape add in further expensive endgame goals , and sometimes even shortcuts to those goals as with perfection waivers . this give optimised players something else to do , and also tell new players that this optimisation is necessary and expected gameplay loop . nothing really encourage player to spend time on build up goals slowly , and numbers would often feel unachievable unless there was massive bonus to conscious paths .
and that is definitely not just stardew valley , just one of more familiar ones to comment on as first start game in version 1.3 . from very start there is not enough incentive to not grind and optimise - no bonuses for slow pace or conscious actions , no paths that change , nothing . then , when players who reach these heights feel there is nothing left to do , developers compensate those players , and further enforce that optimisation is only sensible way to play . infinite ore dimensions . animals rarely if ever face any real ills . enemies just mindless loot bins , maybe with exception of singular NPC . cut down entire forests with no consequence , will regrow next season . waters will never run out of fish . not only can players who wreak environmental and social destruction never find any consequence , but those who make efforts to be conscious get no bonuses for this .
still even grumble over fae farm , which try to " solve " enemy problem with idea that jumble is abandoned object brought to life by anger ... but since animism is effectively proven in universe , then that just leave question why culture is not full of reverence and care for all objects . that way , even broken down objects that can no longer serve purpose , or even find reuse , hopefully will not feel full of spite . no , instead just throw away without regard for any ecological cost of materials , pile up like common trash to be animated by cruelty - where player then must also further degrade and kill .
really , really so fucking badly wish could make something which actively go against grain here - especially would love to make people think more about animism and conscious treatment of objects .
instead , well , take stardew valley for example . people learn there was no in-game downside to this heavy optimisation , so take advantage as much as possible . then , these players end up with mass excess of money and nothing left to use for , so concernedape add in further expensive endgame goals , and sometimes even shortcuts to those goals as with perfection waivers . this give optimised players something else to do , and also tell new players that this optimisation is necessary and expected gameplay loop . nothing really encourage player to spend time on build up goals slowly , and numbers would often feel unachievable unless there was massive bonus to conscious paths .
and that is definitely not just stardew valley , just one of more familiar ones to comment on as first start game in version 1.3 . from very start there is not enough incentive to not grind and optimise - no bonuses for slow pace or conscious actions , no paths that change , nothing . then , when players who reach these heights feel there is nothing left to do , developers compensate those players , and further enforce that optimisation is only sensible way to play . infinite ore dimensions . animals rarely if ever face any real ills . enemies just mindless loot bins , maybe with exception of singular NPC . cut down entire forests with no consequence , will regrow next season . waters will never run out of fish . not only can players who wreak environmental and social destruction never find any consequence , but those who make efforts to be conscious get no bonuses for this .
still even grumble over fae farm , which try to " solve " enemy problem with idea that jumble is abandoned object brought to life by anger ... but since animism is effectively proven in universe , then that just leave question why culture is not full of reverence and care for all objects . that way , even broken down objects that can no longer serve purpose , or even find reuse , hopefully will not feel full of spite . no , instead just throw away without regard for any ecological cost of materials , pile up like common trash to be animated by cruelty - where player then must also further degrade and kill .
really , really so fucking badly wish could make something which actively go against grain here - especially would love to make people think more about animism and conscious treatment of objects .
