I've been checking out a ton of PICO-8 games lately. One of my fav things that some game devs do is unlimited lives.
I get the whole "3 strikes and you're out" in baseball, and sometimes in life, but like... I don't want to die, I want another chance. Let me try again and again! (In games & life.)
I did see a game where it gave you 100 lives, and that's cool too, because you know what? We all screw up sometimes.
99 more chances to get it right is still pretty good.
I see limited lives as a design relic from the arcade era. You needed limited lives to extract more quarters from players, but we're pretty far from that necessity these days.
I'm in flow when I can focus on the endless beautiful forms and patterns of nature. I love seeing how things connect. I used to observe nature as a job (as a scientist), but I could not survive in academia.
I'm also a mom.
A year or so ago, I found out about neurodivergence. Reading and listening to the accounts of autistic people sharing their experience filled me with an overwhelming feeling of peace and kinship. This lead to a path of self-discovery. I'm also learning about ADHD as my partner and my kid are AuDHD.
Spent a couple hours with #BaldursGate3 today. I love the dialogue animations. The characters feel like characters instead of talking heads spewing voice lines. It's one of the few games I've played in a the last year or so that feels "next gen" (whatever that means in 2023) in fit and finish.
That’s encouraging. Divinity: Original Sin 2 (their previous game) had a few rough edges, but overall was the best RPG I had played in a long time. I’m looking forward to their take on D&D. (Not going to touch it until it’s out of early access, though.)