✎
Aug. 20th, 2026 08:22 ambeehaikumy final fall semester of undergrad (hopefully. oh god, i sure hope so) starts monday! i’m excited and nervous because it’s going to be SUPER busy but full of things i love. this semester’s “the big one” because i’m applying to grad schools, which involves the whole application process and also stuff like taking the GRE. i’m tutoring again but also TAing an intro lab, which i’m super excited about!! since my goal is to be a professor, getting more teaching experience and getting to instruct a whole class is going to be really good practice for me. i’m doing a LOT of research—i’m presenting last year’s stratigraphy project at the GSA conference in october, working on a new project out in the chihuahua desert, and helping out with a more local project. the local project is cool because it’s a whole team; a dam is about to be put in place that will flood the outcrop, so we’re basically rushing to extract as much data as possible first. it’s also a super cool outcrop because it seems to have been a transitional environment from swamp to marine and was downhill from most of the things around it, so we’re finding things like charcoal from local forest fires in layers! it’s also so rich in plant fossils that one of the team members is doing nothing but messing with hundreds of plant samples (idk how he has time for anything else, he’s literally ALWAYS in the paleo lab). my research in the desert is going to involve comparing the geochemistry and lithology of the cobbles in a conglomerate to their source to better understand deposition in the area (it’s a VERY strange situation out where i’m working!). i love geochemistry and even though sedimentary rocks are my least favorite kind of rock i always dive headfirst into research and find myself having a blast. i’m nervous about applying to grad schools.. my transcript’s a mess due to the health issues i was dealing with for a couple years, but i do have a lot of research experience as well as the tutoring and TA jobs working in my favor. we’ll see! i’ve decided that if i can find a mentor who can work on it with me i’d like to specialize in plutons in mountain arcs, especially looking at reinjection and magma mingling and how the history of magma movement is preserved in deformation. i’m reading papers about it to get more background knowledge and it’s super fun because i love learning more about the topic! it’s also so rewarding to read a paper talking about concepts that would have gone over my head two years ago and feel like i’m totally following. :) i’m hoping to start reaching out to potential advisors in the next few months and seeing if any can meet up with me at GSA (and hopefully the fact that i’m presenting comes off as a bit impressive—not sure, but it definitely won’t hurt!). i’m really lucky in that both my parents went to grad school, so i have a ton of help figuring all of this out. it would definitely be overwhelming on my own! i’m also getting closer with my friends in the geology department (many of whom are working on the big group project) so i’ve been getting a lot more social time in lately, which feels amazing. i didn’t realize how isolated i was feeling until i broke out of it! i’ve been feeling super optimistic and i think i'm in a good place to start this semester ^_^
Tinker (2008)
Aug. 19th, 2026 03:56 pmtheworksofegan_feedMichael Klamerus over at The Virtual Moose has issued a blog challenge, which he's allowed to do because it's his birthday (happy birthday, Michael), challenging everyone to write about an obscure game. I'm taking this as a sign to finally pull the trigger on writing about Tinker, a game I love and have wanted to write about for years.
Tinker, also known as Microsoft Tinker, was a game that initially came bundled with Windows Ultimate Extras, a collection of updates available to users of Windows Vista Ultimate Edition. It was later released with the Games for Windows – Live client, making it available on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7, where I first played it. This was back when computers came with games on them. Free games. Without ads. How far we've fallen.
The game was developed by Fuel Industries, a Canadian online interactive and marketing agency that went under in 2017. Tinker doesn't appear to have been a major concern for the company. A year before Tinker's release, they won a Webby for their work on something called American Dad Vs. Family Guy Kung Fu. In 2014, they dug up a couple hundred E.T. cartidges in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico for the production of the documentary Atari: Game Over. They'd probably rather be remembered for that. Let's move on.
In 2010, I got my first laptop. The first computer that was mine and mine alone. It had Vista pre-loaded, but was sold with an offer to upgrade to Windows 7 for free. I adored that laptop, and I adored Windows 7. I still hold that it was the last good version of Windows before computers started getting worse on purpose. Anyway, Games for Windows – Live (yes, I'm going to type it that way every time) was there, and so was Tinker. And so was Purble Place, does anyone remember that one? I don't think I ever actually played it, I always thought it looked weird. Now I'm nostalgic for it, of course.
Microsoft Tinker is a puzzle game about moving a little wind-up toy robot from his starting position to the goal in a set number of moves. Each level takes place on a square, checkerboard-style grid and features various obstacles and puzzle elements to interact with. Your movement options are to move one square forward in the direction you are facing, or make a 90-degree turn to the left or right. There are batteries that can be picked up to give the robot more energy to make more moves, cogs that act as optional completionist pickups, and all kinds of buttons, switches, bombs, blocks, and other tools and traps between you and the goal. There are 160 levels including the 20-level tutorial. And that's about it!
Tinker is fairly straightforward in its execution, but what I love about it is its heart. There's so much love and care and quality in this tiny little pack-in game. First of all, it's gorgeous. Every level takes place on a wooden checkerboard sitting atop a tall, wooden block. On one side of the block, you have all of your controls, a timer, and a move counter. On the other side, a panel is cut out, revealing an elaborate clockwork interior, implying that each level is one big clockwork machine. Every item, every block, every surface, and especially the robot itself, is lovingly modeled and rendered in this very crisp, stark, honest, yet warm and playful style that recalls those old I Spy books.
And the backgrounds are all tactile fabric and papercraft designs with planets and stars and fish and buildings hung up like a storybook or the curtains in a kid's bedroom. Very Kirby's Epic Yarn/Yoshi's Woolly World before those games' time. It's all so lovely and tactile and skeuomorphic and retro-futurist. Everything plays to the same theme and harmonizes with every other element. I love the animations and sound effects and, again, the tactility of all of its textures.
I also adore the music. The Tinker soundtrack is what might be called "Jazz Manouche," a French and Romani style popularized mainly by Django Reinhardt. I fell in love with it the second I fired up the game, and it imprinted on me deeply in a way that wouldn't pay off until just a few years ago when I finally discovered Django Reinhardt and briefly became the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the screen meme. It's a gentle, yet energetic music that is perfect for working out the solution to a puzzle, and works well with the clockwork heartbeat at the core of the game.
Tinker is just one of those things for me. Every once in a while, a game comes down and strikes you like a bolt of lightning from heaven at just the right time. It's just a little free puzzle game that came with my computer, but it's so much more than that. It will always be, for me, a perfect crystalization of that era of my life. It's my first computer, and it's Windows 7, but it's also Amélie and Professor Layton and the Nintendo DS, and high school, and The New Pornographers, and The Decemberists, and staying up late watching Scrubs and Craig Ferguson and Korean game shows in my sister's room. It's using the internet unsupervised, and making my own space, and figuring myself out a little more.
The game is, of course, no longer available in any convenient way, but you can find it on freeware sites (probably also the Internet Archive), and there are helpful guides out there for getting it working on modern PCs. I've got it running on my current Windows 10 machine. Not sure about Windows 11, but I have to imagine it would work there as well.
If you've never heard of it or seen it, and you're willing to put up with some nonsense to get it running, I recommend giving it a try! It's a really chill little puzzle game that makes for a great time waster. If there's any whimsy in your heart, I can almost certainly guarantee you'll be delighted.
kossai and morning blurs
Aug. 18th, 2026 11:41 pmkossaiin most of life , this court do not really experience blurriness or identity confusion - closest thing would be when tip over personal threshold and start to wear down into exhaustion . still technically know who front , but do not fully feel like self anymore , need to get out and rest .
except in mornings , right after wake up . never really figure out pattern as to what make mornings blurry : sometimes wake up perfectly aware of self , sometimes need to retrace steps , occasionally need to give up and check whatever log say . but even when lost , can snap back into place once those reminders hit - or just toss front at someone else if really do not care - so this is inconsequential blip .
so far never find any actual correlations . frequency of front , time among court , clarity of dreams , hypnagogic experiences - none of these things seem to influence or cause this morning blur . at this point think only way to track would be to see if courtiers exhibit personal morning patterns , but that sound positively dull to track .
if certain people have consistent personal patterns , then sure , that is one more piece of information ... but how useful is that piece of information actually ? doubt there is any way to make this actionable , or if action would be worth effort since impact is so small - just become information for information's sake . and if people do not have consistent personal patterns , well , still have nothing to learn or to act on !
realistically , this might even just be up to total random chance of sleepy brain - and sleepy eira , at that .
